{"id":273822,"date":"2025-09-09T00:32:19","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T00:32:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/273822\/"},"modified":"2025-09-09T00:32:19","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T00:32:19","slug":"ranking-the-milwaukee-bucks-roster-thanasis-antetokounmpo-voted-17th","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/273822\/","title":{"rendered":"Ranking the Milwaukee Bucks\u2019 Roster: Thanasis Antetokounmpo voted 17th"},"content":{"rendered":"

As you all know, Thanasis Antetokounmpo is back with the Milwaukee Bucks<\/a> after missing the entire 2024\u201325 season due to a torn Achilles tendon. The move has garnered a lot of attention\u2014mostly of the negative variety (see nepotism, talent, age, injury, etc.)\u2014and, to be honest, this is all valid. After all, Thanasis is 33 years old, coming off one of the worst injuries in sports, and has never averaged more than 10 minutes per game or played more than 57 games in a season. He also doesn\u2019t have the resume or apparent basketball IQ to offer the \u201cveteran presence\u201d that kept guys like Udonis Haslem and Nick Collison on rosters for longer than their playing days warranted.<\/p>\n

Yes, it\u2019s totally understandable to view Thanasis\u2019 re-signing as a grenade. And as Hazel attests in John Green\u2019s The Fault in Our Stars (sorry, it\u2019s the English teacher in me coming out), a grenade doesn\u2019t come without \u201ccasualties.\u201d In this case, there certainly will be collateral damage: someone, arguably with more playability, has to be cut. Andre Jackson Jr. seems a likely victim due to his contract not being fully guaranteed, as does Amir Coffey due to his training camp deal<\/a>. But Tyler Smith and recently re-signed Chris Livingston<\/a> could also prematurely get caught by the shrapnel too. In any of these cases, the optics aren\u2019t ideal: the Bucks lose wing depth\u2014an area of need\u2014and\/or youth (not to mention what such a move would say about the team\u2019s management of draft picks and roster spots).<\/p>\n

Yet, as The Fault in Our Stars\u2019 Isaac shows, optics aren\u2019t everything. Hear me out (pun intended).<\/p>\n

Thanasis Antetokounmpo, for all his flaws, is the \u201cLiteral Heart\u201d (okay, I\u2019ll stop) and soul of the Bucks. Allusions aside, I\u2019m an avid believer\u2014across all sports\u2014in having veteran players (as distinct from coaches) for leadership purposes. There\u2019s just something to having a teammate lead through all the battles\u2014the practices, the recovery sessions, the ups and downs\u2014that a coach can\u2019t replicate (birds of a feather, and all that). Theo Pinson had this reputation with the Dallas Mavericks, so this role isn\u2019t limited to the Haslems and Collisons of the world.<\/p>\n

For the Bucks, this is undeniably Thanasis\u2014for whatever reason, he simply has it. He\u2019s a non-stop worker and communicator, setting the tone for the Bucks in every facet. In other words, he\u2019s the culture setter and, as the saying goes, \u201cculture eats strategy for breakfast.\u201d The fact that he\u2019s remained a Buck under the regimes of both Bud and Doc is a testament to this notion.<\/p>\n

Critics of Thanasis will likely attest to the intangibility of these attributes, positing that trying hard and constant communication are easy to do and that anyone can do them. But it\u2019s these very things that are perennially underrated; hard work isn\u2019t called what it is for no reason. Through his actions and dialogue, Thanasis is a legitimate motivator, something people outside of basketball make entire careers out of. So why is it so hard to believe there\u2019s inherent value in this within the basketball world? And for those who do point to the collateral damage of Thanasis\u2019 re-signing, I retort: is it worth hanging onto guys who\u2019ve not made any impression and are just as unlikely to contribute on the court because of their draft status or\u2014trigger word alert\u2014\u201cpotential?\u201d<\/p>\n

Thanasis may be the 15th best player on the Milwaukee Bucks\u2019 final roster, but that\u2019s actually what makes him even more valuable\u2014most 15th men won\u2019t play anyway, let alone sniff at the cultural impact he has. Moreover, when the 15th best player is the hardest worker\u2014knowing full well he likely won\u2019t play\u2014it flips the hierarchy on its head (thanks, Mitchell), sending the message to everyone in front of him: you have to bring it every day, and I\u2019ll be right here to help you through each one. That\u2019s power.<\/p>\n

So, I beg of you: focus not on what Thanasis can\u2019t do and instead focus on what he does: make the biggest and baddest dude in the league\u2014and by nature the Bucks\u2014even better. You want playoff impact? You\u2019ve got your answer right there.<\/p>\n

Onto number 16, who we\u2019ll discuss tomorrow:<\/p>\n

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