2026 NBA Draft Lottery Preview: Milwaukee Bucks
Rowan Kent and Stephen Gillaspie break down the choices the Milwaukee Bucks have in the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery.
Rowan: After a few years of trying to stave off the inevitable, the Milwaukee Bucks were finally dragged kicking and screaming to their next inflection point as a franchise. In the five years since Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday, and Khris Middleton led the team to its first NBA title since 1971, the Bucks have only won one playoff round. They didn’t even get there this year, as Antetokounmpo struggled through multiple injuries and had one of the silliest trade sagas since Dwight Howard and Carmelo Anthony over a decade ago. It’s hard to imagine a team ranked second in three-point percentage this season had just the 24th-best offensive rating in the league, but the Bucks had a disjointed offense that couldn’t get anything going. Their defense wasn’t any better, as they were 26th in defensive rating after a comedic performance on that end. All in all, it was a season to forget for Milwaukee, one that equated to a wet fart as an end to the Giannis era for the team.
I say “end” even though he hasn’t formally demanded a trade from the team because that’s how the franchise should be operating. Antetokounmpo is still a massive needle-mover on both ends, but he can’t carry that load alone anymore. Ryan Rollins and Myles Turner are good players, but they aren’t good enough to help him either. Thus, even if the team makes the same tired move that they’ve done the past few summers of trying to appease Antetokounmpo’s desire for another star next to him, they should look at every position available to them. This is their first Top 10 pick since 2016. Even if Antetokounmpo is still on the team, I’d argue that no one else was good enough that they should feel secure in their spot, starting or otherwise.
So, with such a rosy introduction, what do you think the Bucks should look for in this draft? Who could be some good fits for this roster?
Stephen: Heck of an intro there, Rowan! I loved the trip down memory lane; breaking down the gradual decline of a once-promising NBA organization and discussing some of the players I enjoyed watching in my formative years is a way straight to my heart.
You make a great point on the whole “will they/won’t they” narrative surrounding Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks. There is some smoke suggesting that the Clippers could look to add Giannis, which could make that #5 pick a major trade chip in most trade-machine scenarios.
I don’t want to fawn over a pick that they don’t have, so I’ll focus on the bird in hand with the 10th pick.
You bring up such a great point about who the major pieces on the roster are beyond Giannis. It’s pretty bleak. In my opinion, that makes who they pick here a little more nuanced than who other teams may pick if they had the 10th pick. What I mean by that is, other teams could opt to go for a more complementary player, such as Morez Johnson Jr., Brayden Burries, etc.
They need to do something that’s difficult to do: find a potential All-Star with the 10th pick in the draft. I know it’s not a popular choice here, but Ebuka Okorie is the player who makes the most sense for me here. He doesn’t measure the tallest in the class, but he has a near 6’8” wingspan, and he is very strong and athletic. He scored 23.2 PPG on 47/35/83 splits while being assisted on under 19% of his shots. In other words, dude can ball. Don’t let the assist numbers–which are fine–cause you to think he can’t be a lead guard. To put it nicely, his teammates were fortunate to play alongside Okorie.
Oh, and he showed off defensive playmaking chops!
I know he isn’t one of the freshman guards that the draft community has been gushing over all season, but he has all the potential to be one of the best players in this draft. That’s the type of player the Milwaukee Bucks need to take a chance on: someone who can lead a team through tough times.
What do you think, Rowan? Are you going to make fun of me for my selection here?
Rowan: I think that fortune favors the bold. The Bucks, despite some general manager changes over the years, have never shied away from taking the player that they want, whether the consensus favors it or not. Antetokounmpo was a bold choice as a true unknown at the time. MarJon Beauchamp had an unconventional path to the draft as well; the same is true with A.J. Johnson and Tyler Smith. While it would be easiest to swing for a star if they were to trade Antetokounmpo and skyrocket to fifth, you’re right: given how rarely Milwaukee has picked in this slot, it’s paramount that they grab their next star.
