Milwaukee Bucks

The Milwaukee bucks continue to elicit change on and off the basketball court. On the court, the Bucks have had the best record in the NBA for the past two seasons.

The new Bucks ownership group has seen an impressive turnaround in the franchise since 2014; one year after Giannis Antetokounmpo was drafted. Marked by not only new ownership, but a new head coach in Jason Kidd starting in the 2014-15 season. Kidd was considered to be instrumental in developing many of the Bucks’s current young stars. However, since Mike Budhenholzer has taken over as head coach, the Bucks have had the best record in the NBA. Coach Budenhenholzer has twice won the coach of the year award and remains a big asset to the team.

The Bucks for the past two seasons have been nothing short of amazing. They have one of the deepest rosters in the NBA and regularly get contributions from their bench. This has allowed them to make adjustments and has contributed to them having the best defensive rating in the NBA for the 2019-20 season. Simultaneously, the Bucks managed to remain first in points per game as well.

A large part of the Bucks’s success has the result of their MVP. Giannis has shown growth like few other players in NBA history. The 15th overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft, Giannis has already won defensive player of the year and MVP in his first 7 seasons in the league. Giannis for the 2019-20 seasons averaged an impressive 44.2 points per 100 possessions and had a defensive rating of 97. Giannis will become an unrestricted free agent in 2021 and the Bucks will make it their number one priority to resign their superstar.

Giannis is not the only star the Bucks have had in their franchise. The Bucks have had a lustrous history that has helped propel their franchise. In the 51 seasons the franchise has been active, it has made the playoffs 32 times. The franchise was fortunate enough to draft Kareem-Abdul Jabbar in its second season and saw an immediate impact from the center. In his first season with the Bucks, Kareem galvanized the Bucks to the second seed in the Eastern Conference. Kareem would go on to win an MVP for the Bucks as early as his third season with the Bucks and lead them to their only championship.

In a sour move, the Bucks traded Kareem to the Los Angeles Lakers for 4 players and no draft picks. This move would haunt the franchise as Kareem would go on to win 5 more titles with the Lakers. The Bucks have yet to win a title or return to the NBA finals since making this trade. One superstar can obviously have a big impact on a team. Kareem remains the Bucks player with the most All-Star selections. However, with Giannis, the Bucks are sure to make a comeback.

The Bucks have been on the receiving end of good trades, in 1970 the Bucks landed premier NBA All-Star Oscar Robertson to pair with Kareem. This pair propelled the Bucks to their first title. Robertsons four seasons with the Bucks included two trips to the NBA finals and once to the Western Conference Finals. The pair also produced the two best season win-loss records in the Bucks franchise history.

The Bucks have been fortunate enough to have many other All-Stars on their roster and 45 selections in total. And some of these All-Stars have been selected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In total, 13 Hall of Famers have played for the franchise.

The Bucks remain an exciting team for fans to watch.