Unanimously hailed as one of the Milwaukee Bucks' best draft picks in recent memory, former Arizona guard Brayden Burries is already making an impact on those around him. The 20-year-old from Southern California's Inland Empire made his NBA Summer League debut with 12 points, two rebounds, and an assist in 16 minutes against the summertime Sacramento Kings.
Although he didn't shoot the ball particularly well (3-for-8), Burries showcased the athletic burst, quick trigger and fearless downhill attacking style that made him a sure-fire lottery pick. However, his impact on the court was far more present in the details than in the makes or misses, but in the way he displayed his basketball IQ as the competition carried on.
For a young player like Burries, Summer League is the first taste of NBA-level competition before actually debuting in the pros. Most guys just go out there, play their game, and learn a little bit about how their game will adapt to the next level. But for Burries, this was a chance to put his basketball mind to work, which is almost assuredly the most important trait he was drafted for in the first place.
As reported by Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Burries jumped at the chance to analyze the defensive schemes deployed by Golden State in the team's first game of the California Classic — a game he wasn't even able to participate in. New Bucks assistant coach and Summer League leader, Patrick St. Andrews, told Jim that it was just another example of his uncanny maturity for such a young player, which is exactly what you need out of a player viewed as the point guard of the future.
Brayden Burries is already an on-court coach for the Milwaukee Bucks, which sets the tone for the future of this rebuild.
If your 20-year-old point guard is already locked in on analyzing defenses and coaching up teammates on how to exploit them, it's a fantastic sign of how that player will mature in the league. Sure, Burries is an exceptional prospect with the ball in his hands and has the makings of a dangerous sharpshooter in the NBA, but the ability to channel your skill into the smartest possible play is what sets solid point guards apart from the greats.
To be frank, this isn't normal from a newly-drafted rookie. It's not often that a player in their first NBA atompshere is reading defenses on the fly, and many of them have too much pride to contribute in that way if they aren't even on the court. Burries put that leadership on display again during his Summer League debut, in which he was pulled quickly and didn't close the game.
Instead, he encouraged his teammates from the sidelines and contributed to the coaching staff by breaking down the opponent's strategy to relay a winning strategy to his teammates.
There will be plenty of opportunity for Brayden Burries in Milwaukee this season, and with that comes some level of pressure. But if he's going to carry this level-headed mentality into his rookie season, we could pencil Brayden Burries in for an All-Rookie Team appearance, so long as he stays healthy and engaged like he always has through his early career.
His story is far from written, but the early signs point toward Brayden Burries being a special rookie, which is exactly what Milwaukee's fanbase deserves right now... hope.
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