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The Milwaukee Bucks team was founded in 1968 as an expansion team and compete in the Eastern Conference. They won their only NBA championship in 1971 but boast of 13 division titles. They play their home games at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.
The Bucks have been showing improvement as a team from the past few seasons and it looks like they are finally equipped with enough talent to win another NBA championship after over 40 years.
Some of the greatest basketball legends have spent their playing days in Milwaukee. Throughout the course of this article, we take a look at the five best Bucks players since 2000. Read on to find out.
#5 Khris Middleton
Khris Middleton made his NBA debut for the Detroit Pistons in 2012 and appeared in just 27 games, averaging 6.1 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 17.6 minutes per game. He was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks after the end of his rookie season by the Pistons, in a trade package centred around Brandon Jennings.
Middleton became a starter for the team very quickly and evolved into an elite scorer for the Bucks. Playing alongside players like Giannis, Ilyasova and Henson, he performed exceptionally well and the Bucks have shown a lot of improvement as a team.
In 2015, Middleton re-signed with the Bucks to a five-year, $70 million contract, with a player option for the fifth year. Thanks to his stellar performances in the ongoing 2018-19 NBA season, averaging 17.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game, he was named an All-Star for the NBA All-Star Game.
However, multiple agencies have reported earlier that the 27-year-old might decline the player option and become a free agent at the end of 2018-19 season.
#4 Jabari Parker
A 19-year-old Jabari Parker was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks with the second overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft. Even though Parker was very efficient for the Bucks from day 1 of his career, he tore his ACL in his rookie season and his season came to an end after just 25 games.
In his second season, he appeared in 76 games and averaged 14.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. However, the Bucks finished at 33-49 and failed to reach the playoffs.
His third season was once again cut short because of an ACL tear and he averaged 20.1 points (2nd on team), 6.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.0 steals in 33.9 minutes over 51 games before the injury.
He returned for the 2017-18 season in February and finished the season averaging 12.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. He left the team after the season ended and signed a two-year, $40 million deal with the Chicago Bulls.
Parker's career in Milwaukee would have taken a different turn if it wasn't for the injuries that kept recurring all throughout his time with the franchise.
#3 Andrew Bogut
Andrew Bogut is one of the best shot blockers in the last two decades and was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the first overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft. In his rookie year, he averaged 9.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game, was named to the All-NBA First Rookie team.
When the Bucks selected him with the first overall pick, the decision raised a few eyebrows because he was drafted ahead of players like Chris Paul and Deron Williams. He would have enjoyed a more illustrious career with the Bucks if only he had stayed healthy.
He missed games frequently due to injuries but whenever he was on the court, he was a reliable threat scoring in the paint, a terrific shot-blocker and was a really strong rebounder.
In his seven seasons with the franchise, he averaged 12.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.6 blocks per game. He was also the blocks per game leader in 2011 when he led the league with 2.6 bpg.
In 2012, he was traded by the Bucks to the Golden State Warriors, with whom he won the NBA championship in 2015.
#2 Michael Redd
The Milwaukee Bucks selected Michael Redd in the second round, with the 43rd overall pick, in the 2000 NBA draft. He only got very limited opportunities to showcase his talent in his rookie year as he played in just six games.
However, just in his second season, he averaged 11.4 points and 3.3 rebounds per game at an efficient 48.3 % shooting from the field, including 44.4 % from the three-point line. By his third year in the NBA, he was already the leader of the time and was an elite scoring threat.
In his fourth season, he averaged over 20 points per game for the first time in his career and earned an All-Star selection. He ended up averaging over 20 ppg for six straight seasons with the franchise.
However, he tore his MCL and ACL in January 2009 and missed the remainder of the season. In a coincidence, he re-tore his ACL and MCL in the same knee that he had injured almost a year earlier. When he left Milwaukee, he averaged 20.0 points per game in his eleven seasons with the franchise.
#1 Giannis Antetokounmpo
The league has no answer for the Greek Freak at this point and he has been on a tear all season long. It is incredible how the 24-year-old has improved so much in such a short span of time and is troubling even the best of the defenders.
Antetokounmpo was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 15th overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft. His numbers have increased exponentially every year and he was named the Most Improved Player of the year just in his fourth season, after averaging 22.9 points, 8.7 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.9 blocks per game.
The three-time All-Star is the front runner for the Most Valuable Player award for his heroics in the ongoing 2018-19 NBA season and the Bucks currently lead the league. He will become an unrestricted free agent in 2021 and is expected to re-sign with the franchise on a supermax contract.
