Shake Milton is getting a rare second chance to make a first impression

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

Shake Milton burst onto the NBA scene with a 39-point performance on national TV in 2020. After a couple seasons battling injuries and inconsistencies, Milton is regaining his form.

Shake Milton was making NBA history and taking the league by storm.

The then-23-year-old, in his second NBA season, poured in 39 points on Doc Rivers and the Clippers on March 1, 2020. He also tied an NBA record by making 13 straight threes over the course of three games. The ABC broadcast showered praise on the SMU product, telling the origin story of his name — he was born Malik Benjamin Milton, with the name “Shake” deriving from his late father’s nickname.

In a season that was mostly miserable for the Sixers, Milton’s emergence was a bright spot. Despite the team missing its franchise cornerstones in Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, that West Coast swing wound up being fun to watch.

It also caught the attention of other teams around the league.

Not long after, the NBA — and most of the world — shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Milton became the Sixers’ starting point guard in the “bubble,” but the team’s season ended in disappointment and with head coach Brett Brown being relieved of his duties.

Fast forward to November of 2022. With star players out of the lineup, Milton is again providing the Sixers with a bright spot — and helping them win games.

“I think he’s always been like that,” Joel Embiid said after Monday’s win over the Hawks. “The NBA is all about opportunities. Right now he’s got a huge opportunity because he’s extremely needed. We lost two of our ball handlers. He has a lot of responsibilities on his shoulders, but he’s been doing such a fantastic job. And I think he’s always had it.”

So, what happened in between?

Injuries, inconsistency and the Sixers acquiring a rising star (Tyrese Maxey) and former MVP (James Harden) ate into Milton’s playing time the last two seasons. Last season was especially difficult for Milton, who missed the first four games of the season and played in just 55 games overall because of injuries. He had his lowest and least efficient offensive output since he became a full-time NBA player in 2019-20.

With Maxey, Harden and Embiid missing time recently, Milton has led what fans were affectionately calling the “Hospital Sixers” over the last seven games. During that span, Milton has been nothing short of terrific.

He’s averaged 22 points, 6.6 assists and 5.9 rebounds. He’s hit over 50 percent of his threes with a 67.3 true shooting percentage. Most importantly, the Sixers are 5-2 in that time and are three games over .500 for the first time this season at 12-9.

“He’s showing how great of a player he is when given the opportunity,” Tobias Harris said, “and when given the confidence that he’s having right now. He’s just got to keep it up as well. And he’s shown, honestly, how great of a player he is, and how much of a professional he is because he worked his tail off. And now this moment is here for him and he’s able to really go out there and do what he has to do.”

Milton came into the league as a scorer, as his 39-point outburst illustrates. While he’s been more of the score-first variety, he’s always been a point guard. Whether it was when he was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Oklahoma while starring at Owasso High School or during his three years at SMU after turning down offers from the University of Oklahoma and Indiana, Milton has always had the ball in his hands.

That’s what could make the next couple weeks tricky.

Harden looks poised to return from a foot tendon sprain as early as next week. Maxey, who is out of the walking boot worn to protect the small fracture in his foot, could return in a couple weeks. The Sixers were already struggling with the food chain of scoring amongst Embiid, Maxey and Harden.

Now Milton — and even Harris, who’s been exceptional over the last week-plus — are giving Rivers difficult choices to make.

“He’s a scorer at heart, and for him … I think that’s why he’s been extremely successful,” Harris said. “Because teams don’t really know if he’s gonna kick it to the corner or if he’s gonna come off and hit the roll guy, and that’s opening up the game for himself and everybody else on the floor. So I think that’s like a new development in his game that he’s blossoming into right now, and that’s huge for our whole group and for him overall.”

Monday’s win over the Hawks was an encouraging sign. With Embiid back in the lineup after missing the last four games with a mid-foot sprain, Milton not only still played well, but he also played well with and off Embiid.

This Sixers team has seen a ridiculous amount of turnover since The Process started. Embiid is easily the team’s longest-tenured player as the team’s first pick in 2014. After that it’s reserve wing Furkan Korkmaz, who debuted in 2017. Then it’s Milton, who was a late second-round pick in 2018.

Continuity hasn’t been easy to come by for Embiid. That’s part of what makes Milton so valuable.

And being able to get the team’s best player the ball in favorable spots seems like a solid strategy to stay on the floor.

“I’ve been playing with him for like what? Five years now?” Milton said. “So if you can get the best player the ball in his sweet spots that just ups your chances of being able to play and have the ball in your hands, so it’s easy. I think we’re gonna see a lot more of that the way the defense was kind of playing where the big is going to drop or he’s going to shade Joel as I’m going down so it’s either going to be one of those things where I draw two, hit Jo or I’m aggressive getting to the rim and find a little sweet spot around the rim.”

Going back to the 2020 bubble, neither Embiid or Milton seemed keen on playing. That’s not remotely a critique. These guys are human and there was a lot happening in the world.

The global pandemic had Embiid on edge — to the point he jokingly wore a hazmat suit as the team was set to head to Orlando. We’d later find out that Embiid’s partner was pregnant with their son, Arthur.

Milton was affected for different reasons. The murder of George Floyd by police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis, Minnesota had a profound impact on the country. Owassa, Oklahoma is just outside of Tulsa, the site of the Tulsa race massacre in 1921. Milton actually said at the time that he felt like the league shouldn’t resume, not just because of the pandemic, but because of the civil unrest happening in America.

Some of that tension boiled over in the Sixers’ first game in Orlando. The mild-mannered and soft-spoken Milton got into a heated exchange with Embiid. The TV cameras picked it up. It wasn’t pretty. Milton also struggled mightily in his new role as the team’s starting point guard, being held scoreless in 20 minutes.

Both players can look back at that moment and laugh now. That’s what building a team and building chemistry can do.

You’ll struggle to find a player Embiid pulls harder for than Milton.

“Probably the funniest memory I have with him is me telling him that I was going to slap him in the bubble,” Embiid said a couple weeks ago. “So he’s come a long way. He used to piss me off. Now, he doesn’t anymore. But, like I said, we have all a good relationship and those are my guys. We’ve been through so much. The drama, everything we’ve had to deal with, it’s crazy to even think about it. So I’m just happy I’m able to share these opportunities with them.”

Of course this run from Milton is likely unsustainable. The Sixers have a trio of stars to feed, plus a player in Harris on a big contract who is playing quite well.

But Milton’s recent play has done two things — given the team another viable bench option and a player they can rally behind.