Although it’s not over just yet, Milwaukee Bucks rookie Tyler Smith presently holds the title for most eye-catching play in training camp.
A training camp image released by the team featured a montage of the best plays thus far, and the standout was Tyler Smith leaping up and dunking over Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Tyler Smith displaying confidence for the Bucks
A couple quick takeaways on this: first, wonderful to see Giannis still isn’t afraid to jump to contest dunks. He has never been afraid of getting dunked on. Sometimes it works in his benefit, like it did most notably in Game 4 of the 2021 NBA Finals, and sometimes it doesn’t. Either way, he isn’t giving up any easy dunks at the hoop to anyone, even his rookie teammates.
This is also indicative of the confidence from Tyler Smith. Trying to throw down a dunk through contact against a 7-foot former Defensive Player of the Year is something many 19-year-old players probably would have shied away from. Not Smith. Not only did he go up for the dunk, but he finished it over Antetokounmpo with the utmost authority.
The important thing to note is that Giannis Antetokounmpo did return the favour with a poster dunk of his own in the same clip that he had with Tyler Smith.
Going against Giannis Antetokounmpo could be great for early development in Tyler Smith. With both of them being towering bigs with freakish athleticism, they both love to attack the hoop. Learning tips from one of the best in the business can go a long way for a rookie looking to make a name for himself at this level of play. Scrimmages in training camp are a great start in helping him get his feet wet.
Smith probably won’t factor into coach Doc Rivers’ plans this season, but if he continues to impress in camp with high-energy plays like this one, he will most definitely command more attention. On a team that required a high dose of athleticism in the frontcourt this offseason, the Milwaukee Bucks undoubtedly picked up an interesting long-term fit in Tyler Smith, who is off to a very strong first impression with the team.
It seems early returns are at least positive for the Milwaukee Bucks’ newcomers, between Tyler Smith making plays and Doc Rivers praising Gary Trent Jr.’s effort on defense in the early days of camp. Now come the big tests, starting Sunday when the Bucks kick off the preseason against the Detroit Pistons.
Be the first to comment