Milwaukee Bucks 2024-25 Season Preview, Betting Odds

Capturing the 2021 NBA championship has left Giannis Antetokounmpo rightfully wanting more, but following a pair of first-round exits over the last two seasons, questions now arise over whether or not The Greek Freak can earn himself another ring with the Milwaukee Bucks. 

In this 2024-25 season preview, all betting odds pertaining to the Bucks are analyzed to determine if a second Larry O'Brien trophy is a realistic goal or if Milwaukee is simply suited to be a pretender rather than a true contender.

Milwaukee Bucks' 2024 Offseason Acquisitions

Milwaukee Bucks' 2024 Offseason Departures

Milwaukee Bucks' 2025 NBA Championship, Eastern Conference, Central Division Betting Odds

Odds as of September 3, 2024

Trading for now eight-time All-Star Damian Lillard last summer was done in an effort to boost Milwaukee's ceiling. The team needed more late-game options beyond Antetokounmpo, and Lillard was a proven commodity in close games with a history of making big shots in tight spots.

In a cruel twist of fate, though, the blockbuster deal ended up costing the team Jrue Holiday as he went to capture a title with the Boston Celtics while making the All-Defensive Second team. The Bucks, meanwhile, fizzled out in the opening round against the Indiana Pacers as Lillard missed a pair of games and Antetokounmpo was absent for the entire series due to a left calf injury. 

Best Bet: Milwaukee Bucks To Win Central Division, -120

The obvious and fair reaction to Milwaukee once again bowing out in the opening round is that the team wasn't playing with a full arsenal at its disposal. If your two best players aren't available, chances are success will be hard to come by. The issue is that the exit is compounded by getting eliminated in five games courtesy of the Miami Heat the year prior, which is an overall bad look for a franchise just years removed from a title.

The Celtics, New York Knicks, and Philadelphia 76ers all have stronger odds to get out of the East than the Bucks and deservedly so. If you polled most experts of the game, they'd likely project Milwaukee to be the fourth seed in the conference with the potential of moving upward. Antetokounmpo is a top-tier star who makes everyone around him better, but the core around him of Lillard, Khris Middleton, and Brook Lopez are all at least 33 years of age.

Only two games separated the Bucks from the Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers in the Central Division, so having Milwaukee at minus money to take it in 2024-25 brings some concerns. The logic here is that the team has won a division title six years in a row, but the gap is closing with Indiana and Cleveland on Milwaukee's tail. 

Milwaukee Bucks' 2024-25 NBA Win Total, Make Playoffs Odds

Odds as of September 3, 2024

The Bucks haven't finished worse than third in the East for the last six years, although last season's 49-33 record was the team's worst winning percentage (.598) during that stretch. 

Best Bet: OVER 50.5 Wins, -122

It's tempting to go plus money at the UNDER for 50.5 victories considering Milwaukee just fell below that number, but it was only by the skin of its teeth.

The team should presumably get better with another full year of Lillard along with a training camp under the tutelage of head coach Doc Rivers. Even the bare minimum at 51 wins gets the job done here, and the additions of Gary Trent Jr. and Taurean Prince adds more outside shooting to spread the floor and clear the laneway for Antetokounmpo.

Milwaukee Bucks' 2024 NBA Cup Odds

Odds as of September 3, 2024

The Bucks took East Group A for the inaugural in-season tournament with a flawless 4-0 record, therefore advancing to the knockout stage. It was a 128-119 loss to Indiana in the semifinals out in Las Vegas which ended Milwaukee's dream of capturing the first-ever NBA Cup. They'll now have to contend with those same Pacers, Heat, Toronto Raptors, and Detroit Pistons in East Group B for a favorable draw.

Milwaukee Bucks' 2024-25 NBA Awards Odds

Odds as of September 3, 2024

Best Bet: Giannis Antetokounmpo For NBA MVP, +750

An award like Clutch Player of the Year, for example, felt made for someone with Lillard's credentials, but after finishing outside of the top-10 in voting, the ship may have sailed for him to ever take that hardware. 

That leaves Antetokounmpo for Most Valuable Player as the strongest bet to wager on. He's consistently finished in the top-five in voting with back-to-back MVPs in 2019 and 2020, and just finished fourth last season after averaging 30.4 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 6.5 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.1 rejections. 

Winner Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are all ahead of him in the odds, which makes sense since they all secured more votes than him. Joel Embiid also has greater odds, and likely would have had the votes to be a threat for the award had he not failed to meet the criteria for games played to qualify. It will be hard for Antetokounmpo to pass any one of those names, let alone all of them, but he's in the conversation, and the value is strong enough at +750 to take a chance.

2024-25 NBA Team Previews, Betting Odds