After each game, Brew Hoop evaluates each Buck’s individual performance with a letter grade. At this season’s 25% mark, we decided to check the Bucks’ grades as a progress report. We also had a midseason report and a 75% point. Now it is time to see the final grades. Given I’m the tenured professor who is on his way out, I decided that some grades didn’t tell the whole story and added some factors to the final grade. Based purely on the game-by-game scores, some had grades that were far too generous,
while others felt unfair.
Giannis Antetokounmpo: B+
- Q1 average: A-
- Midseason average: B+
- Q3 average: Incomplete since he missed the majority of the quarter due to injury
- Final grade: B+
- Most common grade: A (nine games)
- Best grade: A+ on October 26 (Cavaliers), November 17 (Cavaliers), March 15 (Pacers)
- Lowest grade: D on January 15 (Spurs)
Myles Turner: C
- Q1 average: B-
- Midseason average: C+
- Q3 average: C+
- Final grade: C
- Most common grade: B- (eleven games)
- Best grade: A on November 7 (Bulls) and December 29 (Hornets)
- Lowest grade: F on January 15 (Spurs), March 19 (Jazz), and April 3 (Celtics)
Ryan Rollins: B+
- Q1 average: B+
- Midseason average: B
- Q3 average: B-
- Final grade: B+
- Most common grade: B (twelve games)
- Best grade: A+ on October 28 (Knicks), October 30 (Warriors), December 27 (Bulls), and March 21(Suns)
- Lowest grade: F on March 2 (Celtics)
Kevin Porter Jr.: B-
- Q1 average: Incomplete
- Midseason average: B-
- Q3 average: B-
- Final grade: B-
- Most common grade: A (eight games)
- Best grade: A+ on December 6 (Pistons)
- Lowest grade: F on January 15 (Spurs)
AJ Green: C+
- Q1 average: B-
- Midseason average: C+
- Q3 average: C+
- Final grade: C+
- Most common grade: B+ and B (nine games)
- Best grade: A on October 26 (Cavaliers), November 29 (Nets), December 3 (Pistons), January 19 (Hawks), and February 12 (Thunder)
- Lowest grade: F on December 21 (Timberwolves), January 4 (Kings) and 15 (Spurs), March 2 (Celtics) and 4 (Hawks)
Gary Trent Jr.: D+
- Q1 average: C+
- Midseason average: C
- Q3 average: Incomplete
- Final grade: D+
- Most common grade: C+ (six games)
- Best grade: A- on February 3 (Bulls)
- Lowest grade: F on October 26 (Cavaliers), December 21 (Timberwolves), January 2 (Hornets), January 15 (Spurs), and February 1 (Celtics)
Bobby Portis: B-
- Q1 average: C+
- Midseason average: C+
- Q3 average: C+
- Final grade: B-
- Most common grade: B (twelve games)
- Best grade: A+ on March 15 (Pacers)
- Lowest grade: F on February 11 (Magic)
Kyle Kuzma: C+
- Q1 average: B
- Midseason average: C+
- Q3 average: C+
- Final grade: C+
- Most common grade: B+ (four games)
- Best grade: A+ on November 14 (Hornets)
- Lowest grade: F on November 15 (Lakers) and January 13 (Timberwolves)
Jericho Sims: B-
- Q1 average: C+
- Midseason average: C+
- Q3 average: C+
- Final grade: B-
- Most common grade: C and C+ (two games each)
- Best grade: A+ on December 3 (Pistons), February 11 (Magic), April 8 (Pistons)
- Lowest grade: D- on February 27 (Knicks)
Gary Harris: C-
- Q1 average: B-
- Midseason average: C+
- Q3 average: C
- Final grade: C-
- Most common grade: C (six games)
- Best grade: A- on November 14 (Hornets) and January 7 (Warriors)
- Lowest grade: F on March 2 (Celtics)
Pete Nance: B
- Q1 and midseason averages: Incomplete
- Q3 average: B-
- Final grade: B
- Most common grade: A- (four games)
- Best grade: A on January 19 (Hawks), January 30 (Mavs), March 17 (Cavaliers)
- Lowest grade: F on March 19 (Jazz)
Ousmane Dieng: B
- Q3 average: C+
- Final grade: B
- Most common grade: C- (two games)
- Best grade: A+ on February 12 (Thunder)
- Lowest grade: D on February 27 (Knicks), and March 29 (Clippers)
Taurean Prince: C+
- Q1 through Q3 averages: Incomplete (injured)
- Final grade: C+
- Most common grade: B-, C+, and C- (four games each)
- Best grade: A+ on April 5 ( )
- Lowest grade: D on March 28 ( )
Andre Jackson Jr.: C-
