Pat Connaughton
Milwaukee Bucks

Player Facts

Height: 6'4"
Weight: 209lbs.

Wingspan: 6'8"

Date of Birth: Jan. 6, 1993
College Experience: Notre Dame (4 years)

Selections

All Star: 0
All-NBA: 0
All-Defensive: 0

Player Grades

Speed/Explosiveness: 9
Physical Strength: 8
Positional Size: 5
Positional Wingspan: 6
Paint Scoring: 7
Midrange Scoring: 3
Three-Point Scoring: 6
Dribbling: 6
Passing: 5
Perimeter Defense: 7
Interior Defense: 5
Rebounding: 6

Embed from Getty Images

JUMP TO SECTION

> Intro

> A-T-B Spacing

> Firm Finishing

> Cuts & Rolls

> Dot-Connecting + Transition

> Well-Rounded Defense

> Offensive Holes

> Low Stocks Guy

> Beacon Bacon

>Link to Player Contract & Salary Info

*All short clips courtesy of NF Highlights (YouTube)

*All statistical data courtesy of NBA Advanced Stats

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STRENGTHS

Intro

At 6-4, 209, Pat Connaughton has turned himself into a helpful, hard-nosed role player. Athletically, he uses his bounce to finish with aplomb around the hoop. He dovetails that vertical pop with the sturdiness to contain taller players on defense.

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A-T-B Spacing

Pat's half-court shot chart has only a pair of red areas. Fortunately for his squad, his favorite spots align with the modern-day role-player expectations. As a bouncy 3-and-D type, Connaughton plays off his teammates rather than making stuff happen on his own.

The first hot spot for Pat is above-the-break. From here, he has sneakily deep range thanks to a visibly strong lower half. A former college baseball pitcher, Connaughton is used to leveraging his base to generate force. The two-sport star has done a great job of transferring some of his physical baseball tools to the NBA hardwood.

Pat is capable of hitting tough, deep, and/or contested threes from a standstill. His ability to convert from above-the-break makes him a more valuable spacer. It also allows lesser shooters to take the simplified corner role(s) within a given set.

He continually gets great elevation on his jumpers and holds the follow-through. Pat is a shooter who can capably nail no-drip, or "catch-high-keep high" threes. 2021-2022 saw him drill 96 triples from the top/wings. His clip was a very respectable 37.2% from this zone.

Connaughton serves as a viable pressure release for star teammates Giannis Anteokounmpo, Khris Middleton, and Damian Lillard. His ATB spacing also allows more room for his bigs like Bobby Portis and Brook Lopez to roll to the rack.

Firm Finishing

After receiving a spray-out or kick-back pass, Pat has enough of a handle to execute a decisive straight-line drive off the catch. He does a good job of running through the catch to get going downhill. He finished on an elite 63% of his drives in 2021-2022.

That second area that makes up a sizeable chunk of his shot diet is the restricted area. While he doesn't get to the free throw line all that often, Pat is surely not averse to contact. Strength and bounce are the ways he wins at the cup as a yearly 70%+ guy from 0-3 feet.

The Notre Dame product finished a phenomenal 71.1% of his at-the-rim attempts across 2021-2022. About 4/5 of these were assisted by his teammates. Despite his stature, he is a viable option to stick in the dunker spot.

Cuts & Rolls

Pat can also bolt to the rim off-ball for aerial finishes. Widely known as a great dunker, these are the sorts of in-game situations where he can show off his chops. He finished 2021-2022 in the 73rd percentile for scoring on his basket cuts.

One more unique way to arrive at the tin is with his on-ball screening for others. He finished 2021-2022 with 37 recorded pick-and-roll dives (same as Draymond Green) and was in the 80th percentile scoring here.

At 6'4" this is a unique offering whether in small-small pick-and-rolls or when screening for a bigger teammate. Pat will also ghost or "run through" the screen to garner quick advantages for the ball-handler. He has the requisite versatility to both slip quick or alternatively pop for three.

Dot-Connecting + Transition

His half-court value is completed by willing extra-passing and decent vision while on the move. He has been in the Bucks system for a while now, so he has a great grasp of where his reads are in real-time. While by the numbers he is a low-assist guy, it should also be noted that he is an even lower turnover guy.

Pat can leak out to score in transition. He's got the dual-threat of being a strong shooter in these spots while also being able to slam on rim runs. 2020-2021 had him in the 52nd percentile for transition scoring, upping this to the 77th the following year.

Well-Rounded Defense

The hustling wing brings a well-rounded defensive resume to the table. He can contain speedy players serviceably while leaning on his muscle mass to check burlier wings. From 2018-2019 to 2022-2023, he provided around 1.5-2 defensive win shares per season on average.

Connaughton spent lots of time on both forwards and wings in 2021-2022. In terms of shooting percentage against, he did fare better against backcourt players (41.6% opp. FG%). His lateral quickness is good, he gets low in his stance, and he anticipates moves well.

The Massachusetts native continues to help out by being a deft screen circumventer. He will look to get physical and blow up DHO's too.

With ball screens, he also typically does well (85th percentile defending P&R initiators in 2021-2022). Another note to make is that he is on-point with his closeouts, even getting a piece of the ball sometimes with that great athleticism.

Pat will also chip in on the glass. This represents another opportunity for him to use that plus-plus bounce. According to Basketball Reference, he spends a non-trivial amount of time at power forward (13% in 2021-2022). Those rebounding contributions can go a long way.

WEAKNESSES

Offensive Holes

Like most off-ball players, self-creation is far from a strength within his game. Besides pump-and-go's, Pat will rarely get to the basket off his own dribble penetration (only 18 shooting fouls drawn in 2022-2023).

His handle is just okay – a tighter one would help him unlock his stellar athletic gifts. He virtually does not take midrange shots or floaters, even when these are there for him. Part of the reason is that these shots lie squarely outside of his wheelhouse as a scorer.

On the ball, his relative lack of advantage-creation means that he doesn't contribute much as a playmaker in these spots. A willing extra-passer, Pat will not kill current advantages but rarely catalyzes these sequences himself.

While his off-ball game is desirable within certain lineups, it is not quite in elite territory. He only semi-recently became a consistent shooter from downtown. Even still, he is not the exactly a knockdown guy from there.

Low Stocks Guy

On defense, the 6'4" Pat is mostly solid and will not detract from the five-man unit. Picking nits, he is not a high-volume stocks guy by any means. With decent size, solid instincts, a good first step, and the theoretical bounce to offer at-rim resistance, it is a bit of a head-scratcher that he isn't a more impactful defensive playmaker.

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bacon
Beacon Bacon

A year before having his name called in the 2015 NBA Draft, Pat was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in MLB's fourth round of their draft