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2026 Milwaukee Bucks Predictions with Best Bets and Odds to Win NBA Championship

by Spencer Toth - 10/8/2026

Milwaukee Bucks predictions Tyler Herro

The Milwaukee Bucks signaled an end of an era when they traded Giannis Antetokounmpo this offseason, hitting the reset button on the franchise. The Bucks were without a playoff series win since 2022, were coming off their worst season in a decade, and decided to prioritize their future rather than the present. The Bucks got quite the haul for the Greek Freak, but there is no replacing his two-way impact in the near or medium term. This looks like a complete rebuild rather than a quick retool. However, can the Bucks surprise and stay remotely competitive?

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Milwaukee Bucks Offseason Recap

The Bucks will look like a very different team without Giannis Antetokounmpo on the floor this year. The two-time MVP spent the last decade of his career dominating in Milwaukee, and it was not an easy decision for the player or the front office to make this move. Their offense will take a hit without his 30 PPG average across the last four years, while their defense will look very different without him patrolling the paint. However, they got quite the haul for their franchise cornerstone. 

The Bucks sent Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis to the Heat in exchange for Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, the 13th overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, which was used on Nate Ament, two future first round picks, a pick swap, and a second round pick. This is a massive haul for a player of Antetokounmpo’s age, and the Bucks now have a platform to rebuild their franchise. In the short term, Herro is undoubtedly the best asset. He has a certain aura around his scoring that isn’t translated to the boxscore, as he elevates his teammates and is never afraid to fire it from deep. His splits of 20.5 PPG, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.1 assists from last year was a dip in production, but he averaged fewer minutes and only suited up for 33 games due to injury. When Herro is on his game, his seemingly unlimited range forces defenders to stay tight behind the arc, and his vision allows him to work out of double teams when they do come. 

Herro isn’t the only new face coming from Miami, as Jaime Jaquez Jr. will slot right into the starting lineup while Kel’el Ware will be one of the first men off the bench. Jaquez Jr. smashed his career highs last year with 15.4 PPG, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.7 assists, all while shooting more than 50% from the field. He is a very physical winger who can play through contact against bigger opponents and thrives in the post. While Jaquez Jr. is a wing who can’t shoot from deep, Ware is a big man who can stretch the floor. His three point shooting has been improving, and his seven foot frame ensures he is always a threat for a lob in the paint. Ware is also strong on the defensive end, and at only 22 years old, still has a very high ceiling down the line. 

2026 Milwaukee Bucks Season Expectations

The expectations are at an all-time low in Milwaukee, and rightfully so. They just lost their franchise superstar in the offseason, and while they are built to succeed down the road, there will be 82 games of pain before that happens. The Bucks best players who stuck around are Myles Turner and Kyle Kuzma, but neither has had a particularly strong tenure with the team. Turner never really was able to replicate his success during the Pacers 2025 championship run, as the spacing was always off when he shared the floor with the other bigs in Milwaukee. Turner will now have the freedom to alternate with Ware without having any bulky power forwards taking up his real estate. He’s shot over 38% from deep in back-to-back seasons, and is a real menace on the defensive end with 2.1 blocks per game across his 11-year career. 

Kuzma, on the other hand, has far less reason for optimism. His PPG has been steadily declining as he ages, he is not a very efficient shooter from anywhere on the floor, and lacks the playmaking to offset his tendency to turn the ball over. There is little competition for him at forward, but he is 31 years old and not getting any younger. If things start to go south, Kuzma will be traded or dropped down the depth chart to make way for younger talent. 

The Bucks were bottom seven in both offensive and defensive rating last year, making their -6.1 net rating no surprise. They could score around Antetokounmpo when he was healthy, but will need to find new ways to succeed in his wake. On defense, they especially struggled with rebounding the basketball, finishing with the second fewest rebounds per game. Losing Antetokounmpo will not help that either, and a particularly small lineup around Turner means they will need to all crash the glass. Of players still on the roster, Turner led the team with 5.3 rebounds per game, but that had him 70th in the league and not what the Bucks wanted from their starting center. The Bucks could be good down the line if their prospects develop, but there is very little reason to expect anything less than lots of long losing streaks this year. 

2026 Milwaukee Bucks Schedule Breakdown

The Bucks will stay close to home to open up the season, with no road trip of more than two games coming until December. In fact, they don’t have a road trip of more than three games until the middle of January, when they head out West for five games, their longest time away from home all year. Milwaukee opens up the year against the Wizards then the Bulls, both of which could potentially be wins, but then they have a brutal stretch that will immediately squash any hope of a playoff push. Their next 16 games are all against teams projected to make the playoffs, all of whom will have the Bucks circled on the calendar for an easy win. 

2026 Milwaukee Bucks Betting Odds

The Bucks are projected to have their worst season in more than a decade with a win total at a measly 25.5 games. That puts them only ahead of the Nets and Kings, which means they could very well be battling to stay out of the relegation zone as the season comes to a close. They have +1800 odds to miraculously make the playoffs, and sky-high +1200 odds to even participate in the play-in tournament. Kel’el Ware has the best chance to win any silverware, as he has the fourth shortest odds to win Most Improved Player. However, his fit alongside Turner is poor, which means he is unlikely to get a real bump in minutes needed to stuff the stat sheet. 

Looking at the NBA Cup, things don’t get any easier. Milwaukee has +2200 odds to win East Group A as they are alongside the Pistons, Raptors, Magic, and Nets. Their +40000 NBA Cup odds are slightly shorter than their +75000 championship odds, but both are incredibly unlikely to even come close to having a chance. 

2026 Milwaukee Bucks Season Predictions and Best Bets

The Milwaukee Bucks will be dreadful this year. However, the question is just how bad will they be? Unfortunately for the Milwaukee faithful, I predict them to be even worse than their 25.5 win total and finish in the neighborhood of 20 wins this year. The Bucks offense is a complete disaster with a washed-up Kuzma and struggling Turner as their top options behind Herro. On defense, they are undersized on the perimeter, which will prevent them from chopping up passing lanes and also cause them to get burned on the offensive glass. The name of the game is development for the Bucks, and ideally staying out of the relegation zone so they can keep their 2027 NBA Draft lottery odds intact. There aren’t many markets to attack with this team, so we will confidently take the +100 odds on under 25.5 wins, and I encourage you to get aggressive with an alternative under at an even better price if you can find that prop. 

Top Pick: Milwaukee Bucks Under 25.5 Wins +100

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