At first glance, Ayo Dosunmu doesn’t have many flaws.
On Thursday, the Minnesota Timberwolves traded for him and Julian Phillips in exchange for Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller, and four second-round picks. However, after a quick review, there was one thing to nitpick.
He was born in Chicago and is a Chicago Bears fan.
At the end of his postgame interview after dropping 20 points vs. the Mavericks, Ayo Dosunmu said, "Watch how the Bears come back."
The Bears were down 21-6 when he said that.
They won 31-27. pic.twitter.com/VDRBnN3DpG
— Bulls on CHSN (@CHSN_Bulls) January 11, 2026
Dosunmu joins Terrence Shannon Jr. as a Chicago Bears fan in a Vikings city. However, they might need to tone down the Bears’ rhetoric to better relate to fans. Still, that may be the only flaw in his fit with the Wolves.
Offensively, it’s easy to see why the Wolves targeted Dosunmu. He’s shooting 45.1% on 4.3 attempts per game. Of those 4.3 attempts, 86.0% of them come off the catch, and he sinks 42.5% of those attempts. The other 14.0% come off the dribble, usually while hiding behind a screen. He shoots a blistering 64.0% on those. 90.7% of his three-point attempts also come off one dribble or less.
Theoretically, Dosunmu’s skill set is perfect for the Wolves because Julius Randle and Anthony Edwards both account for a large share of the offense.
Having another elite three-point shooter who thrives off the catch will be a dangerous addition to Minnesota’s bench. In Chicago, 99.1% of Dosunmu’s three-point attempts are considered either open or wide open, suggesting he shoots only when he has a great look. His 3.6 assists per game indicate he will swing the ball if the look isn’t there.
Lastly, Dosunmu thrives when shooting from above the break, hitting 44.3% of his 131 attempts from that range. He’s also elite from the right corner, hitting 55.3% of his shots. Not by coincidence, those are the two most frequent spots Mike Conley shot from, and he was shooting 30.1% above the break and 35.0% from the right corner. The Wolves should immediately improve offensively because of Dosunmu’s shooting.
Dosunmu also finishes around the basket. He’s hitting 61.4% of his attempts in the restricted area, with 51.6% coming without an assist. He has a quick first dribble that allows him to streak past closing defenders, creating many easy layups. Theoretically, that should be even easier for him with Rudy Gobert patrolling the dunker spot on offense as a lob threat.
Defensively, Dosunmu is an elite shot-contester. He has a similar ability to Conley, sliding between screens and staying close to his matchup, and the quickness to cut off angles on defense.
The Bulls often deployed Dosunmu on the best opposing team’s guard, and he fared pretty well. When guarding guards, he held them to 38.9% from the field and just 26.9% from three when he was the primary defender. When guarding any position, regardless of height or size, Dosunmu held opponents to just 26.0% from the field. He also forced opponents into 59 turnovers in his 1187 minutes played this season.
While the fit makes a lot of sense schematically, Dosunmu has some shortcomings. He had never had a positive net rating (-3.8 this season) in his five-year career, despite the Bulls being a play-in team in multiple of those seasons. His offensive rating (111.1) is lower than Chicago’s team offensive rating (113.6), and his -3.8 net rating is lower than the team’s overall net rating of 3.5. Both are concerning, but it could be situational.
Dosunmu also turns the ball over a fair amount, which could be because he was tasked with more playmaking in Chicago than is ideal for him. However, his 2.69 assist-to-turnover ratio is still solid for a backup guard. Meanwhile, his 3.01 assist-to-turnover ratio from last season on less usage seems more realistic, given what the Wolves will ask of him.
Ultimately, Dosunmu seems like a perfect fit for what the Wolves need, a lights-out shooter who, when needed, can get to the rim and score. His defense is strong, and he appears to put in a lot of effort when contesting shots and fighting around screens. That should endear him to Wolves fans, even if he’s a Bears fan.