2021 Orlando Magic Playoff Lessons: Milwaukee Bucks are the standard for homegrown titles

Orlando Magic general manager John Hammond probably has some odd feelings when it comes to the Milwaukee Bucks and the title they just won.

In many respects, he was the architect of that title team. He was the one who took the risk and drafted a scrawny 18-year-old from Greece’s second division league. Hammond has been on several podcasts talking about what he saw in this raw forward that was all appendages.

Giannis Antetokounmpo (if you did not know who that was referring to) thanked John Hammond by name with the Larry O’Brien Trophy on one side and the Bill Russell Finals MVP on the other side of him.

That kind of star player and the infrastructure he put in place started him on that journey to that spot.

Still, that was not his team. Sure, Hammond acquired the key pieces — namely All-Stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton. It was his foundation that title was built upon.

But his successor, Jon Horst, continued that work. Through the winding road that takes a team to a title, Horst made aggressive moves to bring the team to contention, but he stayed true to his core.

He stayed true to the group he built that put the team on the steps of contention. And set a new standard for team building in the process.

This offseason saw something of a change in how teams acted. With the Milwaukee Bucks finally breaking through to win a title and the Atlanta Hawks and Phoenix Suns making the conference finals with cores they built from scratch after long absences, teams suddenly felt they were one move away from contention.

Teams who believe they are close or have the talent and stars to begin building around re-invested in their rosters. It feels like an increasingly new NBA. One where teams are not necessarily positioning for free agency and one where everyone believes they are one trade away from contention.

The Milwaukee Bucks and the NBA Playoffs changed the paradigm in the NBA. Team building changed and home-grown teams became the rage, changing how building is happening throughout the league.

It is an exciting time for the league. Everyone seems to be going for it. The only teams that are entering the season without realistic playoff aspirations are likely the Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder and (maybe) the Detroit Pistons.

Other teams might be deluding themselves and some will surely fall off. But it is healthy for the league to have so many teams pushing to win. These teams and these NBA Playoffs have begun ushering in a new era for the league.

Teams are finding new ways to build and win a title. There are multiple paths to a championship.

The best players still matter. To win, teams need to find these star players and build around them to maximize their skills.

That is how the Bucks won their title. They identified Antetokounmpo as their best player. Once that decision was made, it was about finding a way to maximize their title window. They surrounded him with 3-point shooters at every position, making Antetokounmpo their paint attacker.

There were plenty of bumps along the road. The Bucks struggled to find the right coach before Mike Budenholzer arrived. Even when he was there, he seemed constantly on the hot seat — and in reality, he was a few inches from really feeling the heat.

No path to a championship is ever a straight line. But the Bucks had their plan and they believed in it. And even when others begged them to turn back or make drastic changes, they kept tinkering and figuring out their way.

Pushing some chips in to acquire Eric Bledsoe made them conference finalists. Turning him into Jrue Holiday turned them into champions.

It all still started with their best player in Antetokounmpo. And he was special in his decision to sign an extension before the season to avoid a full year of free agent speculation. The Bucks still made all their moves without knowing of his commitment.

Everything grows from the star. The Bucks knew that better than ever. They tinkered around the edges with their founding philosophy — the one that Hammond helped start — until they found the right formula.

This is how teams are supposed to get built. They use the draft to build their base and begin the journey up. They then tinker around the edges around the group they have drafted and developed.

Picking the right player to build around is obviously the most difficult part. That is where the Magic have been stuck — they never found their central star or committed to one even if they thought they found one — for more than a decade.

Teams are much smarter about how they build and put teams together. But to win, it still takes the best players in the league. The age of one-third of the league tanking for a draft pick and the hopes of a star player are quickly passing — although it will not fully be erased, it is the reality of the league’s draft system.

But every title winner points to something that succeeds.

Acquiring LeBron James is a sure path to title contention (even still), but is at the largesse of one transformational player. The Golden State Warriors drafted their team with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, they both happened to be two of the best shooters in league history. They added to their team through free agency.

The Toronto Raptors built themselves through careful planning, drafting and trading, striking big when a big player came on the market. They sold their souls a bit for that one title with Leonard always seemingly destined to leave them. But that was worth it in the end for a franchise like theirs.

Drafting to win a title is alive and well in this league. Whether it can lead to a sustained championship window remains the biggest question.

For the teams at the bottom, they are hoping they can find that central star and begin building. At the end of the day, everything about the Bucks’ title returns to Antetokounmpo. It always returns to that best player and what he can do.

In Milwaukee’s moment of need — a closeout game at home — Antetokounmpo stepped up with the performance of a lifetime, scoring 50 points. At every key moment, Antetokunmpo stepped up to make the play.

At the end of the day, a team only goes as far as their best player can take them. That is the ultimate lesson of any playoff push. Every supporting player has to accentuate and support that player in some way.

The Bucks were a strong lesson in team building, growth and patience. Their title provided plenty of hope for small market teams trying to build.

The hardest part might be finding the team’s Antetokounmpo. That central piece is vital to everything else.

The Bucks found that piece and built from there. That is perhaps the ultimate lesson to take from their championship run. They are the model for building a title team.