After winning the NBA championship in 2021, the Milwaukee Bucks have had a rough couple of years.
They lost in the first round of the playoffs in 2023 and 2024, and they started 2-8 this season, which caused people to wonder if superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo may want out.
But since then, they have gone 26-16, and although they have lost seven of their last 10 games, they have to be viewed as a dark horse team in the Eastern Conference.
ESPN personality Kendrick Perkins took things one step further and said the Bucks can do better than be a dark horse team.
“Can the Bucks get to the NBA Finals? … I believe they can,” Perkins said.
“Can the Bucks get to the NBA Finals? … I believe they can.”@kendrickperkins on Milwaukee after their recent moves at the trade deadline 💪 pic.twitter.com/BhxwYFuyXG
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) February 13, 2025
Pekins cited Milwaukee’s acquisitions of Kyle Kuzma and guard Kevin Porter Jr. as the reason why the team can make some serious noise this spring.
It gave up a package centered around Khris Middleton, who was a key member of its 2021 championship team but has often been injured since, to get Kuzma, who is four years younger and more durable.
Kuzma is not the reliable 3-point shooter that Middleton is, but he has a career average of 17.2 points a game and has improved his defense, rebounding and passing since coming into the NBA seven years ago.
In the summer of 2023, Milwaukee made a franchise-altering move by trading for future Hall of Fame point guard Damian Lillard, and he is finally looking comfortable and productive with the Bucks.
It will be difficult for them to get past the Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks and the defending world champion Boston Celtics, but Antetokounmpo and Lillard should, at the very least, give them a puncher’s chance of doing so.
