How history can repeat itself for the Milwaukee Bucks in 2026-27

It’s 2016, and the Milwaukee Bucks just lost to the Indiana Pacers, 97-92 to cap off a 33-49 regular season. A 24-year-old Khris Middleton led the way in scoring with 18.2 points per game and right behind him was a 21-year-old Giannis Antetokounmpo with 16.9 points per game to compete his third year in the NBA.

The year prior, the Bucks finished 41-41 and captured to the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference. Milwaukee would eventually lose to the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the NBA Playoffs in six games, and hoped to build on the momentum for the next season.

That wasn’t the case as a bad roster construction hindered the team’s success and needed big contributions from their young core to get back in the playoffs. For the 2016-17 season, the Bucks bounced back and won nine more games from a year ago to get the No. 6 seed in the conference and returned to the playoffs.

Although Milwaukee fell in six games to the Toronto Raptors, they defied the early preseason rankings by outlets like ESPN and Bleacher Report that had the Bucks near the bottom of the league. ESPN had them at No. 22 and the third worst team in the East, while Bleacher Report had them at No. 26 in the NBA and the third worst team in the conference again.

Fast-forward to the present and Milwaukee find themselves in a similar situation. The Bucks walked away last season with a 32-50 record, which was only one less win from what they accomplished in 2016.

Of course, the NBA is an entirely different league than what it was in 2017, and Milwaukee had a premier upcoming star in Antetokounmpo leading the way, averaging 22.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.9 blocks per game.

He won the NBA Most Improved Player Award and earned spots on the All-NBA Second Team, NBA All-Defensive Second Team and the All-Star roster. Antetokounmpo took a major leap in his career and was a real game-changer for the Bucks.

However, as we know Milwaukee will be without Antetokounmpo this season for time since 2013 as he’ll start a new chapter with the Miami Heat, so how can the Bucks replicate a turnaround like they did almost a decade ago?

What’s left to build around

This year’s roster doesn’t have a player like Antetokounmpo, but they do have depth and other pieces who can step up and make an impact. Tyler Herro has averaged 21.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game while shooting 45.5% from the field and 38.4% from the 3-point line in the last five seasons in Miami.

Herro was rarely considered the first option with the Heat behind stars like Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, but he’ll have the chance to have the keys to the car in Milwaukee as the potential first option.

With Herro, Milwaukee also received Jaime Jaquez Jr. who was this year’s Sixth Man of Year runner-up, Kel’el Ware who’s coming off an year where he almost averaged a double-double while shooting 39.5% from the 3-point line and a young player in Kasparas Jakučionis who showed promise in his rookie season last year.

The Bucks also drafted Brayden Burries with the No. 10 pick and Nate Ament at No. 13 in this year’s draft. Burries has already turned heads this summer with his play and Ament gives Milwaukee a young piece who can also help contribute right away.

Though last year’s team is going to be a year to forget, players like Ryan Rollins, Ousmane Dieng and Kevin Porter Jr. still showed promise.

This team might be young, and on paper might not be the most talented compared to the other contenders in the Eastern Conference, but they have multiple options who can come together and create a solid roster if everything works out.

The East is powerful and stacked this season so it’s not going to be an easy achievement to make the playoffs like in 2017, but for Bucks fans they’re hoping that history can repeat itself after a forgetful season.