Former Duke Basketball Big Man Gets Another NBA Opportunity
Marques Bolden has played only seven NBA games and has not been in the league on a regular-season contract since early in the Cleveland Cavaliers' 2020-21 campaign when the Duke basketball talent was briefly on a two-way deal.
But the 6-foot-10, 250-pound center, who went undrafted in 2019 following his three-year Blue Devil career, has been a regular in training camps and preseason action.
That should be the case again. On Tuesday, The Athletic's Eric Nehm reported that Bolden agreed to a training camp deal with the Milwaukee Bucks.
In September 2021, the Utah Jazz snagged Bolden for camp. They waived him a few weeks later, days before their regular season began.
Then last year was a similar story for the former five-star McDonald's All-American out of DeSoto, Texas, but with the Bucks.
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So his latest deal marks a second straight early October opportunity with the same team. Moreover, this year's camp, beginning on Oct. 3, is another chance to reunite with third-year Bucks guard Grayson Allen, Bolden's Duke basketball teammate for two seasons (2016-17, 2017-18).
Considering Marques Bolden is only 25 years old, perhaps still a few years away from what should be his athletic prime, don't entirely rule out the possibility he'll end up with well more than seven NBA games for his career by the time it's all said and done.
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However, he probably won't be on Milwaukee's initial 2023-24 roster for the regular season, for it appears complete. That said, injuries to others or other issues could lead to moves where Bolden, likely again to join the Wisconsin Herd in the G League, receives a 10-day contract.
The Bucks' preseason schedule begins at home against the Chicago Bulls on Oct. 8.
Stay tuned to Blue Devil Country on SI.com for more Duke basketball news.