Milwaukee Bucks guard Pat Connaughton has exercised his player option worth $9.4 million for the 2025-26 season, a league source confirmed to The Athletic. ESPN was the first to report the decision.
Connaughton, 32, averaged 5.3 points and 2.7 rebounds in 14.7 minutes per game across 41 games last season.
While he was a key rotation player in the Bucks’ 2021 championship run, the veteran guard fell out of the rotation of coach Doc Rivers in his seventh season in Milwaukee and played only 13 minutes in the Bucks’ five playoff games in their first-round loss to the Indiana Pacers.
With Connaughton’s decision to exercise his player option, the Bucks now have five players — Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard, Kyle Kuzma, Tyler Smith, Connaughton — on guaranteed contracts for next season. Bobby Portis and Kevin Porter Jr. are the remaining two players on the roster with decisions to make on player options for next season.
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