As a rookie with Minnesota, LaVine won the league's Slam Dunk Contest, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.

[3][4] Around the age of five, LaVine developed an interest in basketball after watching Chicago Bulls star Michael Jordan in the film Space Jam.

[5] Later, he also became a fan of Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant, and modeled his game after his childhood idols.

[6] LaVine practiced playing in the family backyard, where his father had him repeatedly emulate the NBA's Three-Point Shootout.

By his junior year, he had grown to 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m), and he would practice dunking for hours in his backyard after his shooting routine would end.

[9] On June 20, 2012, LaVine verbally committed to attending the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and playing for coach Ben Howland for the 2013 season.

[11] After a strong start to 2013–14 as the team's sixth man, featuring an impressive display of outside shooting and explosive dunks, the former point guard LaVine evoked memories of former Bruin Russell Westbrook's UCLA beginnings.

[11] He averaged 9.4 points per game during the season, fourth best on the team, and his 48 three-point field goals made were the second most by a freshman in the school's history.

When an ankle injury sidelined starter Ricky Rubio indefinitely, LaVine became the starting point guard over veteran Mo Williams.

[33] With Ricky Rubio sidelined in early November, LaVine took over the starting point guard role and took advantage of the increased minutes.

[35] During the 2016 All-Star Weekend, LaVine scored 30 points for Team USA in the Rising Stars Challenge to capture MVP honors.

On February 4, 2017, LaVine was ruled out for the rest of the season after an MRI revealed he had a torn ACL in his left knee.

[45] On July 6, 2018, the restricted free agent LaVine received a four-year, $80 million offer sheet from the Sacramento Kings.

[47] LaVine scored at least 30 points in each of the Bulls' first three games of the season, becoming the third Chicago player to do so, joining Michael Jordan (1986) and Bob Love (1971).

[48] On October 24, he made two free throws with 0.5 seconds left to lift the Bulls to a 112–110 win over the Charlotte Hornets.

[49] On November 5, he scored a then-career-high 41 points, including the game-winning free throw with 0.2 seconds left, as the Bulls beat the New York Knicks 116–115 in double overtime.

[52] On December 26, after missing five games with a sprained left ankle, LaVine had 28 points in 26 minutes off the bench in a 119–94 loss to the Timberwolves.

[54] On March 1, he scored 47 points in a 168–161 quadruple-overtime win over the Atlanta Hawks, the third-highest-scoring game in NBA history.

[55] On March 6, he scored 39 points and hit the go-ahead layup in the closing seconds to lift the Bulls to a 108–107 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

[62] With a new head coach in Billy Donovan and averaging career highs in scoring and shooting efficiency, on February 24, 2021, he was named a reserve for the 2021 NBA All-Star Game.

[70] On April 24, during Game 4 of the first round of the playoffs, he posted 24 points, 5 rebounds and 13 assists in a 95–119 loss against the reigning champions Milwaukee Bucks.

[78] That was his fourth career game with at least 40 points on 70% shooting, breaking a tie with Scottie Pippen for the second most in Bulls history.

[81] In February 2024, the Chicago Bulls announced that LaVine would undergo season-ending surgery on his right foot as a next step in his recovery process.

[84] Lavine was selected as one of the players on Team USA at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, which was postponed to 2021 due to the novel coronavirus COVID-19 global pandemic.

Prior to the gold medal game, he was second in assists, playing solid defense and was shooting a team-best 47% from three-point range.