Former Toronto Raptors guard Gary Trent Jr. can call himself an NBA Cup champion.
The Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup Final 97-81 on Dec. 17.
Trent Jr. came up big from off the bench leading the second unit with 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting in 21 minutes of action.
Trent Jr. hit three three-pointers, including an exclamation point triple with under two minutes to go in the fourth quarter as the Bucks dominated the Thunder.
He’s been a bit unreliable game-to-game, so it was great to see Trent Jr. find his rhythm.
“It was amazing. It’s everything that we worked for. It’s everything that we talked about doing. Now we here now, we won it, celebrating, enjoying the moment, Trent Jr. said after the game.
As a result of the win, Trent Jr. will get a slight pay bump as a reward. Trent Jr. and his Bucks teammates will receive more than $500,000 for winning the title.
Trent Jr. is set to make $2.6 million this season with the Bucks on a one-year deal, which is quite the drop off from the three-year, $51.88 million contract he had when he signed with the Raptors in 2021. However, for Trent Jr. he’s hoping he can capitalize on a big year with Milwaukee, which will help him land a more lucrative deal next summer.
If Trent Jr. can continue to be an efficient spot-up shooter from off the bench, he will help the Bucks’ chances to get out of the Eastern Conference this season.
Trent Jr. will make his return to Toronto on Jan. 6 when the Bucks come to town.
Raptors’ franchise value increased in 2024
Despite being in a rebuild, the Toronto Raptors’ franchise value reportedly rose in 2024.
According to a report from Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico, the Raptors are the 10th most valuable franchise in the NBA.
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