Ryan Rollins may have finally found his NBA home this past calendar year, but the Macomb Dakota product certainly hasn’t forgotten his real home.
The 23-year-old Rollins, who signed a three-year, $12-million contract with the Milwaukee Bucks in early July, will be hosting a pair of hometown events for approximately 100 students at the end of this month.
On Sunday, Aug. 31, Rollins will host a basketball camp at the Compound Athletics facility in Sterling Heights (43655 Utica Rd.) for students ages 8-13. Pre-registration is required for participation for the event, which will run 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Later that night, he will host a ‘back-to-school’ bash at the Shelby Twp. Footlocker (13825 Hall Rd.) from 6-8 p.m., which will feature haircuts, face painting, and the donation of school supplies. Pre-registration is again required.
A second-team all-stater his senior year at Dakota, Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year his first year at the University of Toledo, and first-team All-MAC his last, Rollins declared early for the 2022 NBA Draft. He was selected in the second round, with the 44th overall pick, by the Atlanta Hawks, then traded to the Golden State Warriors for the draft rights to Tyrese Martin.
That began a relatively peripatetic start to his NBA journey, one that didn’t slow down until this season.
His first season was cut short by foot surgery in February of 2023, then five months later, he was included as part of the trade package that sent Chris Paul from the Washington Wizards to the Warriors.
Washington waived him in January of 2024, with just 22 career games — and 64 total points — under his belt, but he latched on with the Bucks a month later, signing a two-way contract to play with both the Bucks and their G-League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd.
This past season, he surpassed the limit of 50 NBA games for two-way contracts in late February, forcing the Bucks to make a decision of letting him play the rest of the season with the Herd, or giving him a guaranteed contract for the remainder of the season to keep him with the NBA team.
They chose the latter, inking him to the prorated portion of the veteran minimum of $2.1 million for the remainder of the season.
“Aw, man, I feel like I earned it, so I mean, it’s like, fruits of my labor kind of,” Rollins told Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel at the time. “Still a lot more to get, a lot more to improve on, but a step in the direction for me for sure. It’s all I can ask for, for real.”
After making his first career start against Toronto on Nov. 13, Rollins would make seven more starts before joining the Bucks full-time, having earned the trust of coach Doc Rivers.
“It’s big time,” Rollins told Owczarski of having Rivers’ confidence. “It’s good for me to help my confidence, just my confidence in my game and me being able to go out there and make an impact on the court. So, me proving myself game after game is good for me, good for the team. All in all I’m happy that we’re winning and I can help the team win.”
Rollins averaged 10.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists in his 19 starts during the regular season, shooting 45.2% from 3-point range, but started only Game 1 in the Bucks’ 4-1 first-round series loss to the Indiana Pacers in the playoffs, and did not play in Game 2 or Game 5.
“I don’t have an agenda for myself,” Rollins told Owczarski in February. “I’m just blessed to be in this position. Last year about this time I wasn’t even on a team, so I just look at the big picture like that. I’m able to play in the NBA right now, so I’m just blessed to be here and I’m going to take advantage and whenever my number’s called I’m going to out there and help the team win.”
Originally Published: August 21, 2025 at 12:58 PM EDT