Ryan Rollins is having a career year in his fourth season in the NBA and second season with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Finally elevated to a nearly full time starting position, Rollins is averaging 17.2 points, 5.8 assists, 1.6 steals and 4.3 rebounds per game, all career highs by massive margins. Rollins has made the most of his 31.6 minutes per game, more than double the amount of time he spent on the court last season, and it looks like he'll continue to rise as a key member of the Bucks.

With that rise in talent also comes a rise in challenges. Rollins is still just 23 years old and it's not just his teammates that have noticed him heating up, it's the whole league. That means that opposing teams are going to focus on him and test him more and more. 

That was the case in the Bucks' 115-99 victory over the Sacramento Kings Sunday. 

The Kings have a deep roster of veterans like Russell Westbrook, DeMar Derozan and Zach Lavine. Those tough, scrappy and experienced players made it a point to put Rollins and the Bucs as a whole through the ringer with tough physicality and relentless pressure. Rollins rose in the face of those challenges and finished with 12 points, six rebounds and three assists.

"I think he's going to continue to keep getting tried like that," Myles Turner said of Rollins (via Bucks). "He's a young player in this league. You've got to take respect in this league, you've got to earn respect. These vets aren't going to give it to you. He keeps playing the way he's been playing, the level he's playing at, they're going to have no choice.

Through all the challenges that Rollins has endured so far in his career from veterans testing him and determined to give him "Welcome to the NBA" moments years into his career, Rollins has shown that he can give back just as well as he can take and that he won't be intimidated by players with years on him. 

Much of that confidence comes from within him, but the other half that gives him the confidence that he needs has been the confidence the team has shown in him, as evidenced by his rocketing jump in minutes compared to last season.

Rollins is consistently getting the opportunities that he's been working so hard for and he's prepared to whatever he can to make sure those opportunities keep coming. 

"I'm happy that he never backs down, I think that's a big thing," Turner said. "I think confidence comes from your preparation and he's one of the hardest workers on this team. It's all encompassing."