Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks are officially three seasons from their 2020-21 NBA championship. Giannis hasn’t won an MVP award in four seasons, and the rest of the Bucks roster is aging quickly. After adding Damian Lillard last offseason, the expectations for the Bucks were high. They lost in the first round of the NBA playoffs, with Giannis and Lillard missing games due to injury. The Bucks have gone under their projected win total odds in three of the last four seasons. This 2024-25 NBA season preview will analyze the Milwaukee Bucks odds to determine if they can exceed their projected win total.
2024-25 NBA Betting Preview: Milwaukee Bucks Win Total Odds
*All Milwaukee Bucks odds are courtesy of FanDuel.com*
Difficult Transition Season
The 2023-24 season was a difficult one for the Bucks. Two seasons removed from championship glory, they needed to shake things up. The first change was trading a key piece from their championship, Jrue Holiday, for future hall-of-fame point guard Damian Lillard. Many worried this trade was switching defensive excellence for offensive brilliance, and the fit with Lillard left some to be desired.
Inside the Dame trade, one year later. 👀⌚️
Bucks Assistant GM Milt Newton takes us behind the scenes of one of the biggest blockbusters in Wisconsin sports history.
WATCH: https://t.co/skmBoDAsUA pic.twitter.com/Ff4O6WpyOK
— Bucks+ (@BucksPlusAudio) September 24, 2024
The trade happened so late into the offseason that Lillard barely had a chance to practice with the team before games started. Optimists are hoping a proper training camp and offseason will allow Giannis and Lillard to find the offensive chemistry that many believe could be dominant.
On top of the Bucks roster changes, they also made a coaching change last season. Adrian Griffin, the Milwaukee Bucks coach to start the season, was fired around the midway point. It was reported that Griffin had trouble gaining the respect of the Bucks roster, so he was replaced by veteran head coach Doc Rivers. Rivers now has an offseason and training camp to implement his own
Milwaukee Bucks Odds
The win total odds for the Bucks are set at 50.5 wins, with a -122 edge on the under. The line of 50.5 is the lowest Bucks projected win total since the 2020-2021 NBA season. In that season, they went under their win total odds with 46 wins but ended up winning the NBA championship.
Giannis Antetokounmpo in the 2020s:
29.8 PPG
11.8 RPG
5.9 APG
1.1 SPG
1.1 BPG
56.9 FG%— NBA Champ
— Finals MVP
— MVP
— DPOY
— ASG MVP
— 5x All-NBA first team
— 5x All-Star
— 3x All-Defensive first team
— NBA 75th Anniversary TeamThe decade of the Greek. 🦌 pic.twitter.com/91kPhHyY0W
— NBA World (@NBAW0RLD24) August 31, 2024
Even through the ups and downs (mainly downs) from last season, the Bucks were able to win 49 games. They eclipsed the 51-win mark in the two seasons before that, and they have won at least 51 games in four of the last six seasons. These Bucks win total odds are expecting a similar season for the Bucks without much improvement.
Bucks Win Total Odds Seem Low
A win total projection of 50.5 wins is low for the Bucks. It is likely because some NBA teams and analysts think the best years of the Giannis-led Bucks are over. Giannis is still a top-five NBA player, but Lillard, Brook Lopez, and Khris Middleton are all showing serious signs of aging.
If Giannis can play a healthy season, getting 51 wins in the Eastern Conference should be doable for the Bucks. Don’t expect Lillard to dominate as he has in years past or for Middleton to play a fully healthy season, but with Giannis, they have enough. New pieces like Delon Wright and Gary Trent Jr. should also have an impact. A full training camp with Lillard, Rivers, and the Bucks core together should set the Bucks up for a successful regular season. Take a look at the win total over on the Milwaukee Bucks odds.
