The 2016-17 Bucks earned a special place in fans’ hearts behind Giannis Antetokounmpo
Every once and a while a team comes around that will just stick with fans. Teams like the “We Believe” Warriors automatically come to mind, but it goes beyond national recognition. Sometimes there is just something about a specific team and roster and season that will always mean more to a specific fan base then anyone believes it should. For the Bucks, it seems pretty likely that the 2016-17 team will be the one.
It obviously starts with the emergence of Giannis Antetokounmpo. For the first time since Ray Allen left town in 2003, the Bucks have a star. And unlike Allen, Antetokounmpo has a chance to be more than just a star. After this season, where he led the team in points, assists, rebounds, blocks and steals as a point guard, it feels possible — if not likely — that Antetokounmpo ends up as an MVP some day. But it goes beyond that.
On a nightly basis, he did things that made no sense in a good way. He would traverse the entire court in a single stride for a dunk. Or come out of nowhere to block a dunk. Or pick out a shooter in the opposite corner through an incredible amount of traffic. They were plays that would be impressive enough for any one player to do one of them, let alone one player to do them all. And most importantly, they were plays leading to wins.
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But the team was more than just Antetokounmpo. For a while there was also Jabari Parker finally coming into his own. After a rookie season ruined by a torn ACL, Milwaukee needed Parker to flash this season. He did. While it wasn’t always pretty — especially on defense — Parker gave the Bucks hope he could fit long term with Antetokounmpo and add something extra. That addition was offense, the area of the floor Parker has always shined. After years of questions surrounding his ability to spread the floor, he showed plenty of range by shooting 36.5 percent from beyond the 3-point line on almost four attempts per game.
While that made his fit with the Bucks superstar work, it was the 1-on-1 work that made Parker special. It didn’t work out in the on/off numbers as well as the Bucks would have liked, but Parker showed an ability to carry the offense for stretches with Antetokounmpo on the bench. Unfortunately, that came crashing down late in the season when Parker landed funny on a drive and torn his ACL for the second time. The loss of their second young star came during the team’s worst stretch of the season, which put a damper on what had been a promising season at the start.
And then everything changed.
Despite the loss of Parker, the Bucks went on a crazy end of the season run that carried them to sixth place in the Eastern Conference. Most importantly, it happened thanks to the play of Antetokounmpo and two other young core pieces: Khris Middleton and Thon Maker.
The Middleton contributions came almost improbably. After tearing his hamstring from the bone in late September, Middleton returned the night after Parker tore his ACL in February. Somehow he looked like he never missed a second, boarding the “tough shot express” (shout out to the Locked On Bucks guys for the phrase) to carry the Bucks through offensive struggles. Considering how hard he had to work to get back that quickly, it was even more impressive. As a player that Bucks fans had already latched on to, it was an extra boost to an already fun year.
Maker’s emergence was last to happen. After the Bucks were killed for picking the youngster too early in the 2016 NBA Draft, Maker sat for the majority of the year. But a late season discussion led Milwaukee to determine he needed minutes to develop, and without a D-League affiliate that meant time in the Milwaukee lineup. Like with the Bucks as a whole, it wasn’t always perfect. Sometimes Maker’s inexperience showed as he ran himself out of position or his lack of strength was evident as he was bullied off of spots. But the flashes were there. The blocks, the dunks, the 3s, the effort. Maker showed it all. And when it worked, it WORKED. Suddenly there was another young piece for Bucks fans to latch on to.
Of course there was other stuff, too. The random, non-star relate things that make teams cult favorites for their fans. Greg Monroe’s never-ending “AND-ONE” calls. Tony Snell, a very late addition in a trade that sent away a hated piece, developing into a lights out shooter. Mirza Teletovic heat checks. Malcolm Brogdon going from second round pick to should be Rookie of the Year (fight me, 76ers fans). Everything Michael Beasley. Everything Jason Terry.
It all culminated in the Bucks first round series against the heavily favored Raptors. In Game 1, it was the Giannis show. Antetokounmpo dominated from the tip and sent the message. The playoffs changed nothing. He was a generational talent. Eventually this will be his league. It was exciting. It was memorable. But as it turned out, it wasn’t even the game that will stand out second most for Bucks fans down the line.
That would be Game 3. For the first time, All-NBA Giannis played a playoff game at home. And he and his teammates didn’t disappoint. They dominated the Raptors from the tip on their way to a 27 point win. It was a moment that will live in Bucks history for a long time. There was the energy of the fans, clad in their black deer face t-shirts. It was Maker who put in 11 points and made the Raptors miserable on every drive. Toronto never had a chance. And yet somehow, it wasn’t the most memorable game of the series, let alone the season.
That honor belongs Game 6. The game that ended this special season for a special Bucks team. Behind an unstoppable Antetokounmpo, the Bucks clawed their way back from a 25 point second half deficit. Terry and Matthew Dellavedova somehow made the Raptors guards turn into turnover prone sixth graders. A 39-year-old Terry made the shot that gave the Bucks a lead they ultimately couldn’t hold. But that shot was the one. The shot that unleashed an insane Bradley Center crowd. The one that brought back the memories of the Bucks last great team, the 2001 Eastern Conference Finals squad. Really the one that perfectly exemplified the 2016-17 Bucks.
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It wasn’t always pretty. It wasn’t always great. But no matter if it was a 25 point second half deficit in a game that could end their season or a preseason injury to their second best player or an in-season ACL tear for their third best player, the 2017 Bucks never quit. And somehow an irrational amount of Terry was involved.
Just like everyone expected. Just like no Bucks fan will forget for a long time.