Rivers notices the improvement from Rollins over the course of his breakout season.
The Milwaukee Bucks haven't had much to celebrate this season.
Sitting at 29-43 and 11th in the Eastern Conference with Giannis Antetokounmpo sidelined by a left knee injury, the year has gone sideways in just about every way imaginable.
But there has been one constant bright spot through all the losing, and that's the breakout of fourth-year guard Ryan Rollins.
At a recent practice, head coach Doc Rivers was asked about the biggest improvements he's seen from Rollins this season, and his answer touched on just about every part of the young guard's game.
"I think his playmaking... early in the year he just didn't see that he was a scorer... Now he sees it... defensively, you know, as good as he is, he still has to figure out how to stay out of foul trouble, how to play physical, and then emotionally, um, that's a growth area for him," Rivers said.
The quote captures where Rollins is right now pretty well, a player who has taken a massive leap but still has room to grow.
From Role Player to Go-To Scorer
The numbers tell a story that's hard to argue with.
After averaging just 6.2 points per game last season in a limited role, Rollins is putting up 17.1 points, 5.6 assists and 4.6 rebounds this year while shooting 47.1 percent from the field and 41.3 percent from three.
He leads the Bucks in field goal attempts this season, more than even Giannis Antetokounmpo, and he recently set a new career high with 36 points against Portland on 13-of-26 shooting with six made threes.
Rivers touched on something important about Rollins not recognizing himself as a scorer early in the year, and that shift in mindset has been one of the biggest changes.
Since the All-Star break, he's averaged 16.1 points, 5.8 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 1.8 steals, which shows this isn't some early-season hot streak that faded once teams started game-planning for him.
The MIP Case Over the Field
The Most Improved Player race right now has Jalen Duren as the betting favorite, with Nickeil Alexander-Walker close behind and Deni Avdija sitting third.
Rollins is way further down the odds board, but the argument for him is honestly stronger than people give him credit for.
Duren went from 11.8 points a game to around 19.3, which is a solid jump, but he's also playing on the best team in the East with more talent around him.
Alexander-Walker's numbers went up a lot too, but a big chunk of that comes from playing significantly more minutes in Atlanta after barely starting for the Timberwolves last season.
Rollins, meanwhile, jumped from 6.2 points per game to 17.1 while also becoming a real playmaker and one of the better three-point shooters in the league.
That's a leap of nearly 11 points per game with a complete transformation of his role.
And look, the fact that he did it on a team dealing with injuries and chaos surrounding Antetokounmpo's future makes it even more impressive.
Rivers was honest about the areas where Rollins still needs work, from foul trouble to the emotional side of the game, but the fact that anyone is even breaking down his game like this shows how far he's come.
A year ago, nobody was paying attention. Now he's carrying real offensive weight for Milwaukee on a two-year deal worth just $8 million.
If that's not the most improved player in the NBA, it's hard to know what is.