On July 18, 2014, Mirotić signed with the Chicago Bulls to a reported three-year, $16.6 million contract. In addition, Mirotić was required to pay $3 million to Real Madrid for his contract buyout. DUSE met up with Niko to take a look back at his first Rookie season.
On December 19, 2014, Mirotić scored a then career-high 27 points, as he converted all six of his three-pointers, in a 103-97 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. On January 5, 2015, he was named the NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for games played in December.
During the NBA’s All-Star Weekend, Mirotić played for the World Team in the Rising Stars Challenge. He scored 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field in the World’s 121-112 win over Team USA. On March 1, he scored a career-high 29 points in a 86-96 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. With injuries impacting teammates during the month of March, Mirotić was expected to fill a larger role for his team. He averaged 20.8 points and 7.6 rebounds while playing 30.8 minutes per game. In his rookie season, Mirotić averaged 10.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 82 games, giving him the recognition as a candidate for the NBA’s Rookie of the Year Award.
Mirotić finished second in Rookie of the Year voting with 335 votes behind Andrew Wiggins who received 604 votes. He played his first post-season game in the NBA on April 18, 2015 in Game 1 of the Bulls’ first-round series match-up against the Milwaukee Bucks. In 13 minutes off the bench, he recorded 5 points and 5 rebounds.
