Lottery Player Spotlight: Brandon Knight

The 22-year-old point guard has led the Milwaukee Bucks to a 5-5 start. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

A lot of focus on the Milwaukee Bucks this season has been centered on No. 2 overall draft pick Jabari Parker and new head coach Jason Kidd.

However, it’s fourth-year point guard Brandon Knight who has stolen the show.

The former Kentucky Wildcat is currently posting career highs in points (18.3), assists (6.4) and rebounds (6.0) per game. He also has 13 steals through the team’s first 10 games this season (he had 69 steals in 72 games last season). His PER (20.71) has skyrocketed from last year’s mark (16.59) and his league rank in EWA (Estimated Wins Added) has jumped six spots from 2013. He currently has a higher PER and EWA rank than Kemba Walker, Mike Conley, Tony Parker and Deron Williams.

While Knight has been known primarily for his scoring ability, it has been his impact on other facets of the game that has gotten the Bucks off to a solid start. He is rebounding at a rate 2.5 points higher than last year’s mark and only Rajon Rondo is averaging more rebounds per game (8.1) at the point guard position than him. His 64 total assists are tied with Ty Lawson for seventh out of all NBA point guards.

So what has spurred Knight to produce such astounding numbers thus far? Perhaps it’s the addition of Kidd, a man widely recognized as one of the top five point guards in NBA history.

“He’s been through every situation as a point guard so it definitely benefits us as a team,” Knight said of Kidd to Andrew Wagner of The Associated Press.

Whatever Kidd has or may have instilled in Knight, it’s clearly working. Knight is shooting at a career-best 44.9 percent from the field, 40.5 percent from 3-point range and 87.5 percent from the free-throw line.

Despite numerous improvements to his game, turnovers continue to be an issue. While his minutes have remained constant, his turnover average has spiked from 2.6 to 3.8 turnovers per game. Moreover, his assist-to-turnover ratio has gone from bad to worse. His 1.87 assist-to-turnover in 2013 left him 42nd out of 47 NBA point guards. This year, that ratio has dropped to 1.68, “good” for 39th out of 44 point guards.

Kidd seems fine with letting Knight work through his mistakes, however. Knight’s Usage rate remains relatively unchanged compared to last season.

At just 22 years old, Knight has a long and prosperous NBA career ahead of him. With Kidd at the helm, he will continue to learn from one of the NBA’s greatest and evolve as a player.

While the average fan may know Knight for being on the receiving end of a vicious DeAndre Jordan dunk or this crossover by Kyrie Irving, perhaps they should take a look at the clip below and take notice of how talented he is and how great he can be.