Just over 20 months have passed since Shake Milton slipped to No. 54 in the 2018 NBA Draft and, even in the moment, it was a bit of a jarring fall. By draft day, the former SMU guard wasn’t considered to be a consensus first-round pick, but plenty of observers valued Milton as a late first-round talent and not even the consensus projected him to slip into the 50’s. From there, Milton signed a two-way contract, forcing him to earn his way into the mix at the NBA level and, despite only appearing in 20 games during his rookie campaign, he earned a four-year investment from Elton Brand and the Philadelphia 76ers prior to the 2019-20 season.
Milton was restricted a bit by a back issue in his first professional season and, even after landing on his feet with the four-year deal, the 23-year-old appeared in only 12 of the first 45 games for the 76ers in 2019-20. Since Jan. 22, however, Milton has been a fixture in Philadelphia’s rotation, first garnering increased playing time due to roster issues for the 76ers and parlaying his effectiveness into a larger role, particularly with Ben Simmons sidelined with a back injury. Things came to a head on Sunday when Milton exploded for 39 points (including 26 in the first half) in a match-up against the Clippers, with many paying attention to Milton on a national level for the first time.
To put it plainly, 39-point performances likely won’t be the norm for Milton moving forward, but even before that big-time effort his effectiveness was translating. In the previous 15 games, Milton converted 51 percent of his three-point shots while averaging 10.6 points per game, and he scored 17 points or more on four occasions. With Ben Simmons out of the lineup, there was an obvious hole to fill in Sunday’s game, but Milton can also make a case for long-term inclusion in the rotation, with the agreement of a prominent veteran teammate.
“I was like, ‘Man, this guy,'” Al Horford told ESPN’s Baxter Holmes after Milton’s 39-point effort in Los Angeles. “I’m just glad he’s getting an opportunity. He’s showing that he can be legitimate and play, even when we’re back at full strength.”
Milton’s shooting for this season, headlined by a 46.6 percent clip from three-point distance, likely isn’t sustainable and that needs to be noted. With that said, shooting was always a significant part of Milton’s appeal. At the college level, he buried 42.7 percent of his three-point attempts and in the G League Milton converted 38.4 percent on a smaller sample size. In the NBA, he is 55-of-132 for a 41.7 percent clip, and there is every reason to believe he can (and will) be a shooting threat for the balance of this season and beyond.
From a role standpoint, it is easy to see how Milton can fit, and his playing time jumped even before Simmons was in street clothes. Milton isn’t a primary ball-handler by trade, but he functioned as a point guard at times at the college level and, even at 6’6, he is comfortable with the ball in his hands. Milton also feels the game well, and his 16.4 percent assist rate this season is more than adequate. Defensively, he isn’t going to change the world for Philadelphia but, when surrounded by the high-end talent that the 76ers can present, Milton uses his long arms to solid effectiveness and he generally understands where to be.
Other than Furkan Korkmaz, it is hard to center on another legitimately potent three-point threat for the 76ers, and that is, of course, problematic for Philadelphia. Much ink has been assigned to the spacing conundrum with this team and, even with Tobias Harris, Josh Richardson and Al Horford all theoretically able to stretch the floor, there is plenty of room for another legitimate bomber. Philly did what they could at the deadline on the margins in adding Glenn Robinson III and Alec Burks, but neither has quite found their footing just yet.
Milton’s best role may not be as a starter when everyone is healthy, but it wouldn’t take too much of a squint to slot him in alongside Simmons, Richardson, Harris and Embiid in a starting (or closing) lineup if the 76ers waffle on Horford’s ability to function between their two biggest stars.
In the future, Philadelphia may have a gem on their hands, with Milton under contract at a (very) affordable sum for two additional seasons and a team option for approximately $2 million in 2022-23. It wouldn’t take much for Milton to live up to the billing on that investment, but, in a more pressing sense, there is real pressure for the Sixers this season and Milton doesn’t appear to shy away from it.
Shake Milton probably isn’t going to have many 39-point games in the future and, at the highest level, he is best-suited as a role player that checks a number of boxes. In his current situation, though, that player outline makes a ton of sense in Philadelphia, and there should be plenty of general managers kicking themselves for letting Milton slip through the cracks in 2018.
