Last Updated on May 11, 2026 8:55 pm by Mike Passador | Published: May 11, 2026

It’s rare that you get to see a disaster of a season to the level that the Milwaukee Bucks experienced, but when you do, it’s quite entertaining for non-fans of the ball club. With aspirations to compete at the beginning of the season with Giannis Antetokounmpo at the forefront, the season turned into a crash course of everything that could go wrong for a basketball team. Now on the verge of a rebuild heading into next season, we will look at the turmoil that was the 2025-26 Milwaukee Bucks.  

How’d It Go?

The Bucks could not help but hear the whispers about Giannis Antetokounmpo’s potential future in Milwaukee as the team was unable to seriously compete in 2024-25. They remained steadfast in their desire to build around the homegrown Hall-of-Famer and made the monumental decision to waive-and-stretch the remainder of Damian Lillard’s massive contract, sticking them with huge dead money on the cap for the next few years. They used that newfound flexibility to sign Myles Turner away from division rival Indiana, and while a Turner-Antetokounmpo pairing wasn’t the cleanest fit on paper, at least you could point to the collective talent level and acknowledge that the Bucks were trying to add to this roster.

When the season officially got underway, the Bucks got off to a mediocre start. It wasn’t long until the first huge injury occurred, as Kevin Porter Jr. found himself in the locker room nine minutes into the first game. Luckily their star player was still around, but even that wasn’t for long. Giannis Antetokounmpo found himself in the locker room by game No. 15, leading to a slow domino effect for the rest of the team. With an 8-7 record at that time, it was officially downhill from there. 

Coach Doc Rivers then had to switch his game plan to survival instead of competing. That plane also led to reduced minutes for Turner, who frustrated fantasy managers and Bucks fans alike with his play. Kyle Kuzma brought the same game as always to the table and the depth players rarely had anything to show for their work, aside from some 3-point specialist appeal out of AJ Green. The only major bright spot to come out of this situation was the arrival of Ryan Rollins. We saw him officially come into his own this season, making his name known as a solid NBA starter and a potential fantasy gold mine. Porter also gets a nod for playing well once he was available to do so, but with Antetokounmpo missing significant time due to calf problems there was no chance this roster could go anywhere notable.

While Rivers was leaning on Rollins and company, Antetokounmpo‘s name was steadily in the headlines due to potential trade rumors. Even though he stated he wanted to stay with the team, a lot of his actions said otherwise. When he did return from injury, Antetokounmpo’s production was subpar from his normal play. It was getting quite obvious that he did want to be with the franchise any longer.

With injuries plaguing the ball club, Rivers had no choice  but to lean into a tank more so than competing. Now with the 10th pick in the NBA draft and Antetokounmpo officially on the trade market, the Bucks will look to start a new era in Milwaukee. Given Antetokounmpo’s trade value and the Bucks having the chance at a potential great player in a loaded draft class, this rebuild might be expedited, depending on who joins the team. Rivers stepping aside now brings coach Taylor Jenkins into the fray. This is the perfect signing due to his developmental capabilities, showing that Bucks are fully committed to turning a new leaf for the franchise, but also giving them the option to tout Jenkins — whose Grizzlies teams were perennial playoff squads — as a win-now coach if they continue to hold Giannis. Only time will tell.

Coaching

Luckily, we won’t have to write about coach Doc Rivers again anytime soon. Rivers created a mess that he wasn’t capable of repairing and his surprise at being hired by Milwaukee initially is matched only by our surprise that it took the Bucks this long to change coaches. To be fair, he has been riding the legacy of the 2008 title with the Boston Celtics for some time now, often failing to get teams over the hump when it mattered most. When coach Adrian Griffin was removed,  the Bucks’ “advisor” Rivers took over and everything took a turn for the worst. This season was no different, leading to a surprising 32-50 finish given the circumstances. To be fair, injuries plagued the Bucks the entire way, but Rivers looked lost a majority of time, trying new lineups just to see if something would stick. That is not what you want from your head coach, and his departure was a much-needed breath of fresh air for the organization. 

With a new coach already taking the reins, the Bucks look forward to the tutelage of coach Taylor Jenkins. Widely considered as one of the best developmental coaches in the modern NBA, Jenkins will look to lead Ryan Rollins and company to a new era in Milwaukee. At this current moment, there has been no mention of Jenkins connecting with Giannis Antetokounmpo, and rightfully so now that Antetokounmpo is currently on the trade block. With a current head coaching record of 250-214, Jenkins established the Grizzlies as a force in the West that led to multiple playoff appearances. Now, he should have an entirely new slate to work with, hoping to cement his legacy in the state of Wisconsin and in the NBA.

The Players

Giannis Antetokounmpo

PF, Milwaukee Bucks

ADP: 6.4 / 4.0 (Yahoo/ESPN) | Total Value: 190/226 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 41/67 (8/9-cat)

The writing was on the wall all season with Giannis Antetokounmpo. Many thought this was going to be a monumental season for him, as a lot of heavy lifting was needed to get this team off the ground. The amount of usage Antetokounmpo was set to receive would allow him to put up video game numbers, but the basketball gods had other plans in mind. That inner battle of loyalty and doing what’s best for oneself strained Antetokounmpo’s play on the court all season. We saw decreases across the board in his stats despite the 37% usage as he was largely playing hurt and constantly surrounded by a supporting cast that wasn’t up to par. It didn’t help make it any better that the injuries kept piling on, and the team finally made the right decision to shut him down and end the Antetokounmpo era for good — though he publicly pushed back on the team’s request to pack it in, leading to a big round of drama between the organization and its star player.

