The frustration is nothing new. Year upon recent year, like a heavy green fog, it drifts into Milwaukee and settles upon Bucks players and fans alike. Joy and optimism are suffocated while the promise of another Giannis-led championship disappears into the mist. It is the price paid for high hopes, and here it is again.
But the current brand of Bucks frustration is far different from those visited upon Milwaukee since that glorious 2021 NBA title. Those past fogs arrived in the playoffs, begat by untimely injuries to one or more star Bucks players, an astonishing run of misfortune sidelining generational talents. In 2022, Khris Middleton’s knee. In 2023, Giannis’ back. 2024: Giannis’ strained calf and Damian Lillard’s strained Achilles tendon. 2025: Lillard’s ruptured Achilles.
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Such constant so-close, so-far yo-yoing tests the mettle of any fan base, and in spite of all that, this season’s frustrations season may be even greater. Because this season, the fog came far earlier, engulfing not just playoff and championship hopes, but the entire campaign. And, perhaps, the future for many years more.
To be fair, it was somewhat fantastical to expect the Bucks to recapture their championship glory this season. After the Lillard injury, and his subsequent departure, the Bucks were far closer to the realm of rebuilders than contenders.
But the signing of free agent center Myles Turner, as well as the development of young guards Ryan Rollins and AJ Green, fueled hopes that the rebuild might be brief. Surely they could make the playoffs – maybe even win a round, a perhaps that could set the foundation for another title run in a year or two, or at least the talk of one.
As the season unfolded, however, the only thing consistent about this edition of the Bucks was their penchant for inconsistency. They head into Tuesday night’s game against Phoenix with a lowly 27-36 record, languishing in 11th place in the Eastern Conference, four games out of a play-in spot.
It hasn’t helped, of course, that Giannis has missed 30 of their games through injury or rest – already far surpassing his previous record of 21 regular-season absences. Still, it’s not like they’ve been world beaters when Giannis plays, posting a 16-17 record in those games. For context, Charlotte, which holds 10th place and the final play-in spot, sits at 32-33. The last full-fledged playoff spot is held by sixth-place Orlando’s 35-28 mark, while Detroit leads the Eastern Conference at 45-18.
All of which has added up to one overriding sentiment for the Bucks – frustration. Acute, early-onset frustration. And symptoms may include Giannis hurling a basketball at a stanchion.
“At the end of the day, it’s like, where’s your spirit? What are you playing for? And that’s what we gotta decide,” Giannis lamented afterward. “Like, are we going to wave the white flag or are we gonna come together and try to play hard and try to make a push here?”
In his glorious, franchise-defining tenure, the GOAT Buck has never endured something quite like this. Even in his early days, when nobody knew what greatness lay before him, and when the Bucks were mere also-rans, there was at least the promise of future hope.
Now, nobody is quite sure what that future holds, perhaps not even Giannis. The rest of the league surely rejoices in Milwaukee’s current pain, convinced that it’s the latest sign they can finally pry Giannis away from the only American home he’s known.
Even after the man has said all along that Milwaukee is where he wants to be. Even when he posts The Wolf of Wall Street’s “I’m not ****ing leaving” speech after the trade deadline. Even as he fights through an injury-plagued season to make the Bucks the best they can be.
This year, that might be 10th in the Eastern Conference. Or perhaps 11th. Then the fog will fully settle, and Bucks fans will hold their collective breath, waiting to see just how high they can hope again.
