Behind the Bucks Pass
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Milwaukee Bucks: 3 biggest ‘what ifs’ during the Bucks’ early 2010s run

By Jordan Treske

ATLANTA - APRIL 20: (L-R) Brandon Jennings #3, Kurt Thomas #40, John Salmons #15, Andrew Bogut #6 and Carlos Delfino #10 of the Milwaukee Bucks look on from the bench in the final minute of their 96-86 loss to the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena on April 20, 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA - APRIL 20: (L-R) Brandon Jennings #3, Kurt Thomas #40, John Salmons #15, Andrew Bogut #6 and Carlos Delfino #10 of the Milwaukee Bucks look on from the bench in the final minute of their 96-86 loss to the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena on April 20, 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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PHOENIX – JANUARY 11: (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
PHOENIX – JANUARY 11: (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Andrew Bogut’s career-altering injury

If not for Andrew Bogut‘s career-altering injury on April 3. 2010, there’s no way of knowing just how the subsequent seasons and current era could have been changed.

During the Bucks’ 2009-10 season, commonly referred to as the ‘Fear the Deer’ run, Bogut had asserted himself as one of the league’s top centers and the centerpiece to Milwaukee’s top-ranked defense in his age-25 season and under Skiles’ second year in charge.

He was one of the NBA’s premier shot blockers, averaging 2.5 blocks per game, and held a 99.0 defensive rating that stood near the top of individual players around the league, per NBA.com/stats. Along with that, Bogut’s mix of size, savvy and screen setting made him an integral part of the team’s offense and formed a nice pick-and-roll combination with rookie guard Brandon Jennings.

But two weeks before the start of their playoff run, where they would eventually go up against the third-seeded Atlanta Hawks, Bogut went down after leaping up for a dunk on a fast break and being pushed by Phoenix Suns forward Amar’e Stoudamire, and subsequently landed on his right arm and shattering it in multiple places.

That Bucks team still managed to push the Hawks to a full seven-game series in the first round of the playoffs without Bogut and created a new level of expectations they had to meet the following season. And the Australian international was later named to the All-NBA Third Team following the 09-10 campaign.

But Bogut was never the same player and admitted to rushing back far too soon for what was essentially a 6-9 month injury as he talked about with the Pick and Roll in December of 2019:

"“I probably rushed back from it to be honest,” Bogut admitted. “I came back way too soon. It was essentially a 6 to 9 month injury, but I was back in four months.” The decision resulted in Bogut playing through injury, something that required additional surgery after the season concluded. “Every fifth shot I’d feel like someone stabbed me in the elbow. I knew something was wrong and in that offseason, I went and got a scope/clean out on it.  I had surgery again on it and there was a massive chunk of bone just floating around in my elbow joint. Playing through that for a whole season was [tough].”"

Bogut’s injury, among plenty of other factors, cast an incredible pall over the Bucks’ disappointing 2010-11 season as they slipped down to a 35-47 record to miss the playoffs. In many ways, Bogut’s injury-prone career, marked by his arm injury, literally fractured what looked to be a promising era and eventually set the stage for his exit from the team.

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