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The Cream City Chronicle · From the archives

Cream City Openers: What October 19 Has Meant to Milwaukee

Four October 19 games, from an expansion loss to a title follow-up, and what they say about a rebuilt roster.

By the Bucks Nightly Desk · Monday, October 19

The Bucks have played on October 19 in 1968, 1971, 2018 and 2021, and the results trace the franchise's arc from expansion team to champion. Today they are a 32-50 club with a new coach, a remade roster and a Wednesday opener in Washington.

Bucks Nightly artwork
Illustration by Hoops Nightly.

October 19, 1968

The franchise was weeks old, an expansion club that had brought the NBA back to Milwaukee after the Hawks left for St. Louis in 1955. On this date it lost at Atlanta, 125-107. Nobody expected a young team to win there. The measure then was whether Milwaukee would show up at all.

October 19, 1971

Months after the first championship, the Bucks beat Cleveland 116-82. That title team went 66-16 and swept Baltimore, built on a coin-flip win for Lew Alcindor and a trade for Oscar Robertson. The lesson is old: stars arrive through luck and nerve. The current roster has neither a Kareem nor an Oscar, and Taylor Jenkins knows it.

October 19, 2021

A 127-104 win over Brooklyn came in the first season after the 2021 championship, the team's second banner. Three years later the Bucks added the 2024 NBA Cup. That core, built around Giannis Antetokounmpo, no longer exists. It was traded to Miami on June 23.

Last season

Milwaukee finished 32-50 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016-17. The offense ranked 24th and the defense 26th. Pacers eliminations in 2024 and 2025 had already marked the end of an era. Myles Turner, who left Indiana to join Milwaukee, now anchors the frontcourt.

This week

The preseason ended 1-2, with a 128-127 win at Indiana. Tyler Herro scored 25 in that game, and Brayden Burries added 14. On Saturday the Bucks waived Pete Nance, Johni Broome and Jake Stephens, and Marcus Garrett, who joined a day earlier, left too. Hoops Rumors reported that Jake Fischer has the Bucks among teams exploring trades.

Next The Bucks open the regular season Wednesday, October 21 at Washington, then host the Bulls on October 23.
When do the Bucks open the 2026-27 season?

Milwaukee opens Wednesday, October 21 at the Wizards. The home opener against the Bulls follows on October 23.

Who coaches the Bucks this season?

Taylor Jenkins, hired April 30, coaches the team. He previously worked on Mike Budenholzer's Milwaukee staff and later built his reputation in Memphis.

By the Bucks Nightly Desk, written from the club's data and the reports on file, with every name and number checked against them. How the desks work.

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