Going into the 2025-2026 campaign, Doc Rivers has made a number of changes that are incredibly encouraging for Bucks fans. Throughout the preseason, Rivers started the group of - Kevin Porter Jr., Gary Trent Jr., AJ Green, Giannis, and Myles Turner. The one omission from that lineup that everyone is most encouraged by, Kyle Kuzma.
This new rotation relieves the massive pressure that was applied to Kuz last season and should allow him to grow into a backup forward role, encouraging him to run the show and create for himself and others with less pressure to be a second star next to Giannis.
Kuzma is better as a second unit cog than a starter
In the preseason alone, we saw Kuzma look much cooler, calmer, and collected, showing very positive flashes of the player who played a massive role on a championship team. If Kuz can return to the days of high-level defensive pressure and mature in his offensive decision-making, he will quickly win over Bucks fans and become a massive contributor for this Milwaukee team.
It is not a secret that Kyle Kuzma hasn't exactly won the hearts of Bucks fans after being traded from Washington in the midst of the 2024-2025 campaign. Poor shot selection, rushed decision-making, and some frankly cartoonish mistakes have landed Kuz at the top of most Bucks fans' lists of trade assets.
Pair his performance with that fact that Kuzma was traded for Milwaukee legend and fan-favorite Khris Middleton, the harsh reality is Kuz has his work cut out for him when it comes to gaining the full trust and support of the Milwaukee faithful.
It is not fair to put 100 percent of the blame on Kuzma, however. He came over after multiple seasons as the best player on the worst team in the league. He had no expectations of winning and frankly hadn't been asked to compete for anything since his days with the championship-winning Lakers.
Moving from the culture in Washington to the championship-or-bust mindset surrounding the Bucks roster clearly came with its massive hurdles. Partner that with the fact that Doc Rivers threw Kuzma straight into the starting lineup, hoping he could fill the Khris Middleton-sized wing gap that was now on the roster, and you quickly see that Kuz was fighting an uphill battle.
Kuzma has the perfect opportunity to start off this campaign on a high note against his former team, though that will likely not be the main headline as Khris Middleton makes his first appearance back in Milwaukee with the Wizards tonight in game one of 82.