Meet The Chicago Bulls’ Guard Who Was Named The 2022-23′ G-League M.V.P.

While things have not gone swimmingly for the Chicago Bulls this year, their G-League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls, had a much different season. Finishing their 2022-23′ campaign with an 18-14 record and winners of seven of their final ten games, one two-way point guard averaged 26 points, seven assists, and over four rebounds on his way to winning the G-League M.V.P. honor. Is he next up for the point guard position in Chicago?

Road To M.V.P.

Carlik Jones was awarded the G-League’s M.V.P. award last week for the Windy City Bulls, and his road was not easy. After going undrafted in the 2021 NBA Draft after three years at Radford and one at Louisville, he signed with the Dallas Mavericks for the Summer League and soon inked with their affiliate, the Texas Legends, for his first G-League season.

Averaging an impressive 20/5/5 stat line in his ten appearances, he later signed ten-day contracts with the Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets in the 2021 and 2022 seasons. After another small stint with the Texas Legends, he signed with the Windy City Bulls before the 2022-23′ season, on his way to his G-League M.V.P. honor and eventual two-way contract with the Chicago club. During his M.V.P. campaign, he was the G-League’s scoring leader (26.1 PPG), top ten in assists (7.0 APG), and top three in player efficiency (25.8 EFF).

Professional Career

While Jones has been a walking bucket in the G-League for a few seasons, his game has yet to translate to the NBA stage. Being a bit undersized and lacking the strength and speed of the professional level, he’ll need to take his elite scoring to the next level to pursue a career beyond the G-League. At 25 years old, at the very minimum, he’ll be one of the G-League’s top players and scorers for years to come. He’s seen less than an hour of court time on the NBA level and is just 2-for-16 with seven points and four turnovers in his limited action.

Could he be the next point guard for Chicago? With his lack of size and defensive capabilities, it’s far-fetched to see him in a significant role for the Bulls any time soon. While this season has been disastrous for the Chicago Bulls, the point guard position is one of their largest areas of need and will almost surely be solved in free agency. Seeing that the trial period for Ayo Dosunmu and Coby White was unsuccessful, it’s unlikely they will take another unknown flyer on Carlik Jones despite his explosive scoring and playmaking ability at the G-League level.

Following the release of Goran Dragic, an empty roster spot was either going to a veteran or a G-League player in the Windy City. The Bulls awarded Jones’s efforts this season with a professional contract. He was inked for the remainder of the 2022-23′ NBA season, partially a nod to the ex-Louisville guard’s impressive stint with the G-League squad.