Milwaukee Bucks: 5 reasons to be excited for 2019-20 NBA season

3. Growth for young players

Although the Milwaukee Bucks have some excellent veterans to help lead the team and eat up significant minutes, there are a ton of young guns waiting for their opportunities to shine.

Aside from Giannis Antetokounmpo, there’s a solid crop of 25-and-under talent residing on the Milwaukee bench. 24-year-old Sterling Brown saw his field goal percentage rise from 40 to 46.5 percent over the course of his first two years in the league.

With Malcolm Brogdon no longer in the picture at shooting guard and incumbent replacement Wesley Matthews aging, perhaps Brown could see his playing time increase.

Also entering his third season in the NBA, D.J. Wilson has a lot of untapped potential and is still very raw as a prospect. He brings a lot to the table on the defensive end and if his jump shot ever falls with anything resembling regularity, he’ll skyrocket up Budenholzer’s depth chart.

Converting on just 41.4 percent of his attempts from the field in 2018, though, his efficiency is a huge question mark ahead of year three.

Having his rookie season cut short due to injury, Donte DiVincenzo is looking to bring back the same tenacious defense he displayed in 2018. Additionally, his three-point percentage is something to keep an eye on.

He shot just 26.5 percent on 3s last season but was a 37.8 percent shooter from long range in college.

Then, of course, there’s 21-year-old Dragan Bender. The No. 4 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, Bender’s career has gotten off to an extremely rocky start.

Facing significantly less pressure in Milwaukee with the chance to compete on a winning team, Bender will factor into the power forward rotation.