Milwaukee Bucks: Will John Henson Ever Be A Starter?

The Milwaukee Bucks may not have any definitive decisions made about their center spot but should we be reading into John Henson‘s continued failure to crack the starting five?

I could probably have looked back in our archives here at the site, regurgitated a John Henson article from last season, or even the year before and have had it feel as relevant as the day it was originally posted.

Milwaukee Bucks fans might have grown accustomed to the annual debates over John Henson’s role within the team, but his situation is far from the norm in the NBA.

In a league where so much can change in a short period of time and rotations are in a constant state of flux, it’s rare for a player to remain in the same role in spite of opportunities and potential suggesting he should be able to progress beyond that.

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After four full seasons and over 250 games in the NBA, it begs the question as to whether Henson will ever find himself in the starting five.

He was unable to dislodge Zaza Pachulia in last year’s playoff run as frequent inconsistencies plagued him as they had done throughout much of the formative years of his pro career. The outlook appeared even bleaker for this season after the signing of Greg Monroe, yet when Monroe didn’t mesh as expected Henson’s health meant that he was in no position to capitalize.

It’s important to grasp just how bad the former UNC Tar Heel’s timing was too. It may have felt like a whole lot more, but Henson only missed 25 games in total on the season. Four at the beginning of the season, a single game on the road in Dallas, and 20 either side of the All-Star break account for all of his absences.

This season might represent a career low in minutes for Henson, but it’s not by much, only playing six less than in his rookie campaign. Indeed, it’s his career low in starts that is much more severe, with one start this year considerably lower to his nine starts in that same rookie season.

With a career high year in blocks per 36 minutes, a strong field goal percentage and a more active role in on-court leadership, putting a handle on why Henson didn’t see extended minutes is a tricky matter.

Perhaps the answer lies somewhere in Henson’s own quotes from his end of season exit interviews, where he attributed the team’s slow start to the group being out of shape:

"We’ve got to start better and that comes with coming in in shape. As a team, we didn’t come in in the best shape, in my opinion. That affected us. That’s probably one of the biggest things for us, knowing that we’re a running team, training camp’s going to be hard, but come ready to play and everything is going to take care of itself."

Other Bucks asked about this comment provided mixed reactions on the day, but it would at least imply that Henson wasn’t in the ideal shape that he wanted to be in.

With a four year extension signed last October set to pay him $44 million to remain a Buck, Henson does have a cushion of security now, but it’s vital that he continues to find ways to motivate himself.

As one of the team’s longest serving players he has begun to take on a more significant leadership, but he’s also undoubtedly one of the most popular Bucks players due to his work and presence in the community. Henson genuinely seems to love Milwaukee and the surrounding parts of Wisconsin, and he’s a player who most fans of the team will be determined to see succeed.

Next season has become somewhat make or break for the 25-year-old big man. He needs to stay healthier, he needs to continue to assert his influence on the team and he needs to take advantage of any uncertainty surrounding Greg Monroe’s future to establish his own fit with Milwaukee’s young core.

Next: Win In 6 Podcast #51: Exit Interviews And Draft Decisions

Henson has the ability, he has the personality, now it’s time for him to prove his importance with his performances.

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