If the early stages of the 2025-26 season are a sign of things to come, then former Golden State Warriors guard Ryan Rollins will be in the running for the Most Improved Player award. Now a member of the Milwaukee Bucks, Rollins is making quite a statement as a two-way player.
Fresh off of one of the best games of his NBA career, it suddenly appears as though Rollins will have a chance to start for a playoff team in 2025-26.
Golden State landed Rollins with the No. 44 overall selection in the 2022 NBA Draft by trading the draft rights for Tyrese Martin to the Atlanta Hawks. Rollins had produced a pair of impressive seasons with the Toledo Rockets, earning MAC Freshman of the Year honors in 2020-21 and an All-MAC First Team nod in 2021-22.
Unfortunately, foot injuries defined Rollins' rookie season with the Warriors, limiting him to 12 games played before he was ultimately included in Golden State's trade for Chris Paul.
Rollins then played just 13 games in 2023-24, thus signaling a potentially hasty end to a once promising NBA career. He quietly stepped up in 2025-26, however, making 56 appearances and showcasing intriguing potential as a two-way player despite his limited playing time.
It's only taken four games in 2025-26 for Rollins to prove that there's more to his game than even the Warriors expected there to be.
Former Warriors guard Ryan Rollins is a way-too-early candidate for MIP
Rollins has started three of Milwaukee's four games, producing averages of 15.6 points, 4.3 assists, 3.8 rebounds, 3.0 steals, and 1.8 three-point field goals made per game. He's done so while shooting at a relatively sustainable clip of .476/.350/1.000.
For perspective: Rollins' averages aren't terribly far off from his 2024-25 marks of 15.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.8 steals, and 2.2 three-point field goals made per 36 minutes.
In the event that Rollins continues to produce at the level he's thus far managed, the Bucks will receive an unexpected boon to their rotation. That could ultimately result in their 3-1 start to the season being a mere preview of the success that's yet to come.
It's a remarkable turn of events considering the Bucks have been generally written off as a two-man show with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Myles Turner playing without an ideal supporting cast.
Instead, Rollins is taking his opportunities in stride and building upon the success he experienced in 2024-25. That's made Milwaukee a far more interesting team, as Rollins' current production greatly exceeds what many expected them to receive from a backcourt player.
Beyond the numbers, Rollins' ability to create for himself and his teammates, as well as force turnovers, is strengthening the Bucks' rotation to the point of being able to compete with high-level opponents.
Rollins' success has inevitably left Golden State to ponder how much better their team and rotation would be in 2025-26 had they never traded him. A trio of Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski, and Rollins could've made for quite a perimeter trio off the bench, and may have even formed the quartet of the future with Jonathan Kuminga.
Unfortunately, Rollins is realizing the potential Golden State seemed to believe in at the 2022 NBA Draft with a different championship hopeful.