PORTLAND, Ore. — For a few seconds, there was nothing “calming” about Nikola Vucevic.
There was a quick turn and taunting fist pump for the bystanders in the Moda Center, a shove of excitement for Kevin Huerter and his other teammates that were trying to dog-pile him, and then a primal scream let out as he was being hugged and congratulated.
Vucevic was going through all of it.
Then again, with good reason. The Bulls big man watched a 21-point third-quarter lead melt away, had played an awful fourth quarter Wednesday night against the Trail Blazers, and was again called on to play hero with the clock nearing zeroes.
“I do think he’s a calming force for our guys in those [clutch] moments,” coach Billy Donovan said.
The recent résumé said that as well.
Vucevic had the dramatic corner three earlier in the month to steal a game from Philadelphia with 3.2 seconds left, broke Denver’s heart on Monday with a long-range dagger with 33.4 seconds left, and then came the finale of a four-game road trip against the Trail Blazers.
“Just try and stay ready, especially in those moments,” Vucevic said.
It was good that someone on the Bulls was.
A loss to Portland would have been horrific, especially considering how the Bulls dominated them through the first 36 minutes. Vucevic knew that better than anyone. He was disappointed with himself that the home team had clawed back in it, that second-year big Donovan Clingan had tallied 21 rebounds, and that the Bulls’ late-game offense got stagnant. It was a recipe for disaster.
But when Coby White drove towards the rim and Portland defenders sank to try and help stop the guard, the window opened for Vucevic to sink the game-winning three as time expired.
“I was hoping he’d get the ball to me,” Vucevic said. “Just to be confident and believe in the work you put in. You want to step up in the big moments, you want to come through for your team. It helps when you know teammates are looking for you.”
And continue to.
At age 35 and entering free agency at the end of the 2025-26 campaign, Vucevic is doing more with less. His scoring (16.6 points per game) and rebounding (9.9) are down from previous seasons, but his assists (3.6 per game) and three-point shooting (42.9%) are up.
Where his impact has really been felt, however, is the last 60 seconds of games. All Vucevic has done then is go 4-for-5 from three-point range. The “calm” indeed.
The way Donovan sees it in Year 2 of this up-tempo, run-and-gun offense, Vucevic is back to playing the basketball he grew up with in Europe. The basketball he couldn’t always play when he had elite isolation teammates such as DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine.
“He’s got this kind of idea of how the game should be played,” Donovan said. “Like he likes the ball movement, the cutting, the passing, and the unselfishness. He’s always been a big believer in that, and so am I. When the ball is in his hands, it’s not so much about him shooting, but he generally connects our team in a lot of ways.”
It’s a philosophy that Vucevic doesn’t see drying up with this roster anytime soon.
“I enjoy playing this way,” Vucevic said. “It plays to my bigger strengths, just my IQ and being able to be kind of a connector.
“I really enjoy being the connector, finding guys, and going from action to action. That’s how I was taught to play the game. I was never much of an ‘iso’ guy. Having to take a step back [scoring] for a few years when we had Zach and DeMar, it’s kind of helped me get better.”
