5 Burning Questions Facing The Milwaukee Bucks This Season

The Milwaukee Bucks tip off their 2025-26 NBA campaign on Wednesday night when they host the Washington Wizards.

For the first time since Giannis Antetokounmpo’s MVP breakout in Mike Budenholzer’s debut season back in 2018, Milwaukee enters the year surrounded by more questions than answers. How they respond over the next six months could shape the next chapter of Antetokounmpo’s career — and possibly the franchise’s future.

Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s dig into five burning questions facing the Bucks this season.

1. Can the Bucks Start Fast?

Milwaukee started last season in a fog — 2-8 that included an opening-night win followed by a six-game losing streak that buried them early. They can’t afford that again.

This year’s team has almost no margin for error. With a reworked roster and new rotation pieces, the Bucks must play from ahead instead of spending months trying to claw back in the standings.

Their first 10 games look like this:

• vs. Washington Wizards
• at Toronto Raptors
• at Cleveland Cavaliers
• vs. New York Knicks
• vs. Golden State Warriors
• vs. Sacramento Kings
• at Indiana Pacers
• at Toronto Raptors
• vs. Chicago Bulls
• vs. Houston Rockets

It’s a blend of projected bottom-feeders and legitimate playoff teams. A 6-4 start — winning the games they should while stealing one or two tougher matchups — would be more than respectable and start them on a 49-win pace.

2. Can Giannis Antetokounmpo Stay Healthy?

Antetokounmpo has quietly missed 98 games over the past six seasons, averaging just over 16 absences per year. He’s played 68 or more games only once during that stretch. Simply put, Milwaukee can’t afford another year like that.

The Bucks no longer have another All-Star capable of carrying the offense for extended stretches. When Antetokounmpo sits, the results will swing wildly from competent to chaotic.

Head coach Doc Rivers must find a middle ground — managing Antetokounmpo’s workload without overextending him nightly. He averaged 34-plus minutes per game in each of the last two seasons, his heaviest usage since the Jason Kidd era. Preserving him for April and May should be a top priority.

3. Who Else Can Create Offense?

When Antetokounmpo isn’t on the floor, who runs the show? That’s the question hanging over this roster.

Kevin Porter Jr. will handle most of the on-ball creation. Cole Anthony should stabilize the second unit. But Milwaukee will also need contributions from Ryan Rollins, Gary Trent Jr., AJ Green, Kyle Kuzma, and Bobby Portis.

Each can create in spurts — a pull-up here, a drive there — but consistency is another story. The challenge for Rivers will be finding the right balance of touches and tempo so the offense doesn’t crater when Antetokounmpo takes a breather.

4. Can AJ Green and Gary Trent Jr. Produce Consistently?

Green and Trent Jr. will play huge roles this season, and both bring fascinating upside swings.

Green is an under-the-radar Most Improved Player candidate. His 42 percent shooting from deep last season already made him one of the NBA’s elite spot-up threats. But he showed flashes this preseason of expanding his game — attacking closeouts, creating shots off the dribble, and even making advanced skip passes to open teammates. If those developments stick, he could make a legitimate leap.

Trent Jr., meanwhile, has done it before. He averaged over 17 points per game during his peak years in Toronto on playoff-level teams. If he can regain that scoring rhythm — particularly his ability to get hot for stretches — Milwaukee’s offense will be far more balanced. It’s a big “if,” but one that could determine the Bucks’ ceiling.

5. Who Will Become the Bucks’ Defensive Stopper?

The Bucks should once again protect the paint at an elite level. The frontcourt pairing of Antetokounmpo and Myles Turner might be the most versatile rim-protecting duo in basketball.

The concern is what happens on the perimeter.

Green and Trent Jr. are slated to start at the two and three spots, and while both compete, they lack the physicality and size to consistently slow down the league’s bigger wings. That mismatch could force Milwaukee to get creative — mixing coverages, blitzing pick-and-rolls, and relying on team defense to plug the gaps.

Doc Rivers has plenty of options but no clear lockdown guy. The Bucks will likely live in constant experimentation mode, shifting matchups to keep opponents off balance. Whether that’s enough to hold up against the NBA’s top scorers will go a long way in determining how dangerous this team really is.

This season feels like a crossroads for the Bucks — one that will test their new pieces, their defensive identity, and perhaps most importantly, their franchise star’s patience.