Back in 2013, the Milwaukee Bucks sent their star point guard, Brandon Jennings, to the Detroit Pistons for Brendan Knight. As part of the trade, the Pistons also sent a little-known small forward, Khris Middleton, whom they had drafted in the second round of the 2012 NBA Draft, and who had averaged just 6.1 points per game for them while appearing in 27 contests as a rookie.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
Along with Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was drafted by the Bucks in 2013, Middleton helped raise the Bucks up from the basement of the NBA (Milwaukee went 15-67 during their first year as teammates) up the absolute pinnacle of the league, winning the Finals in 2021.
The Milwaukee Bucks Will Surely Retire Khris Middleton’s #22
Giannis and Middleton were not overnight successes. However, it did not take long for both future All-Stars to show glimpses of what was to come.
In his first season with Milwaukee, Middleton averaged 12.1 points while playing in all 82 games (63 starts) and shot 41% from three.
By 2015, he established himself as a full-time starter for the team and posted a then career-high 18.2 points per game while shooting 44/40/88 from the floor.
In 2018, Middleton made his first career All-Star team, averaging over 20 points per game for the first time in his career. The following season, he fell 0.3 percentage points short of a rare 50/40/90 season, ending the year with a 49.7% field goal percentage while shooting 41.5% from three and 91.5% from the line.
And, of course, Middleton put the Bucks on his back during the 2021 NBA Playoffs when Giannis went down with a hyperextended knee in the Eastern Conference Finals. Despite their superstar being out, the Bucks won the final two games of the series without him, as Middleton carried the bulk of the playmaking weight without him.
In the NBA Finals, with Milwaukee down two games to one and in desperate need of a win to even the series, he poured in 40 points in Game Four, setting the stage for their series win in six games.
Unfortunately, in the playoffs the following year, Middleton injured his knee. The surgery and rehab process was grueling, and he has never quite recovered from it. After playing in most of Milwaukee’s games throughout his first nine seasons with the team, he has missed over half of their games since.
Earlier this past week, the Bucks traded Middleton, along with AJ Johnson, to the Washington Wizards for Kyle Kuzma and Patrick Baldwin Jr. (who was subsequently traded to the San Antonio Spurs for cash).
Middleton ended his tenure with the Bucks as the franchise leader in three-point field goals made and attempted, ranks second in games played, and is their third all-time leading scorer.
Without a doubt, his #22 will hang in the rafters when his career comes to an end.
Former Milwaukee Bucks Star Khris Middleton Will Not Wear #22 with the Washington Wizards
While the #22 is now iconic for the Bucks franchise and synonymous with Middleton, he will not be wearing the same number in Washington. The number is already worn by 11-year veteran Richaun Holmes. Because of this, the former Bucks star will wear #32, the same number he wore as a rookie with the Pistons.
And fans back in Milwaukee have some thoughts about this development:
Khris not paying $20k or whatever to get his number from Richaun Holmes is painfully on brand https://t.co/SMyYJ7FpPP
— Ti Windisch (@TiWindisch) February 8, 2025
This looks weird… but the red and the number… https://t.co/rFulxkZAYP
— JT (@TheJakeTietyen) February 8, 2025
Gave my boy a Center number 💔 https://t.co/RhrIXKvZbK
— KDG 🧀🦌 (@Official414) February 8, 2025
Just putting salt on the wound.
Sick to my stomach💔💔💔💔 https://t.co/NTIMd6uquF
— 🥤 (@34for2) February 8, 2025
“Richaun Holmes” couldn’t give up #22? Disrespectful smh https://t.co/4HSTsPYlhq
— 𝐁𝐨𝐛𝐛𝐲𝐬𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 🌎⌚️ (@BobbysWorld414) February 8, 2025
It may be just a number, and Middleton may have been unavailable for Milwaukee over the last few seasons, but his legacy lives on among Bucks fans, and seeing him in a different jersey, let alone wearing a different number, just does not feel right.
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