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The 2020–21 Milwaukee Bucks season was the 53rd season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). On April 30, 2021, the Bucks clinched the Central Division for a record 10th time with a win over the Chicago Bulls. The Bucks finished the season with a 46–26 record (equal to 52 wins in an 82-game season), good enough for the third seed. The Bucks began their playoff run by sweeping the sixth-seeded Miami Heat in the opening round, in a rematch of the Eastern Conference Semi-finals the previous year. The Bucks then defeated the second-seeded Brooklyn Nets in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals in seven games. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Bucks defeated the Atlanta Hawks in six games, reaching the NBA Finals for the first time in 47 years, and winning the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history.[1] The Bucks are the first NBA team to have won both a Western Conference and Eastern Conference championship in their history, as they were in the Western Conference when they reached the NBA Finals in 1971 and 1974. The Bucks would face the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals. Despite losing the first two games, the Bucks won four straight, winning 4–2 and clinching their second NBA title, the first since 1971.[2]
| 2020–21 Milwaukee Bucks season | |
|---|---|
NBA champions | |
Conference champions | |
Division champions | |
| Head coach | Mike Budenholzer |
| General manager | Jon Horst |
| Owners | |
| Arena | Fiserv Forum |
| Results | |
| Record | 46–26 (.639) |
| Place | Division: 1st (Central) Conference: 3rd (Eastern) |
| Playoff finish | NBA Champions (Defeated Suns 4–2) |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
| Local media | |
| Television | Bally Sports Wisconsin[upper-alpha 1] |
| Radio | WTMJ |
| Round | Pick | Player | Position(s) | Nationality | School |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 | R. J. Hampton | PG/SG |  United States |
New Zealand Breakers |
| 2 | 45 | Jordan Nwora | SF |  Nigeria |
Louisville |
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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|
Roster |
Division
| Central Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y – Milwaukee Bucks | 46 | 26 | .639 | – | 26–10 | 20–16 | 11–1 | 72 |
| pi – Indiana Pacers | 34 | 38 | .472 | 12.0 | 13–23 | 21–15 | 7–5 | 72 |
| Chicago Bulls | 31 | 41 | .431 | 15.0 | 15–21 | 16–20 | 7–5 | 72 |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 22 | 50 | .306 | 24.0 | 13–23 | 9–27 | 4–8 | 72 |
| Detroit Pistons | 20 | 52 | .278 | 26.0 | 13–23 | 7–29 | 1–11 | 72 |
Conference
| Eastern Conference | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
| 1 | c − Philadelphia 76ers * | 49 | 23 | .681 | – | 72 |
| 2 | x – Brooklyn Nets | 48 | 24 | .667 | 1.0 | 72 |
| 3 | y – Milwaukee Bucks * | 46 | 26 | .639 | 3.0 | 72 |
| 4 | x – New York Knicks | 41 | 31 | .569 | 8.0 | 72 |
| 5 | y – Atlanta Hawks * | 41 | 31 | .569 | 8.0 | 72 |
| 6 | x – Miami Heat | 40 | 32 | .556 | 9.0 | 72 |
| 7 | x – Boston Celtics | 36 | 36 | .500 | 13.0 | 72 |
| 8 | x – Washington Wizards | 34 | 38 | .472 | 15.0 | 72 |
| 9 | pi – Indiana Pacers | 34 | 38 | .472 | 15.0 | 72 |
| 10 | pi – Charlotte Hornets | 33 | 39 | .458 | 16.0 | 72 |
| 11 | Chicago Bulls | 31 | 41 | .431 | 18.0 | 72 |
| 12 | Toronto Raptors | 27 | 45 | .375 | 22.0 | 72 |
| 13 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 22 | 50 | .306 | 27.0 | 72 |
| 14 | Orlando Magic | 21 | 51 | .292 | 28.0 | 72 |
| 15 | Detroit Pistons | 20 | 52 | .278 | 29.0 | 72 |
Notes
- z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs
- c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs
- y – Clinched division title
- x – Clinched playoff spot
Preseason
| 2020 preseason game log Total: 0–3 (Home: 0–2; Road: 0–1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Preseason: 0–3 (home: 0–2; road: 0–1)
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| 2020–21 season schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Regular season
Playoffs
