The Milwaukee Bucks' Gary Trent Jr. nightmare just won't end. What many hoped would be a breakout season, a return to Trent's high-scoring days in Toronto, has been all but a disaster. His shot can't seem to get right, and the defense is subpar. What happened? Relative to expectations, the current state of affairs has been difficult to stomach.
Supposed to be a sparkplug, Trent's fuse has seemingly gone bust
The Bucks re-signed Trent in the summer for what seemed like a massive steal at two years and $7.6 million. Entering this season, his most recent data point was his playoff eruption against the Pacers. Fans had good reason to be excited.
In 2024-25, Trent shot efficiently at low volume, averaging 11.1 points on 41.6 percent from three. With Damian Lillard gone, there figured to be more opportunities for tertiary scorers on the roster. Based on his track record in Toronto and recent playoff performance for the Bucks, Trent appeared primed to up his numbers in 2025-26.
That has not been the case. A product of poor shooting, Trent's volume has actually decreased. His efficiency has dipped, without a boost in shot creation to compensate. After a 2-of-5 outing Friday night against the Lakers, Trent is averaging 8.9 points per game on 36.5 percent on threes and 38.5 percent overall.
Trent has been consistently inconsistent. He has not eclipsed 40 percent shooting from the field in any month this season. In the preseason, fans clamored for him to start; a few weeks in, he fell out of the lineup. It felt like deja vu after the same thing happened last year. Only in that case, Trent found his footing in December to win back favor.
A similar turnaround is not in sight. In his last nine games, Trent has reached double figures just once. Two other times, he went scoreless.
The Bucks entered the year counting on Trent to be a bulldog on defense, but that area of his game has declined, too. Excluding a 15-game rookie stint, Trent's minus-9.8 defensive on-off rating entering Friday would easily be a career-worst, per Cleaning the Glass. His minus-16.7 offensive rating would be nearly triple his previous low. Those metrics don't tell the whole story, but they reveal a lot.
This version of Trent is nothing like the one the Bucks expected. Maybe the frustration isn't altogether fair, considering he may have inflated expectations with two 30-point outings in the playoffs. All the same, his underachievement has left a troubling hole on the roster where the Bucks thought they had a bright spot.