CHICAGO – Ayo Dosunmu isn’t sure where he’s going to watch the Bears game yet, but he knows what he’s doing after. He and the family are having Sunday dinner, like they do every weekend, and on the menu tonight is a seafood boil. Simply put, it’s good to be home. It’s been a whirlwind ride for the rookie, who rode an impressive prep career into an All-American tenure at Illinois. It culminated in a storybook moment when he was drafted by Chicago in the second round of the 2021 NBA Draft.
Dosunmu, who got an apartment with his brother near the Bulls’ practice facility, gets the chance to explore the city he’s always been around, but through a different light.
“I’m looking at the city in a different perspective, but I pretty much still feel the same about it,” Dosunmu says from a coffee shop in the West Loop. “It’s still a great city. It’s just different in the aspect of me now being more living on my own, having to provide for myself in that aspect.”
It’s a different Bulls team overall from a few months ago, and that’s something that’s exciting for the entire city of Chicago, including the Second City native they acquired with the 38th pick in July. Between the deadline deal for Nikola Vucevic and the high-profile additions of DeMar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball, and Alex Caruso, the buzz around the team has reached a fever pitch. Success isn’t just a goal, it’s an ultimatum. And Dosunmu couldn’t be more excited.
“I think it’s a feeling of excitement knowing that I get to start my journey with something I love to do, in my home city, in my hometown,” Dosunmu says. “That’s what makes the challenge even more fun because you go through the tough times, you start as a rookie, and then you just try to work yourself up. And that’s what I want to do, just try to get better each day. So then ultimately, I look back at my career and I’ll be like, ‘I had a ball in my city.'”
Before he starts that journey, Dosunmu took Dime through his Top 5 sneakers of all time, with a quick breakdown of what he loves so much about each.
1. Concord 11s
I like the way they look and I like even the way Jordan, how he played in them. So just the fashion and the colorway. I think that’s a very classic sneaker.
2. Flu Game 12s
I like the meaning of the shoe. He wore those in a flu game when he was sick. That’s one of the most extraordinary games. And me being a basketball junkie, that was a crazy time.
3. Off-White Michigan Dunks
I went to Illinois, so I like the Michigan ones just because we used to always beat them. So it just reminds me of Michigan.
4. Off-White University Red Dunks
They’re Off-White similar to the Michigan ones, but they’re red and black. I like that colorway a lot.
5. Space Jam 11s
Classic. The history behind them. I didn’t watch [the new Space Jam] though, I’m not really into cartoons.