| 2021 playoff game log Total: 16–7 (Home: 10–1; Road: 6–6) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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First round: 4–0 (home: 2–0; road: 2–0)
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Conference Semi-finals: 4–3 (home: 3–0; road: 1–3)
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Conference Finals: 4–2 (home: 2–1; road: 2–1)
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NBA Finals: 4–2 (home: 3–0; road: 1–2)
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| 2021 playoff schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 |
Regular season
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brook Lopez | 70 | 70 | 27.2 | .503 | .338 | .845 | 5.0 | .7 | .6 | 1.5 | 12.3 |
| Bryn Forbes | 70 | 10 | 19.3 | .473 | .452 | .770 | 1.6 | .6 | .3 | .0 | 10.0 |
| Pat Connaughton | 69 | 4 | 22.8 | .434 | .371 | .775 | 4.8 | 1.2 | .7 | .3 | 6.8 |
| Khris Middleton | 68 | 68 | 33.4 | .476 | .414 | .898 | 6.0 | 5.4 | 1.1 | .1 | 20.4 |
| Donte DiVincenzo | 66 | 66 | 27.5 | .420 | .379 | .718 | 5.8 | 3.1 | 1.1 | .2 | 10.4 |
| Bobby Portis | 66 | 7 | 20.8 | .523 | .471 | .740 | 7.1 | 1.1 | .8 | .4 | 11.4 |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | 61 | 61 | 33.0 | .569 | .303 | .685 | 11.0 | 5.9 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 28.1 |
| Jrue Holiday | 59 | 56 | 32.3 | .503 | .392 | .787 | 4.5 | 6.1 | 1.6 | .6 | 17.7 |
| Thanasis Antetokounmpo | 57 | 3 | 9.7 | .489 | .241 | .510 | 2.2 | .8 | .4 | .2 | 2.9 |
| D. J. Augustin† | 37 | 6 | 19.3 | .370 | .380 | .900 | 1.4 | 3.0 | .5 | .0 | 6.1 |
| Jordan Nwora | 30 | 2 | 9.1 | .459 | .452 | .760 | 2.0 | .2 | .5 | .2 | 5.7 |
| Sam Merrill | 30 | 2 | 7.8 | .444 | .447 | 1.000 | 1.0 | .7 | .3 | .0 | 3.0 |
| Jeff Teague† | 21 | 2 | 15.9 | .469 | .385 | .864 | 1.5 | 2.8 | .4 | .2 | 6.6 |
| P. J. Tucker† | 20 | 1 | 19.9 | .391 | .394 | .600 | 2.8 | .8 | .5 | .1 | 2.6 |
| Torrey Craig† | 18 | 0 | 11.2 | .391 | .364 | .500 | 2.4 | .9 | .5 | .4 | 2.5 |
| Mamadi Diakite | 14 | 1 | 10.1 | .400 | .125 | .786 | 2.4 | .6 | .5 | .4 | 3.1 |
| D. J. Wilson† | 12 | 0 | 8.8 | .372 | .357 | .500 | 2.1 | .3 | .1 | .3 | 3.6 |
| Axel Toupane | 8 | 1 | 7.6 | .364 | .500 | .714 | .8 | .5 | .3 | .4 | 1.8 |
| Jaylen Adams | 7 | 0 | 2.6 | .125 | .000 | .4 | .3 | .0 | .0 | .3 | |
| Rodions Kurucs† | 5 | 0 | 6.8 | .625 | .750 | 1.000 | 1.8 | .8 | .6 | .0 | 3.0 |
| Justin Jackson† | 1 | 0 | 33.0 | .333 | .333 | .500 | 6.0 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | 9.0 |
| Elijah Bryant | 1 | 0 | 32.0 | .462 | .200 | 1.000 | 6.0 | 3.0 | .0 | 1.0 | 16.0 |
Playoffs
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Khris Middleton | 23 | 23 | 40.1 | .438 | .343 | .887 | 7.6 | 5.1 | 1.5 | .2 | 23.6 |
| Jrue Holiday | 23 | 23 | 39.7 | .406 | .303 | .714 | 5.7 | 8.7 | 1.7 | .4 | 17.3 |
| Brook Lopez | 23 | 23 | 29.0 | .548 | .319 | .860 | 5.9 | .3 | .7 | 1.5 | 13.0 |
| P. J. Tucker | 23 | 19 | 29.6 | .388 | .322 | .750 | 4.8 | 1.1 | 1.0 | .1 | 4.3 |
| Pat Connaughton | 23 | 1 | 23.7 | .462 | .389 | .846 | 4.4 | .9 | .4 | .3 | 6.9 |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | 21 | 21 | 38.1 | .569 | .186 | .587 | 12.8 | 5.1 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 30.2 |
| Bobby Portis | 20 | 2 | 18.3 | .464 | .346 | .720 | 5.0 | .6 | .7 | .4 | 8.8 |
| Bryn Forbes | 20 | 0 | 13.7 | .411 | .371 | .750 | 1.4 | .3 | .1 | .1 | 6.6 |
| Jeff Teague | 16 | 0 | 7.4 | .290 | .455 | .818 | .5 | .8 | .2 | .0 | 2.0 |
| Thanasis Antetokounmpo | 13 | 0 | 3.5 | .286 | .833 | .8 | .2 | .4 | .2 | .7 | |
| Elijah Bryant | 11 | 0 | 4.5 | .350 | .000 | 1.1 | .4 | .2 | .1 | 1.3 | |
| Sam Merrill | 8 | 0 | 3.8 | .286 | .200 | .6 | .1 | .5 | .0 | .6 | |
| Mamadi Diakite | 7 | 0 | 5.0 | .200 | .500 | 1.000 | 1.0 | .0 | .4 | .1 | 1.0 |
| Jordan Nwora | 5 | 0 | 6.2 | .222 | .250 | .714 | 1.8 | .2 | .0 | .2 | 3.0 |
| Justin Jackson | 5 | 0 | 3.0 | .600 | .000 | .4 | .2 | .2 | .0 | 1.2 | |
| Axel Toupane | 4 | 0 | 2.5 | .500 | .500 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 1.3 | |
| Donte DiVincenzo | 3 | 3 | 23.3 | .188 | .167 | 6.3 | 2.7 | 1.0 | .3 | 2.7 |
- † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Bucks only.
