Ousmane Dieng needed 3 games to match Giannis’ bonkers feat
The Milwaukee Bucks‘ The 2025-26 season is officially off the rails. Entering Thursday night’s game, the Bucks were 22-30 and in fourth place in the Central Division. It is far from expected when a player likes it Giannis Antetokounmpo is on the list.
of course Antetokounmpo was not on the court a lot this year. He played in just 30 games, with knee, shoulder, ankle, groin and calf injuries.
With the Bucks All-Star on the mend, the lineup lacked a lot of punch. But one player made a huge difference Thursday against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
In just his third game with Milwaukee, Usman Dieng had 19 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, four blocks, three triples, one steal and no turnovers in 36 minutes. His excellent effort helped the Bucks pull off quite the upset, defeating the Thunder 110-93.
In doing so, he became just another player recorded at least 10 rebounds, five assists, three three-pointers and no turnovers in Bucks history. That’s pretty astounding, especially knowing that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played in Milwaukee.
Yet this performance seemingly came out of nowhere. Dieng was selected 11th overall in the 2022 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks. But he didn’t play a single game for them, having spent most of his first four seasons with the Thunder, of all teams.
After struggling to get minutes in OKC, Dieng was traded to Bucks last week. He was part of the deal that sent Mason Plumlee to Oklahoma City, Nick Richards to Charlotte, and Cole Anthony and Amir Coffey to Phoenix.
Through the first three-plus years of his career, the 6-foot-9 forward has only averaged better than five points and two boards per game. That is very likely to change this year.
Milwaukee will likely give him all the minutes he can handle while Antetokounmpo doesn’t. But at 22, even upon his return, the Bucks will want to see what he can do. If Thursday is any indication, there could be plenty.
2026-02-13 04:13:00
