CHICAGO, IL – The last three years of Julian Phillips’ young life and academic and basketball career have been a whirlwind of location changes, team changes, and ultimately a spot on the NBA’s Chicago Bulls.
I’m super happy where I’m at now,” said Phillips, who turns 21 Nov. 3. “I love Chicago. There are a lot of things to do in the city, and I love the Bulls. There’s nothing like playing in the United Center. It gets very loud and you’ve always got to be ready to go. You never know when your time is going to be.”
Being ready to shine, practicing, preparing on and off the court will be some of the lessons Phillips would like to impart to kids wanting to play basketball.
Last Saturday Phillips returned to the Blythewood High School gym to put on a youth basketball camp for boys and girls from k-through-ninth grade. Kids took instruction from Phillips himself on basketball fundamentals, and received multiple gifts such as basketball cards, water bottles, bags and other giveaways.
“I talk with them a lot of what I’ve learned over my basketball career,” he said about his camps. “It feels great to give back to the kids and give them tips that can help them further their careers.”
Phillips, who was drafted by the Boston Celtics with the 35th pick in the 2023 NBA draft, went to Chicago when the Bulls acquired his contract, a four-year deal to stay in the Windy City. He played the 2023-2024 season largely off the bench, appearing in 40 games. He averaged 8.1 minutes and 2.2 points per game in his rookie season.
His burgeoning NBA career first took flight in Blythewood, where he played under Zeke Washington his sophomore and junior years. Phillips became the No.1 player in South Carolina and the No.15 small forward in the nation for the class of 2022 over that time.
In 2021, he transferred to Link Academy in Branson, Mo. to refine his basketball skills for his college career prospects. In his senior year under head coach Rodney Perry, Phillips rose to the No.13 overall prospect in his class by both ESPN and Rivals.com, and was ranked 18th by 247 Sports.
At the time Louisiana State, under head coach Will Wade, was hotly pursuing him, and he had committed to play for the Tigers. Wade, however, was fired before the 2022 NCAA tournament.
“I did get recruited heavily to LSU, but the coaching change caused me to reopen my options,” Phillips said.
His thoughts turned to Tennessee, and the well-established head coach Rick Barnes. Barnes has been a head basketball coach at five schools, including four years at Clemson, 17 years at Texas, and the last nine years at Tennessee. He’s won two SEC regular-season titles, an SEC tournament championship in 2022, and brought the Longhorns to the NCAA Final Four in 2003, among many other accolades. He quickly committed and signed with the Volunteers May 16, 2022.
“Tennessee was a school I was heavily involved with before I committed to LSU,” he said. “It was a great year being able to play under Rick Barnes in a D-1 college. I had a lot of great teammates there and they welcomed me. What drew me to them was the family atmosphere. I had a great time.”
In his freshman year with the Vols, Phillips averaged 8.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game while shooting .411 from the field. He averaged 24.1 minutes per game.
He closed out the season making the 2023 SEC All-Freshman Team, was SEC Freshman of the Week of Jan. 23, and made the 2022 Battle 4 Atlantis All-Tournament team.
Indeed, Phillips could have stayed at Tennessee for four years and likely blossomed into one of the top college players in the game.
“I felt like (after his freshman year) that this was my window to go after that season,” Phillips explained. “My coaches agreed and did a really good job preparing me for that transition. I felt like that was my opportunity to take that next step.”
That next step was the NBA Draft. With just one year of college play under his belt, Phillips being a high-second round pick showed that the NBA was ready for Phillips as much as Phillips was ready to play on a professional level.
“I will say it was a dream come true,” he said. “It definitely took a lot of hard work and dedication. It was always my dream one day to play in the NBA. I learned a lot in that first year (with the Bulls). It was just a great year.”
Knowing how hard Phillips works on the court—he’s grown from a skinny post player to a bulkier wing player who can also play any position on the court if needed, “more well-tuned in every area of the game”—he will likely be on the professional level for years to come.
