3 Takeaways from Bucks Training Camp Post-Giannis

The Milwaukee Bucks completed another day of their training camp on Wednesday, and as a new team trying to start something new, there were some key takeaways in their second day.

A roster with a lot of depth, veterans stepping up to the plate and a detailed coaching staff to help head coach Taylor Jenkins in his first season, here are three takeaways from another day of Bucks training camp.

The Bucks have depth

Sep 28, 2026; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Ousmane Dieng (21) poses for a photo during Media Day. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After the blockbuster trade that sent Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat, the NBA Draft and free agency, the Bucks' roster looks drastically different from a season ago.

Last season, Milwaukee was the second-worst scoring team in the NBA and a main reason to that was due to the lack depth on the roster. For majority of the season, the Bucks had to play without their star in Antetokounmpo as he battled injuries and only played in 36 games while also missing Kevin Porter Jr. who also dealt with injuries and only appeared in 38 games himself.

As a result, Milwaukee had to turn to other options to pick up their production and while players like Ryan Rollins, AJ Green and Ousmane Dieng were able to take advantage of the opportunities, it didn't translate to points and wins as the Bucks finished 30-52.

Heading into the new season, Milwaukee appears to have fix their lack of depth, even if it came at the cost of losing their franchise player. Between trades, the draft and free agency, the Bucks added eight players on standard NBA contracts.

Milwaukee Bucks Training Camp Roster:

Nate Ament
Brayden Burries
John Butler Jr. (Training Camp Contract)
Ousmane Dieng
AJ Green
Tyler Herro
Kasparas Jakucionis
Jaime Jaquez Jr.
Kam Jones (Two-Way Contract)
Kyle Kuzma
Caris LeVert
Bogoljub Markovic
Pete Nance
Kevin Porter Jr.… pic.twitter.com/tLXBlVVOxL
— SleeperBucks (@SleeperBucksNBA) September 28, 2026

While they may not have that superstar at top, their roster has the depth and Jenkins recognized it.

"We're mixing it up. We're looking at certain guard combinations, certain, guard big combinations. We got a lot of depth, Jenkins said. "We're going to have some difficult decisions to make for sure. In my memory, this is probably one of the deepest teams. Especially when you look at the guard position and the wing position. A lot of guys I think can impact winning in different ways, too.

Veterans becoming leaders

Apr 3, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Kyle Kuzma (18) drives for the basket against Boston Celtics forward Luka Garza (52) in the second quarter at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As deep as this roster is for Milwaukee, the Bucks have one of the youngest rosters in the league. For a group of guys that are stepping into new roles and a first season head coach leading the way, it's going to be the veterans priority to help the younger players throughout the season.

Milwaukee only has six players with at least six years of experience on its roster, but those guys are already taking the responsibility of becoming leaders.

“A lot of great leadership from our vet group,” Jenkins said. "I think their presence, when they're doing the things we're asking of them, when they're making the winning plays, whether it's an unselfish play on the offensive side, it's covering and not getting the block, but it leads to a team defensive stop, how they vocalize that."

Though it's early, those veterans have embraced their role and have already made an impact on the younger players, watching them gain confidence throughout camp.

"We got even some of the young guys speaking up, which is awesome. But I think our vets are doing a great job really embracing the entire roster, leading by example, using their voices appropriately, and also pumping up the other guys when they speak, and reconfirming what they're saying. So they're kind of doubling down and finding their strides right now.”

One of those veterans for the Bucks is Kyle Kuzma, who is entering his third season in Milwaukee and his tenth in the NBA. Kuzma mentioned how grateful he was to have that privilege and wants to be a guy who the young guys can lean on.

Kyle Kuzma answers a question regarding helping to lead the group this year: "Wow, this is my 10th year in the NBA, and such a blessing."
He then continues to break down the situation of their players in terms of vets, what he brings, and the fact that they can lean on him. pic.twitter.com/sBoizH3UT3
— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) September 29, 2026

"Wow, this is my 10th year in the NBA, and such a blessing," Kuzma said. "We have a couple of guys that have played two, three, four, five years, haven't really played a lot of meaningful minutes. We have some people on this team that have only played for one team in their life, and now they just got traded to a brand new team, a brand new organization, I know how that feels. I'm somebody that you can lean on for that, and I think that's all what leadership and being a veteran is about, because that's your duty to pay it back to young men and people that are in this journey of life and this journey in the NBA."

An immersed coaching staff

Sep 28, 2026; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks head coach Taylor Jenkins poses for a photo during Media Day. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

When head coach takes a new job in the NBA, almost always you will see him bring in a new staff to follow. Out of the 11 coaches on the Bucks staff, nine of them are new additions, with the only returning pieces being Darvin Ham as an assistant coach, and Jack Herum as the head of player development.

Jenkins put a lot into his coaching staff and is excited about the group of coaches he's going to be working with for this season. He has different groups to work on the specific sides of the ball such as offense, defense and special situations, and has the upmost confidence in his staff.

"I'm so excited about this coaching staff,"Jenkins said. "I got tons of confidence in them. Got history with them personally, professionally, we can pick up where we need to go pretty quickly. So, I've got confidence that they'll have the preparation."

Having such an immersed staff allows Jenkins to oversee as an head coach and trust his staff to coach in their own section when he's not there without the quality dropping.

"They'll be able to execute it. They'll be able to take my feedback when necessary, but I got a lot of faith that I can have all of my coaches have voices in practice and allow me to have more of a global approach and interject as necessary and be able to kind of have a very busy gym going, with quality work and be able to touch all the different spaces knowing that if I'm in one spot, the other three spots operating at a high level. So, kind of divide and conquer for sure. But it's great."

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