The Milwaukee Bucks did not have a first round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft as it belonged to the New Orleans Pelicans via the Jrue Holiday trade from a few years ago. The only draft pick the Bucks had was the No. 47 overall pick which they used on Bogoljub Markovic. But after a promising summer league in Las Vegas, it appears as if the Bucks will have to wait for their rookie big man to make his NBA debut.

Despite a solid showing for the Bucks in summer league, Bogoljub Markovic is expected to postpone his NBA rookie year and play overseas in Serbia for the 2025-26 season, as per Dana Garuder of Hoops Rumors. Markovic is set to play for Mega Superbet, and the team announced the news on their website.

Overall, the news isn’t too surprising given the Bucks’ current roster configuration. If they truly needed Markovic this season, they probably could have cleared a spot for him somehow. But as it stands, the Bucks have all 15 of the standard roster spots filled, and all three of their two-way contracts occupied. Markovic would have been a good candidate for a two-way contract this season, but this way the Bucks still get to keep his draft rights while evaluating other prospects.

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The Bucks will have one rookie on their roster, however, for the 2025-26 season in undrafted Alabama guard Mark Sears. Sears agreed to a two-way contract with the Bucks almost immediately after the draft concluded.

But the Bucks have a lot to be optimistic about regarding Markovic. He played in all five of the team’s summer league games in Las Vegas at a little over 16 minutes per game. He averaged 8.0 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists with splits of 48.3 percent shooting from the field, 15.4 percent shooting from the three-point line and 76.9 percent shooting from the free-throw line.

The 2025-26 season is shaping up to be a big one of the Bucks as they continue to fend off rumors of a potential Giannis Antetokounmpo departure.

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