Milwaukee Bucks: Why is no one talking about Malcolm Brogdon?

While not the main headliner, Malcolm Brogdon is quietly putting together a fantastically efficient season for the Milwaukee Bucks.

Despite their most recent defeat at the hands of the lowly Phoenix Suns, the Milwaukee Bucks continue to be one of the biggest surprises in all the NBA this season, already exceeding last season’s win total of 44 with their sights set on crossing the 60-win threshold for what would be just the fifth time in franchise history.

There have been a number of factors that have come to play a part in Milwaukee’s success. Head coach Mike Budenholzer has been a match made in heaven. Giannis Antetokounmpo has emerged as a legitimate MVP candidate. Khris Middleton was rewarded for his stellar play with his very first All-Star appearance just this past February.

All those things and more are what have helped skyrocket the Bucks to the best record in the NBA, but there is a guy on the roster, one having his best season in the pros while posting elite efficiency, who may not be getting proper dues for the role he’s played. That player is Malcolm Brogdon.

Coming out of the University of Virginia in 2016, Brogdon was no prodigy. He wasn’t even a first round pick, falling all the way to 36th overall where the Bucks snatched him up. Despite his uncertain future in the league, the former AP First Team All-American member played surprisingly well in his first taste of the NBA, and due to a number of unforeseen circumstances, it was enough to earn Rookie of the Year honors. He was the first ever second round pick to win the award.

Brogdon would make a natural progression as a sophomore, although injuries would limit him to just 48 games. But like nearly everyone on the Bucks, once Budenholzer arrived, everything changed for the better, and it’s led to a historic season from the third-year ball-handler.

In under 30 minutes a night, Brogdon is averaging 16.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. That’s not even the best part. Right now, he’s on pace to join the exclusive 50-40-90 club with .511/.438/.932 shooting splits, which would group him together with legends like Kevin Durant and Larry Bird.

In this era of basketball that requires not only great outside shooting but positional versatility, Brogdon checks all the boxes. Slotting him next to Eric Bledsoe in the backcourt adds another playmaker to what is already a very potent Bucks offense, and it eases the burden on the All-Star duo of Giannis and Middleton without compromising spacing.

He ranks sixth in the league in defensive win shares and improves the defense when he’s on the court. At 6’5” with a nearly 6’11” wingspan, Brogdon has proven plenty capable of guarding multiple positions, playing perfectly with the switch-happy style of defense Milwaukee implements on a nightly basis.

Over his first two seasons, Milwaukee didn’t really seem to know how to best use its breakout youngster, shuffling him between the two guard spots in an attempt to learn from trial and error.

Now, his role is more defined as a guy best suited to play off his teammates instead of leading them, and it’s led to a phenomenal year that has the 26-year-old in line for a massive payday as a restricted free agent this summer.

The Greek Freak is the engine that makes this Bucks team go and the shooting is what’s put them over the top. Brogdon’s play won’t likely make or break this team, but what he’s accomplished this season has been an added bonus to a team that continues to defy expectations, and it deserves to be recognized as such.