The motto for Jason Kidd’s Milwaukee Bucks this season was “Own the Future,” and though the squad came up short of their short term goal of getting back to the postseason, the Bucks certainly showed flashes of brilliance for the coming years.
Throughout the season, as young players grew into expanded roles and had big performances, Coach Kidd was able to showcase a team that has plenty of promise for the future—highlighted by an incredibly talented young core of stars. The young Bucks also played a chunk of the season without their head coach, as Jason underwent a hip resurfacing procedure, forcing him out of the locker room for 17 games midseason. The hectic year had plenty of bumps in the road for the Milwaukee squad, and that didn’t translate to a second consecutive playoff berth, as the Bucks finished 33-49, well outside of the playoff picture after participating in the postseason last year.
However, they year was headlined by the growth of the team’s core players, including young studs Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker. Antetokounmpo averaged nearly 17 points and 7.7 rebounds per game and was fourth in the league with five triple-doubles. Parker averaged just over 14 points a game in his first full NBA season. The two players were consistently making highlight reel plays, rocking the rim and getting teammates involved.
Shooting guard Khris Middleton also provided a consistent spark for the Bucks offensively, leading his team with 18 points per game. Numerous injuries forced Jason to swap his lineup regularly. But whether Greg Monroe was starting or coming off the bench, the new Buck always made an impact. The fifth year forward averaged 15.3 points per game and 8.8 rebounds.
The growth and maturity of many other young players, including Tyler Ennis, who really started to come on near the end of the season, bodes well for a Bucks team building for the future.
“The development of the team has gotten better. The core has definitely made a jump,” Jason said. “What we did last year was completely different. The makeup of the team was completely different. This year we were younger, not as experienced, and so we had to go through that process of learning what big games mean. I thought we handled some big-game situations well. There are some games that we should’ve won that we didn’t. This is a great learning tool for us going forward.”
Milwaukee began the season with three straight losses, but followed that up with four straight wins, earning a 4-3 mark. That was the only time the Bucks held a winning record, but they fought back to .500 with a double overtime win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Nov. 14. However, the Bucks couldn’t build on that effort and wound up losing six of their next seven games, dropping them to 6-11.
On Dec. 12, the Golden State Warriors traveled to the Bradley Center on a 24-game win streak to begin the season, which was the best in history. The Bucks prevailed in one of the big-game situations J-Kidd alluded to, snapping Golden State’s record streak. As it turned out, the Bucks were just one of nine teams to beat the Dubs all year long.
“When you talk about the streak, what’s bigger than the streak is they’re the world champs,” Jason said. “And so, for us, we didn’t talk about the streak, it was about playing the world champs.”
But again the Bucks couldn’t build on the signature win and instead lost six of their next eight games, to fall to 12-21. On Dec. 21, Jason took a medical leave of absence to have hip surgery. He didn’t return until Jan. 26, and assistant coach Joe Prunty took over in Jason’s absence.
“The guys have to continue to develop,” Jason said. “It’s in good hands with the coaching staff. We’re built as a roundtable. Joe is well-qualified to keep these guys going in the right direction.”
From Jan. 15 to Jan. 19, the Bucks found their footing and won three straight games against a trio of teams all participating in the playoffs on the Eastern Conference side. They started the streak at home, where they took down the Atlanta Hawks 108-101 in overtime. Milwaukee then took the show on the road, where they beat the Hornets in Charlotte and the Heat in Miami. At that point, the Bucks had improved their record to 19-25, but a five-game losing streak as the All-Star break neared set them back.
After picking up two home wins against the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards right before the break, the Bucks sat at 22-32, well outside the playoff picture. This forced Milwaukee to re-assess their goals for the rest of the season. One of the longer term goals of the franchise is development and with that in mind, following the All-Star break, Jason and the Bucks front office decided to give one of their star players a new opportunity.
“Giannis is playing at a very high level right now,” Jason said. “After the break, we’ve made some changes and we’ve kind of given him the ball as the point guard. We haven’t announced he’s the point guard but we’re letting him start the offense.”
The change appeared to work for Antetokounmpo, who blossomed with the ball in his hands. His big season included a game on Feb. 22 when he scored 27 points, pulled down 12 rebounds and dished out 10 assists against the Lakers. That wasn’t all that night will be remembered for, however.
The evening also marked NBA legend Kobe Bryant’s last time playing in Milwaukee before his retirement. Bryant and Jason, who played opposite one another for many years, embraced on the court after the Bucks won 108-101 and spoke afterward about their mutual respect for each other.
“Father Time, I think we all understand, wins,” Jason said. “But for him to carry the load that he did at a very high level, to win championships, to deliver as many times as he has and to have a vision of who he wanted to be from the very start just shows his determination and his work ethic.”
The young Bucks faced a litany of injuries throughout the season. Michael Carter-Williams, Greivis Vasquez, Steve Novak, O.J. Mayo, Jerryd Bayless and John Henson were all out for extended periods of time—and only four players (Antetokounmpo, Monroe, Middleton and Parker) played more than 70 games.
That all resulted in an up-and-down year that changed the team’s goals from making a playoff run to making progress for the long-run. While the Bucks didn’t win consistently enough to make a playoff push, they contended with, and beat, some of the best teams in the NBA. And that’s something J-Kidd believes they can build on for the years ahead.
“We’re not that far off,” he said. “Being one of the youngest teams, I think we can take another big step next year.”
