The 2022-23 NBA schedule was released on Tuesday, allowing us our first look at the matchups and dates for the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks have 23 nationally televised games, near the top of the league in that aspect. What could the 2022-23 season hold in store for players like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton who have been with the Bucks for a long time? Could Giannis make some moves up some of the all time ranks? Let’s look at some milestones that could be passed this year for the two Milwaukee Bucks All-Stars.
Milwaukee Bucks milestones to watch: Giannis Antetokounmpo climbing the all-time ranks
Giannis Antetokounmpo will for sure go down as the greatest player to ever wear a Milwaukee Bucks jersey, at least until the next Giannis comes along, but that is going to be a long time from now. That said, Giannis also has the opportunity to continue making a mark on the NBA as well. Giannis is currently #167 in points in NBA history, Giannis is 2,639 points away from moving into the top 100 in points scored. While he likely won’t reach that number this season, he will undoubtedly move himself into striking distance of the top 100 for the first third of next season.
The other area Giannis can keep moving up the all-time ranks is in rebounds. Giannis is currently #170 all-time in rebounds. Assuming Giannis plays around 70 games and averages around 12 rebounds like he’s been around for several years, those 840 rebounds would move him to around #115 all-time in rebounds, once again putting him in striking distance for top 100 next season.
Milwaukee Bucks milestones to watch: Giannis Antetokounmpo franchise records
Last year, on a 3-point shot that sent a matchup with the Brooklyn Nets into overtime and led to an eventual Milwaukee Bucks win, Giannis Antetokounmpo became the Milwaukee Bucks franchise leader in points. Giannis passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the franchise lead, in my opinion cementing him as the greatest player to ever put on a basketball jersey in the city of Milwaukee.
There are however some categories where Giannis can still move up the ranks. Firstly, games played, Giannis is currently 3rd on the Milwaukee Bucks all time list in games played. Giannis needs to play 39 games to pass Sidney Moncrief for 2nd on the franchise leaderboard and needs to play 55 games to pass Junior Bridgeman for the most games played as a Milwaukee Buck. The Milwaukee Bucks 55th game of the season is February 9th, a matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers on TNT, that would be a great day for Giannis to become the Bucks All-Time leader in games played. However, assuming Giannis sits out some games, whether it be to be overly cautious about some soreness or missing some back to backs, which the Milwaukee Bucks have many, the Milwaukee Bucks 60th game of the season is a 2021 Finals rematch with the Phoenix Suns on February 26th at Fiserv Forum on ABC.
Another milestone Giannis Antetokounmpo will likely overtake in Philadelphia is the franchise lead in free throws. Giannis trails Sidney Moncrief by just eight made free throws for the most in franchise history.
One milestone that some fans may not realize how close Giannis is to achieving is the franchise lead in assists. Giannis is just 52 assists shy of passing Paul Pressey for 1st in Bucks history. Looking at the last four years Giannis has averaged between five and six assists per game. For the sake of easy math say Giannis averages 5.2 assists to begin the season, we’d be looking around the 10th game of the season for Giannis to become the Milwaukee Bucks all-time leader in assists. The Milwaukee Bucks 10th game of the season is November 7th in Atlanta against the Hawks.
Milwaukee Bucks milestones to watch: Khris Middleton climbing the franchise leaderboard
There is no secret how amazing Giannis Antetokounmpo has been for the Milwaukee Bucks, but Khris Middleton does not get enough credit for how crucial he has been to the franchise for a long time, especially during the championship run in 2021.
There are several areas where Khris Middleton will move up the Milwaukee Bucks all-time leaderboards, further cementing his legacy as one of the greatest players in franchise history.
On the previous slide I mentioned Giannis needing to play 39 games to pass Sidney Moncrief for 2nd in games played for the Milwaukee Bucks, well Khris Middleton needs to play 71 games to pass Moncrief and then would trail only Giannis Antetokounmpo and Junior Bridgeman in games played as a Milwaukee Buck.
Khris Middleton has made around 500 field goals per season in his career when playing full seasons, if Middleton makes around 500 field goals in 2022-23 he could move up to 6th in franchise history. In doing so Middleton would pass Sidney Moncrief, Michael Redd, Brian Winters and Junior Bridgman, beloved names in Milwaukee Bucks history.
Like Giannis, Khris Middleton can also move up franchise leaderboards in free throws, Middleton will likely move into 7th during the season opener as he needs just two made free throws to do so. After that, Middleton needs 55 made free throws to pass Marques Johnson for 6th in franchise history. Assists are a milestone to watch with Khris as well, Middleton needs 47 assists to pass Brian Winters for 4th in assists.
If Khris Middleton could have a season like some of the years he put together earlier in his career for steals and could snag 95 steals in 2022-23 he could pass Sidney Moncrief for 3rd in Bucks’ history, with 115 he could pass Paul Pressey for 2nd. It is also worth noting that Giannis Antetokounmpo trails Khris Middleton by just 15 steals on the franchise leaderboard.
Looking at the last five years Khris Middleton has averaged around 1,400 points per season, if Middleton can replicate those numbers this season he could find himself rocketing up the franchise leaderboard in that aspect and getting closer in rank to Giannis.
Middleton is currently 8th in points in franchise history, just nine points behind Marques Johnson. Middleton could also pass several others, 507 points puts him into 6th past Bob Dandridge, 583 would put him in 5th past Michael Redd, 623 to move into 4th past Sidney Moncrief and 1,039 to pass Glenn Robinson for 3rd all-time in Milwaukee Bucks scoring. How sweet would it be for Khris Middleton to move past Glenn Robinson in franchise scoring wearing the purple Classic Edition jerseys? After that Middleton would be looking up at only Giannis and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the latter he could possibly pass next season.
You can keep up with how Giannis, Khris and others move up the franchise rankings here.
A couple last bonus milestones: Jrue Holiday could move into the top 150 in NBA points scored with about 1,100 points scored this season. Brook Lopez with 150 blocks this season could move into top five in Bucks’ history in that category.