Milwaukee Bucks Patience With Joe Ingles Is Paying Off

Joe Ingles, who had an uncertain start to his Milwaukee Bucks’ career, is beginning to repay the franchise for their trust and belief in him.

Like his NBA career, his Bucks’ tenure began in a cloud of ambiguity. He signed a one-year, $6.5 million deal last summer, using the team’s entire taxpayer midlevel exception—the only tool they had available to bring in new talent (besides veteran minimum contracts). That was unusual because he was coming off a torn ACL he had suffered just five months earlier and neither party knew when he could return to the court.

As the season got closer, it was evident Ingles’ recovery was progressing on a positive timeline—a massive relief for everyone involved. ACL recoveries can be tricky and sometimes linger longer than anyone would like. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case in this scenario.

Ingles made his Bucks’ debut on December 19th after missing the team’s first 29 games. It was a slow start for the veteran, as he acclimated to his post-surgery life. During the six games he played in December, he looked like a shell of his former self, knocking down only 28.6 percent of his three-pointers and dishing out nearly as many turnovers as assists. The Bucks struggled on both ends of the court when he was in the game.

He began to turn a corner in January, showing signs of the Ingles of old. His playmaking was starting to return and his three-point shot was reliable again. Fast forward to March, 13 months after his ACL surgery, and he is all the way back.

At first glance, he doesn’t look like a major contributor. His basic stats of 7.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game are just that: basic. The box score tells a story of a 35-year-old washed athlete whose career is winding down. Once again, the Bucks are fortunate that isn’t the case.

Ingles is knocking down just over 40 percent of his outside attempts—a far cry from where he entered the 2023 calendar year. When playing off the ball, he provides Milwaukee with the floor spacing they need for Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton to go to work. He’s knocking down 38.4 percent of his catch-and-shoot threes, with that percentage ballooning to 45.1 percent on corner three-point attempts.

He also provides a tertiary weapon as a ball-handler in the Bucks’ offense. He loves to pull up following a ball screen and is arguably more deadly when doing just that. He has a unique way of throwing the ball in front of him while dribbling, allowing him to walk into a pull-up three.

As good as he is shooting the rock from the outside, his playmaking is probably his strongest attribute. He has budding chemistry with Brook Lopez in the pick-and-roll, as the two have developed a tight two-man game. His assist-to-usage ratio ranks in the 98th percentile among forwards, according to Cleaning the Glass.

All of this has led to a revitalization of Milwaukee’s halfcourt offense. The Bucks have struggled to score when the game slows down in the postseason, making the Ingles acquisition last summer even more enticing. Ingles thrives in a sloth-like environment, using his mastery of the offense to manipulate the defense to create open looks for himself or his teammates. The Bucks’ halfcourt offense is a whopping 7.8 points per 100 possessions better when Ingles is on the court.

Milwaukee is 2.5 games ahead of the Boston Celtics atop the Eastern Conference standings and will likely clinch the number one seed in the coming weeks. With the home stretch upon us, Ingles is only getting stronger.

Last week he told The Athletic, “It’s cool from where I was in free agency to signing and not knowing what my role would be, not knowing how my body would be, there were a lot of ifs. Until the day I die, I’ll be thankful for Jon, Bud and those guys that took that gamble or whatever you call it because you never know.”

This is exactly what general manager Jon Horst had in mind when he signed Ingles just months removed from a major surgery. And that belief is paying major dividends.