The Milwaukee Bucks are already being viewed as a top contender for the 2019-20 NBA season. The Bucks finished the 2018-19 regular season with an impressive 60-22 overall record, which earned the team the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. Unfortunately, though, Milwaukee was eliminated by the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals, 4-2.

For the coming season, however, ESPN ranks Milwaukee as the No. 1 team in their offseason power rankings:

The Bucks lost Malcolm Brogdon and Nikola Mirotic this summer, but they did re-sign Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez and George Hill. Milwaukee also brought in Wesley Matthews and Robin Lopez in free agency.

If the Bucks are to make another run at the NBA Finals, they'll need another strong showing from Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is coming off a dominant MVP season.

Antetokounmpo enjoyed a fantastic 2018-19 campaign, averaging 27.7 points on 57.8 percent shooting from the field, 12.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.3 steals in 32.8 minutes per outing.

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
Bucks star Damian Lillard with medical kit in front of him

Alex House ·

Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton

Gerard Angelo Samillano ·

Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo with medical symbol next to Doc Rivers, Damian Lillard and Bobby Portis

Brett Siegel ·

Though he played well last season, Antetokounmpo still feels that he has room for improvement:

“There's a lot of things I can improve on,” Antetokounmpo recently told ESPN. “First of all, [I have to] look at myself before I look at anybody else. Try to self-improve as much as possible. There are a lot of things that I got to work on in my game.

“A lot of people say, ‘You are the MVP, you are one of the best players in the league, you are so dominant,'” he continued. “But I think I can get better. I think I am at 60 percent of my potential, as good as I can be. I just want to be better. If I am in the same situation again [in the conference finals], react better, play the game better, play better, execute better.”

If Giannis “gets better,” as he says, the Bucks will indeed be in prime shape for another run into the postseason. For now, though, fans of the team will have to wait.