At the halfway point of the 2025-26 schedule, the Milwaukee Bucks find themselves mired in disappointment: 17-24, out of the play-in, and seemingly without an answer for the flaws that keep coming back to bite them. Blowout losses to the Spurs and Timberwolves have them on a three-game skid.
Compare that to last year’s team. After a 2-8 start, the ’24-25 team sat 24-17 at the same juncture, riding a four-game win streak. They had won seven of eight. Things were looking up. The team was in rhythm.
Right now, the Bucks are staring down the abyss, teetering off-kilter, unanchored. Of course, who cares about last year? That was then, this is now. No Damian Lillard, no Khris Middleton, no Brook Lopez. All gone. Nonetheless, the side-by-side snapshot highlights just how different things are in Milwaukee almost exactly one year later.
This year’s squad is heading in the wrong direction
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Sure, the Bucks’ preseason win total sat a few games below the 48-34 record they achieved last season. Market consensus had their over/under anywhere from 43.5 to 45.5. The roster might be missing some firepower, but many still expected the Bucks to be a solid squad.
When Giannis plays, that isn’t so untrue. Then they are 14-13, versus 3-11 without him. But last year’s roster was more equipped to handle his absence. Part of that was having Lillard. But the Bucks still managed to compete without either of them. Missing Giannis, this team has been completely unmoored.
It doesn’t help that he has missed or left injured in 14 games. That outcome obviously falls on the negative end of the spectrum. No one predicted Giannis would miss one-third of the Bucks’ games.
But it’s not bad injury luck. Guys like Gary Trent Jr. and Myles Turner, expected to be major contributors, have not lived up to those expectations. Role players like Cole Anthony and Amir Coffey have provided nothing. After a scorching start in his own injury return, Kevin Porter Jr. has fallen off in a big way. He’s inefficient. Ryan Rollins, their other breakout player, is in a funk.
As opposed to last year, when the Bucks bounced back after a strong start, this season has been the opposite. Milwaukee started 8-5 and, in part due to Giannis’ injuries, have gone 9-19 since.
Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? For this year’s team, the answer might be no. The best way forward might be holding onto their tradeable draft pick and salaries (rather than flinging them away in a doomed, desperate move for someone like Ja Morant), losing more games to secure a top 10 pick, and waiting until the summer to determine a course of action. If there is a light at the end of the tunnel, that might be it.
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