It should surprise no one that the Milwaukee Bucks have been left off the NBA's Christmas Day schedule again in 2025. For at least another season, the franchise's appearance count will stay at 10. Oh, well.
NBA media coverage hasn't exactly given the Milwaukee Bucks due process this offseason. Despite repeated contradictions from Giannis Antetokounmpo himself, national networks went all-in on Giannis trade gossip as if trying to will it into existence.
Pundits criticized the team for not making a splash, despite limited resources, in order to supposedly appease him. When the Bucks signed Myles Turner, the only thing they could talk about was how they had to waive Damian Lillard to do so.
Locking up Naz Reid was a major win for Minnesota, but the Bucks bringing back Bobby Portis at 60 percent of the yearly cost was met with lukewarm golf claps. In a weak conference, many penciled them in as a play-in team. There simply aren't many Milwaukee believers.
Bucks' exclusion isn't unjustified, it's just the cherry on top
Here are the games:
- Cleveland Cavaliers at New York Knicks
- San Antonio Spurs at Oklahoma City Thunder
- Houston Rockets at LA Lakers
- Dallas Mavericks at Golden State Warriors
- Minnesota Timberwolves at Denver Nuggets
To be fair, some of those teams are no-brainers. Compared to the reigning champion Thunder or the carnival-attraction Lakers, the Bucks are just one of 22 squads left off the invite list. The only game from the East is Cavaliers versus Knicks, the projected top two teams in the conference. That's fair. Minnesota-Denver is an intriguing playoff rematch. The Rockets added Kevin Durant. Victor Wembanyama hype is still fresh for San Antonio.
The Warriors are the Warriors. All those teams have claims to be there, as do plenty who aren't included, but Milwaukee's omission is just another slight that, though expected, should motivate them to disprove their doubters even more.
It's not like the Bucks don't have a compelling case themselves. They have a top three player and have higher expected win totals than Dallas or the Spurs. They have a claim on tradition from playing every year from 2018 to 2023.
The Bucks don't have Cooper Flagg. They also play in small-market Milwaukee. Figures.
Losing Lillard this summer doesn't help. There was a fat chance the Bucks would end up in a Christmas game, anyway, but his absence gives them one less marquee name. Casual fans won't recognize many players on the roster, though that could change with breakout years from the likes of Kevin Porter Jr., Gary Trent Jr., or AJ Green.
Milwaukee also started off last season in a 2-8 slump. The group had things going again by Christmas time, but maybe the NBA is wary. In the end, it's hard to blame Adam Silver for passing on the Bucks for the second straight year. Within the larger context of how the team has been covered, though, fans have every right to feel snubbed.