Despite being the 2016 ACC Player of the Year and a consensus first-team All-American in his final season at Virginia, Malcolm Brogdon slipped to the second round of the 2016 NBA Draft, where he was picked No. 36 overall by the Milwaukee Bucks. All he did in his rookie season with the upstart Bucks was mess around and win the Rookie of the Year award. No biggie.
Now, he’s helping to promote the Dew NBA 3X, the United States’ first-ever nationwide three-on-three basketball competition, which heads to D.C. this weekend. Previous stops of the tour took place in Chicago, Miami and New York, with San Francisco (August 26-27) and Los Angeles (September 30-October 1) upcoming. The winning men’s and women’s teams will each earn $2,000 and will advance to the Finals in L.A., with the chance to win $20,000.
We spoke with Brogdon about his involvement with Dew NBA 3X, his surprising rookie season and his expectations for the Bucks going forward.
SLAM: Did you ever think you’d go from being a second round pick to winning Rookie of the Year?
Malcolm Brogdon: I have a lot of confidence in myself and the work that I’ve put in. A lot of it is out of your control, it depends what team you end up with. Fortunately, Coach Kidd and the Bucks gave me a great opportunity and I ran with it.
SLAM: What are your goals for the Bucks this season?
MB: We want to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals. I think the sky is the limit for us—we’re young, athletic and we love playing together. I think we have the recipe for success.
SLAM: The Cavaliers are going through an interesting situation right now with Kyrie Irving asking to be traded. As a team, do you guys talk about that type of news often or do you try to focus on yourselves?
MB: You have to at least pay attention to it. We’re in this basketball world all the time, and we want to know who we’re going to be playing and how we’re going to match up against them.
SLAM: Anything specific you’ve been working on this offseason?
MB: I’m a guy that has always prided myself on being the most versatile guy on the court, having no weaknesses. I went into this offseason just wanting to get better at everything overall.
SLAM: What do you think of Dew NBA 3X and 3-on-3 basketball in general?
MB: I’m expecting a lot of fans to come out and show support. This league is all about allowing people to come together after the NBA season is over to watch some competitive basketball. Seeing that 3-on-3 is going to be in the Olympics in 2020, I think the league is doing a good job of promoting it.
SLAM: What role do you see the NBA playing in supporting offseason 3-on-3?
MB: I definitely think the NBA will probably hold the torch in terms of attracting the most fans. I think the 3-on-3 is going to gain a lot of traction. It’s important that it stays in a different season so it can garner as much fan support as the NBA does.
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Photos via Getty Images
