Milwaukee Bucks: Wesley Matthews reflects on 2019-20 season, Game 5 walkout and more

Appearing on The Crack podcast, veteran Milwaukee Bucks wing Wesley Matthews discussed the team’s run this season and their historic boycott during the playoffs.

Wesley Matthews’ Milwaukee Bucks homecoming was going like a dream before that, like everything else this year, fell apart swiftly and quickly.

Making a recent appearance on The Crack podcast that is hosted by USMNT legends DaMarcus Beasley, Oguchi Onyewu as well as Mabricio Wilson, Matthews reflected on the Bucks’ run this season and on many topics that went beyond basketball.

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For starters, Matthews addressed what it felt like to enjoy the spectacular highs he and the Bucks felt during the regular season and having that all come to a grinding halt due to the coronavirus pandemic:

"“Being on a historic pace, the way that we were on pace to win 60-plus games. Have the regular that we had, it was unbelievable. We won 18 straight games. I remember there was a point in time where it took me to win 18 games until after the All-Star break. So winning 18 straight was unbelievable.You cherish all of that and then all of those expectations and then it’s gone. You know, life hits and it’s real. We get so caught up in our sport and we forget sometimes the world keeps going around us.”"

From there, Matthews delved into the whiplash effect of going from a role model on and off the basketball court and the burden he and so many others felt in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and the ongoing issues with police brutality around the country:

"“When COVID-19 hit like it did, it shut everything down and it opened up everything. It put a pause on basketball, life and obviously all of the social justice stuff. The murders, the police brutality and everything else put the world on notice. As black men that are successful, you take on an extra burden to be strong, to represent and be on the front lines to make sure you’re impactful to your community. For better or worse, we are the role models. We’re a beacon of hope. It doesn’t have to be an athlete. Anybody that’s successful and are a minority, people are looking at you as inspiration. So having to carry that from basketball to the life part of it, it was a crazy flip.It was crazy to go from shaking hands, signing autographs to now, trying to teach. Trying to understand and educate yourself. You’re like, ‘Hold on, okay.’ I knew this basketball part. I didn’t even know about all of this other stuff.”"

With all of that in mind, Matthews detailed the Bucks’ struggles upon entering the bubble and how the events of the preceding months affected his and the team’s mentality in trying to get back into their groove to finish out the season and their ultimate goal of winning a championship:

"“For then, basketball to restart, for sports to restart, there was excitement. Like a breath of fresh air. But you still can’t take away what happened and you can’t take away that momentum. So I think a lot of guys carried that burden with them to the bubble. There’s no doubt about that. As far as the basketball went, it obviously wasn’t what we expected. We didn’t play well in the seeding games. Never really found our groove. Lost the first game in the first round, but we were able to win four straight. Then, obviously losing the way we did to Miami, it’s hard to really depict to whether this was a success or a failure or what. I guess, it’s just 2020.”"

While the Bucks’ bid for an NBA title fell apart faster than anyone would have expected, Matthews and the team still made history with their Game 5 walkout during their series with the Orlando Magic in this year’s playoffs. Matthews described his and the team’s feelings of seeing the shooting of Jacob Blake and how it all organically led to the Bucks’ protest right before the start of Game 5:

"“I woke up that morning and I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe that it happened in my own backyard. Everybody felt that same kind of sentiment. We just were sick. No conversation was taken place beforehand. We were trying to get ready for (Game 5), but we got to the locker room and it was just emotional. It was down and it was different. It didn’t sit right. One of those days where your breakfast didn’t taste the same, the coffee didn’t hit the same. Getting to the arena was off.When we got to the arena, we found out George Hill’s stance (on not playing). For George to make that call, and then Sterling Brown, who was a victim of police brutality in the state of Wisconsin, he brought it up to the whole team. All of us didn’t know that’s what was happening and this is all taking place 20 minutes before the game. The clock is going, everybody had warmed up…At that point, a storm started and we had no idea. We talked so many different people in two hours. We were able to get on the phone with Jacob Blake’s family. We talked to the lieutenant governor in Wisconsin, the District Attorney. All that happened in two hours.”"

The cascading effects that came in the wake of the Bucks’ collective decision was something that, as Matthews went on to describe, all Bucks players didn’t see coming. Matthews admitted that it obviously left teams blindsided a bit, but he and the rest of the team still believe in the basis behind their decision and being on the right side of history:

"“We just figured it would be a forfeit. So when you saw the blow up between the teams in the aftermath, we were responsible for that because we didn’t take into account all of the repercussions and all of the other games that we to take place. But in that moment in time, we were like ‘This is it.’ This is the move that needs to be made. This is how we feel, this is where we stand and we feel like we’re going to be on the right side of history for this. Not only just because we were trying to make history, but this is right.”"

Those portions of the podcast only covers Bucks-related topics as Matthews talks more about his NBA career, what he’s doing in the fight against social and racial injustice and even touches on this time playing soccer and being a multi-sport athlete while growing up in Madison.

After clearly having made his mark on the Bucks this season both on and off the court, we’ll just have to see whether Matthews will extend his Wisconsin homecoming for another season next year.