Trades
| November 18, 2020[3] | To Milwaukee Bucks 2020 ORL second-round pick (#45) |
To Orlando Magic 2022 IND protected second-round pick 2026 MIL second-round pick |
| November 18, 2020[4] | To Milwaukee Bucks rights to İlkan Karaman (2012 #57) |
To Cleveland Cavaliers 2022 MIL first-round pick 2025 MIL second-round pick |
| November 24, 2020[5] | To Milwaukee Bucks Jrue Holiday (from New Orleans) Draft rights to Sam Merrill (#60) (from New Orleans) |
To Denver Nuggets Draft rights to R. J. Hampton (#24) (from Milwaukee) |
| To New Orleans Pelicans Steven Adams (from Oklahoma City) Eric Bledsoe (from Milwaukee) 2024 right to swap first-round pick with MIL (from Milwaukee) 2025 MIL first-round pick (from Milwaukee) 2026 right to swap first-round pick with MIL (from Milwaukee) 2027 MIL first-round pick (from Milwaukee) |
To Oklahoma City Thunder George Hill (from Milwaukee) Zylan Cheatham (from New Orleans) (Sign and trade) Josh Gray (from New Orleans) (Sign and trade) Darius Miller (from New Orleans) Kenrich Williams (from New Orleans) (Sign and trade) 2023 DEN protected first-round pick (from Denver) 2023 WAS second-round pick (from New Orleans) 2024 CHA second-round pick (from New Orleans) |
Failed Bogdan Bogdanović trade
In November 2020, the Bucks attempted to acquire Bogdan Bogdanović through a sign-and-trade deal along with Justin James from the Sacramento Kings for Donte DiVincenzo, D. J. Wilson, and Ersan İlyasova.[6][7][8] The trade unraveled when the NBA announced they were investigating the Bucks for having contact with Bogdanović and/or his agent before it was allowed under free agency rules. The Bucks reportedly felt double-crossed by the situation, and decided not to pursue the trade further. The league voided the team's second-round pick in 2022 at the conclusion of the investigation in December.[9][10] According to Bogdanović, he was not aware of the trade and felt betrayed by the Kings.[11] DiVincenzo and Wilson stayed with the Bucks and İlyasova was eventually waived. Bogdanović would sign with the Atlanta Hawks as a restricted free agent, after the Kings extended his qualifying offer.[12][13] Coincidentally, the Kings and Bucks would be able to make a successful trade during the following season, where the Kings successfully acquired DiVincenzo in a four-team trade.
Free agency
Re-signed
| Player | Signed |
|---|---|
| Pat Connaughton[14] | November 24 |
Additions
| Player | Signed | Former Team |
|---|---|---|
| Jaylen Adams[15] | November 24 | Portland Trail Blazers |
| Mamadi Diakite[15] | November 24 | Virginia |
| Torrey Craig[16] | November 26 | Denver Nuggets |
| Bryn Forbes[16] | November 26 | San Antonio Spurs |
| Bobby Portis[16] | November 26 | New York Knicks |
| D. J. Augustin[17] | November 28 | Orlando Magic |
Subtractions
| Player | Left | New Team |
|---|---|---|
| Ersan İlyasova[18] | November 19 | Utah Jazz |
| Robin Lopez[19] | November 22 | Washington Wizards |
| Wesley Matthews[20] | November 22 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Sterling Brown[21] | November 26 | Houston Rockets |
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