Milwaukee Bucks: 3 things to expect from new guard Elijah Bryant

Elijah Bryant brings polished scoring to the Milwaukee Bucks

While he brings an added dose of shooting that will factor into any potential role he’ll have with the Bucks, Bryant’s scoring pedigree was on display throughout his stints in Israel.

That was definitely evident in the starring role Bryant carved out in his lone year for Hapoel Eilat in 2018-19 as he averaged 17.5 points on .558/.359/.767 shooting, along with 5.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists. Doing all of that on a career-high 65.2 true shooting percentage and a 22.2 usage percentage and it’s safe to say Bryant emerged on the radar of numerous clubs around the world.

Following his brief run with the Bucks during the summer of 2019, Bryant joined Israeli powerhouse, Maccabi Tel Aviv, and took on more of a supporting role in the process. Although that required an adjustment period for Bryant after taking on such a lead role previously, the BYU product still fought through the ups and downs as time went along and in the face of the coronavirus pandemic disrupting his time with Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Bryant averaged 8.9 points on .454/.349/.780 shooting, along with 3.5 rebounds, 2 assists and a 54.8 true shooting percentage in 49 appearances over the 2019-20 season. This season saw Bryant’s numbers improve all across the board as he averaged 10.9 points on .477/.387/.840 shooting, 3.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and a 58.7 true shooting percentage.

The fact that Bryant stands as a capable shot creator both on and off the ball would certainly work well in the freeform offense that the Bucks deploy under Mike Budenholzer. And while Bryant’s decision making has to improve elsewhere as evidenced by his 1.36 assist-to-turnover ratio, the scoring cache he brings will provide a jolt within Milwaukee’s backcourt.