For the third year in a row the Bucks were surprised their top target was still on the board. It happened in 2029 with Isaiah Livers at the 26th selection and in 2030 with Tyrell Terry at the 18th selection. Since the very first scouting report for McBride arrived at the Front Office, it was clear that if he was available he would be the selection for Milwaukee.
At 6'2" and 200 lbs, the 20-year-old McBride is strong but athletic. He is not the kind of player who is going to fill the stat sheet, but one who is going to make your team better. He can be considered an old school point guard who has a good game vision, makes very few mistakes on the court, is an excellent playmaker, can hit the outside shot, grabs offensive rebounds against bigger players and plays solid defense. Yes, he won't lead the team in scoring nor is he expected to win any individual award or feature in All-CSL teams, but the Front Office see him as the Bucks floor general for the next decade and alongside Terry a great complement to Troy Brown's game.
However, let's not get too excited too soon. As any young player entering the league, McBride will need time to adapt, and it may take him a couple seasons to get to his best. He also has some doubters about his defense, but his lateral quickness and ability to read the passing lanes is certainly good. Some may question his man-to-man defense. Well, there were even some doubters within the Bucks Front Office. That is why in the last part of the regular season the Bucks signed free agent Max Hazzard, whose defense is very similar to McBride. His defensive metrics helped to convince the doubters. That testing period, not only regarding Hazzard, may have cost the Bucks a few wins, but that allowed to be sure about drafting McBride and trading Brandon Ingram, in a season where having made the playoffs or not would have not made a difference as the team was clearly not ready to contend.
Strengths:
+ Playmaking
+ Decision making
+ Outside shooting
+ Solid defense
+ Offensive rebounding
+ Consistency
Weaknesses:
+ Not a scorer
+ Not a good finisher in the paint
