Milwaukee Bucks: Bidding farewell and going out on top with the champions

After six-plus years here at Behind the Buck Pass and spending the majority of my time writing about the Milwaukee Bucks in some capacity, my time has come to step down as co-site expert.

Little did I know that when I joined BTBP by way of finding a Reddit post by my great friend Adam McGee back in February of 2015 that I would go on this journey and one that ends with having recently seen the Bucks be crowned as NBA champions once again.

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A lot has obviously transpired in the time between then and now and I wouldn’t trade any of the experiences I’ve had along the way through what has been such a formative time in my life.

I have to give endless thanks and appreciation to Adam, Ti Windisch, Dalton Sell, all of whom I worked directly with or under throughout my time here at BTBP, whether as a co-site expert or contributor. All three are incredibly talented people and have either or are continuing to make their mark on shaping BTBP to what it is today, along with the numerous people who have passed through here while on staff.

The same goes for Michael Dunlap, Phil Watson, Gerald Bourguet, Josh Wilson, Ian Levy and countless others across the FanSided NBA division as well as Hoops Habit. All five, along with Adam and Ti, helped make me become a better writer, helped me find my voice and showed me the work and dedication that’s needed to lead a site and find your place in this NBA writing world.

Without all of these people, not only would I have done this for as long I have, but there’s also a good chance I wouldn’t have found this to be as rewarding of a path this has been for me personally.

Writing about the Milwaukee Bucks over the last six-plus years has been a treasure

My journey following the Bucks and having it lead down this path was certainly not by design, let me tell you. There was also a point in time where I just didn’t follow the Bucks in general as I grew up over the course of high school and got into other areas and activities outside of sports.

Over the years, though, following high school and my grand plans to play music gradually fizzled out, I spent plenty of time without any direction in regards to what I wanted to do with my life. As I searched for ways to get out of a terribly long and dark period of my life, I gradually reconnected with following the Bucks and basketball again, fully coming back on board for the 2012-13 season.

My connection to the Bucks only grew deeper as we saw the team grow from the ground up, all of which was embodied by the arrival of Giannis Anteokounmpo. Hope continued to spring with what felt like a bonafide pick in Jabari Parker in the 2014 NBA Draft and the quiet, but confident maturation of Khris Middleton.

Many twists and turns have come since those halcyon days and that has made the Bucks’ gradual rise from cellar dwellers to NBA champions so thrilling for Bucks fans who have all taken kinship to seeing this transformation unfold before our eyes. Antetokounmpo certainly embodies that as his personal transformation is arguably the biggest development to why this franchise is enjoying this golden era and championship.

Throughout this journey, writing about the Bucks through BTBP and finding a place in the Bucks fan community his given me a much-needed sense of direction and purpose again.

It was through reconnecting with the Bucks long ago that I found the likes of Frank Madden, Jeremy Schmidt, Charles Gardner and many of the Bucks voices that have helped shape the Bucks fan experience that it is today on social media. Along with Eric Nehm, Matt Velazquez and other Bucks scribes, reading all of their work inspired me to become a better writer and more informed in everything going on with the Bucks.

I’m not making illusions to calling this a career by any means, but I’ve gotten incredibly rewarding experiences out of this role and have gained good friends along the way, which is more than what I could ask have asked for more than six years ago.

As for where this path leads me down next, I won’t be going anywhere in terms of broadcasting my Bucks thoughts and you’ll be able to find them at Win in 6, the podcast I do with Adam McGee, as part of the Gyro Step Podcast Network at Blue Wire Podcasts.

Whether writing will be in my future remains to be seen, but having to juggle all three of the podcast, writing and working outside of writing had grown incredibly tough on me over this last season. In regards to BTBP, though, I couldn’t be more excited to see what Dalton and his new co-site expert do with the site. BTBP readers, you are all in good hands for the future.

I came on to this site purely on a whim and I’m leaving more than six years later having changed immeasurably because of it. I didn’t do this alone by any stretch and I’m incredibly grateful to all of the help and support I received along the way and you, the reader, for checking out the site. It has meant more to me than I can even express.

With all of that out of the way, there’s no better way to sign off than…Bucks in 6.