Middleton would come back in full force the following season, averaging 20 points per game for the first time in his career. Disaster struck as Middleton entered the next year: he tore his left hamstring in preseason workouts and was sidelined for six months. He paid them back with the best season of his career, but the Bucks fell out of playoff contention with a 33-win season. After his second season with the team, the Bucks awarded with him a five-year, $70 million deal. Meanwhile, Middleton just kept improving little by little. Parker was a completely defensible pick at the time, but he ended up being a bust after two ACL surgeries in his first four years as a pro. Embiid had major injury issues, and Parker had been seen as a phenom since his high school days in Chicago. Andrew Wiggins went with the first pick, which left Milwaukee with two choices: Kansas center Joel Embiid or Duke forward Jabari Parker. The Bucks were supposed to find their other star the next season as they landed the No. Giannis Antetokounmpo represents everything great about sportsĮven after a solid debut season with the Bucks where he averaged just over 12 points per game, it was hard to see Middleton as anything more than a nice complementary piece. Middleton spent one season with the Detroit Pistons, and was then considered a throw-in in the Brandon Knight for Brandon Jennings swap with Milwaukee. The fact that he willed his name into that discussion is a testament to his remarkable growth as a player after entering the league as a second round pick (No. Granted: Middleton was never supposed to be the second option on a squad with championship aspirations. He simply didn’t have enough help on the Bucks, largely because Middleton wasn’t seen as good enough to be the second option on a title team. The thought was that if the Greek Freak wanted to win a championship, he’d have to leave Milwaukee. With his contract on the brink of expiring, Giannis’ future became the biggest storyline in the league. The Bucks still fell short in the NBA playoffs, though: they blew a 2-0 lead on the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2019, and then more or less got their asses kicked by the Miami Heat in a five-game gentleman’s sweep in the second round inside the bubble.Īntetokounmpo took his fair share of criticism after both eliminations, but his superstar bonafides were still secure. Giannis Antetokounmpo was named MVP in both seasons, and won Defensive Player of the Year in the latter. The Bucks sprinted to the best record in the NBA in Bud’s first year, and they did it again in 2019-2020. Milwaukee rose to the level of a championship contender out of thin air when they hired Mike Budenholzer as head dcoach ahead of the 2018-2019 season. Before Middleton proved himself on the biggest stage, there were years of questions centered on if he was good enough for the job. Khris Middleton knew this predicament as well as anyone before his brilliant performance in the 2021 NBA Finals. Fall short and a team’s failures are often seen as a reflection of the shortcomings of the supporting cast - starting with the second star. 2 option tends to only get a small slice of credit if his team wins while the rest goes to the superstar playing next to him. Being the second banana on a championship contender can be one of the most thankless jobs in the NBA.

Khris middleton stats vs brooklyn nets