4. Milwaukee Bucks
It’s clear that the Milwaukee Bucks were at least threatened with the idea that Giannis Antetokounmpo could even explore the idea of leaving the team in free agency in a couple of offseasons. In response, as every franchise should, they were extremely aggressive this offseason. The Bucks operated behind the scenes and eventually worked their way to acquire Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers. It came at a great cost, losing Jrue Holiday, but the hope is that Lillard could help raise the ceiling of this team a bit.
On paper, Lillard and Giannis seem like a great fit. They should be able to feed off each other and having Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez flanking both of them seems like a cheat code. The big questions for the Bucks fall on the team’s injury history and whether or not they’ll be able to defend at a high enough level to get through the likes of the Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets, or Phoenix Suns to win a title.
Either way, at least for now, the Bucks are on the shortlist of teams that should be considered a favorite to win the 2024 NBA Championship.