The Milwaukee Bucks are having a great regular season. While they might not break any win-loss records, do they have a case for the best regular season road team of all time?
When considering the best regular season teams in the history of the NBA, the ’96 Chicago Bulls (72-10) and the ’16 Golden State Warriors (73-9) are the two teams that come to mind. The 2020 Milwaukee Bucks are on pace for a 70-12 season.
While the historic Bulls and Warriors edge the Bucks out with overall record, this Bucks team is on pace to be a heavy favorite to go down as the greatest road regular season team in history.
They are on track to be the only team in NBA history to post a double-digit net rating on the road. For reference, the Bucks’ road net rating is +10.3. The ’16 Warriors was +7.4. The ’96 Bulls was +8.2.
The Bucks are absolutely blitzing teams on the road. The team is 21-5 on the road, and15 of the team’s road wins were by 10 or more points. They are shooting 47.6 percent in away games, which ranks as the fourth-best field goal percentage in the NBA.
This team is perfectly constructed to beat opposing teams wherever they are playing. A well-spaced offense powered by Giannis Antetokounmpo combined with the best defense in the league (allowing just 101.7 points per 100 possessions overall, 3.4 points ahead of the second-best Toronto Raptors) is a recipe for success against any team unlucky enough to meet the Bucks at their home court.
Coach Mike Budenholzer has established an efficient system that helps the Bucks compete no matter where they are playing their games. Having the reigning (and likely repeating) MVP on the team certainly helps, but there are several important factors that contribute to the Bucks’ historic success outside of the Fiserv Center.