The Milwaukee Bucks' 2025-26 season schedule was released on Thursday, and there are some notable games that fans will want to mark on their calendar. One of those games will be on opening night at Fiserv Forum against none other than Bucks legend Khris Middleton and the Washington Wizards. This game marks the first time Khris Middleton will play in front of his former home crowd.
Seeing Middleton in an opposing uniform is going to be bittersweet
Milwaukee played Washington soon after the deadline last season in a game that Middleton participated in. He tallied 12 points and five rebounds in 25 minutes for the Wizards. However, that game was held on the road for Milwaukee, so this will be the first time Bucks fans get to see Middleton with his new team in person.
It is only fitting that it will be the first game of the season, and all eyes will be on his homecoming.
Bucks fans have been loud when it comes to their feelings about trading Middleton since the deal went down at last season's trade deadline. The forward has been a staple in Milwaukee since landing there in a trade in 2013. He played 11 seasons with the Bucks and was pivotal in the team's success. Many fans were sad to see such an incredible player and era of Bucks basketball come to a close.
It didn't help that the player Middleton was traded for was Kyle Kuzma, who, after a rough first season, is hoping for redemption in year two. Kuzma's struggles last year only fueled fans' discontent and disagreement on trading such an important player in franchise history. Unfortunately, Middleton hadn't been the same player Milwaukee Bucks fans had come accustomed to several years ago, when he helped catapult them to a title in 2021.
Middleton played an average of just 47 games per season for the team following that run to the championship, and his production trailed off as well, down from 20.4 points to just 15.1 by the end of his Bucks tenure. His inability to stay on the floor, his waning production, and the size of his contract forced Jon Horst and the front office to make a difficult decision to move on from the franchise icon.
Seeing Middleton don his iconic number 22 jersey in blue and red instead of the customary green and cream will be a shocking and perhaps sad moment for many Bucks fans. It will be a bittersweet way to start a new season as it signifies the end of an era in Bucks basketball, perhaps the best in franchise history, and the start of a younger, faster, and less proven era. I am sure fans will give Middleton a loud and well-deserved welcome back on October 22.