Where do the Bucks go from here?
The Milwaukee Bucks wrapped up one of the most painful seasons in recent franchise history on Sunday, losing 126-106 to the Philadelphia 76ers to finish 32-50.
It was the final game of what turned out to be Doc Rivers' tenure, and it was a fitting ending to a year that multiple people inside the organization described as feeling like a funeral.
Milwaukee missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016, and the coaching change that was supposed to push the team toward another title only accelerated the decline.
Rivers was brought in to replace Adrian Griffin midway through the 2023-24 season with the expectation that he would deliver a championship, but he never got past the first round and leaves with a 97-103 record across parts of three seasons.
His departure was confirmed within hours of Sunday's loss.
A Season Defined by the Giannis Situation
Nothing went right for Giannis Antetokounmpo this season.
A series of injuries including calf strains, a groin issue, and eventually a hyperextended knee limited the two-time MVP to a career-low 36 games.
When he did play, though, he was still dominant, putting up 27.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game in just under 29 minutes a night.
The real drama came in March when the Bucks tried to shut him down for the rest of the year.
Antetokounmpo refused and went public with his frustration, saying he was healthy and wanted to compete.
The NBPA got involved and accused Milwaukee of tanking, which prompted the NBA to launch a formal investigation into the team's handling of his availability.
Antetokounmpo did not play again after March 15, and the situation created a rift between him and the organization that may not be fixable.
What Comes Next for Milwaukee
The offseason is going to be massive.
Co-owner Wes Edens already drew a line in the sand, saying Antetokounmpo will either sign a four-year extension worth up to $275 million starting October 1 or he will be traded.
There is no option to just run it back and hope everything works out.
The roster around Antetokounmpo was gutted last summer when the team waived Damian Lillard to make room for Myles Turner, and that gamble clearly did not pay off.
Milwaukee was 20-19 with Antetokounmpo in the lineup and just 12-31 without him, which tells you everything about how thin this roster was top to bottom.
Young players like AJ Green, who broke the franchise single-season three-point record with 232 triples, and Cormac Ryan, who closed the year with a career-high 22 points and 10 rebounds in the finale, showed flashes of being part of the future.
But flashes from role players only matter if you have your franchise cornerstone committed long-term, and right now that is the biggest question in Milwaukee.
The Bucks need a new coach, a new identity and possibly a new star.
However this summer plays out, the franchise that celebrated a championship just five years ago looks nothing like a contender today.