What about the coaches?
But players aren't the only ones who can represent a team in the All-Star Game. Coaches are also selected, although the Bucks haven't been very prolific in that regard since only Larry Costello, who did it twice, and Mike Budenholzer have coached the game as Milwaukee's coaches. Doc Rivers will be the fourth this coming Sunday, which will also be his fourth time at the event.
Funny enough, Rivers will be the first Bucks coach to be the head of the Eastern Conference team. Since Milwaukee played at the Western Conference until 1980, that was the team Costello coached at the time, and when Budenholzer was selected in 2019, the All-Star Game was played under the unconferenced format.
However, the All-Star Weekend lasts for three days. How have the Bucks done over the years in Saturday contests? Let's find out.
Few big performances in the contests
Only one player has ever won a contest while representing the Bucks. This fact alone should be enough to show that the franchise hasn't exactly been full of big-time performers at the Saturday night, but it hasn't been present enough to even try to win a few more.
Slam Dunk Contest
Only four Bucks players have participated in the main event of Saturday night, and none of them have ever made it to the finals. Paul Pressey was the first in 1986, and Bucks fans had to wait until 1997 to see another member of the roster in the contest when Ray Allen tried it. The wait was even longer until Giannis Antetokounmpo participated in 2015 and in 2020 when Pat Connaughton participated. Even if he didn't make it past the first round, he got to score the first 50-point dunk for the Bucks.
There should be a fifth player on this list, but injuries forced Brandon Jennings out of the 2011 contest. He ended up being replaced by DeMar DeRozan.
3-Point Contest
Ok, now we're talking. This is the contest where the Bucks have shined the most and have seen one of their players be declared champion. Ray Allen, known as one of the best shooters in NBA history, made his mark in 2001, being the best of the night both in the first round and in the final to beat Peja Stojakovic and Dirk Nowitzki, making this his one and only championship out of his five tries.
However, the Bucks' history with the 3-Point Contest started way sooner back in the first shooting contest ever in 1986. In the first round, Craig Hodges set an amazing record of 25 points out of 30, which remained the all-time record until the format was changed and players were allowed to have a money-ball rack.
Hodges didn't win that contest, though. His performance in the final round wasn't as brilliant, and he ended up in second place behind Larry Bird. He participated in the first eight 3-Point Contests ever celebrated and won three of them, being the only player next to Bird to win it so many times, but he never got to be the champion in a Bucks jersey.
Erick Murdock and Khris Middleton also participated in 1994 and 2014, respectively, but didn't make it to the finals. And this Saturday, Malik Beasley will represent the Bucks again and will try to become the second franchise player to ever win it. Will he be able to get it?
Skills Challenge
Much like the Slam Dunk Contest, there's not much to tell about the Bucks history in the Skill Challenge. This contest has always served more like a warm-up and most players doesn't even seem to care that much about winning it, so it's not like there's a lot that can be said. 16 teams have never won it and Milwaukee is one of them, although it has got close every once in a while.
Brandon Knight actually got to the final round in 2015, but he lost against a current Bucks player, Patrick Beverley. Had he won it, it would have been kind of funny, since that was his last appearance in a Bucks jersey because he got traded to the Phoenix Suns a few days after the contest.
Prior to that, Brandon Jennings failed to make it past the first round in 2009, the same thing that happened to Giannis in 2014, where he participated with DeMar DeRozan as a pair. Khris Middleton got to the semifinals in 2020 but lost against Domantas Sabonis, and the Antetokounmpo brothers went back to back in 2022 and 2023, although Giannis was replaced by Jrue Holiday in 2023, and the team lost both times.