When the new season gets underway for the Milwaukee Bucks, 50 wins will act as the magic number for a fanbase that’s waited for a return to glory.
As the Milwaukee Bucks reconvened for the 2017-18 season and took to the stage for media day, one particular assertion stood out from the comments of many players. The Bucks believed they could win 50 games.
Belief is the key word as, outside of the organization, fans may have dared to hope or believe that such a campaign was a possibility, but it wasn’t exactly a cast-iron expectation or prediction for many.
This time around, that same sentiment likely wouldn’t be taken so lightly, though. Behind the continued improvements of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton, with Eric Bledsoe likely more at home in his second season, a host of intriguing offseason additions in tow, and most importantly a significant upgrade to the coaching staff; Milwaukee’s eyes really should be set on that mark.
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In truth, if everything clicked for this Bucks team in a weakened conference, they could even surpass that total, yet 50 will remain the mark at the forefront of everyone’s mind. A 60-win season is a more reliable mark for excellence in the NBA, but 50 wins means you’re very much headed in the right direction, and it’s a long time since the Bucks have been able to say that.
The Bucks won at least 50 games in a season on five occasions in the 70s, and seven times in the 80s, yet in the last 30 years it’s a mark that they’ve only reached once.
Of course, that came back in the 2000-01 season when a Bucks team led by Ray Allen, Glenn Robinson and Sam Cassell won 52 games en route to what remains a contentious seven-game Conference Finals loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
As Bucks fans know all too well, that was also the last time Milwaukee managed to win a playoff series and advance beyond the first round. It’s another goal for this Bucks team that will likely be discussed frequently throughout the coming months, and one that also could realistically be met next season.
With 44 wins last season, the Bucks recorded their second highest win total since that former high, and yet were widely considered to have underachieved significantly.
The hope of correcting that and seizing on any missed opportunities will coincide with the Bucks’ move into the brand new Fiserv Forum, which after just three playoff series wins in 30 seasons at the Bradley Center is unlikely to be detrimental to the team’s fortunes either.
The question remaining is whether the Bucks can put it all together, though, and it’s part of the reason a token win total, such as 50, matters so much.
For as much as a championship winning future, or at least a contending one, can be talked up from within the organization, and the potential can be there for all to see with how they perform on the court, there comes a point where potential has to start translating to production for it to mean anything other than vapid noise.
Reaching 50 wins and breaking into that next tier of the NBA’s best teams would be the start of realizing those goals. Much like many may have hoped for 50 wins rather than expecting them following last year’s media day, actually hitting that mark would allow the next step to be expecting championship contention rather than just hoping and dreaming about it.
Everything is set up for the Bucks to truly return to long overdue NBA relevance, yet if they’re actually ready for that spotlight, they’ll have to prove it with their record.