Milwaukee Bucks: 5 takeaways from 2018 NBA Summer League

5. Milwaukee Bucks won a tournament game

The outcome of games in Las Vegas is overall meaningless to the teams playing. Wins are not added to the season total, or traded for more cap space. To the teams, whether or not they win a game is largely not the point.

To the players and fans, however, winning is a different story. No player is going to take the court and play as if the game is meaningless to them, because it’s not. They are playing for their NBA careers, and being part of a winning squad puts a positive gleam to their production.

Fans are likewise engaged in their team’s success, and for the first time in years they were witnesses to the Bucks winning multiple games and even advancing in the Summer League tournament. After the three-game preliminary round, the Bucks took on the San Antonio Spurs in the opening round of the tournament and won in overtime, 83-75.

The ride did not last long, as Milwaukee lost by two points to the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round. But winning is good for a team’s culture, and the Bucks and their fans were able to experience just a little more winning than normal.