Milwaukee Bucks

• Founded: 1968
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• History: Milwaukee Bucks (1968-today)
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• Team Colors: Green, Cream, Blue, Black, White
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• Arena: Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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• Championships: 1
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• Head Coach: Mike Budenholzer
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• Arrivals: Nikola Mirotic, Brook Lopez, Ersan Ilyasova, Pat Connaughton
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• Departures: Brandon Jennings, Jabari Parker, Thon Maker, Jason Smith, Matthew Dellavedova, John Henson
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• Rookies: Donte DiVincenzo, Trevon Duval
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• Key Players: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, Eric Bledsoe, Brook Lopez
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• Franchise GOAT: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Roster

The Heirs

Ever since LeBron James has left the Conference the throne in the East is vacant. Several teams are fighting to be the Cavs' successor and advance to the NBA Finals. One of them are the Milwaukee Bucks whose young superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo is playing a MVP caliber season.

The Bucks meteoric rise as a team, however, came a bit unexpected. Like many others we thought the young team would need another year or two to take the lead in the East. Even more so because teams like Boston, Toronto and Philadelphia got plenty of reinforcements over the summer and the Bucks started the season more or less unchanged, at least at the key positions.

But Giannis proved us wrong. He is making his teammates better and the Bucks are already one of top-teams in the Eastern Conference. Respect!

The Beast

Like almost no other franchise the success of the Milwaukee Bucks depend on one single player: Giannis Antetokounmpo. Only 24 years old the Greek Freak is leading the Bucks in points, rebounds and assists and is the undisputed leader of the team.

Due to his versatility Antetoukounmpo is almost unguardable. In the fast break he is bigger and faster than his counterparts and blows by them with his long strides or just dunks over them in transition. In the halfcourt offense he is too powerful to be guarded one-on-one. Giannis has to be double teamed almost constantly. Most of his assists come out of the post where he finds shooters like Middleton, Bledsoe or Lopez for open jumpers when opponents send a second defender.

The only weakness Giannis still has is his own jumpshot, which has improved over the years but is nowhere near reliable, especially from range. That's hardly tragic. Even Russell Westbrook and LeBron James had problems with their shot at the beginning of their career. With lots of practice and patience Antetokounmpo will soon be able to turn his weakness into a strength. When he starts making his jumpshots on a regular basis it's goodnight for the rest of the league.

BLEDSOE

MIDDLETON

LOPEZ

BROGDON

HILL

ILYASOVA

Are the Bucks good enough to represent the Eastern Conference in the Finals? Sorry, we don't think so (yet). In a best-of-7 series opponents will be able to adjust to Antetokounmpo and send double teams as soon as he touches the ball, wearing him down in the process. Other players will have to carry the weight of the offense if this happens and – with all due respect to Khris Middleton – the Bucks don't have a second 'superstar' to save them everytime. Yes, everyone on the team can help a little bit, but looking at the rosters of the Raptors, Celtics and Sixers that probably will not be enough.

Apart from the bench, playoff-experience is another reason we doubt the Bucks will emerge as the Eastern Conference Champion. They were eliminated in the first playoff round in each of the last two seasons. And even though we think this year they will advance without a problem, it could get tough once they face Toronto or Boston whose stars have fought in countless playoff-battles, even Finals.

In direct comparison with other East powerhouses Milwaukee looks to be a tad weaker in depth and experience. But with Giannis Antetokounmpo they have an ace up their sleeve whose impact we already underestimated at the start of the season. A player of his caliber is simply unpredictable. Too bad the Bucks have only one of his kind.

The Products

Here we put everything together a real Bucks fan needs. From official jersey and shorts, to fan t-shirts and socks. Get yours!