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His name is Pat Connaughton and he will not be forgotten.
The Milwaukee Bucks' 10-year veteran who helped them win an NBA championship in 2021 — while earning his Playoff Pat nickname — has spent most of this season out of the rotation and buried on the bench. Yet he never lost confidence.
“I think my best basketball days are still in front of me,” Connaughton told reporters in early January after a game against the Brooklyn Nets. “No matter what's happening through the course of an NBA season, I know things can change at different times. So you always got to stay ready.”
It took a meaningless game against the Detroit Pistons, the last regular season tilt for both teams, on Sunday for him to prove his point.
With both teams already locked into their playoffs seeding and resting their top players, Connaughton got the start and went off for 44 points, 11 rebounds and five assists on 55% shooting. Superstar teammates Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard cheered his exploits throughout the game from the bench. Fans rained down “MVP” chants on him as he helped close out the 140-133 overtime win.
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In a season where Connaughton saw the court in only half the team's games, he concluded with the best game of his NBA career. In fact, he joins Bucks legends Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Khris Middleton and Antetokounmpo as the only players in franchise history to amass 40 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a game.
What the game means for the team's Round 1 playoff matchup against the Indiana Pacers is to be determined. But it showed that the 32-year-old Connaughton still has scoring punch and could serve a spark plug role off the bench. Connaughton said he's ready for anything, be it on court or as a veteran voice on the bench.
“I've always been someone who prides himself on trying to impact winning,” he said. “From a role standpoint I try to control what I can control. Obviously there's ebbs and flows to every NBA season. There's times where you score 43 points, there's times when you don't play at all.”
Coach Doc Rivers said the game served as a reminder of Connaughton's veteran leadership capabilities as he guided the team of youngsters down the stretch and into overtime. He also stressed the importance the game served in helping restore regular starter Kyle Kuzma's confidence after a slump that has diminished his role of late. Kuzma poured in 22 points in the first quarter alone before sitting the rest of the game.
“That was intentional on our part, trying to get him involved in every single play and be aggressive,” Rivers said. “So that was good for him.”
If either veteran proves to be an X factor in the too-close-to-call series against the rival Pacers, the Bucks may look back to the season's last game as more meaningful than it seemed at the time.
