Five numbers the Milwaukee Bucks should consider retiring

Learning the history of an NBA franchise is paramount to understanding just how important a current moment is. It wasn't lost on most longtime Milwaukee Bucks fans how special the team's 2021 championship was: it had been a full 50 years since the last time the Bucks, or any high level pro team in Milwaukee, won it all.

Accomplishing a feat that special is worth lots of recognition. Video highlight reels, immortal photos, and someday even statues around Fiserv Forum will ensure nobody in Milwaukee forgets 2021 anytime soon. But the greatest form of sports recognition for an individual player is having a jersey number retired.

The Athletic predicts the NBA players that will DEFINITELY have their numbers retired:

• Damian Lillard, No. 0, Trail Blazers
• Jayson Tatum, No. 0, Celtics
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, No. 2, Thunder
• Kawhi Leonard, No. 2, Spurs & Raptors
• Kyrie Irving, No. 2, Cavs
•…
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 18, 2026

Opinions vary on whether it's worth it to restrict which numbers future players can wear to pay tribute to icons of the past. That is a debate for another time: the practice exists and will continue to exist going forward. So let's go through five Milwaukee Bucks who should have their jersey retired, in order from most to least obvious.

Dec 17, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) celebrates with the most valuable player and championship trophies after winning the Emirates NBA Cup championship game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

1. Giannis Antetokounmpo

I mean, come on. As articulated in a recent article in The Athletic, Giannis Antetokounmpo is a no-doubter in Milwaukee. The MVPs, the championship, the Finals MVP, and all of the team records he'll hold for decades to come speak for themselves.

Giannis toying with the idea of coming back to Milwaukee has already eroded some of the negativity around his decision to leave this summer, and he'll certainly be welcomed back whether as an older player or retired legend when the time comes. No debate needed here. 34 is rafters-bound.

Khris Middleton (22) shoots during game four of the 2021 NBA Finals — Jul 14, 2021; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton (22) shoot during game four of the 2021 NBA Finals against the Phoenix Suns at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports

2. Khris Middleton

Khris Middleton's 22 hanging in Fiserv Forum is also a settled point. Middleton went from trade throw-in to Finals orchestrator, dicing up defenses throughout Milwaukee's 2021 championship run.

While he doesn't have the same amount of hardware as Giannis, Middleton earned three All-Star nods in Milwaukee (and was robbed of an All-NBA selection due to the flawed voting system before the ballot became position-less) and holds franchise records of his own: no Buck has taken or made more three-pointers than Khris Middleton. He's also second all-time in games and minutes played in a Bucks uniform, and third all-time in scoring behind Giannis and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

The real question here is whether Middleton's 22 goes up ahead of Giannis' 34. Either way, the event needs to be scheduled so Giannis and as many former Bucks as possible can be there. Khris Middleton's Bucks career is worth special recognition.

Dec 17, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez (11) shoots against Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kenrich Williams (34) during the 1st quarter of the Emirates NBA Cup championship game at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

3. Brook Lopez

Jrue Holiday has a case we'll get to in just a moment, but longevity makes Brook Lopez's just a bit stronger. That's fitting, given that his overall longevity is what turned Brook Lopez into one of the defining stretch fives of the three-point era.

Encapsulating his combination of rim protection and offensive floor spacing, Brook Lopez is second all-time among Milwaukee Bucks in blocked shots and fourth all-time in made threes. His lone All-Star season was with the Nets, but Lopez made two All-Defensive teams in Milwaukee and finished runner-up in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2023.

Lopez spent seven seasons as the anchor of the Bucks defense, and while his production slipped as he aged during that run he was a consistent presence for the Bucks. Lopez' arrival coincided with Mike Budenholzer's, and his staple drop defense turned the Bucks from a plucky first-round out into a consistent wins machine. 11 hanging in the rafters seems like a fair trade for his role in that transformation.

Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday (21) defends Devin Booker — Jul 17, 2021; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday (21), forward P.J. Tucker (17), forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) and guard Pat Connaughton (24) defend against Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) in the final seconds of game five of the 2021 NBA Finals at Phoenix Suns Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports

4. Jrue Holiday

It's unfortunate to more or less punish Jrue Holiday for circumstances beyond his control, but the Bucks ill-fated acquisition of Damian Lillard limited Holiday's tenure to just three seasons. It's difficult but not impossible to make enough of an impression in such a short time to get a jersey retired: Oscar Robertson's number 1 is in the rafters after just four seasons in Milwaukee after all.

Holiday's tenure holds some similiarities to Robertson's: he was the point guard the Bucks needed to finalize their championship core. Both players immediately won championships in their first season in Milwaukee. Thanks to leaps in technology from 1971 to 2021, Holiday's specific contributions will be immortalized forever for Bucks fans in a way Robertson's can't be. Edits of the 'Valley Oop' will forever get Bucks fans to stop scrolling and revisit that incredible moment.

In addition to his key role on both ends in the Finals, Holiday landed on All-Defense teams in all three of his Bucks seasons and made the All-Star team in his final year in Milwaukee back in 2023.

He doesn't have the full counting stats of the first three players on the list, but very few Bucks have hit the highs of Holiday in a Bucks career. It's only right to recognize that greatness by putting 21 into the rafters.

Mar 30, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Pat Connaughton (24) during the game against the Atlanta Hawks at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

5. Pat Connaughton??

Although it is worth pointing out that Pat Connaughton is the only Bucks bench player who was able to play significant minutes in Milwaukee's thrilling comeback win against the Brooklyn Nets in 2021, and it's been a long-standing bit on the Gyro Step podcast that Connaughton's 24 should be retired, there is not a serious statistical case for it. The same is true for fellow key bench contributor Bobby Portis, who accumulated more stats but didn't reach the highs required for this kind of honor.

Instead I'd like to highlight two Bucks who unfortunately won't have their jerseys retired, at least not in the conventional sense, in Milwaukee: Ray Allen and Michael Redd.

Redd scored proficiently in a long Bucks career, and is Milwaukee's sixth all-time leading scorer. He carried some bad Bucks teams through a bleary era of basketball and is beloved for dutifully getting buckets when few other Bucks could.

Allen earned three All-Star nods, made an All-NBA team, and led the Bucks to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2001. Neither player will get their number retired for the simple reason that the Bucks didn't take them out of circulation in time, and 34 and 22 were both supplanted by the first and second players on this list.

That's unfortunate for Allen and Redd but a lesson for the Bucks organization: don't give away any of these historic numbers if you do plan on retiring them someday.

It's apparently a lesson that hasn't been learned. Ousmane Dieng taking Jrue Holiday's 21 could be a fun problem someday if Dieng really does grab that Most Improved Award this season...

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