Former Raptors Guard Gary Trent Jr. Wins NBA Cup With Bucks

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 87-81.

Trent Jr. chipped in a big way 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 as the Bucks were in full control.

He’s been a bit unreliable game-to-game, so it was great to see Trent Jr. find his rhythm and for the Bucks they hope he can build off this performance.

“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 for taking the minimum deal with the Bucks this past summer.

Trent Jr. and his Bucks teammates will receive more than $500,000 for winning the title.

Trent 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 which will help him land a more lucrative deal next summer.

If Trent Jr. can continue to be a big an efficient spot-up shooter for the Bucks, he will help their chances to compete in the Eastern Conference.

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.