Former Warriors guard makes surprise and impressive start in NBA Cup opener

While Klay Thompson was the headline act in returning to Chase Center for the first time as a Dallas Maverick, there was another former Golden State Warriors guard making his first NBA start on Tuesday night.

In just his 34th career NBA game, Ryan Rollins had huge shoes to fill in replacing 8x All-Star Damian Lillard as the Milwaukee Bucks starting point-guard for their NBA Cup opener against the Toronto Raptors at Fiserv Forum.

Former Warriors guard Ryan Rollins impressed in his first career start

If replacing Lillard wasn't pressure enough, there's also significant tension surrounding the Bucks right now given their disastrous 2-8 start entering Tuesday's game. Fortunately the NBA Cup brought a change in fortune, with Rollins making a strong impact in the 99-85 victory over the Toronto Raptors.

The 6'4" guard played 22 minutes before having to leave with what the Bucks labelled 'shoulder instability'. Rollins did leave his mark though, recording 12 points, five rebounds and three assists which including going 4-of-7 from three-point range.

It was the defensive end where Rollins was perhaps most impressive though, having recorded an equal game-high five steals in the 14-point win. The 22-year-old's growth into a functional rotation player could be pivotal for the Bucks, with the franchise having struggled with their development in recent years.

Rollins is currently on a two-way contract in Milwaukee, but fans are already calling for his conversion to a standard contract after Tuesday's performance. He had otherwise entered the game averaging just 5.8 minutes in eight appearances this season, putting up 2.1 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.

Rollins was originally the 44th overall pick of the Warriors who acquired the selection from the Atlanta Hawks in 2022. He played in 12 games during his rookie season before being moved to the Washington Wizards as part of the Jordan Poole-for-Chris Paul trade in June last year. Rollins would last just 10 games with the Wizards before being waived, opening up an opportunity for the Bucks to swoop on his services.

In other action to kick off the NBA Cup on Tuesday, the Atlanta Hawks got a surprise win 117-116 win in Boston, inflicting only the Celtics' second home loss of the season following Golden State's victory at TD Garden last week.

The Detroit Pistons got a crazy overtime win over the Miami Heat, while the Orlando Magic and New York Knicks comfortably accounted for the Charlotte Hornets and Philadelphia 76ers respectively. The Phoenix Suns proved too good for the Utah Jazz despite the absence of Kevin Durant, and the Portland Trail Blazers got an upset victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.