| 2024–25 Milwaukee Bucks season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
NBA Cup champions | |||
| Head coach | Doc Rivers | ||
| General manager | Jon Horst | ||
| Owners | |||
| Arena | Fiserv Forum | ||
| Results | |||
| Record | 48–34 (.585) | ||
| Place | Division: 3rd (Central) Conference: 5th (Eastern) | ||
| Playoff finish | First round (lost toPacers 1–4) | ||
Stats atBasketball Reference | |||
| Local media | |||
| Television | FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin WMLW-TV (5 games) WYTU-LD (5 games inSpanish)[1] | ||
| Radio | WTMJ | ||
| |||
The2024–25 Milwaukee Bucks season was the 57th season for the franchise in theNational Basketball Association (NBA). They looked to bounce back from the previous season's dysfunctional, disappointing ending following their injury-laden first round exit to theIndiana Pacers. It was the second and final season withDamian Lillard on the roster. The Bucks started out with a rather disappointing 2–8 start to their season before winning 8 of 9 games to reach a 10–9 record near the end of November, including a six-game winning streak near the end of that month.
The Bucks held a perfect record in theNBA Cup, winning the Cup on December 17 by defeating theOklahoma City Thunder. With theCleveland Cavaliers clinching theCentral Division title, this was the first season since the2017–18 season that the Bucks did not win the division title.
On February 6, long-time BuckKhris Middleton, who was with the franchise for over 10 seasons (including theirtitle-winningseason in 2021) was traded to the Washington Wizards in exchange forKyle Kuzma.[2]
On April 5, the Bucks clinched their ninth-straight playoff berth following theAtlanta Hawks losing to theNew York Knicks.[3]
On April 29, the Bucks were eliminated in the first round by the eventual Eastern Conference championIndiana Pacers for the second consecutive year, losing the series in five games.[4] Lillard suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in game 4 of the series, which ultimately led to him being waived during the off-season.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position(s) | Nationality | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 | AJ Johnson | SG |  United States | Illawarra HawksAustralia |
| 2 | 33 | Tyler Smith | SF | United States | NBA G League Ignite |
The Bucks entered this draft (which was two days instead of one like it had been since theNBA draft was shortened down to two rounds back in1989) with a late first-round pick and an early second-round pick they had acquired from thePortland Trail Blazers via theSacramento Kings.[5][6] Near the end of the first night of the draft, the Bucks would surprise draft pundits by selecting shooting guardAJ Johnson (a player who was projected to either be taken late in the second round or go undrafted by most draft boards) from theIllawarra Hawks ofAustralia'sNational Basketball League as the 23rd pick of the draft. On the second day of the draft, the Bucks would select what ultimately became the final player drafted from the now-defunctNBA G League Ignite team of theNBA G League (and their third player drafted in four seasons from that team) by selecting the formerOvertime Elite forwardTyler Smith with the 33rd pick of the draft.
