Milwaukee Bucks: 5 musts for D.J. Wilson in crucial season

5. Earn Mike Budenholzer’s trust and playing time

When fullback Boobie Miles of the Permian Panthers wanted to convince his coach he was fully recovered from injury, he began chanting “If you wanna’ win put Boobie in!”

This plea from an all-world athlete to get playing time when it mattered most echos the sentiment of players everywhere who feel deprived of meaningful minutes. Last season, Wilson’s minutes per game took a significant dip. He’s going to have to get out of Mike Budenholzer’s dog house if this is going to change.

After three seasons in the NBA, a player’s identity is just about etched in stone. Sure, there have been players who’ve become first-time All-Stars past that point, but all of their careers were trending in that direction ahead of time. Things like that just don’t happen overnight. Wilson is going to be a hustle player in the NBA. He’s not going to be a star, but becoming an elite role player is not out of the question. However, if he’s going to achieve that he’s going to have to do his best Kenneth Faried impression and turn into the “Manimal” on a night in and night out basis.

In-game minutes are earned during practice. This means that Wilson is going to have to put an elbow in Brook Lopez’s chest during box-out drills. He’s going to have to play physical enough with Bobby Portis to get under his skin and cause his infamous temper to flare. It also means he’s going to have to take a couple of charges from the Greek Freak when Giannis takes those long strides into the paint for a slam dunk.

This is the only way a player who saw his playing time dip from 18.4 minutes per game in 2019 to 9.8 minutes per game in 2020 is going to earn the trust of the coaching staff. Simply put, if Wilson wants to play he’s going to have to give all-out hustle every time he steps on the floor.