MILWAUKEE – Khris Middleton awoke in Milwaukee on the morning of an NBA season opener, just as he has done many times over the last dozen years.
The difference on Wednesday was that he was doing it as a member of the Washington Wizards rather than the Bucks.
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“I’m not going to lie,” the 34-year-old wing said Wednesday during the Wizards’ shootaround ahead of their first game of the season. “It felt a little weird.”
This won't be the first time Middleton had faced his former team since the Bucks sent him and 2024 first-round pick AJ Johnson to Washington in a trade-deadline deal that brought Kyle Kuzma to Milwaukee. He scored 12 points and missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer in the Wizards’ 104-101 loss to the Bucks in Washington on Feb. 21 of last season.
But, that won't reduce any of the emotional impact that comes from playing against the Bucks in Milwaukee, where he had so many of his career highlights.
“I think it's different just being back here, to have the fans here and to be where I lived for a little more than a decade,” Middleton said. “It's a little bit more to come back to the building you helped build.”
Middleton made three All-Star teams and won a title with the Bucks, who acquired him from the Detroit Pistons in the summer of 2013. He averaged 17.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 12 seasons with the Bucks.
He is the Bucks’ all-time leader in career 3-pointers (1,382). His 12,586 career points with Milwaukee rank third in franchise history, behind former teammate Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Middleton also ranks second to Antetokounmpo in games played (735), third in assists (2,990), fifth in steals (870) and seventh in rebounds (3,598).
“He should get the warmest welcome ever,” Antetokounmpo said Sunday after the Bucks’ open scrimmage. “When he comes here and he sees his tribute video, he should be in tears crying before the game. I cannot explain how much Khris means to this team. I cannot explain how much Khris means to me."
Middleton averaged 23.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 5.1 assists in the postseason during the Bucks’ run to a 2021 title, their first championship in 50 years.
“That’s my guy,” Antetokounmpo said. “That’s my brother for life. We’ve done incredible things together.”
Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers called Middleton a “Buck for life” and said he expects the three-time All-Star to have plenty of motivation Wednesday.
Rivers referenced how he spent the first eight seasons of his own playing career with the Atlanta Hawks and that he believed they treated him great. It didn't stop him from wanting to show the Hawks what they were missing after they traded him.
“I tried to put 50 on them,” Rivers said. “Of course, I didn’t have the talent to (do that). That was the only problem. Khris does. Khris is a great scorer.”
Rivers said he put some pressure on the Bucks' video crew to put together a “phenomenal” package highlighting Middleton's accomplishments in Milwaukee.
Middleton couldn't help but think back to some of those memories on Wednesday.
“Just reminiscing,” Middleton said. "I’ve walked through these hallways many times, many days, done great things in here. It’s definitely a moment I got to reflect on when I got here. Think about the good times, the bad times, the ups and downs, all of it."
Middleton’s career totals with Milwaukee would be even higher if injuries hadn’t limited him to 33 games in 2022-23 and 55 in 2023-24. Middleton missed the Bucks’ first 21 games last season after recovering from surgeries to each of his ankles.
He also had a sprained medial collateral ligament that prevented him from playing in the 2022 Eastern Conference semifinals, which the Bucks lost in seven games to the Boston Celtics.
Middleton is feeling good now and eager to start a season without worrying about his health.
“My body feels great,” Middleton said. “I had a great summer where I got to start from the basics and build up and not really have to worry about rehabs or coming back and procedures and what not. My body's in a good place. We'll see how it goes this season.”
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