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The 2026-27 Milwaukee Bucks got preseason basketball underway on Monday night from the Fiserv Forum against the Minnesota Timberwolves and then played a road game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center on Wednesday night.
Milwaukee dropped the opener to Minnesota by a final of 116-97, before bouncing back to beat Oklahoma City 128-126 after trailing by 24 points in the first half. So they’re 1-1 through two preseason games.
In these preseason games, the wins and losses aren’t as big of a deal. It’s more about seeing the guys play, seeing where the team and individually they can get better, what lineups and rotations work well together. My point is, there’s so much more that goes into these games than just the wins and losses, especially when you factor in that it’s a new coaching staff and nearly an entirely new roster. These first two games have sort of been an experimental piece.
Milwaukee went 14 deep in both games. Here’s a (total) minute breakdown so far through the first two games:
Kel’el Ware – 49
Tyler Herro – 42
Myles Turner – 41
Jaime Jaquez Jr. – 40
Brayden Burries – 37
Jericho Sims – 37
Ryan Rollins – 35
Nate Ament – 24
Ousmane Dang – 23
AJ Green – 22
Kyle Kuzma – 20
Pete Nance – 20
Kevin Porter Jr. – 19
Gary Trent Jr. – 18
Kasparas Jakučionis – 18
Cormac Ryan – 11
Caris Lavert – 11
Kam Jones – 10
Bogoljub Marković – 6
Jake Stephens and Johni Broome (who was just signed this week) haven’t played in the preseason yet.
Brayden Burries has proven he belongs in the NBA with how he played in the NBA Summer League and through the first two preseason games. Burries has scored 23 points in the two preseason games, but 16 of them have come against the reserves for Minnesota and Oklahoma City. His confidence is growing which is a good thing to see, but he’ll be more of a “sixth man” type of rotation player to start the year rather than being in the starting lineup from the get go.
I like the way Nate Ament has been playing so far. It was unfortunate to see him go down with a left ankle sprain against Oklahoma City. I wouldn’t be shocked if he doesn’t play against the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday. But it’s imperative that he continues to grow and develop, because I think he could eventually be a solid piece for this franchise.
The one guy I’ve been disappointed with thus far in the preseason is Tyler Herro. I was hoping the Bucks would trade him for some draft capital, but at the same time he’s useful for some veteran leadership.
I’ve been impressed with Kal’el Ware so far. I’m anxious to see how Taylor Jenkins uses him in the rotations.
The Milwaukee Bucks have three preseason games remaining: October 11 @ Charlotte Hornets (6:00 pm CT), October 14 vs Chicago Bulls (7:00 pm CT), and October 16 @ Indiana Pacers (6:00 pm CT). These will be three highly beneficial games for this team.
The regular season for the Milwaukee Bucks officially gets underway on Wednesday, October 21 @ the Washington Wizards at 6:00 PM CT, before having the home opener at Fiserv Forum two days later on Friday, October 23 vs the Chicago Bulls at 7:00 PM CT.
I’m really excited about this team and this season. Let’s enjoy the ride, Bucks fans!