The Bucks are currently 26-22, holding on to the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference. While many anticipated this season being a breakout year for Milwaukee, that has not come to fruition to this point, with it being a frustratingly average year for the Bucks that led them to go so far as to fire coach Jason Kidd last week.
With Giannis Antetokounmpo continuing to take steps into superstardom and the elite tier of players in the NBA, the Bucks will continue to have lofty expectations placed on them. The question in Milwaukee is whether they can build the team around Antetokounmpo to take the leap as a team, but if no one else will believe in the Bucks’ process, Lakers’ boss Magic Johnson does.
Johnson raved about the Bucks’ young star recently when speaking with ESPN’s Nick Friedell, calling him “the greatest athlete” in the NBA today and saying that his talents and basketball IQ will eventually lead the Bucks to a championship.
“Oh yeah,” Johnson told ESPN recently. “With his ball-handling skills and his passing ability. He plays above the rim I never could do that. But in his understanding of the game, his basketball IQ, his creativity of shots for his teammates. That’s where we [have the] same thing. Can bring it down, make a pass, make a play. I’m just happy he’s starting in the All-Star game because he deserves that. And he’s going to be like an MVP, a champion, this dude he’s going to put Milwaukee on the map. And I think he’s going to bring them a championship one day.”
Johnson acknowledged the similarities in Antetokounmpo and himself in being bigger guys with elite level point guard type skills, and thinks those tools will carry Giannis and the Bucks to a championship. The Bucks’ budding star was very appreciative of that praise from a legend like Magic and said it’s validating to hear others see the vision he has.
“The craziest thing is that I believe that,” Antetokounmpo told ESPN of winning a championship in Milwaukee. “But it’s even more believable when other guys see that, like Magic. Especially Magic seeing that, that’s big. Because it’s almost like, “OK, he sees that.” So I’m on the right path, I’ve got to to do what I’m doing.”
The path to a championship in the current NBA is daunting, with the Warriors lording over the league and the Rockets not too far behind them. In the East, the Celtics appear to be the burgeoning power as the Cavs appear to be fading, but how good Boston is as a postseason team remains to be seen. The Bucks aren’t there yet, but having Antetokounmpo, who depending on what happens with LeBron this summer could quickly become the East’s best player, is a great start to building a championship team.
