One way or another, Ryan Rollins seemed to make an impact on every Bucks possession he played in their first two games of the 2026-27 season. And while his shot isn't falling the way Bucks fans would expect just yet, the fifth-year combo guard is following through on the core identity Taylor Jenkins is trying to instill in his first season as Milwaukee's head coach.
Rollins, 24, took the reins as the Bucks' starter after the team moved on from Damian Lillard last offseason. Replacing the production of a future Hall of Famer was no walk in the park for an up-and-comer who'd only played a limited role to that point. Still, Rollins surpassed all reasonable expectations and posted the single highest year-over-year points-per-game jump in Bucks history (+11.1 PPG).
Now that Jenkins has taken over, Rollins has seemed like a natural fit for the identity he's trying to instill.
Ryan Rollins has impressed Taylor Jenkins in the Bucks' early slate, regardless of his shooting percentage.
Milwaukee's new head coach, a longtime assistant before a successful six-year run in Memphis, wants this Bucks team to win by playing with pace, imposing their will on defense, keeping the ball moving to generate open shots, attacking mismatches on both sides of the floor, and offering players leeway to create "rhythm and organization" for themselves in the moment.
Those are all natural traits for Rollins' game, which is why Jenkins told Dairyland Express he's not concerned with the point guard's rough shooting performances through the first two games of the year, in which Rollins shot an uncharacteristic 31.8% from the floor and 25% from deep.
"His on-ball pressure has been great for us. He's taking on tough challenges every single night. He got up eight threes. I thought they were pretty good looks. Most of them were off the ball with our movement. Those will come with time," Jenkins told us in his postgame remarks.
Defensively, Rollins has been a pesky and persistent defender both on and off the ball for a Bucks squad that, otherwise, hasn't been strong on that end of the floor. With that being the case, Rollins remains a pacesetter and point-of-attack pest at the center of this Bucks defense.
"He may not get tons of steals... but he's creating some havoc, creating some disruption on the defensive side," Jenkins said. "I love that he's picking up full court and he's owning that. He's setting the tone for us. Now we just gotta continue to build that throughout the rest of the team."
Furthermore, Rollins has been aggressive with his attacks on the basket, and relentless in his pursuit of cleaning the glass. He finished the Bulls game with seven rebounds, six assists, a steal, and a block, after grabbing six rebounds and dropping three dimes in an admittedly tough first outing in D.C. In 74 games last year, he set career-highs of 5.6 assists, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game.
Kel'el from deep! pic.twitter.com/HvfaRsGlAB
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) October 23, 2026
As for where they go from here? At some point, Rollins' three-ball should naturally regress to the mean. He might be shooting a bit streaky through the first two games, but he's a career 40.6% 3-point shooter with a strong paint presence to match. Unless the Monstars stole his shooting ability, Rollins should see the ball go through the net sooner rather than later.
Even so, Jenkins plans to take it upon himself to get his starting point guard to feel comfortable in his new system, saying he'll "Continue to impress upon him the details of who he's guarding and all the pick-and-roll combinations that he's gonna be going up against."
Once Rollins finds his shooting stroke again, we're bound to see a more complete and, frankly, dangerous version of Rollins than we've ever seen before, with Jenkins cheering him on from the sideline as the fruits of their labor begin to unfold. We have 80 more games for them to get there.
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