- Milwaukee has the best duo in the NBA
- Expect Giannis Antetokounmpo to have his best season
- The Bucks have the most star power in the league
The Damian Lillard trade shocked the world yesterday because nobody expected the Milwaukee Bucks to pull off a trade of this magnitude. While it was expected that the Bucks would be willing to listen out for offers on their players, making a trade for one of the best players in the world to add to a core of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton was certainly surprising.
Looking ahead to the 2023-24 season, the Bucks have a chance to usurp all other title-contending teams and make a push for the NBA Finals. In fact, the Bucks can win it all thanks to a variety of factors that place them on a pedestal above everyone else. It is very rare a title-contending team can trade for a bonafide superstar, but the Bucks have pulled it off.
Here are the five major reasons why the Milwaukee Bucks will win the 2023-24 NBA championship following one of the largest off-season trades in NBA history.
5. Retaining A Championship Core
The Milwaukee Bucks have traded for a superstar player but did not have to shuffle the roster too much. The ability for a team to win a championship for a second time comes down to championship culture which includes valuable role players and leaders. The Bucks have held onto their core pieces.
Bobby Portis is an exceptional role player in the modern NBA because he competes on defense, adds toughness, and is no slouch on offense. The power forward averaged 14.1 points and 9.6 rebounds per game last season and did it on 49.6% shooting while playing 70 games. This type of consistency is needed around superstar players.
The same goes for Brook Lopez, one of the best two-way centers in the NBA. Lopez is an elite shot-blocker who averaged 2.5 blocks per game last year and also chipped in 15.9 points per game on 37.4% shooting from three. Having this type of consistency on both ends is needed for a title contender that just traded its most valuable defensive guard, Jrue Holiday.
4. Motivation For Khris Middleton
Khris Middleton had a frustrating campaign last year, only playing 33 games and averaging his lowest scoring average (15.1) since the 2016-17 season. Middleton is invaluable to the Bucks because he plays perfectly off Giannis Antetokounmpo by being an elite shooter and wing defender. Over his career, Middleton is averaging 38.8% from deep.
There will be added motivation for Middleton to return to All-Star form after dealing with injuries last season. He realizes that the Bucks are a no-nonsense organization that will pull the plug on anyone in order to win. That push is needed for the All-Star who will also be realizing a chance for another championship victory.
Middleton proved to be the closer for the Bucks in the 2021-22 season and the go-to scorer on the wing. With Damian Lillard on board, Middleton can do what he does best which is spot up for threes and handle elite offensive players on the other team from a defensive sense.
3. A Cut-Throat Deal Put The League On Notice
NBA teams should be very concerned about how good the Milwaukee Bucks can be. The cut-throat nature of the organization’s decisions is ringing through opposing general managers. Giannis makes it clear he wants to win, and the Bucks do not hesitate to make a deal for a superstar player without giving up Khris Middleton, Bobby Portis, or Brook Lopez.
The fact that the Bucks are going all-in for a championship has put the rest of the league on notice. No other team has two of the top-ten players in the world on one team outside of the Phoenix Suns, and a supporting cast of fringe All-Star-caliber guys as well. There will be a fear factor when teams play Milwaukee that will show whenever the Big Three play together.
Teams such as the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors, and Los Angeles Lakers who were looking forward to a new campaign won’t be as excited anymore. The Celtics might have a disgruntled Malcolm Brogdon, the Heat lost two starters and did not end up with Lillard, the Warriors have only added a 39-year-old Chris Paul, and the Lakers have to place their bets on LeBron James’ age and Anthony Davis’ health.
Meanwhile, the Bucks have three players in their primes and a supporting cast who has been through the Finals grind before. Milwaukee will be a very scary team, mainly because of their superstar duo.
2. Damian Lillard Finally Has A Superstar Teammate
Damian Lillard has done great things with the Portland Trail Blazers, even without making a single Finals appearance. The point guard made seven All-Star and All-NBA Teams and also went as far as the Western Conference Finals in the 2019 campaign. Averaging a career 25.2 points per game, Lillard has done his best to try to compete for a ring in Portland.
However, the talent has not been there for him. CJ McCollum was his best teammate to date and he never made an All-Star Team. The likes of Jerami Grant, Jusuf Nurkic, Anfernee Simons, and Carmelo Anthony have contributed, but not enough. Finally, Lillard had a superstar teammate in his prime who fit perfectly alongside him.
Lillard is an elite scorer but has never been confused for being a defensive stopper. He is only 6’2” and doesn’t have natural defensive instincts, meaning a duo with him and McCollum for example wasn’t going to lead to a championship. Finally, Lillard can score the ball at an elite level and also be a floor general while Antetokounmpo handles the defense, rebounding, and paint domination.
Lillard has dominated opposing teams for years without a superstar teammate and finally, he gets a chance to play with one of the top-five players in the world in his prime. Speaking of him, Giannis Antetokounmpo is going to dominate the league next year.
1. Giannis Antetokounmpo Will Be Completely Unstoppable
In 2024, Giannis Antetokounmpo will have himself a dominant year. Not only will he likely be in the mix for Defensive Player of the Year, but he will probably average close to a triple-double as well. The Greek Freak will always be effective in the paint, but when he has an elite shooter on the perimeter, it will be game over for most of the season.
Giannis averaged 5.7 assists per game last season with Jrue Holiday as his main guard on the perimeter. As good as Holiday is defensively, he is a career 36.6% shooter from three while Lillard posts 37.2% with a chance to average nearly 40% with the Bucks since he has helped.
Having Lillard and Middleton on the perimeter means Antetokounmpo will have unlimited opportunities to generate assists when he attacks the rim. No doubt, Giannis is a major winner from this deal.
Teams can’t afford to double-team Giannis anymore because he has a player who will literally tear you apart if not respected from the perimeter. There is a chance Antetokounmpo will push for the MVP award with the added help and as long as he is healthy, teams will have no answer for him anymore.
Only the Phoenix Suns can compete with the Bucks in terms of Big Three talent but their core of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal can’t compare to Milwaukee’s when it comes to defense, rebounding, paint presence, and winning intangibles. The Bucks will very likely be the 2023-24 NBA champions because of these factors and Giannis Antetokounmpo will be the driving force behind the team.
