That eight-season drought finally gets to an end this year. Back then it was LeBron James, Greg Monroe and mid-season acquisition Kyle Lowry who led the team. And that 2018 offseason when was Lowry, as a free agent, decided to leave Milwaukee to join the Memphis Grizzlies, starting a long rebuild process for the Bucks. During the first six rebuilding years the Bucks won 24, 11, 11, 22, 22 and 28 games, respectively. That changed in the 2024-25 season when the team won 42 games, but that was not enough to make the playoffs. Last season they won 43 games, but not enough yet. This year, with 56 wins, the team is in. Not only that, but that is the best record ever for the Bucks in the CSL era, surpassing the 46 wins of that 2017-18 team.
This Bucks team has a total of 59 games of playoff experience among his 15 players, but only two of the main rotation players has been before in the postseason: Khris Middleton with 16 games and Mitchell Robinson with four playoff appearances. This means that the most likely scenario is an early playoff exit, as the postseason is a different story from the regular season. However, this experience will make the young Bucks stronger for the future. Taking into account that the average age of the team's core is just 23.6 years old, this team is probably going to contend for a decade.
Middleton is one of the few Bucks with some playoff experience.
It was a long rebuilding process and a patient one. Offers kept coming continuously for many of the team young up-and-coming players, but the Front Office was focused on following the plan and did not engage in trade talks for the core players. Also, most if not all of the Bucks core players were questioned at some point of their mostly young careers: Brandon Ingram was never the awesome stat filler many expected from a first overall pick; Troy Brown was questioned since being drafted; Wendell Carter fell to seventh overall in his draft class and was questioned early on on his career by the press; Daniel Gafford almost fell out of the lottery despite being probably the second most talented big man on his class; Ja Morant has not been the super scorer many hoped he was; Dikembe Dixson was almost without a team as Los Angeles Lakers needed a roster spot and found his way to Milwaukee; Middleton did not met others expectations from his high draft selection; Robinson was without a team when joining the Bucks.
But, as head coach Boris Diaw reminds everyone who asks, this is a team. And for the most part of the season, right until the final stretch, the Bucks were a Top 3 team in the league, finally finding themselves tied for the fourth best record in the CSL. Now it is time for the playoffs, and the Bucks will make their comeback at Madison Square Garden against the Knicks, against whom they have lost the tiebreaker two seasons in a row.
2020, 2023, 2027
