National Basketball Association

Grayson Allen taking his game to new levels with Milwaukee Bucks

Updated Dec. 8, 2021 11:11 a.m. ET

By Yaron Weitzman
FOX Sports NBA Writer

Early this season, Grayson Allen found himself facing a new sort of problem. He’d been brought to Milwaukee in an offseason trade from Memphis to add shooting to the Bucks' offense but now was struggling to make shots.

It wasn’t just the misses, though there were many of those — he misfired on 19 of his first 26 attempts from deep — that concerned him. Something felt off. His fluid release had grown stagnant.

So before the Bucks’ fourth game of the season, Allen sat down with assistant coach Charles Lee to review some film. Together, they were able to diagnose the issue. It was one Allen had never confronted before.

"I wasn’t used to being so wide open," Allen said in a recent interview. "It was a little strange at first."

He was thinking too much on the court, worrying about fitting in. The Bucks, after all, won a championship last season without him.

"I think, for me, when I first came, I just wanted to continue the flow that they had going," Allen said. "And I found myself deferring a little bit too much and not hunting my shots.

"Playing with a guy like Giannis [Antetokounmpo], there's literally stretches where I could get, like, five or six 3s in a quarter," he added. "That feels like a lot, especially being a new guy on the team. Like, you don't want to be the guy that comes out and just jacks up shots and rubs your teammates wrong."

Except in this case, those teammates were encouraging Allen to shoot more. So were Lee and Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer. This, Allen said, wasn’t the first time in his four NBA seasons that he was urged by coaches to launch more bombs. But the combination of that message, plus a roster and system tailor-made to his strengths, have pushed the former Duke star to break through that wall.

Allen is having the best season of his career. He’s averaging a career-best 13.5 points and shooting a career-best 42.5% from deep on 7.3 attempts per game, also a career high. The Bucks have made him better, and he has made them better, to the tune of 8.1 points per 100 possessions, according to Cleaning the Glass, a mark that puts him in the 80th percentile in the league.

In fact, this year’s Bucks — who have won 10 of their past 11 games, boosting their record to 16-9 — might actually be better than the group that won a title last season. Allen’s presence isn’t the only reason. But his ability to fill a role they lacked — 3-and-D wing — is certainly one of them.

"It's easy to work with Grayson," Bucks guard Jrue Holiday said. "Honestly, you just have to give him the ball. You either give it to him where he likes it, and if not, he's going to make a play for himself or somebody else."

Allen, 26, had been on the Bucks’ radar since he graduated from Duke in 2018. The Bucks hosted him in Milwaukee for a predraft workout that spring but selected Villanova's Donte DiVincenzo at No. 17 instead. The Utah Jazz then scooped Allen up at No. 21. He spent some time in the G League that season — he needed some help learning how to play NBA-level defense — and the following offseason, he was traded to the Grizzlies, who, perhaps not so coincidentally, were being coached by a former Budenholzer assistant, Taylor Jenkins.

In Memphis, Allen became a 40% 3-point shooter and impressed the coaching staff and executives with his play and attitude, even if only die-hard NBA fans took notice.

"People haven't seen me for four years," Allen said. "I barely played in Utah. Then I was in Memphis, and they only get, like, one national TV game a year."

The Bucks, meanwhile, continued keeping tabs, and in August, they acquired Allen for reserve guard Sam Merril and two second-round picks. Allen was in his hometown of Jacksonville when he heard the news. He spoke to his agent, received a text message from Antetokounmpo and then joined some friends for a local pick-up run.

"He seemed happy, nervous and anxious," said Wyatt Walker, a childhood friend and former G League forward who played pick-up with Allen that night. "But he also came out and balled."

Upon arriving in Milwaukee, Allen and Lee connected and drew up a plan. Thanks to his time under Jenkins, Allen was familiar with most of Budenholzer’s playbook, but there were areas where the Bucks thought he could grow.

"We love to work in three bullet points," Lee said. "So for Grayson, it was shooting, being able to make quick decisions with the ball — we thought he had a great ability to make some plays in secondary pick-and-rolls and second-side actions — and developing a defensive mindset."

Shooting was the easy part.

"I just had to get out of the mentality where I could take all my open looks and not feel like I’m shooting too much," said Allen, who signed a two-year, $20 million extension with the Bucks in October.

He and Lee also spent time working on the unique skills required to play alongside Antetokounmpo so that Allen could take advantage of all the attention the two-time MVP draws.

Allen isn’t sprinting around screens like Richard Hamilton or Reggie Miller. Instead, "When people are driving, you can literally see me running back and forth around the top of the key," Allen said. "I’m just trying to constantly give someone an angle for a kick out."

"I think he just has a knack for it," Budenholzer said. "I think they’re developing a chemistry and knowing where each other is, and I think the trust level is high."

When practicing for dribble handoffs with Antetokounmpo, Lee sometimes holds up a stick or broom so that Allen can get a feel for how to read the floor and see the hoop when running the action with a player of Antetokounmpo’s size. The Bucks’ offensive system also requires guards to occasionally play the "dunker" spot on the court — the space on the floor down by the baseline just outside the paint — something Allen had never done before.

"That part’s definitely been awkward," he said.

But it’s on the other end of the floor that Lee said he has seen the most growth from Allen. The two of them spent lots of time during training camp working on how to build a "defensive mindset and taking pride as an individual defender," Lee said. They reviewed film. They worked on techniques for how to be physical but avoid a whistle when being attacked one-on-one. Lee wanted the 6-foot-4 Allen to use his off-arm as a weapon and create an advantage.

Then, against the Nets on opening night, Allen did exactly that when guarding James Harden in the post in the fourth quarter, stripping the Brooklyn star with his left hand.

"That play just showed that mentality he’s developed," Lee said. "He’s taken the idea of establishing a defensive identity very seriously."

According to the NBA’s shot-tracking data, opponents are shooting an ice-cold 37.8% with Allen in the vicinity, one of the league’s top marks.

Allen, in other words, has started mirroring his new team. He might not have needed the Bucks, and the Bucks might not have needed him. But both parties have benefited from the partnership.

"I think I fit in seamlessly, in terms of what the organization is about," Allen said. "I know what I do. They know what they want from me. So it's really just working on mastering that."

Yaron Weitzman is an NBA writer for FOX Sports and the author of "Tanking to the Top: The Philadelphia 76ers and the Most Audacious Process in the History of Professional Sports." Follow him on Twitter @YaronWeitzman.