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| Head coach Assistant(s)
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| Central Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| c –Cleveland Cavaliers | 64 | 18 | .780 | – | 34–7 | 30–11 | 12–4 | 82 |
| x –Indiana Pacers | 50 | 32 | .610 | 14.0 | 29–12 | 21–20 | 10–6 | 82 |
| x –Milwaukee Bucks | 48 | 34 | .585 | 16.0 | 28–14 | 20–20 | 9–7 | 82 |
| x –Detroit Pistons | 44 | 38 | .537 | 20.0 | 22–19 | 22–19 | 5–11 | 82 |
| pi –Chicago Bulls | 39 | 43 | .476 | 25.0 | 18–23 | 21–20 | 4–12 | 82 |
| Eastern Conference | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
| 1 | c –Cleveland Cavaliers * | 64 | 18 | .780 | – | 82 |
| 2 | y –Boston Celtics * | 61 | 21 | .744 | 3.0 | 82 |
| 3 | x –New York Knicks | 51 | 31 | .622 | 13.0 | 82 |
| 4 | x –Indiana Pacers | 50 | 32 | .610 | 14.0 | 82 |
| 5 | x –Milwaukee Bucks | 48 | 34 | .585 | 16.0 | 82 |
| 6 | x –Detroit Pistons | 44 | 38 | .537 | 20.0 | 82 |
| 7 | y –Orlando Magic * | 41 | 41 | .500 | 23.0 | 82 |
| 8 | pi –Atlanta Hawks | 40 | 42 | .488 | 24.0 | 82 |
| 9 | pi –Chicago Bulls | 39 | 43 | .476 | 25.0 | 82 |
| 10 | x –Miami Heat | 37 | 45 | .451 | 27.0 | 82 |
| 11 | Toronto Raptors | 30 | 52 | .366 | 34.0 | 82 |
| 12 | Brooklyn Nets | 26 | 56 | .317 | 38.0 | 82 |
| 13 | Philadelphia 76ers | 24 | 58 | .293 | 40.0 | 82 |
| 14 | Charlotte Hornets | 19 | 63 | .232 | 45.0 | 82 |
| 15 | Washington Wizards | 18 | 64 | .220 | 46.0 | 82 |
During the preseason, the Bucks would play their final games under what was previously named theBally Sports Wisconsin moniker.Bally Sports would rebrand itself as theFanDuel Sports Network as of October 21, 2024 before the start of the regular season.[7][8]
| 2024 preseason game log Total: 1–3 (Home: 1–1; Road: 0–2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Preseason: 1–3 (home: 1–1; road: 0–2)
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| 2024–25 preseason schedule | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025 playoff game log Total: 1–4 (home: 1–1; road: 0–3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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First Round: 1–4 (home: 1–1; road: 0–3)
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| 2025 playoff schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The groups were revealed during the tournament announcement on July 12, 2024.[10][11]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Milwaukee Bucks | 4 | 4 | 0 | 462 | 412 | +50 | Advanced toknockout stage |
| 2 | Detroit Pistons | 4 | 3 | 1 | 447 | 440 | +7 | |
| 3 | Miami Heat | 4 | 2 | 2 | 459 | 439 | +20 | |
| 4 | Toronto Raptors | 4 | 1 | 3 | 413 | 430 | −17 | |
| 5 | Indiana Pacers | 4 | 0 | 4 | 445 | 505 | −60 |
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | 67 | 67 | 34.2 | .601 | .222 | .617 | 11.9 | 6.5 | .9 | 1.2 | 30.4 |
| MarJon Beauchamp† | 26 | 0 | 4.7 | .383 | .333 | .750 | 1.2 | .3 | .1 | .0 | 2.0 |
| Jamaree Bouyea | 5 | 1 | 12.3 | .500 | .200 | .667 | 1.0 | 2.0 | .8 | .4 | 3.4 |
| Pat Connaughton | 41 | 1 | 14.7 | .469 | .321 | .774 | 2.7 | 1.7 | .2 | .3 | 5.3 |
| A. J. Green | 73 | 7 | 22.7 | .429 | .427 | .815 | 2.4 | 1.5 | .5 | .1 | 7.4 |
| Andre Jackson Jr. | 67 | 43 | 14.6 | .477 | .395 | .500 | 2.7 | 1.2 | .5 | .2 | 3.4 |
| AJ Johnson† | 7 | 0 | 6.3 | .421 | .600 | .500 | 1.0 | 1.0 | .1 | .0 | 2.9 |
