![\"ryan](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/01kn7cyjjpzvbgjcfxen.jpg\" "\\"ryan")
<\/p>\nThe Milwaukee Bucks have had a very rough season. There weren’t many bright spots or positive takeaways, but one of them has definitely been the emergence of Ryan Rollins.<\/p>\n
It was only one season ago that Rollins was just trying to stick in the rotation, averaging around six points per game and still figuring out his role at the NBA level. Fast forward to now, and he looks like a completely different player.<\/p>\n
Rollins has averaged 17.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 5.6 assists, while shooting 40 percent from three on six attempts per game. Rollins has taken such a great leap and has become a Most Improved Player candidate this year. <\/p>\n
What He Did Well<\/p>\n
Mar 31, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Khris Middleton (20) looks for a shot against Milwaukee Bucks guard Ryan Rollins (13) in the first quarter at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
The biggest improvement has to be his scoring. Some will say his scoring obviously increased because his usage and shot attempts went up. While that is true, he has also become a smarter player. He\u2019s more controlled, more confident, and he knows where his shots are coming from.<\/p>\n
His three-point shooting ability has been huge. When you\u2019re hitting 40% on real volume, defenses have no choice but to respect you. That\u2019s opened up his entire game. Another key area of improvement has been his playmaking. <\/p>\n
Doc Rivers even said it himself: Rollins is seeing the game better, and you can tell. He\u2019s making quicker reads, finding guys, and not forcing things as much. That jump to 5.6 assists isn\u2019t random.<\/p>\n
And then there\u2019s the defense.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s not just scoring, he\u2019s competing on the other end, too. He\u2019s starting to look like a legit two-way guard. He has active hands and great instincts, and that showed as he averaged 1.5 steals per game.<\/p>\n
There are moments where he honestly gives off young Jrue Holiday vibes. Not saying he\u2019s there yet, but you can see the blueprint.<\/p>\n
What He Needs to Work On<\/p>\n
Rollins is far from a finished product but he has taken a big step. One area he can improve in is on the defensive side. He plays physically and sometimes gets into early foul trouble. He gets a little too aggressive defensively sometimes, and it costs him. If he wants to stay on the floor more and take on a bigger role, that has to get cleaned up. <\/p>\n
Now that teams actually care about him, now that he\u2019s on scouting reports, the next step is proving this wasn\u2019t just a one-year jump. Can he handle more attention, and can he stay efficient?<\/p>\n
What\u2019s Next<\/p>\n
Rollins looks like a legitimate rotational player and might actually be a part of the Bucks future. If this leap was real and sustainable, the Bucks may have found a legit starting guard on a very friendly contract. <\/p>\n
As he continues to develop, his usage should go up and he will have more responsibility with the ball in his hands. <\/p>\n
Rollins went from an unproven player to one who is proving he can actually be a starting guard in the NBA. Finding a player like this internally is a huge win for the Bucks. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Milwaukee Bucks have had a very rough season. There weren’t many bright spots or positive takeaways, but…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":694410,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3775],"tags":[7,103,102,121,3871,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-694409","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-milwaukee-bucks","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-bucks","10":"tag-milwaukee","11":"tag-milwaukee-bucks","12":"tag-milwaukeebucks","13":"tag-nba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116336592485169964","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=694409"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694409\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/694410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=694409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=694409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=694409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}