- Q1 through Q3 averages: Incomplete (too much garbage time)
- Final grade: C-
- Most common grade: C+ (three games)
- Best grade: A- on March 23 ( )
- Lowest grade: D on March 28 ( )
Thanasis Antetokounmpo: C-*
Alex Antetokounmpo: B-*
Cormac Ryan: B+
- Q1 through Q3 averages: Incomplete (not with team)
- Final grade: B+
- Most common grade: B+ and A (two games each)
- Best grade: A+ on April 5
- Lowest grade: C+ on April 3
Doc Rivers: D+
- Q1 average: B-
- Midseason average: C+
- Q3 average: C
- Final grade: D+
- Most common grade: D (eight games)
- Best grade: A on October 30 (Warriors), November 7 (Bulls), February 20 (Pelicans), and March 10 (Nets)
- Lowest grade: F on December 14 (Nets), January 13 (Timberwolves), January 15 (Spurs), and March 1 (Bulls)
Released or traded players’ final grades
- Mark Sears: D-*
- Cole Anthony: D+
- Amir Coffey: D+
- Cam Thomas: D
*only graded for one game
Final grades had three parts. The first part is just the overall grade from the writers in all 82 games, averaged out. That resulted in the following:
Yes, I know what you’re thinking: how in the world did Alex Antetokounmpo receive an A? Well, it was simple; he was only graded for one game (since we typically don’t give out grades when someone plays under 10 minutes), and it was an A. But this, along with some other grades, didn’t feel as though it told the full story. So there were two more portions that made up the final grade: expectations and their availability. The reason for this was that in the comments on the progress reports, some wondered how some players received a better-looking grade despite underwhelming, and in our grading scale, a DNP was treated the same as being out due to injury, which wasn’t fair. Here are their availability grades:
Guys like Gary Trent Jr., Thanasis Antetokounmpo, and Andre Jackson Jr. were docked because they were primarily collecting DNP-CD or garbage-time minutes for most of the season. Others like Ryan Rollins, AJ Green, and Ousmane Dieng were mostly available and were rewarded. Players like Myles Turner, Bobby Portis, and Kyle Kuzma got the benefit of the doubt from being shut down at the end of the season, but were available before tanking efforts began. Taurean Prince earned an A because coming back from neck surgery in the same season feels like an extraordinary feat that should be lauded.
The other part of the final grade was performance relative to expectations. This was also part of the grades from our recaps, but with the season over, we can do some reflection. We can all agree Myles Turner did not play up to the contract. Some of that is on Doc Rivers and his inability to utilize him, but there were games where Turner’s rim protection simply wasn’t good enough. Ryan Rollins was obviously the star and the only A+ given, but others like Bobby Portis, Kyle Kuzma, and Pete Nance deserved some praise as well.
Weighing those two portions with the game grades gives you their final grades as seen above. In the end, the season was a disaster, though different players had different peaks and valleys. Sometimes there were games in which most players received high grades, but one failed to make an impact. Others could see a team lose badly but have a silver lining. Jericho Sims struggled early in the season but blossomed in the final quarter of games. AJ Green had stretches of struggling and not justifying his extension, but then had games where he sparked the Bucks’ offense; such is the role of a shooter. Even Doc Rivers had moments this season when he wasn’t a bad coach; the issue was that when the games mattered, and the team was reasonably healthy, more often than not, he couldn’t get the job done.
We appreciate you being along for the ride this season, and feel free to provide your own player grades below. You can base it on expectations, their play in general, or simply vibes—whichever works best for you. Enjoy your summer break, and come back next season when we’ll provide the syllabus.