| Kyle Kuzma† | 33 | 32 | 31.8 | .455 | .333 | .663 | 5.6 | 2.2 | .5 | .4 | 14.5 |
| Damian Lillard | 58 | 58 | 36.1 | .448 | .376 | .921 | 4.7 | 7.1 | 1.2 | .2 | 24.9 |
| Chris Livingston | 21 | 1 | 5.0 | .333 | .000 | .750 | 1.7 | .2 | .2 | .0 | 1.4 |
| Brook Lopez | 80 | 80 | 31.8 | .509 | .373 | .826 | 5.0 | 1.8 | .6 | 1.9 | 13.0 |
| Khris Middleton† | 23 | 7 | 23.2 | .512 | .407 | .848 | 3.7 | 4.4 | .7 | .2 | 12.6 |
| Pete Nance† | 6 | 1 | 11.6 | .529 | .417 | 1.8 | 1.2 | .2 | .3 | 3.8 | |
| Kevin Porter Jr.† | 30 | 2 | 19.9 | .494 | .408 | .871 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 1.3 | .1 | 11.7 |
| Bobby Portis | 49 | 7 | 25.4 | .508 | .407 | .790 | 8.4 | 2.1 | .7 | .5 | 13.9 |
| Taurean Prince | 80 | 73 | 27.1 | .457 | .439 | .813 | 3.6 | 1.9 | 1.0 | .2 | 8.2 |
| Liam Robbins | 13 | 0 | 4.4 | .250 | .000 | .500 | .9 | .2 | .2 | .2 | .7 |
| Ryan Rollins | 56 | 19 | 14.6 | .487 | .408 | .800 | 1.9 | 1.9 | .8 | .3 | 6.2 |
| Jericho Sims† | 14 | 0 | 15.0 | .680 | 4.9 | .8 | .1 | .6 | 2.4 | ||
| Tyler Smith | 23 | 0 | 5.3 | .480 | .433 | .750 | 1.1 | .2 | .1 | .2 | 2.9 |
| Gary Trent Jr. | 74 | 9 | 25.6 | .431 | .416 | .848 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 1.0 | .1 | 11.1 |
| Stanley Umude | 22 | 0 | 3.9 | .192 | .200 | .500 | .8 | .2 | .1 | .3 | .7 |
| Delon Wright† | 26 | 2 | 15.6 | .268 | .245 | .563 | 1.8 | 1.8 | .9 | .3 | 2.5 |
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | 5 | 5 | 37.6 | .606 | .200 | .698 | 15.4 | 6.6 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 33.0 |
| Pat Connaughton | 3 | 0 | 4.6 | .250 | .250 | .500 | .7 | .3 | .0 | .0 | 2.0 |
| A. J. Green | 5 | 1 | 27.0 | .462 | .514 | .500 | 2.8 | 2.0 | .0 | .2 | 11.0 |
| Andre Jackson Jr. | 2 | 0 | 2.5 | .000 | .000 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | |
| Kyle Kuzma | 5 | 4 | 20.4 | .343 | .200 | .500 | 2.2 | .8 | .0 | .2 | 5.8 |
| Damian Lillard | 3 | 3 | 25.0 | .222 | .188 | .857 | 2.7 | 4.7 | .7 | .7 | 7.0 |
| Chris Livingston | 2 | 0 | 2.4 | .000 | .000 | .5 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | |
| Brook Lopez | 5 | 4 | 14.8 | .364 | .267 | 1.000 | 1.6 | .8 | .2 | 1.0 | 5.0 |
| Kevin Porter Jr. | 5 | 1 | 30.2 | .396 | .467 | .846 | 3.6 | 5.4 | .8 | .0 | 11.2 |
| Bobby Portis | 5 | 1 | 31.7 | .441 | .357 | .000 | 8.2 | 1.4 | .4 | .4 | 14.0 |
| Taurean Prince | 5 | 2 | 12.2 | .200 | .222 | 1.0 | 1.6 | .4 | .2 | 1.2 | |
| Ryan Rollins | 3 | 1 | 9.9 | .308 | .286 | .7 | 1.3 | .3 | .0 | 3.3 | |
| Jericho Sims | 5 | 0 | 11.5 | 1.000 | .667 | 4.0 | .2 | .0 | .2 | 2.8 | |
| Gary Trent Jr. | 5 | 3 | 34.2 | .516 | .500 | .800 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 2.6 | .0 | 18.8 |
| Date | Player | Contract terms | Former team | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 7 | Delon Wright | 1-year minimum | Miami Heat | [12] |
| July 9 | Taurean Prince | 1 year minimum | Los Angeles Lakers | [13] |
| July 9 | Stanley Umude | Two-way contract | Detroit Pistons | [14] |
| July 20 | Gary Trent Jr. | 1 year minimum | Toronto Raptors | [15] |
| Date | Player | Reason left | New team | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 11 | Malik Beasley | Free agency | Detroit Pistons | [16] |
| July 16 | Patrick Beverley | Free agency |  Hapoel Tel Aviv | [17] |
