Milwaukee Bucks: 3 ways the FIBA World Cup can help the team

FIBA helps to support year-round interest

The NBA every year seems to increase in popularity during the offseason, with millions of fans plugged into the NBA Draft, free agency and even Las Vegas Summer League.

That’s with a season starting in mid-October to alleviate scheduling burdens that is already 10 months of action all but locked in.

Even so there is currently a dead period in August and much of September, when the excitement of free agency has died down and the buzz of a new season has not yet hit.

The FIBA World Cup lands firmly in the middle of that dead zone and can be an opportunity for fans to stay engaged with basketball for still more of the calendar.

For any NBA fan rooting for one’s home country can be fun, and Milwaukee fans in the states get that twice over with both Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez on Team USA. Middleton’s presence is not a surprise, as he was an All-Star last year and plays a crucial position in international play.

Lopez is on the team mainly due to Kevin Love and LaMarcus Aldridge not playing, but he is still the player selected to fill that void.

Bucks fans don’t have to wait for Team USA games either, as they can tune into Greece playing to see their superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.

In friendlies leading up to the World Cup this month he has been dominant in limited minutes and could become even more of an international star when the tournament begins.

Additionally many Milwaukee fans have never seen Giannis’ brother, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, play before and he joins his brother on the Greece national team roster.

American football is ramping up and the Green Bay Packers hope to rebound with a new head coach, and the Milwaukee Brewers are in the thick of the postseason chase. Fans near Milwaukee have plenty of sports to distract them and take their money.

The more the Bucks can keep fans focused on basketball the more revenue and support they bring in long-term.