NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets guard Kobe Bufkin was once the 15th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft out of Michigan before finding himself backing up Trae Young during his first two seasons with the Atlanta Hawks. Bufkin is entering his third season in the league on Brooklyn’s roster and it seems like he’s happy that he sees a familiar face on the coaching staff.
“It’s definitely a big level of comfort. Juan is like family. I spent two years with him. He was kind of a mentor for me. Kind of taught me about the league before I got to the league, what to expect, what not to expect. So, it was good to see him,” Bufkin said after Thursday’s training camp practice. Howard is entering his second season as a member of head coach Jordi Fernandez’s coaching staff, probably hoping that Bufkin can earn a spot in the rotation.
“Just different aspects of my game that I wasn’t able to show in Atlanta due to injury and rotational minutes,” Bufkin said when asked what he wants to show Fernandez, Howard, and the rest of the coaching staff. “So, just a new opportunity to compete and do what I do. Shooting, playmaking, just expanding my role. Always focus on defending, being a better defender. (I’m a) young guy, have to be able to defend and learn how to defend everybody.”
Bufkin, 22, will be competing for minutes within the guard rotation along with players like Egor Demin, Nolan Traore, and Ben Saraf, just to name a few. Bufkin was asked during Tuesday’s Media Day whether he sees himself as more of a point guard or a shooting guard, to which he replied that he can fill either role, but will do whatever the coaching staff asks him to do.
During his second and final season at Michigan, under the tutelage of Howard, Bufkin went from someone that wasn’t exactly on the radar of most NBA Draft pundits to firmly placing himself as a first-round talent. Bufkin, listed at 6-foot-4 and 195 pounds, has the size to be an effective defender in the NBA, and as long as he continues to improve the weaker parts of his game, he should find himself playing for Fernandez sooner rather than later.