The Milwaukee Bucks started 9-1, tying their best start in franchise history.
Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo has had one of the best starts of his career, and the Bucks have the No. 1 defense in the NBA and have assembled a group of players who know how to complement their stars — retaining 14 of last year's team's 17 players, the highest retention rate in the league.
"For the most part, I think it's the same people coming back and they're really similar to last year's character," Bucks forward Bobby Portis told ESPN. "The guys know what will win and know how we play.
"We already know each other's games and now it's very fluid.
The last team to start the season with a nine-game winning streak was the Golden State Warriors in 2015-16, who went on to set an NBA record with 73 regular-season wins. Like those Warriors, the Bucks retained their championship-winning core roster, but the Golden State Warriors' confidence in winning the championship the year before drove them. Milwaukee lost to the Boston Celtics in the second round of the playoffs, and the defeat fueled morale.
"It feels like our mission isn't over," Bucks guard Jrue Holiday said. "I feel like we've locked in (the best)."
So far, Milwaukee has benefited from a favorable schedule early in the season — seven of their first 10 games have been played at home, and their opponents have a combined win percentage of 36.8 percent, the most comfortable schedule in the NBA this season.
But with nine wins already in place, the Bucks look on track to compete for a second championship in three seasons, thanks to Antetokounmpo's dominant start and top-notch defense. Milwaukee also helped key players return as scheduling became more difficult thereafter. Here are three key reasons to take Milwaukee's hot start seriously:
Antetokounmpo has entered MVP status
On the night the Bucks tied their team record with their seventh straight win, Antetokounmpo scored a career-high 30 points in his sixth straight game. But instead of celebrating the milestone as he sat in his post-match press conference, he recalled the last time the team started the season so hotly.
The Bucks started the 2018-19 season 7-0 with 60 wins and Antetokounmpo's first MVP award. Milwaukee had won 44 races the year before, so this was the first time Antetokounmpo had tasted winning at such a high level.
Antetokounmpo said: "2018 felt different. This year it's almost like, 'Okay, we're just doing our job.' Just go out and compete. Do our job and we win basketball. We have a bigger purpose in mind.
Despite a hot start to the 2018-19 season, the Bucks didn't win a championship that season, losing four straight games to the Toronto Raptors after taking a 2-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference finals. As a result, Antetokounmpo is calmly taking this team's early winning streak, although he has been as dominant as he has been at the start of the season.
In his first nine games, Antetokounmpo averaged 31.8 points, 12.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists, the only player in the NBA to average 30 points and 10 rebounds this season. He shot 54 percent from the field and led the NBA in total points in the paint while tying for the lead on the quick breakout point.
Antetokounmpo also accomplished the feat in 2019-20, being the only player in the last 25 seasons to keep pace with the league in both categories.
"I think it just comes with maturity," Antetokounmpo said. "I know what I can bring. I know there will be good days and there will be bad days. I just want to get out there and do my best. Whatever the outcome, I'm okay with it.
The Bucks defense is back in form
Milwaukee became the NBA's most efficient defensive team for the third time in five seasons under coach Mike Budenholzer, keeping opponents at 101.9 points per 100 possessions. In the 2021-22 regular season, their defensive efficiency slipped to 14th, with most of that time playing without defensive workhorse Brooke Lopez, a return to form.
According to Second Spectrum, the Bucks have scored the fewest points per possession in a halftime offense since the 2013-14 Indiana Pacers, while fulfilling their preseason promise to reduce the number of three-pointers they gave up. After allowing opponents an NBA record 40.6 three-pointers per game last season, the Bucks limited the team to 31.6 per game in 2022-23.
"I think they're one of the smartest teams in the league that knows who and when, where to rotate and who doesn't," Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said last week. "Last year, they would watch you take a lot of opening 3-pointers, and they bet that certain guys wouldn't shoot, which obviously burned them in the playoffs at Celtics forward Grant Williams.
"But for the most part, they've done a good job of making the right bets. This year it looks like they're more honest covering everyone in this situation.
Antetokounmpo and Lopez remain the two pillars of the defense. According to the second spectrum, Antetokounmpo shot 38.6 percent as a participating defender, ranking in the top 10 among qualified players, while Lopez shot 40.6 percent as a defender, ranking sixth among qualified players.
"Both guys swallowed the edge," Finch added. "Lopez has been in steady shape, and Giannis came in like a heat-seeking missile.
As the schedule gets stricter, there's room for improvement
As he soaked in the ice bath in the locker room after the Bucks' win over the Thunder last Saturday, the conversation between Portis, Lopez and Jevon Carter focused not on their then-undefeated record, but on the team's room for improvement that the team thought it needed improvement.
"We can't really get to the top right now anyway because we really haven't done anything," Portis told ESPN.
The Bucks are 9-1, despite missing Chris Middleton and Pat Connaughton, two of their top six rotations, and even won without Antetokounmpo, who took part in Saturday's win against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Milwaukee ranks 18th in the NBA — underpinned by Alphabet Brother and Holliday's strong start to the season — and shoots just 34.1 percent from the field. However, the players believe both figures will improve as the season progresses, especially once Middleton and Connaughton return to play.
Middleton, a three-time All-Star who averaged 20.1 points per game last season, practiced last week with the Bucks' G-League affiliate Wisconsin Cattle. Milwaukee wants to attend some more practice before he returns to the Bucks for the first time this season as he sits down after recovering from wrist surgery in the offseason. Budenholzer said over the weekend that Connaughton, who averaged 9.9 points on three-pointers last year, shot 39.5 percent from the field (both career highs) and strained his right calf before the start of the 2022-23 season, is about to return and will travel with the Bucks on a three-game road trip this week.
The Bucks' goal is to have both players back sometime in November, which should help as the second half of the schedule becomes more challenging. According to NBA senior statistics, when Holiday, Middleton, Connaughton and Alphabet were on the floor at the same time last season, the Bucks outscored opponents by 11.2 points per 100 possessions.
After this week's away games against Oklahoma City and San Antonio, Milwaukee wrapped up the rest of the month against Atlanta, Cleveland (two games), Philadelphia, Portland, Chicago, Dallas and New York.
"Right now, [our record] really doesn't make any sense," Portis said. "Now at the beginning of the season, the players are still trying to find their chemistry and find their own improvement in other teams. We are still trying to cohesion, but at the same time, we are off to a good start.