With Antetokounmpo officially on the trade block, it will be fun to see where he will call his new home. Antetokounmpo badly wants to compete for a championship on a contender. Even if the team may already have a star player, Antetokounmpo will be fine wherever he lands. Arguably a top five player in the NBA when fully healthy, he will still most likely be drafted inside the top-7 picks next season. Dealing with the free throw percentage is a given by now, but the rest of the production will always have him sit among the fantasy elite. Let’s just hope that the knee and hamstring problems don’t derail another season. The decline in counting stats hurts but Antetokounmpo was still 7th in the 9-cat rankings in punt-FT% formats, so it’s not like he was out to lunch when he was active. 

Myles Turner

C, Milwaukee Bucks

ADP: 46.2 / 52.4 (Yahoo/ESPN) | Total Value: 87/70 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 121/93 (8/9-cat)

Myles Turner was quietly the most disappointing player on this team. It’s usually hard for players to adjust to new teams, but this was a catastrophe. A perennial top-50 player in fantasy most years, Turner barely sniffed the top-100 in 9-cat leagues. Operating next to Giannis Antetokounmpo did not help his ordeal, and he couldn’t find the rhythm on either side of the game. His overall percentages did drop, but he still shot 38.3% from deep. The lack of usage, drop in blocks rate and scoring made this season a disaster.

With the Bucks moving in another direction, Turner might not be in Milwaukee very long. Turner is already 30 years old and can be viewed as valuable to other contending teams that need a stretch big. Unfortunately, his new contract isn’t exactly team-friendly. That alone might make Turner hard to move over the offseason, which means he may be staying in Milwaukee. Like a lot of players on this current Bucks roster, waiting to see what happens with Turner is probably best course of action, and it would not be shocking if he benefited from a new coach (and a healthier roster). He could be due for a slight resurgence this next season but drafting him around pick 70 with the rest of the bigs is probably ideal. If he does regress back to normal, he could be a slight win on draft day.

Kevin Porter Jr.

PG, Milwaukee Bucks

ADP: 109.0 / 75.6 (Yahoo/ESPN) | Total Value: 121/131 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 16/16 (8/9-cat)

Kevin Porter Jr.’s production was a bit of a surprise this season, as no one suspected him to be a player that could finish inside the top-20 on a per game basis, let alone one who actually did. He had already begun to fix his free throw percentage last year, but the insane boost in steals rate really boosted him up the board. Going around pick 90 collectively, most would label Porter Jr. as a steal in drafts, but the games played often had Porter Jr. sitting on injured reserves most of the season. It’s hard to label them as a bust as well because when he played, he was awesome. All one could hope for is that he was healthy at the right time.

Looking towards next season, his role all depends on how the Bucks view him in regard to the rebuild. KPJ’s play would be perfect to lean into for the tank, but they may be able to trade him to a team that is desperately looking for a guard to help manage the pace of the game. Being 26 years of age makes the situation a little murky, as it could go both ways. Either way it goes, there’s a chance that Porter Jr. will be drafted highly again next season, but it would be best to wait and see where he lands. Given his recent injury history, drafting him around pick 90 –if you can — might be a good place to split the difference. Now, we just wait and see what happens.

Ryan Rollins

SG, Milwaukee Bucks

ADP: N/A / N/A (Yahoo/ESPN) | Total Value: 23/34 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 42/52 (8/9-cat)

It’s always beautiful to see a new player rise up the ranks in fantasy basketball. Rarely drafted to start the season, Rollins is surely the best waiver wire pickup of the year. Grabbing a top-50 player off the wire is extremely rare, so if you were able to benefit from acquiring Rollins, you might’ve found the true definition of a “league winner.” He caught a huge break with Porter’s early injury and played well enough to earn plenty of minutes even when the team returned to full strength. Even with career-highs across the board, Rollins has room to grow as a player. The only caveat is that he was a bit streaky at times. Some weeks, he was a top-30 player shooting over 50% from the field, while other week you would barely find them in the top-100 shooting under 30% nightly.. Thankfully, the steals and assists were pretty consistent, even with Kevin Porter Jr.  and Giannis Antetokounmpo in and out of the lineup. That is a good indicator that he will be excellent moving forward.

At this current moment, Rollins is the safest player moving forward in the rebuild. Already projected to be a middle-round pick next season, we could see him fly up the board even higher due to an incoming increase of usage. With Coach Taylor Jenkins at the forefront, development is the main priority for the Bucks. Rollins looks to be their point guard of the future, and the only things that could possibly stop him are tanking shenanigans and whoever comes back in the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade. Rollins will most likely be safe either way, so be ready to pay a pretty penny on draft day.

This is just a sneak peek of the Season Wrap. The entire roster is covered, as well as the Fantasy Star, Letdown, One to Watch and One Burning Question for this team. You’ll need to have an Ethos 360, All-Sport or NBA FantasyPass membership. Click here to learn more and sign up! Premium Access Required Error: Cannot find Gary Haris in player database

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Timothy Woodson

Tim has been with the SportEthos team for one year. Residing in California, he graduated from the University of Southern California and fell in love with the weather during the process. A gym addict and competitor in both fighting games and fantasy basketball, Tim spends his time developing his craft and enjoying a nice chocolate chip cookie here and there.

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