No sense sugar-coating it. For the first time in about a decade, nobody has to worry about the Milwaukee Bucks winning an NBA title this season. Which, to be clear, doesn’t necessarily mean they’re not worth watching.
For the record, only three teams have worse preseason championship odds than the 2026-27 Bucks, who check in at a robust plus-70,000. To put that in context, even prior to last season’s 32-win slog, they were only plus-5,500.
It’s a massive shift in expectations and mindset, and even with an entire offseason of seismic change to prepare for it, there’s a shockwave in its certainty. This is one of the NBA’s most successful clubs – one of only 12 with multiple titles – that’s coming off unprecedented heights during the Giannis era.
Celebrate this year’s winners of the Betty Awards!
Yes, the Kareem and Oscar years saw a Bucks championship, another finals appearance and four straight years of 59-plus wins. Sure, Don Nelson engineered seven straight 50-win seasons and three conference finals. However, for a combination of long-term success and ultimate success, nothing beats the Giannis years.
At their peak in the Giannis-led stretch, the Bucks get credit for five consecutive 50-win seasons (only COVID prevented reaching that total in 2020-21) and the second crown in team history. That Khris, Jrue, Bobby, Brook and Coach Bud masterpiece came during nine straight playoff appearances, too many of which were too short, and short-circuited, by injuries. The Bucks also became a national and international attraction and were never far from the oddsmakers’ top picks for the title. So never forget just how glorious it was.
But now? No, not so much.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is gone, of course, enjoying that Miami sun along with could’ve-been-mayor Bobby Portis. In their absence is a slew of fresh and mostly young faces, with new coach Taylor Jenkins charged with growing these fawns into the next Bucks generation.
The national spotlight won’t follow his progress, which might be a refreshing change. There’s a certain freedom that comes with unencumbered expectations, from development supplanting win totals as the immediate goal. So, what developments to watch for?
Start with Jenkins. He’s done this before, turning a similarly youthful Memphis squad into an eventual 56-win team. The Bucks hired him not only for his player development skills, but for a style that skews aggressive on both ends of the court. So, while the development ramps up, so should the entertainment.
Now mix in the players acquired for Giannis. Tyler Herro is the name you know, a Wisconsin kid who feels like he’s been around forever, but is only 26 years old. He’s averaged 20-plus points per game in five of his seven NBA seasons, but is far more shooter than defender. There’s more tantalizing talent among the other players acquired. Fourth-year wing Jaime Jaquez Jr. was last season’s runner-up for the sixth-man award, and third-year 7-footer Kel’el Ware is athletic enough to draw comparisons to Chris Bosh.
How will they mesh with the talent Giannis left behind? Ryan Rollins’ breakout as a scorer and playmaker was a silver lining among last season’s clouds, and AJ Green’s 2025 contract extension was a show of faith in his emergence as a valuable 3-and-D guy. Young forward Ousmane Dieng showed flashes last season, while first-round draft pick Brayden Burries was the talk of the NBA Summer League.
Though veteran center Myles Turner suffered a forgettable first year as Milwaukee’s prized free agent signing, he’s now tabbed as a leader on this new-look squad. Whether that leads to improvements on the floor will be an interesting storyline to follow. Similar prove-it years are on tap for Kyle Kuzma and Gary Trent Jr., and success could turn them into trade assets or building blocks for a new Bucks foundation.
How many games will they win? Who knows. Vegas thinks 25 1/2 sounds right, and who are we to argue with Vegas? Especially when wins aren’t this year’s true measuring stick.
However, there’s enough promise in the group to remind you of another rebuilding era in Bucks history. It happened in the mid-2010s, when the Bucks were building around some young kids named Giannis and Khris, along with others named Jabari Parker and Brandon Knight. They were the fawns on the 2014-15 roster. Vegas pegged them to win 24 1/2 games. They ended up with 41.
And quite a few more through the years.
