Milwaukee Bucks: Malcolm Brogdon shows growth in season opener

Malcolm Brogdon demonstrated unexpected and unbelievably encouraging growth in the Milwaukee Bucks’ opening night win.

Malcolm Brogdon is unconventional. A four-year college player, he was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round of the 2016 NBA Draft.

Expectations were never high for him. He was accomplished in college, leading some truly outstanding University of Virginia teams, but he was old, a combo guard and lacking athleticism. Experts knew he’d have a productive career, but he’d never be anything exceptional.

Naturally, Brogdon went on to win Rookie of the Year. There’s a slight asterisk on that achievement, given that the 2016 draft class was historically weak and first overall pick Ben Simmons missed the entire season. To give some historical context, Brogdon produced the eighth-worst Value Over Replacement Player of any Rookie of the Year since 1974. He still has the hardware, though.

Brogdon was low-usage and proficient on both ends of the court. Essentially, he provided everything a normal Rookie of the Year doesn’t and was unable to do that which they normally do with ease. Unconventional.

More from Milwaukee Bucks

• NBA Rumors: 3 teams emerge as most-likely Giannis destinations
• 7 players the Milwaukee Bucks gave up on far too soon
• Report: Bucks, 76ers, and Suns all vying to land this championship coach 
• 5 potential candidates for Bucks’ head coach
• NBA Rumors: Milwaukee may overhaul roster after early playoff exit

Continuing along the theme of the abnormal, Brogdon was a standout rookie not expected to make any leap whatsoever in his second season. Remember, he’s old for rookie—he looked like a finished product.

In the Bucks’ opening night win in Boston, Brogdon showed incredible growth.

Brogdon, last season, attempted just 46 pull-up threes in 75 games. Shooting a relatively low volume of pull-up threes is ideal, as they are incredibly difficult shots, but Brogdon shot an impressive 37 percent on his attempts. He can afford to shoot more.

And that’s exactly what he did in the Milwaukee Bucks’2017-18 season opener.

Brogdon attempted four pull-up threes, hitting three. No one (except Stephen Curry, because of course he does) attempts 328 pull-up threes in a season, so Brogdon’s pace will surely slow, but his attempts will increase severalfold over last year.

Brogdon finished the game with 19 points and four assists in his 41 minutes, shooting 6-for-10 from the field, 3-for-5 from 3-point range overall and a perfect 4-for-4 from the field. He was also a +10 for the game.

No one expected Malcolm Brogdon to take a major leap in his second year. Then again, no one expected Malcolm Brogdon to be Rookie of the Year. When it comes to Brogdon, perhaps we should just expect the unexpected.

Next: 2017-18 Week 1 NBA Power Rankings

If his ability and willingness to shoot pull-up threes is real, he’s an entirely different player. He’ll no longer be a fun role player (yes, the semi-pejorative tone was intended), but elevated to something more. The more unconventional Brogdon gets, the brighter the future looks in Milwaukee.