​The Milwaukee Bucks selected 21-year-old Brayden Burries with the 10th pick of this year’s NBA Draft.Coming out of Arizona, the shifty guard wasted no time introducing himself to the fans.In just the second preseason game of his career, Burries poured in 16 points off the bench in the Bucks’ 128-126 road win at OKC — including 12 in the fourth quarter.Burries showed impressive poise and confidence beyond his experience. He scored in a variety of ways, going 3-for-4 from the field and 6-for-8 at the line down the stretch. He started the game shooting 2-for-9.He followed a couple of crafty layups with an emphatic one-handed slam with a little over a minute left in the game.BRAYDEN BURRIES ONE-HANDED HAMMER. pic.twitter.com/i97hZUsdN8— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) October 8, 2026Carving Out His Role, Making An ImpactBenny Sieu-Imagn ImagesBurries played the second-most minutes of all Bucks’ bench players and was the highest-scoring guard and second-unit player. He played 23 minutes, also grabbing five rebounds, dishing out one assist, and recording two steals.He’s averaging two steals per game across the first two preseason contests, showing a nice defensive edge that could earn him more burn come the start of the regular season. Presumably to head coach Taylor Jenkins’ delight, Burries places a lot of value on contributing to winning, whatever that may look like.”At the beginning of the game, I hit two shots, then I missed a few,” he said. “Coming to the bench, I just tried to stay confident. [It was time] to be a great teammate. When I got back out there, I just [wanted] to defend, rebound, and impact the game. Just continuing to find other ways to impact winning, outside of scoring.”Burries also talked about his desire to win every time he steps on the court. That sort of mindset and buy-in bode well for the Bucks’ future as they enter the first year of the post-Giannis Antetokounmpo rebuild. Confidence GrowingAlonzo Adams-Imagn ImagesTaking the joint most shots of all players and scoring more than starting guards Ryan Rollins (12 points) and Tyler Herro (13 points) could do a lot for Burries’ confidence, even if it doesn’t mean a whole lot in the long run, as the Bucks are just a couple of games into the preseason.However, the raw numbers aren’t meaningless. They do tell a story. Burries’ usage increased drastically between Monday’s preseason opening loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Wednesday’s win. He played 16 minutes and put up three less shots (3-for-10 FG), adding two rebounds, five assists, and a pair of steals against the Wolves.That’s Burries earning Jenkins’ trust in real time and making good use of it.The Bucks clearly believe in Burries’ talent. He went where he did in the draft for a reason. However, developing a highly rated player is another thing. Jenkins has a knack for it, though, and Burries’ growing role certainly deserves an eye on it for the remainder of preseason. “I was just confident,” Burries said of his lat