Is Giannis and the Bucks' championship contention still a reality?

As we gear up for the 2024-25 NBA season, our team of senior analysts will be breaking down 24 crucial storylines to keep an eye on. Join us each day as we delve into a new topic, leading up to the highly anticipated opening night on Oct. 22. Get ready for all the action and drama that the upcoming season has in store!

Here is storyline

No. 21

Are Giannis and the Bucks still serious title contenders?

Sure, the Bucks remain serious title contenders as the 2024-25 season begins, but their “best by” date is fast approaching.

Any team that has Giannis Antetokounmpo in his prime — along with fellow Top 75 and All-Star Damian Lillard, teammates such as Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis from Milwaukee’s 2021 championship team, a title-winning coach in Doc Rivers and ownership still willing to spend big — has a shot.

Granted, it’s not easy to plot the Bucks’ path back to the NBA Finals given the arms race in the East, nor their chances for another Larry O’Brien Trophy against whichever beast survives in the Western Conference. But if Antetokounmpo can avoid being hurt for a third consecutive postseason and Middleton’s list of injuries and surgeries doesn’t require further scrolling by springtime, this top-heavy, depth-challenged group has enough talent and experience to beat anybody.

Embarrassment, however, might be Milwaukee’s greatest asset at this point. Last season was a mess. Lillard arrived on the brink of training camp to spark giddy presumptions of success. Rivers got the call in midseason as a desperate attempt to erase Adrian Griffin’s out-of-synch hiring, a rookie coach ill-equipped to steer a veteran contender. Lillard and Antetokounmpo took all season (and never quite figured it out) trying to thrive as two ball dominators on the floor at once.

Everyone is a year older now — present company included, along with Middleton (33), Lillard (34) and Lopez (36). Shooting guard remains an obvious weakness. Defensively the Bucks plummeted last season from fourth to 19th. Drafting late in recent years has left the roster short on athletic ability and talent.

Boston boasts best-in-conference status. Philadelphia can claim the “best Big Three” with the fit of Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey. Indiana took a huge step, New York and Cleveland are due and Orlando might be next. Miami almost always is in the mix. But no team can match the sting of last season with the pounding clock this season quite like the Bucks.

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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.

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