One-title wonders or Dynasty makers: What are the Milwaukee Bucks more likely to be?
Milwaukee Bucks - the current NBA Champions, the pride of the city along with Giannis Antetokounmpo, and now the NBA team with a target on their back. You see, when you're at the top of the food chain, there's always something or someone trying to hunt you down.
In the Milwaukee Bucks' case, several teams are biting at their heels.
The chasing pack is wide-ranging and rabid for success, from the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets to the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat. Mike Budenholzer and his coaching staff will have their work cut out for them if they wish to add another championship ring to their fingers.
Luckily, the Milwaukee Bucks stumbled upon a new trick for their defense during the playoffs, one which will likely see them through to the latter stages again this season. That trick is to play Antetokounmpo at center, allowing him to wreck havoc on anyone foolish enough to venture into his territory.
The Bucks have been doing a good job with the Spain PnR actions with Giannis just switching onto to CP and everyone just stays with theirs. Then Booker calls Bridges over to get Connaughton switched onto him. Solid defense from PC on this one. But the Suns are targeting him https://t.co/Beje6la0Rf
But is sliding Antetokounmpo up a position enough to stem the flow when waves are crashing from every angle? As such, it's fair to ask whether the Milwaukee Bucks will defend their NBA championship this season or whether another franchise will be wearing the crown when all is said and done.
Will the Milwaukee Bucks repeat their title success, or will it be a bridge too far going forward?
Here's where narratives get messy. Should the Milwaukee Bucks fall short in the 2022 NBA playoffs, that doesn't mean their championship window closes, nor does it mean they're "one-hit wonders."
Bluntly speaking, as long as Antetokounmpo is on the roster, the Milwaukee Bucks will always factor into post-season discussions, and rightly so.
Nets and Lakers have better odds than the Bucks to win the 2022 NBA Championship https://t.co/dbeXlP2ZS0
Khris Middleton is still only 30-years-old and Jrue Holiday is 31, so the current core has another two-to-three years to lift another championship together. After those two or three years, Antetokounmpo will still be only 29-years-old, and should he still be on the Milwaukee Bucks roster. He will surely empower the front office to make a couple of big swings on fresh star talent.
Does a wide-open window guarantee more rings? No, far from it. However, life is a numbers game. You always go for the highest possible odds. With Antetokounmpo realistically having another seven to ten years at the top, you have to feel pretty good about the Bucks' chances.
Nuggets Vs. Bucks over the next five years:
Nikola Jokic = Giannis Antetokounmpo
Jamal Murray > Jrue Holiday
MPJ > Kris Middleton
Aaron Gordon > Donte DiVincenzo
Nikola Jokic is 26. Jamal Murray is 24. MPJ is 23. Aaron Gordon is 26.
Giannis is 26. Jrue is 31. Kris is 30. twitter.com/JoshEberley/st…
Roster construction is a tricky beast to tame, however. Cap acrobatics are essential in rounding out a team full of both impactful and tradeable assets. Should the Milwaukee Bucks fail to win another ring during this roster's lifespan, there's no guarantee they can rebuild around Antetokounmpo right off the bat.
It could take two or three years to get back to their current level, at which point Antetokounmpo would already be on the declining slope of his prime.
If I were a betting man, I would firmly place my money on the Milwaukee Bucks, figuring it out and winning at least one more championship.
Bucks‘ Giannis Antetokounmpo is signing a landmark NBA contract: Five years, $228.2 million. He remains a Milwaukee Buck: https://t.co/jRHFi3HDOV
Where I'm skeptical is if Antetokounmpo stays around at the end of his contract, he's done what he set out to accomplish and brought a championship to Milwaukee, so he owes them nothing now. Not that he ever owed them anything, but still.
And that's where the most significant swing factor in this discussion lies - Antetokounmpo being on the roster. If he remains a Milwaukee Buck for life, there's very little chance the Bucks will only have one ring to show for his loyalty. But if Antetokounmpo chooses to leave, then yes, the Milwaukee Bucks are "one-title wonders" for sure.
Now, don't take Antetokounmpo as a guarantee that more silverware will follow. Even Dirk Nowitzki struggled to reach the promised land more than once. But the Milwaukee Bucks seem dedicated to maximizing the Antetokounmpo years, more than the Dallas Mavericks ever did with Nowitzki.
Dallas Mavericks could ‘potentially’ retire Dirk Nowitzki’s jersey this season: ahnfiredigital.com/nba/dallas-mav…
Only time will tell if the Bucks can ever taste glory again, and maybe their current core is good enough to make it two titles in three years. But with so many talented teams around the NBA, expecting this current crop of stars to become a dynasty is one step too far.
Arguably, the Milwaukee Bucks are good enough to end the Middleton, Holiday and Antetokounmpo era with three rings. Still, they're just as likely to end it with the one they already have.
There are simply too many variables at play to determine how the next few years will play out for the Milwaukee Bucks. Still, in all honesty, it's probably somewhere closer to one championship than the team becoming a dynasty.
The @Bucks title defense begins! 🏆
#NBA75 #NBAMediaDay
We can count true NBA dynasties on the one hand; that's how unicorn-like they are, and unless the Milwaukee Bucks make an earth-shattering trade in the coming years, they're not yet at that level.
However, we shouldn't be surprised if they figure it out and go on a championship run again, either this season or next.