Okorie is a player that I’ve really enjoyed watching this year as well. I’m not faulting him for his assist numbers, as it was clear that he was given a gargantuan load to carry on the offensive end. There were several nuclear scoring performances by freshmen this season, but Okorie may have had the most total eruptions from any prospect, although I can’t track a fake stat like that. His wingspan and height numbers coming out of the combine should assuage any last doubts about whether he can play at the NBA level, and although there are a ton of talented guards in this draft class, there’s no shame in thinking that Okorie has the scoring chops to become a lead guard at the NBA level.
I also like the unconventional shout, given the tough place where the Bucks are on the draft board. After Chicago’s fourth pick, there’s a drop-off in talent. You could argue that the drop-off is somewhere between fifth and 11th, as I look with a fat-toothed comb, that the draft has another tier of talent that ends there. Players like Mikel Brown Jr., Keaton Wagler, Kingston Flemings, and Darius Acuff Jr. are projected to be off the board. Any of those players would be a “teleport to the podium” moment for Milwaukee, but they’d have to either leapfrog a higher team or double-check what led to any of these talented floor generals falling out of the second tier of talent.
I may be biased because I wrote about him recently, but I do see a clear fit for Brayden Burries at #10 for Milwaukee. He has the right skills that overlap with breakout guard Ryan Rollins, while also showing a bit more shot-creation chops and still having enough size to play next to each other. It would be the best kind of redundancy for Rollins and Burries to play next to each other, as teams would have their hands full between the two of them. If the Bucks wanted to still look at point guards even after the four I mentioned above were gone, they’d have their pick of the next tier in Alabama’s Labaron Philon, Texas Tech’s Christian Anderson, and Iowa’s Bennett Stirtz. I’m highest on Philon from that group due to his potential ceiling, but I could see the argument for any of those three.
If the Bucks don’t want to grab a guard, which is perfectly reasonable given they may have a Greek Freak-sized hole at forward soon, they’ll have a host of options too. Michigan’s trio of frontcourt prospects in Yaxel Lendeborg, Morez Johnson Jr., and Aday Mara may not be included in many “future star” conversations, but both forwards project as long-term starters for Milwaukee, whether Antetokounmpo stays or goes. The team could also target a high-upside swing like Tennessee’s Nate Ament or New Zealand’s Karim Lopez at forward, although both come with questions of their own.
I know I’ve thrown out a lot of names, so I’ll simplify the conversation a bit: How would you feel about Burries at that spot? Would you have Philon or another guard, not counting Okorie, over him? And which forward would you take if the Bucks don’t address their backcourt?
Stephen: Oh, you’re not going to have to twist my arm for the Bucks to rock with Brayden Burries with the 10th pick if he’s there. Part of the reason I didn’t mention him off the top is that I wouldn’t expect him to be there–but that’s probably me projecting my infatuation with him onto other NBA front offices. But that’s rarely a safe thing to assume.
Anyone who is consuming NBA Draft coverage–or NBA Draft discussions on NBA-centric mediums–has probably heard some sort of conversation regarding how the NBA playoffs are swaying their perception of this class. Buries is one of the front-runners in those discussions, and it’s easy to see why.
Looking at the major contributors in both conferences, one of the more common themes is how valuable tough, hard-nosed guards are in these pressure cooker situations. You need players who can both apply and handle pressure. And they have to handle physicality. Burries weighing in around 210 pounds, while being athletic, is exactly the frame you need to be a Day One guy. It’s quite impressive that one of his “least effective play types” was on Spot Ups while he shot over 39% from deep on real volume. Oh, and he can defend, too.
The one tiny issue I have with him is that I’m not certain he can be a lead guy, and I’m not sold that he can’t be; maybe he was just limited by playing on a stacked team. Maybe there is a Jamal Murray-type player here.
The physicality does worry me a tad with Philon, and sort of has all season. I get that he may not be afraid of contact necessarily, but you don’t have to be scared of electricity to be shocked. Know what I mean?
That’s what makes this pick so tricky for this team in particular: you’re likely looking at a contributor instead of an initiator–a thermometer instead of a thermostat–if you pick off of a consensus board at this spot.
This is why I had Milwaukee pretty high on my worry-meter in my last article. There is a Giannis-sized decision to be made–and it must be done correctly. And then you have to nail this pick–and whatever other picks you pull in that presumed Giannis move.
Pressure can either form diamonds or burst pipes. I can’t wait to see which one happens with the Bucks!