Opening night is just three days away for the Milwaukee Bucks, and for the first time ever, we’re gonna see a Jon Horst-constructed team without Giannis Antetokounmpo leading the charge. This isn’t just a new season; it marks the first time Horst has ever spearheaded what feels like a full-blown rebuild, even if nobody in Milwaukee wants to put that label on it. These facts might seem obvious, but they feel incredibly notable heading into the season.
The Giannis Antetokounmpo Shield: How One Superstar Covered a Heap of Flaws
Jon Horst took over as Milwaukee’s general manager back in 2017, stepping into a situation where the team was already on an upward trajectory, riding high on the back of a burgeoning superstar. Most GMs have to build from the ground up, nurturing a team from its lowest point to, hopefully, a championship contender. Not Horst. He took the reins with the full understanding that Giannis was going to be special, and his mission was clear: optimize everything around him, and do it fast. And credit where it’s due, he delivered. Horst was even awarded the NBA’s Executive of the Year for the 2018-19 season. His shrewd moves,like identifying Mike Budenholzer as the right coach, snagging Brook Lopez on the bi-annual exception, pulling guys like Pat Connaughton off the scrap heap, and trading for George Hill,catapulted the team to 60 wins and an Eastern Conference Finals appearance. From that point on, it was all systems go. The team clearly had the capacity to win titles, and Horst acted accordingly. He was never in a position where his job wasn’t to aggressively build around number 34, and for good reason,Giannis was, indeed, that good. One of GA’s special features was how he’d “deodorize” so many problems, masking underlying “stenches” that most teams struggle with. He made poor defenders look less damaging than they truly were, and he maximized the skill sets of limited offensive players. Throughout his career, GA has shown that his presence alone generates a heap of wins and covers up a heap of flaws. Building a contender is tough, no doubt, but at a basic level, if Horst plugged in the right archetypes around Giannis,another All-Star-level player, shooting, defense, and tertiary playmaking,the team would win around 50 games like clockwork. We probably all took Giannis’s impact on winning a little bit for granted over the years.
No More Apex Predator: Jon Horst’s True GM Test Begins Now
Well, that era is over. Giannis is gone now. Horst has to operate like the other ~25 GMs in the league, without the absolute luxury of building around an apex predator. It’s no offense to any other GM out there, but let’s be real, it’s a completely different ballgame when you don’t have that kind of talent papering over the cracks. This season, we’re all going to find out what Jon Horst can truly do when the biggest shield is no longer there. It’s a fresh start, a clean slate, and a massive challenge for a GM who has, until now, always had a generational superstar as his cornerstone.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Brew Hoop.
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