{"id":120770,"date":"2025-01-29T16:30:55","date_gmt":"2025-01-29T21:30:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=120770"},"modified":"2025-01-29T16:33:54","modified_gmt":"2025-01-29T21:33:54","slug":"taurean-prince-changing-narrative-after-lakers-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/01\/29\/taurean-prince-changing-narrative-after-lakers-season\/","title":{"rendered":"A Tale of Two Seasons: Taurean Prince’s Redemption Tour in Milwaukee"},"content":{"rendered":"

Taurean Prince\u2019s<\/a> time with the Los Angeles Lakers last season was far from disastrous, but it left much to be desired. Coming in as a key role player meant to complement LeBron James<\/a> and Anthony Davis<\/a>, Prince had his moments but also struggled when tasked with responsibilities beyond his strengths. Fast forward to the 2024-25 season, and Prince, now part of the Milwaukee Bucks, is proving that, in the right role, he might be one of the most efficient floor spacers in the NBA.<\/p>\n

A Tale of Two Seasons: Taurean Prince’s Redemption Tour in Milwaukee<\/h2>\n

While his recent form has dipped, Prince has quietly been one of the most effective shooters in the league, ranking fourth in three-point percentage at 45.8%<\/a>. His ability to stretch the floor has been a major asset for the Bucks, especially when playing alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a> and Damian Lillard<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Struggles in Los Angeles<\/h3>\n

Prince experienced a season of highs and lows with the Lakers. The team signed him<\/a> on a one-year, $4.5 million deal, expecting him to be a reliable 3-and-D presence<\/a>. However, as the season progressed, the Lakers placed too much offensive responsibility on him, stretching him beyond his strengths.<\/p>\n

Defensively, Prince held up well against bigger wings but struggled against quicker guards. Ultimately, Darvin Ham<\/a> moved him to a bench role<\/a> later in the season, but by that point, the perception of Prince among Lakers fans was already formed\u2014he was viewed as an inconsistent, streaky shooter who struggled in high-usage situations.<\/p>\n

A Fresh Start in Milwaukee<\/h3>\n

The Bucks saw an opportunity and signed Prince to a veteran minimum deal in the offseason<\/a>. Understanding the need to integrate quickly, he took a proactive approach by studying the film of every assisted three-pointer<\/a> Giannis, Lillard, and Khris Middleton<\/a> generated the previous season. This level of preparation paid off immediately, as Prince started the season strong, making 47.1%<\/a> of his threes in October and an elite 56.4%<\/a> in November.<\/p>\n

His hot start helped solidify his role in Doc Rivers\u2019<\/a> rotation, particularly as Middleton eased his way back from injury. More importantly, his presence has given Milwaukee much-needed floor spacing in lineups featuring their star duo. That is why he leads the NBA in corner three-point percentage (50%<\/a>) among players with at least 70 attempts. With Lillard and Antetokounmpo<\/a>\u00a0drawing constant defensive attention, Prince has thrived in catch-and-shoot situations. Among players with at least 40 games played and three attempts per game, Prince ranks second in the NBA in catch-and-shoot three-point percentage at 50.4%<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Prince\u2019s situation in Milwaukee is a lot different from his time with the Lakers, where they asked him to do too much. With the Bucks, he plays a role that fits him perfectly\u2014spacing the floor and hitting open shots. Instead of being forced into creating offense, he\u2019s thriving as a complementary piece, and it\u2019s working.<\/p>\n

A Season Later, Prince Proves His Worth<\/h3>\n

While Prince has been a key contributor, his production has fluctuated in recent weeks. In December, his three-point percentage plummeted to 31.0%<\/a>, but over his last five games, he has hit 45.5%<\/a> from beyond the arc. This inconsistency is not new\u2014Lakers fans saw similar streakiness last season, where he could look unstoppable one night and completely invisible the next.<\/p>\n

However, Milwaukee is not relying on Prince to be a primary scorer or defensive stopper. Instead, they are maximizing his strengths as a complementary piece. Despite his December slump, he remains a high-level floor spacer who fits well within the Bucks\u2019 system. His ability to knock down open shots has been instrumental in keeping the offense flowing, and he continues to provide valuable depth on the wing.\u00a0Taurean Prince may not be a star, but he has found an ideal role in Milwaukee.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Photo credit: \u00a9 Chris Nicoll-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Taurean Prince\u2019s time with the Los Angeles Lakers last season was far from disastrous, but it left much to be desired. Coming in as a key role player meant to complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Prince had his moments but also struggled when tasked with responsibilities beyond his strengths. Fast forward to the 2024-25 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5312,"featured_media":120822,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,15,62],"tags":[187,190,306,324,1383],"class_list":["post-120770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-bucks","category-nba","tag-damian-lillard","tag-doc-rivers","tag-giannis-antetokounmpo","tag-khris-middleton","tag-taurean-prince"],"modified_by":"Eamon Cassels, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5312"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120770"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120770\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":120831,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120770\/revisions\/120831"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}