Bucks G League: Wisconsin Herd expected to finish with best record amid cancellation

By Jordan Treske | Mar 16, 2020

OSHKOSH, WI - DECEMBER 1: (Photo by Jeffrey Phelps/NBAE via Getty Images) /

With ESPN reporting that the remainder of this year’s G League season is expected to be cancelled, the Milwaukee Bucks G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd, are slated to finish with the best record.

The Milwaukee Bucks aren’t the only ones leading a league that remains unfinished. The Bucks G League team, the Wisconsin Herd, faces the same struggle as well.

And as ESPN’s Malika Andrews and Adrian Wojnarowski reported Sunday night, the G League is expected to close down the rest of their 2019-20 campaign due to the coronavirus outbreak hitting North America. If and when that would go into effect, it would leave the Herd with the best record in the G League at 33-10.

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Without question, that would be a bittersweet feeling for a Herd team that has followed the footsteps of their parent club all year long since the G League’s season tipped off in early November.

Still, that’s a bitter, albeit necessary, pill to swallow as the Herd won’t have a chance of making what would have been their first playoff appearance over their three-year history and potentially contend for a G League title.

Thankfully, all Herd and G League players were informed by the league that they’ll still be receiving the season base salary, even with remaining games being lost, as Andrews and Wojnarowski included in their report:

"“Players were informed over the weekend that they would be receiving their entire base salary, according to a memo obtained by ESPN.”"

That follows what we’ve seen with some NBA organizations, including the Bucks, that have pledged to cover the salaries of part and full-time workers and that has now extended to both rostered and two-way players.

Of course, the G League’s way of life, especially with the fact that they use commercial travel, stands as an impossible hurdle to overcome as the NBA grapples with the challenge of having to suspend their season with the coronavirus outbreak.

There are certainly bigger things at stake during these times, but it’s especially hard not to feel for suddenly out-of-work players that don’t face the same luxuries and guaranteed salaries as their NBA counterparts. Those realities, and many more, were significant reasons for why players were pushing to form a union that had yet to be approved on the G League level before this recent development.

As we’ve covered all throughout the season, the Herd’s worst-to-first turnaround and shining individual success headlined why their run throughout the 2019-20 season was an overwhelming success under first-year head coach Chase Buford.

Herd players such as Jaylen Adams, Frank Mason III and Rayjon Tucker all were recognized for their play as they each won G League Player of the Month honors in December, January and February. Buford even won Coach of the Month honors in January and as result of their shining success, the Herd had clinched their first playoff berth at the beginning of March.

All of those marks are certainly worthy of being celebrated, and should be a source of pride for all Herd players. Unfortunately, they finish on top in a season that will have far from a normal ending.

Next. Kyle Korver’s 3 best performances of the season so far. dark

For more information about COVID-19, visit the website for the CDC, WHO, or the website for your state’s Department of Health.

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