The Milwaukee Bucks will look much different heading into the 2025-26 season as Giannis Antetokounmpo is no longer on the team.

Gone are the championship aspirations where they would load up on veterans who are strong contributors alongside Giannis in hopes of making a deep playoff run, and arriving is a young squad that will have to come together and play more of a team game where everyone contributes.

While Brook Lopez was the anchor in the center for many years alongside Giannis, the role of starting center went to Myles Turner last season.

The Bucks signed Turner to a four-year, $108 million deal to bring him from Indiana to Milwaukee.

In trading Giannis to the Miami Heat, the Bucks acquired Kel’el Ware, a promising 22-year-old center who has shown flashes of being a two-way contributor at the position.

Turner is the incumbent, but this is a much different team than the one he signed up for. Turner was signed after the Bucks waived and stretched Damian Lillard’s contract with the hope that he would be a strong enough option next to Giannis to be competitive and potentially keep Giannis around.

Turner averaged 11.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks with the Bucks, his worst numbers since his rookie season.

With Giannis gone, Turner will now share the floor with Tyler Herro, Brayden Burries, Jaime Jaquez Jr, and Nate Ament.

Given his hefty price tag and the pitch made to him to join the team after a 2025 Finals run with the Pacers, Turner will likely retain his starting position.

While Turner will most likely be announced as the starting center on opening night, it might not take long for Ware to usurp him.

Ware was inconsistent during his time with the Miami Heat, but he averaged 11.1 points, nine rebounds, and 1.1 blocks in 77 games last season. His inconsistencies led to fluctuating minutes in Erik Spoelstra’s rotation, but coming to a new team with a lower set of expectations could benefit the 15th overall pick in 2024.

Bucks’ new head coach Taylor Jenkins has no ties to Turner and his signing, and if it’s truly a fresh start in Milwaukee with a team built on youth, Ware should get every opportunity to play himself into the starter’s role throughout the season.

Though Turner will start at the five at the beginning of the season, if things go according to plan for the Bucks, Ware might be the starter by the beginning of 2027.