Duke basketball alum enjoys career night in NBA preseason

Marques Bolden has expanded his repertoire since his Duke basketball years.

Former three-year Duke basketball center Marques Bolden, who went undrafted in 2019 and has played in only seven NBA regular-season games, might not earn a spot on the Milwaukee Bucks' opening-day roster next week. But the 24-year-old from Texas is giving it his best shot in preseason play while on an Exhibit 10 contract.

And Bolden is doing so by showing off a somewhat surprising smooth stroke from downtown, where he went 0-for-7 as a Blue Devil.

On Tuesday night, the 6-foot-10, 250-pound former five-star recruit drew a starting nod as Milwaukee rested its regular starters, including Duke basketball gem Grayson Allen, in a 127-104 road loss to the Chicago Bulls.

In his 34 minutes on the court, Bolden knocked down three of four attempts beyond the arc and shot 9-for-11 overall from the field to finish with 21 points. He also added five rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and one steal.

Bolden appeared in two of the team's previous three preseason games (all losses for the Bucks) but saw only 12 minutes combined, scoring only four points between those two contests.

Last season marked the first since his pro career began that Marques Bolden did not play in a single NBA game. However, as a member of the Salt Lake City Stars, the Utah Jazz's affiliate, he averaged a career-high 12.3 points in the G League, along with 9.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game.

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The Milwaukee Bucks host the Brooklyn Nets at 7:30 p.m. ET Wednesday (ESPN) in their final preseason tuneup.

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