[Editor’s note: The following article is from Athlon Sports’ 2024-25 NBA season preview magazine. Order your copy today .] The Milwaukee Bucks enter this season looking to recapture the championship form that brought the team its first NBA crown in 50 years during the 2020-21 season.
Despite maintaining championship-caliber talent ever since, led by franchise cornerstone and two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and sharp-shooting Damian Lillard, an eight-time All-Star who enters his second season with the team, the Bucks are gearing up to make a long playoff run after stunning first-round exits the past two seasons. This will be the first full season under the direction of Doc Rivers, who took over after the surprising midseason firing of first-year head coach Adrian Griffin. Rivers has revamped his coaching staff, most notably with the addition of top assistant Darvin Ham, who returns to Milwaukee after serving as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers the previous two seasons.
Injuries to key players have stymied the Bucks’ efforts at another title run over the past three seasons. The usually indestructible Antetokounmpo sat out the playoffs with a left calf strain. Fortunately, the Greek Freak made a full recovery and led Greece to the knockout round in the Summer Olympics in Paris.
Small forward Khris Middleton, a 12-year veteran, had offseason arthroscopic surgery on both ankles. Injuries limited the 33-year-old to 55 games last season and 33 contests in 2022-23. Lilla.