Anyone who watched the Milwaukee Bucks last postseason knows Gary Trent Jr. can go off at a moment's notice. Coming into the 2025-26 campaign, fans were banking on Trent's potential as a scorer to add another layer to the offense. Eight games in, however, he has yet to find his groove. At his best, Trent is an explosive scoring threat, but right now, the Bucks are still waiting for him to wake up.
Offensive wild card has been dormant thus far
On the season, Trent is averaging 12.6 points per game while shooting 40.2 percent from the field and 37.7 percent from deep. Those numbers aren't anything abysmal, but just looking at his 3-point percentage doesn't capture his up-and-down start to the season. Lately, it's been more down than up.
Poor shooting is a problem in itself, but the inconsistency is also holding down his shot volume. In the past six games, Trent has taken 10 or more shots only twice. He is shooting 36.4 percent from the field and averaging 10.7 points per night. Even in his best game during that span, he attempted only five field goals in a 17-point outing against the Kings. In a blowout loss to Toronto, he got up only four attempts in 21 minutes.
Compare that to the first two games, when Trent got up 27 shots (and 22 3-pointers) and tallied 37 total points. Since then, he has played well below his ceiling.
Nonetheless, Trent is perfectly capable of high-volume scoring. From 2020-21 to 2022-23, between Portland and Toronto, he averaged 17.1 points on 14.5 shot attempts per game. In the 2025 playoffs, he dropped two 30-point games on the Pacers.
In the regular season, of course, the Bucks didn't ask Trent to chuck it up like he did with the Raptors. His efficiency improved, leading to his best effective field goal percentage since his sophomore season. Is a lower volume necessary for a more efficient version of Trent? Not necessarily.
In that three-year span with the Blazers and Raptors, an excess of two-point attempts is what dragged down his overall efficiency. Including plenty of mid-range jumpers, Trent made just 45.9 percent of his shots inside the arc. Beyond it, he shot 37.9 percent on over seven attempts per game.
Instead of a 50-50 split, the Bucks want him to take the vast majority of his shots from outside. They especially don't want him taking a lot of 18-footers. About two-thirds of his attempts last season and three-quarters this season have been threes.
He's never going to be Steph Curry, but if he simply converts easy 2-point looks and jacks up a few more threes - nine or 10 per game isn't unrealistic on the Bucks' offense - he should have no problem scoring efficiently on high volume.
That version of Trent is where his greatest value lies for the Bucks, as someone they can call on to pour in 25 points when they need it. So far, he hasn't been that guy. Ryan Rollins, not Trent, stepped up to the plate with a big game in a Giannis-less win over the Warriors.
Trent finding his form would unlock another element on the offense, but the Bucks can't wait forever. Now is as good a time as ever to come out of hibernation.