The last time the Milwaukee Bucks selected a player with a first-round draft pick and had that player turn into a core piece on their roster was when they selected a lanky Greek prospect in 2013 who is now known as one of the best players in the world. Many fans have high hopes that this year’s first-round pick, MarJon Beauchamp, will end that drought.
Beauchamp did not take the traditional route to the NBA. After bouncing around several high school teams, Beauchamp played a lone season in junior college, during which he averaged around 30 points a game. He then decided to play for the G League Ignite, where he stood out, especially defensively, as a tall, energetic wing. The Bucks drafted him exactly for those reasons. They hoped that he would fix the team’s wing depth issues and add some size on defense.
Marjon Beauchamp’s impact on the Milwaukee Bucks
It’s difficult to be a rookie on a contending team with a group of established veteran stars and core players, and Beauchamp has already experienced those difficulties. In October, he barely got off the bench before cracking the rotation for the first nine games of November. During that stretch, he saw between 11 and 34 minutes of playing time. His performances were inconsistent, especially scoring-wise, but he showed some real flashes of talent, potential, and even some greatness too.
Beauchamp’s best performance of this young season and his young career came when he played 34 minutes in Milwaukee’s recent loss to the Atlanta Hawks. He scored 20 points and grabbed 8 rebounds while shooting 7-9 from the field and 3-4 from three.
Before that game, he recorded two other double-digit scoring performances, but he is currently only averaging around 5 points due to his rather inconsistent scoring (38.5 percent from the field and 29.3 percent from three). Shooting struggles like these are not unusual for rookies, though. The third overall pick from the same draft class, Jabari Smith Jr., went through a similar slump until recently.
Once Beauchamp finds his shooting touch, the ball should find its way into his hands more too. Right now, he does not get many offensive touches when he is on the court because Milwaukee has plenty of players who need the ball in their hands to do their damage. As soon as his coach and his teammates have more confidence in his abilities, though, that will change.
On the defensive end, however, he already gained Mike Budenholzer’s trust, who did not hesitate to match Beauchamp up against All-Star caliber guards like Donovan Mitchell and Dejounte Murray. In his first twelve games this season, opponents shot only 33.8 percent when Beauchamp guarded them.
At times, he looks a little lost on help defense and sometimes gets caught off guard on close-out attacks, but those are common rookie mistakes. Beauchamp is still a good, versatile defender who can pick up ballhandlers early and stay in front of them.
Before the start of the season, Beauchamp was seen as a wildcard for the Bucks, who do not have a lot of young talent, but he recently fell out of the rotation as veteran guard Pat Connaughton returned to the lineup and the Bucks’ established core group looks healthier again. This can be discouraging for a young player who wants to find his place in the league, but Beauchamp is still working hard and waiting for the time when he will be back in the rotation.
Whenever Beauchamp is on the court, he runs the floor and tries his best on defense. He would see a lot more playing time on another team that isn’t loaded with veterans and has no chance of winning a championship.
At the moment, his development is not a priority for the Bucks, who would rather let their proven players carry them to the playoffs than prepare for the future. For now, Beauchamp is taking plenty of advice from his more experienced teammates and working hard in practice to get better.
Thus far, I would grade Beauchamp’s play a B-. Yes, he is scoring inconsistently and making mistakes, but they are mostly just typical rookie mistakes that many of his draft classmates make too. He is not the only rookie who is called for traveling, gets lost on defense, commits unnecessary fouls, or passes the ball right into the hands of a lurking defender.
All those issues will resolve themselves with more playing time and experience. It might take him a little longer than some of his peers to find his footing because he landed with such a strong team, but he has already shown that he can be a valuable and effective two-way player when given the chance.
He might have to be patient, but hopefully, Beauchamp will get a few more chances to show what he can do and develop this season as the Bucks chase another title.