Acquired on February 6 for Delon Wright, as part of the Kyle Kuzma-Khris Middleton trade
, Jericho Sims played 15 minutes per game across 14 regular season games for Milwaukee, averaging 2.4 PPG and 4.9 RPG on 68% “shooting” from the field (right in line with his career averages of 2.3 PPG and 4.0 RPG on 71%). Overall, Sims proved to be a useful backup center, providing the Bucks with the fourth big they have lacked in recent years.Glass half full, Sims excels on the defensive end, which is fitting
considering his name—the city of Jericho is famous for having the world’s oldest known defensive wall. A physical specimen, Sims is adept at banging down low, but it’s his fleet footwork—which enables him to hedge and recover or switch onto smaller perimeter players and hold his own—that’s perhaps his most valuable skill set. The Bucks simply haven’t had this defensive versatility at the five, which bodes well for him earning at least regular rotational minutes.
Sims is also an extractor fan on the glass, using his preternatural vertical leap to rise above earth-bound opponents. This led to a total rebound percentage of 17.6% last year—in the same vicinity as All-Star bigs Victor Wembanyama (17.7%), Alperen Sengun (17.5%), and Evan Mobley (16.5%). Sims’ anti-gravity also makes him a gifted lob threat, offering another dimension the team has lacked alongside Giannis since Miles Plumlee turned a few oops into a four-year, $52m deal in 2016.
Less obvious, Sims has value as a screener, recording 2.5 screen assists per game in MKE—more than any other Buck sans Brook Lopez and the same as all-world screener Steven Adams. If all this is not enough, he offers elite trivia curio, having never missed a field goal in the playoffs—look it up!
Glass half empty, Sims can largely be ignored on the offensive end outside of lobs and put-backs—all those off-season lefty Js need to be seen in game to garner any actual merit. And, like the wall of Jericho, Sims’ hands are made of stone—his 30.1% turnover percentage ranked eighth-worst in the entire league.
Defensively, Sims isn’t the shot-blocker you’d imagine either. Despite his athleticism—which does lead to some highlight swats—his 2.8% block percentage last year placed him in the same realm as guys like P.J. Washington (2.8%) and DeAndre Ayton (2.9%). For comparison, newly acquired Myles Turner had a 6.0% block percentage (third in the league for qualified players), while Bobby Portis was at 1.9%.
Looking ahead, Sims’ role with the Bucks seems pretty clear: play 10–15 minutes per night as the fourth big, focusing on defense, rebounding, and screening. He’ll likely rack up a few DNP-CDs but will just as likely earn several spot starts (or at least more significant minutes) when one of Giannis, Turner, or Portis inevitably misses time.
Between cacophonous crams and Superman-spiked stuffs, here’s hoping Jericho holds up better than his namesake.
How do you see Sims impacting the Bucks’ playoff rotation? Add your thoughts in the comments and vote below for who you believe is Milwaukee’s 10th-best player. Polls close at 9 a.m. (Central) tomorrow.
