Getty Pat Connaughton #24 of the Milwaukee Bucks rebounds over Aron Baynes #46 of the Boston Celtics.
Pat Connaughton is a man of many skills. The Bucks guard can shoot it from deep, hitting 35 percent from behind the arc on his career. He can dish out some passes, averaging 2 assists a game in limited minutes.
We know he can’t throw a baseball after his first pitch fiasco at the Brewers game on Thursday. One thing the former Notre Dame guard does have that has surprised many is an impressive vertical leap.
The 6-foot-4, 209-pounder recorded a 44-inch jump at the 2015 NBA Draft combine, which was the second-highest in combine history at the time. Here’s video of that jump.
Before the season started, Ben Rauman of Behind the Buck Pass had this to say about how Connaughton combines his athleticism into a functional NBA skillset.
Rather than just being a great athlete, as many NBA players are, he has found ways to utilize his athleticism to affect the game in a variety of ways.
As a result, Connaughton currently holds the third-highest net rating in the NBA at +16.5 and the second-highest on the Bucks behind none other than Tony Snell. In this case, the numbers match the eye test, as the Bucks have clearly looked better with Connaughton on the court.
Against the Celtics in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals (a 123-116 Bucks win), he has provided a spark off the bench with 14 points (5-of-11 shooting, including four triples), seven rebounds, two steals and a block.
Milwaukee broke a 1-1 series tie on the road. The franchise is trying to return to its first conference finals since 2001.