On Friday night, newly acquired Milwaukee Bucks forward Kyle Kuzma made his team debut in their 115-110 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. The Bucks, playing without Giannis Antetokounmpo, struggled for the majority of the game, outside of the second quarter in which they scored 47 points.
For his part, Kuzma had 12 points, seven rebounds, and one assist while shooting 4/13 from the floor (3/8 from three).
Of course, the 2020 NBA Champion with the Los Angeles Lakers was traded to the Bucks (along with Patrick Baldwin Jr.) by the Washington Wizards in exchange for three-time All-Star and 2021 NBA Champion Khris Middleton (along with AJ Johnson).
But while Bucks fans have gotten a chance to see their newly acquired star in action already, Wizards fans are going to have to wait a little bit longer.
Former Milwaukee Bucks All-Star Khris Middleton Is OUT for the Washington Wizards on Saturday
As Bucks fans know all too well, Middleton has been limited by knee and ankle injuries for most of the last two-and-a-half seasons. He did not make his season debut until later this year because of offseason surgery on both of his ankles.
And now that he is with the Wizards, fans in Washington will have to deal with the nightly question of whether or not the three-time All-Star will be able to play.
After missing his first game with the Wizards as the NBA processed the trade, Middleton will also miss the second game. Due to needing rest.
Khris Middleton (rest) listed out Saturday.
— Underdog NBA (@Underdog__NBA) February 8, 2025
As one might expect, Bucks fans had some thoughts on this latest development, which is nothing new to them.
Milwaukee Bucks Fans React to Khris Middleton Being Listed as Out for the Washington Wizards
Since getting hurt in the 2022 NBA Playoffs, Middleton played in just 33 games in 2022-23, 55 games in 2023-24, and has played in just 23 games this season. After averaging 20 or more points per game in four out of five seasons between 2017 and 2021, he has averaged 15.1 points, 15.1 points, and 12.6 points respectively in the three seasons since.
And with him listed as out for what should have been his first game in Washington, Bucks fans were quickly reminded why he was traded in the first place:
I’m officially done arguing about this stuff man. If you don’t see why the Bucks did what they did. You just don’t want to see it. https://t.co/xKtU9HoGuF
— Trey Crosby III Guru (@TCIIIESQ) February 8, 2025
I miss Khris but I don’t miss this👇 https://t.co/y7pL3aFTWD
— FreakTime 🦌⌚️ (@RunNDunkMan) February 8, 2025
Bucks won the trade so far btw tbh iirc https://t.co/2FpPcnTmbx
— Steve Pelicopter (@stevepeli) February 8, 2025
Objectively very funny. https://t.co/gwxG2ZyIwA
— Trevor Theissen (@trev_theissen) February 8, 2025
Saw ts n thought we had a back to back 💔 https://t.co/8yM62k8sSy
— Kaleb Chandler (@KalebChandler14) February 8, 2025
Middleton has a $34 million player option for 2025-26 as part of the contract extension he originally signed with the Bucks in 2023. He almost certainly will not make that kind of money next year with another team if he opts out of the deal, so perhaps fans in Washington will get to see more of him next season.
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- Kyle Kuzma’s Final Stat Line in Bucks Debut Sparks Brutal Reactions
- Bucks HC Doc Rivers’ Assessment of Kyle Kuzma Will Excite Fans
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