Wizards’ Middleton plays at Milwaukee for first time since being traded by Bucks

MILWAUKEE — Khris Middleton awoke in Milwaukee on the morning of an NBA season opener, just as he has done many times over the last dozen years.

The difference on Wednesday was that he was doing it as a member of the Washington Wizards rather than the Bucks.

“I’m not going to lie,” the 34-year-old wing said Wednesday during the Wizards’ shootaround ahead of their first game of the season. “It felt a little weird.”

The Fiserv Forum crowd gave Middleton a standing ovation when his name was called during pregame introductions. Those fans roared their approval again as a minute-long video tribute to Middleton played during the first timeout.

After the tribute, Middleton walked onto the court, raised his arms and then placed his right hand over his heart a few times. The leading 3-point shooter in Bucks history then sank a 3 on the Wizards’ ensuing possession.

This wasn’t the first time Middleton had faced his former team since the Bucks sent him and 2024 first-round pick AJ Johnson to Washington in a trade-deadline deal that brought Kyle Kuzma to Milwaukee. He scored 12 points and missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer in the Wizards’ 104-101 loss to the Bucks in Washington on Feb. 21.

But, that didn’t reduce any of the emotional impact that comes from playing against the Bucks in Milwaukee, where he had so many of his career highlights.

“I think it’s different just being back here, to have the fans here and to be where I lived for a little more than a decade,” Middleton said. “It’s a little bit more to come back to the building you helped build.”

Middleton made three All-Star teams and won an NBA title with the Bucks, who acquired him from the Detroit Pistons in the summer of 2013. He averaged 17.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 12 seasons with Milwaukee.

He is the Bucks’ career leader in 3-pointers (1,382). His 12,586 points with Milwaukee rank third in franchise history, behind former teammate Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Middleton also ranks second to Antetokounmpo in games played (735), third in assists (2,990), fifth in steals (870) and seventh in rebounds (3,598).

“I cannot explain how much Khris means to this team. I cannot explain how much Khris means to me,” Antetokounmpo said Sunday.

Middleton averaged 23.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 5.1 assists in the postseason during the Bucks’ run to the 2021 title, their first championship in 50 years.

“That’s my guy,” Antetokounmpo said. “That’s my brother for life. We’ve done incredible things together.”

Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers called Middleton a “Buck for life” and said he expected the three-time All-Star to have plenty of motivation Wednesday.

Rivers referenced how he spent the first eight seasons of his own playing career with the Atlanta Hawks and that he believed they treated him great. It didn’t stop him from wanting to show the Hawks what they were missing after they traded him.

“I tried to put 50 on them,” Rivers said. “Of course, I didn’t have the talent to (do that). That was the only problem. Khris does. Khris is a great scorer.”

Rivers said he put some pressure on the Bucks’ video crew to put together a “phenomenal” package highlighting Middleton’s accomplishments in Milwaukee.

Middleton couldn’t help but think back to some of those memories on Wednesday.

“Just reminiscing,” Middleton said. “I’ve walked through these hallways many times, many days, done great things in here. It’s definitely a moment I got to reflect on when I got here. Think about the good times, the bad times, the ups and downs, all of it.”

Middleton’s career totals with Milwaukee would be even higher if injuries hadn’t limited him to 33 games in 2022-23 and 55 in 2023-24. Middleton missed the Bucks’ first 21 games last season after recovering from surgeries to each of his ankles.

He also had a sprained medial collateral ligament that prevented him from playing in the 2022 Eastern Conference semifinals, which the Bucks lost in seven games to the Boston Celtics.

Middleton is feeling good now and eager to start a season without worrying about his health.

“My body feels great,” Middleton said. “I had a great summer where I got to start from the basics and build up and not really have to worry about rehabs or coming back and procedures and whatnot. My body’s in a good place. We’ll see how it goes this season.”