The Milwaukee Bucks have had a fine season by every metric, and their best player, Giannis Antetokounmpo, has had a campaign that only a handful of players in NBA history have ever surpassed. In spite of that, all of the buzz around the Eastern Conference has focused on the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers, the two top teams in the standings.
The Bucks are 35-21, mediocre by their recent standards, and 4.0 games behind the Sixers for No. 1, 2.5 games behind the Nets for No. 2. Perhaps the Bucks have had their moment in the sun, and after failing to take advantage over the last two hyper-dominant seasons, the media and greater fandom has grown weary of paying attention to the team and Giannis himself.
The Milwaukee Bucks have taken a step back, and it may be for the best. However, two-time defending MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo has suffered as a result.
Over the past couple of seasons, the Bucks have been historically dominant in the regular season before flaming out in the playoffs. Last season, a combination of the perfect-storm NBA bubble version of the Miami Heat knocked them off in the second round, and the season before, they almost took a back-breaking 3-0 lead on the eventual champs, the Toronto Raptors.
The Raptors escaped with a Game 3 win and won the rest of the games in that series en route to their NBA championship.
This season, they’re simply less impressive, and although Giannis Antetokounmpo is having a spectacular campaign, we’re not talking about it. Let’s go over some of the reasons why he’s getting unfairly dismissed.