Bucks hoped Bogoljub Marković would fall to them at No. 47: ‘Crossing our fingers'

New York Times

a day ago

MILWAUKEE — As the Milwaukee Bucks' front office attempted to improve their position in the 2025 NBA Draft's second round while watching names come off the board, they hoped one name in particular would not get called.
'He was a player we definitely had ranked higher,' Bucks assistant general manager Milt Newton said Thursday night. 'Did not think he was going to be there. We were surprised when he was, so we were really ecstatic about that.
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'As the round went on, we actually were crossing our fingers, but also trying to see if we could move up, just in case, just to give ourselves a better opportunity to select him. … We tried, but at the end of the day, we got him where we drafted, so we're pretty excited about that.'
In the end, the Bucks were able to instruct the NBA to announce the player's name. With the No. 47 pick, the Bucks selected Bogoljub Marković, a 19-year-old forward from Serbia. Marković, or Bogi as he prefers to be called, spent the last season in the Adriatic League with Serbian basketball power Mega Basket, where he won the league's Top Prospect award by averaging 13.9 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.
The moment Bogi got the call. pic.twitter.com/3EUJPGDBUU
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) June 27, 2025
'A player that really has nice size, athletic, can shoot the ball,' Newton said. 'Really good basketball IQ, good feel for the game.'
Newton told reporters that the Bucks' international scouts have been looking at Marković for at least four years in the lead-up to the draft. He reminded reporters that Marković actually worked out in Milwaukee last summer before withdrawing his name from the 2024 NBA Draft and returning to Serbia for another season.
While draft expert Jonathan Givony told ESPN's television audience that Marković would remain overseas for another season as a 'draft-and-stash' prospect immediately after the Bucks made their selection, Newton — who spoke instead of Bucks general manager Jon Horst, who was originally scheduled — informed reporters that may not end up being the case.
'We really don't know right now,' Newton said. 'We just know that he's going to be with us for summer league. He could be with us. We could roster him this year or the year after, but we're going to work with his agent to try to figure out the best course to proceed with him, but we're really excited to have him.'
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In Las Vegas, Marković will have the opportunity to show off the skills that led to the Bucks selecting him with their only pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Throughout his session with reporters late Thursday night, Newton frequently mentioned Marković's feel for the game and ability to play in transition, which has to do with his passing ability.
It is easy to imagine how a 6-foot-11, 215-pound forward, who can lead the break and pick out the right pass, as Marković does below, could find a place in the modern NBA.
'We actually see him more as a very mobile four,' Newton said. 'We believe in time as he fills out, he could play some five. Pretty decent rim protector, but he can really score the basketball and run in transition. Really pass the ball. He has ball skills.'
Frequently, when talking about what teams want in a draft prospect, evaluators bring up those players need to be able to dribble, pass and shoot. While Marković might not do all of those at an NBA level quite yet, the framework is there for him to be one of those players.
At Mega, Marković regularly made plays with the ball in his hands as a driver in transition and a passer. The Athletic's draft guru, Sam Vecenie, noted concerns about how 'tight' his handle is and how turnover-prone Marković can be at times. The Serbian forward knocked down 38.8 percent from 3 on 2.7 attempts per game last season, so his 3-point touch seems real, but he will still need to prove that at the next level as well.
The biggest concern for Marković — who Newton said drew comparisons to Dario Šarić and Nikola Mirotić — will be building up his size and strength as he tries to find his true position in the NBA.
'We just know that he has to get stronger to hold his position,' Newton said. 'In terms of putting on weight to get a certain size, we have to consult with our sports performance and our medical people. But I can't give you specific weight as to what we think we would like him to be.
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'Whatever that weight is, we still want him to be mobile and hold his lateral agility. And so that's something that we'll have to look at and see what's best for him.'
No matter what path the Bucks choose, whether that means stashing Marković overseas for another season or rostering him in the NBA for the 2025-26 season, it is noteworthy that the organization chose to select a teenager in the second round for a second consecutive season as they build out their roster and look for contributors on cheap contracts.
'For one, we also look at upside,' Newton said, when asked how the Bucks decided to draft another teenager in the second round. 'To have a player with that length, who can do the things that he can do, those are all transferrable, translatable things that you can do in the NBA.
'But like I said, going back to the fact that playing with grown men, playing in a physical league and being able to have some success in that, we think that is something we can look at and think that, you know what, in a year, two years, he will be able to compete on the NBA level, if not sooner than later. The potential is there, and the upside is there that we just couldn't pass on.'
Second-round picks rarely end up making an impact as a rookie, and many of them don't end up making an impact at any point in their NBA career, so drafting for maximum upside and potential may end up being a good strategy for the Bucks. The team will, however, need to find a way to develop Marković and Tyler Smith, the then-19-year-old forward they selected at No. 33 in last year's draft, to turn both into second-round success stories.
(Photo of Bogoljub Marković: Nikola Krstic / MB Media / Getty Images)