Are Milwaukee Bucks on Verge of a Renaissance?

Energy and excitement are the two words that can describe the BMO Harris Bradley Center Saturday night during the Milwaukee Bucks 111-106 win over the Los Angeles Clippers, a top team in the NBA. With the win, the Bucks currently have a .500 record and have the 6^th best record in the Eastern Conference.

To many teams a .500 record isn’t much to brag about, but to many people in the sports realm, including Bucks fans, this is so far the biggest surprise of the NBA season especially after the Bucks NBA’s worst 15-67 record during the 2013-2014 season.

With an exception to an appearance in the 2001 Eastern Conference Final,s losing has been the norm in Milwaukee basketball with 1987 being the last time the Bucks won a playoff series. It hasn’t always been that way as the Bucks were considered a basketball powerhouse during the 1970s winning the 1971 NBA Championship with all-time great center Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and consistent playoff runs during the 1980s with great shooting guard Sydney Moncrief.

With over 25 years of losing, many have forgotten about Milwaukee’s rich basketball culture, with even talks about moving the team. This only escalated with the NBA’s ultimatum being that the Bucks must build a new arena by 2017, or relocate. But this all changed after the purchase of the team by Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry who are keen on building a new arena and keeping the team in Milwaukee. Along with the purchase of the team came a sweeping change of the losing culture in Milwaukee what many call a Renaissance.

“I see a long period of winning on the horizon,” says longtime fan Dan Wussow. “All my life I’ve seen the Bucks be mediocre or worse, now with such a young, talented, and already improved team, me and the entire fan base can anticipate Milwaukee once again being a basketball powerhouse for years to come.”

Renaissance has been used before in the early 2000’s with stars such as Ray Allen and Glen Robinson, which culminated with an appearance in the 2001 Eastern Conference Finals, but soon after bad acquisitions and trades were made and The Bucks collapsed back into dwelling near the bottom.

With much stronger ownership, management of the Bucks has built a team that is currently the youngest in the NBA, but is exceeding expectations that no one saw coming so early.

Thanks to General Manager John Hammond, the Bucks acquired both 23-year-olds Brandon Knight and Khris Middleton from The Detroit Pistons for Brandon Jennings, along with getting free agents OJ Mayo, Jerryd Bayless, and Kendall Marshall.

Along with acquisitions are the great draft picks in the past two years with last year being an 18-year-old forward from Greece Giannis Antetokounmpo, and this year being the highly touted 19-year-old forward from Duke Jabari Parker with their 2^nd overall pick.

Both have set the league on fire with their unlimited potential, athleticism, and neither of them is even old enough to legally drink. The cherry on top is the acquisition of recently retired legendary point guard Jason Kidd as the new head coach. A young coach for a young team.

Because of such a young up-and-coming team already winning and exceeding all expectations, the fans are believing once again and coming to games, creating the basketball culture that Milwaukee has been missing for over 25 years.

Antetokounnmpo and Parker said they want to be Bucks for a very long time and, if this holds true, Milwaukee can once again become a basketball powerhouse.