Why Kendrick Perkins isn’t concerned about Giannis, Bucks

The NBA’s Eastern Conference has changed dramatically since the beginning of the 2025 playoffs. Injuries, coaching changes, and offseason moves have impacted several teams.

While the Milwaukee Bucks certainly fall into this category, ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins is not concerned about the Giannis Antetokounmpo-led squad ahead of the new season.

“Giannis has been the best player in the Eastern Conference over the last 10 years…,” Perkins said on First Take. ”The only teams that are ahead of the Bucks, in my opinion, are the Cavs and the Knicks.”

The Bucks fell to the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the NBA Playoffs this past spring, and have made changes since the early exit.

They waived point guard Damian Lillard earlier this month and stretched the remaining $113 million on his contract to sign free agent center Myles Turner, who was a critical component of the Pacers’ run to the NBA Finals.

Notably, Milwaukee also extended forward Bobby Portis, re-signed guard Gary Trent Jr. and signed former Orlando Magic guard Cole Anthony.

Regardless of any new additions or extensions, the Bucks will need Giannis to be healthy and versatile if they want to make their first NBA Finals appearance since 2021.

Across 67 games last season, Giannis averaged 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 6.5 assists while shooting roughly 60 percent from the field. He recently drew praise from Bucks general manager Jon Horst, who has been impressed by the 30-year-old’s development as a playmaker.

“He truly is becoming a real point guard — or a real point forward, like Doc [Rivers] calls it — so I think that allows us to dive even deeper into it than we have in the past, but I think those have always been some of our most successful lineups and groups,” Horst told the Athletic. “Putting him out there with a bunch of shooters and ball movers and let him just dominate. You stop him, he passes it. You don’t, he dunks it. And I feel like we’ve got a number of those guys.”

The power dynamics of the Eastern Conference might be unclear, but Giannis and Bucks figure to be in the postseason mix once again.