The Milwaukee Bucks‘ 2025-26 season has officially gone off the rails. Entering play Thursday night, the Bucks were 22-30 and in fourth place in the Central Division. That is a far cry from the expectations when a player like Giannis Antetokounmpo is on the roster.
Of course, Antetokounmpo has not been on the court much this year. He has played in only 30 games, having dealt with knee, shoulder, ankle, groin, and calf injuries.
With the Bucks’ All-Star on the mend, the lineup has lacked much punch. But one player made a huge difference Thursday against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
In only his third game with Milwaukee, Ousmane Dieng scored 19 points, to go with 11 rebounds, six assists, four blocks, three triples, one steal, and no turnovers in 36 minutes. His excellent effort helped the Bucks pull off quite the upset, beating the Thunder, 110-93.
In doing so, he became just the second player in Bucks history to record at least 10 rebounds, five assists, three three-pointers, and no turnovers. That is quite astounding, especially knowing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played in Milwaukee.
This performance seemingly came out of nowhere, though. Dieng was drafted 11th overall in the 2022 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks. But he did not play a game for them, having spent most of the first four seasons with the Thunder, of all teams.
After struggling to get any minutes in OKC, Dieng was traded to the Bucks last week. He was part of a deal that sent Mason Plumlee to Oklahoma City, Nick Richards to Charlotte, and Cole Anthony and Amir Coffey to Phoenix.
Over the first three-plus years of his career, the 6-foot-9 forward was yet to average better than five points and two boards per game. That is very likely to change this year.
Milwaukee is highly likely to give him all the minutes he can handle while Antetokounmpo is out. But at 22 years old, even upon his return, the Bucks are going to want to see what he can do. If Thursday is any indication, it could be quite a lot.