In today’s NBA, it’s not very often that a second round draft pick receives just as much hype as a team’s first round selection does going into the season. But the Bucks very well might have that “problem” on their team as they prepare for the 2016-17 season with second round draft pick Malcolm Brogdon.
After taking Thon Maker at number 10 overall, the Bucks selected Brogdon out of Virginia in the second round and the fifth-year senior is already getting plenty of attention.
In the annual NBA.com Rookie Survey, 38 rookies were surveyed on a range of topics, from who will be Rookie of the Year, to which rookie will have the best career, to best shooter. And Malcolm’s name showed up in two of the more important survey categories: best defender and biggest steal of the draft.
In the category of best defender, Malcolm finished third with 17.6 percent of the votes, which shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise considering he was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year in each of his last two seasons with Virginia. In terms of the biggest steal of the draft, Brogdon showed up again on the survey results, this time finishing tied for third with 6.5 percent of the vote behind only Dejounte Murray and Tyler Ulis.
NBA.com: Rookie Survey
John Schuhmann reveals who the 2016 Draft class tabs their favorites for Kia Rookie of the Year, best defender, funniest player and much more
The hype continued for the 6-5 guard in a piece on The Ringer titled “Meet the New NBA Rookie Local Heroes”, who are described in the first paragraph of the story below:
“They’re the rookies every NBA fan base falls in love with. They’re the beacon of hope or the garbage-time superstar — sometimes they’re both. They scrap. They hustle. They get buckets. They’re the players that fans demand coaches give more minutes to. They’re the local heroes: guys who show flashes over the season that only the most ardent followers will appreciate.”
Again, Malcolm finds his way onto this list. Fittingly, he is called “The Young Vet” in the story, seeing as he enters the 2016-17 season as a 23-year-old rookie with a master’s degree in public policy. No big deal.
Kevin O’Connor, who wrote the article, says “Brogdon will adapt quickly because of his elite feel for the game” and that “the situation is ripe for Brogdon to carve out a spot because of his handle, vision, and versatility.”
You can check out what else he had to say about Brogdon and some of the other rookies here:
The Ringer: Meet The New NBA Rookie Local Heros
The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor looks at a group of first-year players sure to become fan base favorites