A small market team in the National Basketball Association is searching for its third championship.
The Milwaukee Bucks had success under Mike Budenholzer in his five year run from 2018-23.
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He guided Milwaukee to the playoffs in all five seasons, including an NBA title in the 2020-21 campaign. Milwaukee lost in the first round of the playoffs in each of the last two seasons and is afraid to see it happen again. Giannis Antetokounmpo is the face of the team and one of the elite faces of the league. The “Greek Freak” was taken at No. 15 overall in the 2013 NBA Draft and has spent all his career in Milwaukee. Antetetokounmpo is a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player recipient, nine-time All-Star, eight-time All-NBA team selection, and 2020 NBA Defensive Player of the Year. He wants to win championships, but does he leave the Bucks if it does not happen this season? A former NBA player explained on ESPN’s First Take that a rebuilt could happen in Milwaukee if a championship does not happen. Marcus Morris said he could see Antetokounmpo leave for the Miami Heat.
If I’m Giannis and we don’t get past the first round, I’m going to sunny, sunny, sunny, Miami… It’s wide open over there, you can start something new. It’s a really big market.”
Marcus Morris on Giannis’ future with the Bucks ????️
(via @FirstTake)pic.twitter.com/jL9DDYDROi
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 14, 2025
“If I’m Giannis and we don’t get past the first round, I’m going to sunny, sunny, sunny, Miami,” Morris said.
“It’s wide open over there, you can start something new. It’s a really big market.”
Morris also mentioned Damian Lillard in the conversation as a piece that could leave Milwaukee. “Dame Time” is in his second season with the Bucks, averaging 24.9 points per game. Lillard, a nine-time All-Star and six-time All-NBA team selection, is searching for his first NBA title. He wants to get it in Milwaukee, but what becomes of him if it does not occur in the playoffs?
Morris wonders if Lillard would leave the Bucks too.
“Then, you have to talk about Dame [Damian Lillard] as well,” Morris said.
“Do both of them slide to a new team in Miami? We have seen crazier things happen. Does Milwaukee want to blow it up after this? You just got Kyle Kuzma. If they lose in this first round, there are so many questioned to be answered. I know that Giannis wants to win, but is everyone bought in? I’m just not sure if I am Giannis if I want to just continue to keep on trying. He’s got his one, but now is this something new? Is this a new challenge? Do I go to a new team? I think it will be something to see.”
Milwaukee faces Indiana in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs on Saturday.
Stephen M. Smith is a writer for Ball Exclusives. You can follow him him X via @CoachingMSmith.
