Nikola Vucevic Call His Own Team "Soft," Gets Visibly Annoyed By Younger Teammates

When is a win not a win? For Nikola Vucevic, it’s when his teammates lack intensity and proceed to troll him in the post-game interview.

The Chicago Bulls center should have been stoked that his team turned back the Washington Wizards 121–120 on Saturday, securing their third win in four outings. However, in his post-game interview with Bulls reporter K. C. Johnson, Vucevic sounded more disappointed than delighted.

“We finally started playing,” the Montenegrin big man said of the Bulls’ fourth-quarter performance. “For three quarters, we were very soft.”

Right as Vucevic called out his team’s toughness, sophomore Matas Buzelis and sixth-year player Jalen Smith showed up behind him. With a wide smile on his face, Buzelis jumped up and down as he waved his arms in the air. This irked Vucevic, who shoved Buzelis and said, “Move, man.”

Meanwhile, Smith chest-bumped Vucevic twice, causing the two-time All-Star to walk away from the interview for a brief moment. Though the reporter’s microphone didn’t catch the exact words, Vucevic chastised Smith for his actions. Smith eventually walked away, and Vucevic proceeded with the interview.

If anyone is wondering why the 15-year veteran had no patience for the antics of Buzelis and Smith, they need only rewind the first half of that Saturday night game. Though the Bulls’ offense was potent enough, they allowed the league-worst Wizards to score 70 points in the first half. At one point in the second quarter, Washington led Chicago by 16 points.

The Bulls’ defensive intensity picked up in the final frame, when they held the Wizards to 22 points to pull off the comeback win. Vucevic ended up top-scoring for Chicago with 28 points on 12-for-20 shooting from the field.

Ironically, Vucevic’s production eclipsed the combined scoring of Buzelis and Smith, who collectively accounted for 22 points on an 8-for-26 shooting clip. While the Bulls (9-7) have managed to remain above .500 despite missed games from Josh Giddey and Coby White, they have plenty of ground to cover as they seek to catch up with the Eastern Conference’s top teams.

A good place to start would be tightening things up on defense and avoiding large deficits in the first half. If the Bulls do this, perhaps Vucevic will crack a smile.