Ousmane Dieng’s path to a bigger offensive role with the Milwaukee Bucks comes down to one shot: the jumper.
Last season showed what a change of scenery can do for a young player. Dieng wasn’t flawless, but he flashed enough upside for the Bucks to bring him back. Now the next phase is about consistency, and that means proving his shot can hold up over a full season in Milwaukee.
At 6-foot-9, Dieng brings the kind of fluid movement and three-level scoring ability that naturally catches the eye. He averaged just 11 points per game, so any Kevin Durant comparison has to be handled carefully. Still, the broad shape of the comparison is easy to see: both are tall, lanky forwards who can pile up points in a hurry.
The separation is in the jumper. Durant is one of the greatest jump shooters ever. Dieng, by contrast, is still building that part of his game.
After arriving in Milwaukee at the NBA Trade Deadline, Dieng attempted 236 jump shots, making that the clear centerpiece of his scoring diet. The next most frequent shot type was layups, and he took only 52 of those. The issue was efficiency: he hit just 37.7 percent of his jumpers.
That number has to rise if the jumper is going to remain the backbone of his offense.
The biggest leak was above-the-break perimeter shooting, where Dieng went 34-of-113, good for 30.1 percent. If he’s going to take the next step and tap into the ceiling his tools suggest, that shot has to become a much more reliable weapon.
The confidence is there. The production needs to catch up.
Milwaukee may be a good place for that growth. The Bucks have plenty of facilitators who can set the table, including Tyler Herro, Brayden Burries, Ryan Rollins, Kevin Porter Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, and Jaime Jaquez Jr. That gives Dieng a real chance to keep seeing clean looks from beyond the arc and make the most of them.
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