NBA opening day for the 2025-26 season has finally arrived and there might not be a team with as much riding on the results of it as the Milwaukee Bucks. Here are three burning questions that the Central Division contender faces.
3 Burning Questions For Bucks Heading Into 2025-26 Season
Who Is Damian Lillard’s Successor?
Despite the obvious importance of Jrue Holiday, perhaps the Bucks can’t be faulted for completing a trade for Damian Lillard given his stature. Either way, the tense experiment is finally over, even if the ending was unceremonious.
Now, with Lillard’s contract waived and stretched, both parties can move forward. For Lillard, that apparently meant returning to the Portland Trail Blazers, though he’s planning to sit out all of 2025-26. For Milwaukee, that means finding Lillard’s successor (or perhaps Holiday’s true successor). Though Ryan Rollins had exceeded expectations last season, it appeared that the Bucks may start Cole Anthony, who they signed less than two weeks after Lillard’s release. Anthony absolutely has defensive limitations due to his height and lack of elite athleticism, but averages 15.2 points and 4.9 assists per game as a starter.
In the 2025-26 preseason, Milwaukee instead started Kevin Porter Jr. at point guard. Across four contests, the 25-year-old averaged 10.5 points and 4.5 assists in 18.9 minutes per game on .571-.600-.500 shooting splits. He was a shrewd facilitator, smooth scorer and solid defender. At the end of the day, he’s simply more competent and complete than Rollins or Anthony, though both guards will still provide value off the bench.
It’s worth mentioning that Porter averaged 17.2 points and 6.0 assists per game in three seasons with the Houston Rockets.
What Is Kyle Kuzma’s Role?
Anthony starting for the Bucks was possible but it’s not altogether too surprising that Milwaukee didn’t go that route. It’s much more shocking to see Kyle Kuzma come off the bench. Though the Bucks did remove him from the starting lineup during his horrendous postseason performance, he had started in all but three games since 2021-22.
Then again, those were seasons he spent with the rebuilding Washington Wizards. In the season that he won a championship (2019-20), Kuzma only started in nine of the 82 games he played for the Los Angeles Lakers, playoffs included. With that being said, it’s possible that when he’s on a championship-contender, he’s better in a more refined role.
In the 2025-26 preseason, Kuzma averaged 8.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game. He only shot 32.3% from the field, 30.0% from 3, and 60.0% from the free-throw line. If this trend continues in the preseason, he may come to regret pushing his way out of Washington.
Will Giannis Antetokounmpo Request A Trade?
The Bucks’ biggest question is about their most important player: Giannis Antetokounmpo.
After 12 seasons, Antetokounmpo is now firmly set in the NBA’s list of luminaries. He’s a nine-time All-Star, nine-time All-NBA selection, five-time All-Defensive selection, and two-time NBA MVP. He won the Most Improved Player award in 2017 and the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2020. All he cares about now is winning more championships, or at least believing he has a fair shot at doing so. However, at 30 years old, he’s beginning to taste his NBA mortality and losing patience.
“In six or seven months,” he may even change his mind about staying with the Bucks.
Whether it’s the trade deadline, next summer, or as a free agent in 2027, feels like we are nearing the end of Giannis Antetokounmpo as a Buck.
“I’m locked into whatever I have in front of me. Now, in six or seven months I change my mind, I think that’s human, too.” pic.twitter.com/pE2s7KjJ21
— Vivek Jacob (@vivekmjacob) October 8, 2025
Will he?
Though Antetokounmpo is more likely to request a trade in the offseason than in-season, the possibility can’t be ruled out. If he’s truly dissatisfied with his teammates’ performance, he could look around the league and decide he’d rather play elsewhere. At this point, the New York Knicks sound like his preferred trade destination. The Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors and Dallas Mavericks have been linked to him as well.
© Matt Marton-Imagn Images
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