Old Warriors Draft Pick Cooks Golden State in Loss to Bucks

The Golden State Warriors have not been known for being the best drafting team over the last few years. While during their dynastic run, they never really had a shot at the lottery, recent picks like James Wiseman show that even at the top of the draft, they were making misses. 

One player who many believed was a miss was Ryan Rollins. Rollins was the Warriors' second-round pick in the 2022 NBA draft, being picked 44th. He was picked as a defensive guard due to his 6’10” wingspan, but never really clicked in the Warriors’ system. Much of this was due to being in and out of the building with a myriad of injuries. 

He played only 12 games for the Warriors as a rookie and was later traded to the Washington Wizards as part of the Chris Paul trade. 

Now, Rollins is on the Milwaukee Bucks and is proving that he wasn’t a missed draft pick at all. In his first season getting heavy minutes, Rollins has been incredible. He is averaging 18.6 points, five assists, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.4 steals per game so far this year. 

Thursday night against the Warriors, he had maybe the best game in his career. He scored 32 points and had eight assists while leading a Giannis-less Bucks’ team past the veteran Warriors. Not only was Rollins essential to the Bucks in creating offense without their star, but the Warriors' defense had no answer for him as he shot 13-for-21 from the field and 5-for-7 from deep. 

The Warriors have to have a bad taste in their mouth after this loss. Not only because they missed an opportunity to beat the Bucks without Giannis in the lineup, but also because they were shown that giving up on a draft pick early can come back to bite you.