It’s difficult for Chicago Bulls rookie Onuralp Bitim to shake his smile.
The 24-year-old forward can’t help himself when he talks about his current role. Some players adopt a serious tone, attempt to communicate their commitment to the game through gruff statements or make outlandish promises about their future in the league. But Bitim greets every conversation with a wide grin, followed by an acknowledgment of joy.
“I’m just happy to be here,” he said with a laugh before Friday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Bitim knows he put in hard work to transform a G League contract with the Bulls into a multiyear deal. But when it comes to his last two weeks with the Bulls — well, luck played a heavy hand too.
There was no way, for instance, for Bitim to know when he booked tickets for his father to fly from Turkey to Chicago that his dad would get to witness him signing a full-time NBA contract. Or that he would make it onto the court in Wednesday’s double-overtime win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Or that he would play 28 minutes and score the first points of his NBA career with his father just feet away, cheering him on from the United Center stands.
“It was the best moment in my life,” Bitim said.
Basketball has always been a family affair for Bitim, whose parents played in Turkey. As a result, the sport is a source of entertainment, joy and constant conversation — and a source of competition. Bitim said his parents still disagree about who was the better player.
Bitim’s mother played for the national team and regularly teases she would have had the better career if not for pregnancy. But the family agrees on one thing: Bitim inherited his court vision from his mother, a point guard, and his athleticism from his father, a forward.
“Since a young age, my family, they understood me,” Bitim said. “They helped me to get better. We were always talking after the games, even when I was 7. I didn’t feel really pressure on me, but I always wanted to be a better player than them so I can make (them) proud.”
The NBA never has been more international. Its top stars hail from Serbia, Slovenia, Cameroon, Greece and France.
But it still was a bold endeavor for Bitim to cross an ocean to sign a two-way contract with a team in the hopes of playing his way onto a roster through outstanding performance in the G League.
Bulls coach Billy Donovan praised Bitim’s mentality to make the leap from the Turkish Super League to the NBA.
“There’s a respect level for what he’s had to go through,” Donovan said. “Coming all the way over here — this was not like this is a guy who came in from overseas and was a lottery pick and it just made sense. He just picked up everything and came over here and said: ‘You know what? I want to go for it.’ I’ve got a lot of admiration for that.”
Bitim didn’t see it that way.
He always knew he would make the leap, even if that meant coming over undrafted or working his way up through the G League.
“The biggest dream is to play in the NBA and I always had that dream,” Bitim said. “I always believed in myself. I believed in my talent. It was a risk, but I think I gamble on myself, I roll the dice.
“But that was not gambling for me. I trust the hard work, I trust the faith. And here we are. I think I made the right choice.”
Bitim is locked into a full-time contract with the Bulls, but his future in regard to meaningful minutes is uncertain.
He clearly adds important length and shooting ability to a decimated roster that’s struggling to find consistency with Torrey Craig sidelined, Alex Caruso banged up and both Zach LaVine and Patrick Williams out for the season. But Donovan has been wary to overstate plans for the shooting forward.
Bitim returned for a similarly important secondary shift in a blowout loss to the Bucks on Friday, adding six points in 16 minutes off the bench. And he plans to embrace any future chance he gets on the court — regardless of playing time.
“I don’t care how many minutes I’m going to get or not,” Bitim said. “I just want to help my team.”
