Why the Bucks Will Win the 2019 NBA Finals

Similar to the Warriors, the Bucks have rebuilt themselves from the ground up in the last few years and have consistently been playoff contenders but can’t seem make it out of the first round. So, what makes this year different? And is it enough for them to win a championship? With their current run and roster they certainly can win the championship. In fact, as of March 9^th, the Bucks are the first team in the league to make it to 50 wins, led by Greek superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo and the help of a talented supporting cast that has helped rank them as the best team in the NBA and giving them everything they need to win an NBA title.

Every sport is filled with long running history and team narratives that span generations. In 2016, the Cleveland Cavaliers won their first championship ever with LeBron James’ triumphant return, and similarly the Golden State Warriors won the championship in 2015, their first in 40 years (and several more since then). If there is any case to be made that history is cyclical, it can be clearly traced in the different eras of basketball, the stars that inhabit them and the legacies the teams create. The Milwaukee Bucks’ one and only title win was in 1971 and their last Finals appearance was in 1974, but that was 45 years ago, and a lot has happened since then.

The Bucks hit the jackpot when they drafted 18-year-old unknown Greek basketball prospect Antetokounmpo 15^th overall in the 2013 NBA draft. Donning more than a long last name, the “Greek Freak” was six foot eight and a half inches and 196 pounds of uncertainty, a player who entered the league a question mark for scouts and for the struggling Bucks who had a franchise worst record that year. Five years later, 3 inches taller and 40 pounds stronger he has emerged an all-star, an MVP candidate and considered by many as the best basketball player in the world. His mix of strength, speed and athleticism have helped rebrand the Milwaukee Bucks from a team that would struggle to get to 30 wins, to a team that is a legitimate title contender.

Even after the Bucks signed Antetokounmpo, it was a rough start under former coach Jason Kidd’s stale leadership, and it didn’t help that he was working with a roster of hopeful players that never reached their potential. This includes players like Jabari Parker, Michael Carter-Williams and Thon Maker, none of whom is still with the Bucks. Fast forward to present day with the improvement of Khris Middleton, the additions of Eric Bledsoe, Brook Lopez, and Malcom Brogdon and the replacement of Mike Budenholzer at head coach, and the Bucks have culminated into a force to be reckoned with across the league.

So, with all of that the Bucks are a shoo-in for the finals, right? Not exactly. Even with a stellar season, the major sports media outlets and general public are still skeptical. The Bucks being an underdog in the league is an all too familiar theme for Bucks fans throughout the team’s history. Whether it comes from repeated playoff failures or being a smaller market team, the current conversation has been about single game and season long feats, but not about a championship run. It’s easy to look at season records and playoff eliminations and lose sight of the fact that every year the team seems to be inching closer to a Finals berth and that they haven’t played this good as a team in years.

In 2017, the Bucks lost in six games against the Raptors and last season they went seven games against an injured Celtics roster that eventually won the tie winning game at home. So, what’s the difference this year? In all of those occasions the other teams were ranked higher, meaning they got home court advantage, which is a huge boost for certain teams, especially in a close series like the last few the Bucks have lost. This year, the tables are turned as the Bucks ranking is almost cemented as first in the Eastern conference which means the Bucks would play the lowest seed and get home court advantage throughout the playoffs, which is important considering the Bucks have only lost five games at home this season.

Still the Bucks will have to continue to prove their worth as they do every year and continue to play on all cylinders. 538 has them as the second-best odds to get to the NBA Finals, while Lebron and the Lakers have less than a one percent chance to make the playoffs and so that leaves Golden State as the biggest hurdle the Bucks would have to jump through. To be sure, people point to the Bucks’ lack of experience as an indictment for why they will eventually fail, but the Pau Gasol signing was an answer for those criticisms as he is a two-time champion and veteran. The Bucks also hold the best defensive rating across all teams as well as having multiple players that can shoot behind the arc, the question then becomes if they can do it come playoff time.

The Bucks have won and lost one game against the Warriors in regular season games this season but have never made it far enough in the playoffs to see what a seven-game series would look like against them. But if there’s one team that can defeat the almighty Warriors, it is the Bucks. In fact, I was at the Bradley Center during the historic regular season game in 2015 when the Warriors started the season undefeated, winning 24 straight until they faced a packed and raucous crowd that confidently donned 24-1 shirts, and that energy was so infectious that the Bucks went on to snap the Warriors winning streak and shock the world. That type of tenacity and hope for a mediocre Bucks team back then is what will spill over into the Finals this year with an elite Bucks team and have them once again repeat history and snap the Warrior’s championship streak to 2-1. Get the t-shirts ready.