Milwaukee Bucks: Khris Middleton earns 2nd straight All-Star appearance

For the second straight season, Milwaukee Bucks swingman Khris Middleton is an All-Star and will join his superstar teammate, Giannis Antetokounmpo, at this year’s NBA All-Star Game in Chicago.

It’s official: Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo will have some company in Chicago at next month’s NBA All-Star Game.

A week after it was officially confirmed that Antetokounmpo will serve as a captain for the second straight year, the reigning MVP will have his teammate and Bucks supporting star Khris Middleton alongside him as the latter was officially named an All-Star reserve Thursday night as revealed by TNT’s Inside the NBA.

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This will mark Middleton’s second straight All-Star selection and it certainly caps off what’s been a banner week for the eighth-year forward after he crafted a 51-point performance in the Bucks’ 20-point victory over the Washington Wizards Tuesday night.

Middleton had previously cracked the top 10 in All-Star voting for this year’s starters and his bid to join Antetokounmpo in the Windy City was obviously vaulted over the top when voting turned over to coaches from the Eastern Conference.

This marks the second straight year where the Bucks will have a pair of All-Stars between Antetokounmpo and Middleton, following the footsteps of both Ray Allen and Glenn Robinson as they last both pulled off the feat for the Bucks in consecutive seasons back in 2000 and 2001.

The 28-year-old Middleton is in the midst of a career year where he’s currently averaging 20.2 points on .503/.432/.900 shooting splits, 5.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists through his 40 appearances on the season so far. And the fact that he’s doing all of this across 28.8 minutes per contest only speaks to just how remarkably efficient and productive he and the rest of the Bucks’ core pieces have been throughout their fantastic run.

With this being Middleton’s second straight All-Star selection, the Charleston native keeps on reaffirming his status as one of the most skilled scorers and versatile players in the league and has truly never been better playing under his role playing alongside Antetokounmpo, Eric Bledsoe and so on.

Perhaps Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer put it best following Middleton’s career-best performance earlier in the week that no one should mistake Middleton’s understated nature for he is a deadly threat as one of the Bucks’ supporting stars, which Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel recounted:

"“I just think he’s underrated,” Budenholzer said. “He’s very nuanced. He can sneak up on you on how he gets his baskets. But I think the rest of the league is appreciating him more and more with the success of the team and his individual performances.“People that understand the sport know how good he is. At the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter how he’s rated. As long as he’s with us, that’s all we care about.”"

Unfortunately, Middleton’s All-Star selection overshadows Bledsoe’s unsuccessful bid to earn his first All-Star appearance for the second straight season, despite his solid resume and doing it all on the league’s best team this season.

Speaking on behalf of his teammate and good friend’s case, Middleton summarized it as such to Velazquez when it came to Bledsoe’s All-Star case on Tuesday night:

"“Hopefully we get Bled in there this year,” Middleton said. “We all thought he deserved it last year – we were in first place, kind of the same situation we are now – and I think he’s having the same if not kind of a better year, especially on the defensive side. I definitely think he deserves to be in that game, especially after what happened to him last year. …“I think you should give some credit to winning.”"

Unfortunately, Bledsoe’s All-Star quest remains elusive, but a huge congratulations goes to Middleton for yet another career accolade.