Bucks Forward Leads NBA in Unexpected Statistical Category

The 13-11 Milwaukee Bucks have gotten off to an uneven start to their 2024-25 NBA season. But one solid performative category for Milwaukee has been its 3-point shooting acumen.

The club is connecting on 39.3 percent shooting from beyond the arc, the third-most efficient such percentage across the entire league behind the Cleveland Cavaliers (39.9 percent) and New York Knicks (also 39.3 percent).

The Bucks' 36.5 triple tries a night is fairly middle-of-the-pack, and slots in as the 16th-most frequent rate in the NBA. The Boston Celtics (51.3 long range attempts a night, which would be a new record) and Chicago Bulls (43.8) are the top two 3-point shooting squads in terms of rate.

Shockingly, a Bucks role player actually leads the league in 3-point efficiency. 3-and-D small forward Taurean Prince, Milwaukee's starter at the position until injured former three-time All-Star Khris Middleton gets elevated back into the gig by head coach Doc Rivers, is connecting on a whopping 53.6 percent of his heaves from outside. Three-time Denver Nuggets MVP Nikola Jokic's 51.2 percent is the only other 3-point rate that's above 50 percent this year.

Another Bucks player, third-year reserve shooting guard A.J. Green, ranks among the top five, as he's connecting on 47.5 percent of his long range looks per bout.

A third Buck, backup shooting guard Gary Trent Jr., is also shooting better than 40 percent on his long range attempts, with 40.2 percent.

Trent, like Prince, was signed to a veteran's minimum deal this summer when he likely could have earned more elsewhere on the open free agent market. Both players clearly expected that they could have outsized roles on a team many expected to compete for a championship this spring.

Prince, a 6-foot-6 combo forward out of Baylor, is averaging 7.9 points on .493/.536/.846 shooting splits, 4.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 0.8 steals a night, while appearing in all 24 contests for the club (all starts so far).

Green, a 6-foot-4 swingman out of the University of Northern Iowa, has essentially replaced Pat Connaughton in Rivers' rotation. Across 23 bouts (three starts), he's averaging career highs of 8.0 points on .477/.475/.833 shooting splits, 2.2 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 0.5 steals, in 21.2 minutes per — mostly off the bench.

After being demoted to the bench when his defense proved too much of a liability, Trent has stabilized his play a bit as a bench piece. He's averaging 9.3 points on .416/.402/.913 shooting splits, 2.0 boards, 1.0 assists and 0.9 swipes a night.

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