The path to the NBA Finals through the Eastern Conference is seemingly getting easier and easier, and one writer believes the Milwaukee Bucks have an outside chance to successfully traverse that path in 2025-26.
The Athletic's Eric Koreen went through the conference and categorized each team based on their ability to contend. There were eight tiers, and the Bucks were placed into the third tier: "Could rise one tier, but not two."
The two tiers referenced as Milwaukee potentially rising to are "The Favorite" (Cleveland Cavaliers) and "The Contenders" (New York Knicks and Orlando Magic). The Bucks were the third team placed in this tier along with the Atlanta Hawks and Detroit Pistons.
"I’ll keep it short: They have one of the best players in the world and a roster that makes sense around him," Koreen wrote about the Milwaukee. "There isn’t enough talent at guard on that roster, but the Bucks are trying to win, and Giannis Antetokounmpo is too good to write off."
MORE: NBA Writer lists Knicks as 'contender' in East
The story for the Bucks is the same as it has been for years: as Giannis goes, so does Milwaukee.
Koreen's analysis brings to light just how much truer this is in 2025-26 than it quite possibly ever has been. The Bucks notoriously waived Damian Lillard this week, and while that cleared up space for them to sign Myles Turner, this is a team whose only reliable secondary creator is Kyle Kuzma.
All will hinge on Antetokounmpo this year, but as Koreen wrote, he gives them as good a chance to win as any player in the NBA.
Will it be enough to keep him happy in Milwaukee though?
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