The Milwaukee Bucks have had their eyes on Mark Sears for some time, signing the Alabama guard to a two-way deal post-NBA Draft. If Sears wants to break into the NBA, his journey starts and ends with his defense.
Milwaukee made the bold move of selecting Serbian forward Bogoljub Markovic with the 47th pick, when all reports suggested they were looking to add to their backcourt. Sears comes in with five years of college experience under his belt and hopes to follow the path of AJ Green from two-way to key rotation piece.
There is a lot to like about Sears, bit defensive growth will determine his career
At just 6-foot-1 in shoes, the main talking point around Sears is his size and ability to compete at the next level. Jalen Brunson is also 6-foot-1; fellow Buck Damian Lillard is 6-foot-2, but both are All-NBA type talents. Sears has plenty of experience under his belt in facilitating an offense and has shown plenty of offensive upside.
In the 2024-25 season with Alabama, he started all 37 games and averaged 18.5 points, 5.1 assists and 2.9 rebounds on shooting splits of .403/.345/.844. In college, he is a 37.5 percent shooter from deep and can hit shots from anywhere beyond the arc.
Shot creation is one of his strengths, utilizing crossovers, half-spins, and stepbacks to create separation from bigger defenders. He commands the pick-and-roll well, knowing when to up the tempo and his high IQ to take the shot himself or create for his teammates.
Sears will spend most of the season in the G League with the Wisconsin Herd, and that will allow the Bucks to gauge his future and whether he can aid the Bucks this coming season.
There is no getting around the fact that offenses will target him on the defensive end and look to get bigger players switched onto him. It will be up to Sears to make it difficult and compete with those players. His basketball IQ and experience will help him find ways to upset opponents. We have seen Green massively improve on the defensive end, ultimately earning him a spot on the Bucks roster.
The Bucks have re-signed both Kevin Porter Jr. and Gary Trent Jr., with no reports as of yet on whether Ryan Rollins will return. That bolsters the backcourt for now, but there are still moves to be made.
It was a low-risk move for Milwaukee, who worked Sears out before the 2024 and 2025 drafts, so they have faith in his development. There is a lot to like about him and how he can help the Bucks. There is just no escaping his size, and his ability to compete defensively will ultimately determine the success of his career in the NBA.