Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks made a statement last season. Despite the doubts surrounding Giannis’ contract extension early on, the Bucks won the NBA championship for the first time in 50 years.

This feat also cemented Giannis’ legacy. Despite only being only 26 years of age, the Greek Freak has collected an NBA title, Finals MVP, two MVP awards, a Defensive Player of the Year trophy, and the Most Improved Player of the Year.

Now with the upcoming season looming, the Bucks will be defending their NBA title. Although they got the job done last season, opposing contenders have used the off-season to re-jig their rosters with the hopes of dethroning the defending champions. For this piece, let’s take a look at five contenders who can threaten the Bucks’ title defense.

Brooklyn Nets

The Nets may have failed to get past the Bucks in the Conference Semifinals last year. However, it was a series that needed seven games, even if both James Harden and Kyrie Irving went down with injuries. Because of this, especially with Kevin Durant beginning to regain his old form, this year may turn out different.

Like last season, the Nets are penciled to be one of the favorites to win the championship again this year. While injuries are still a concern for the Nets, the team had a busy offseason in terms surrounding their Big Three.

The Nets picked up some notable veterans that will add more depth to their roster. This summer, some notable additions include Patty Mills, James Johnson, and NBA All-Star Paul Millsap. Furthermore with LaMarcus Aldridge coming out of retirement, the team looks more stacked than ever.

The Bucks will have their hands full should they meet the Nets again in the postseason. With PJ Tucker, who was tasked to defend KD in the postseason, signing with Miami in free agency, the team has to find ways to fill the gaping hole left by the forward.

But with Brooklyn parading another talented roster, the Nets look like a championship team. And for the Bucks to have a chance, they must find a way for Giannis to replicate his dominance last season. At the same time, his supporting cast must step up to the plate once again if the NBA Finals are going to be a reality.

Los Angeles Lakers

Aside from the Nets, another stacked team looking for a championship is the Lakers. Although the Lakers and the Bucks have no playoff history, given that they’re both in different conferences, this team isn’t settling for anything less than their 18th banner.

Like the Nets, the Lakers are another All-Star laden team heading into the upcoming season. After a roster revamp during the off-season, the team signed All-Stars Carmelo Anthony, DeAndre Jordan, and Russell Westbrook. They’ll also see the return of former Lakers Dwight Howard, Wayne Ellington, Trevor Ariza, Kent Bazemore, and Rajon Rondo. And to add some young guns, they also picked up Malik Monk and Kendrick Nunn.

Spearheaded by one of the best trios in the NBA in LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook, the Lakers look ready to regain their championship ways like they did in 2020. Although age may be a problem, these players aren’t short of experience. Furthermore, they have a talented roster to matchup against the league.

With an All-Star-laden team, headed by their newly founded Big Three, the Lakers should be a threat to the Bucks at least on paper. If the Lakers can set aside their egos and stay healthy, the Bucks will be looking at a herculean task to pull off the two-peat.

Phoenix Suns

Revenge is a dish best served cold. After a dramatic run last year that saw the Suns return to relevancy, unfortunately, their cinderella run came to an end at the hands of the Bucks in the NBA Finals. Because of this, there’s no question that the Suns are more determined than ever to dethrone the defending champs.

The Suns had a relatively quiet off-season. They picked up Javale McGee, Elfrid Payton, and Landry Shamet. Their biggest move was re-signing Chris Paul, who was the main catalyst for the Suns’ rise. With this, the Suns are looking to run it back again which gives room for more continuity.

With more experience under their belt, the Suns can become more dangerous this time around. Just recently, the Suns displayed their chemistry after re-asserting their mastery over the Lakers in a pre-season victory, 117-105.

Although the Lakers missed most of its stars, the Suns look ready to surpass expectations again. And this time around, they are planning to win the franchise’s first NBA championship. With the All-Star duo of CP3 and Devin Booker, alongside DeAndre Ayton, the Suns have the tools to give the Bucks’ title defense a run for their money again.

Miami Heat

Although the Bucks exacted vengeance on the Heat last year by sweeping them in the first round, Giannis and the defending champs will be facing a new-look Miami this year. In a busy free-agency, the Heat look like they are going to make a deeper playoff run in the upcoming season.

A notable addition by Miami is NBA champion and six-time All-Star Kyle Lowry. Lowry will provide Miami with some much-needed playmaking to reduce the pressure off Jimmy Butler. With the arrival of Lowry, the Heat will be parading a formidable trio of their own in Butler, Lowry, and Bam Adebayo.

And to further fortify their roster, the Heat also picked up two NBA champions in Markieff Morris and PJ Tucker. Tucker was a key player for Milwaukee in their title run last season. His versatile defense allowed the Bucks to slow down Kevin Durant, Trae Young, and Devin Booker. Now with the Heat, the Bucks will not only have to find ways to replace his loss, but to also deal with his pesky defense.

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These two squads have met each other for two straight postseasons, and third straight clash is entirely possible. Although the Bucks swept them last year, a more competitive Heat awaits them this year.

Golden State Warriors

The Warriors haven’t made the playoffs since 2019, although, they were close last season. However, there is a good chance that drought will end in the near future.

The Warriors added some interesting pieces this year. They added Nemanja Bjelica, Otto Porter, and drafted  Jonathan Kuminga. Furthermore, they also added veteran experience by getting Avery Bradley and Andre Iguodala, who was the Warriors’ 2015 Finals MVP.

However amongst all of these additions, the much-anticipated return of Klay Thompson will be the major factor for the Warriors. With the return of Thompson, the Warriors will enjoy the benefit of another elite shooter that’ll play alongside Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. And should it be a successful return, we might be seeing the Warriors regain their championship dominance.

The hot-shooting of Thompson and Curry will be a major riddle to solve for the Bucks. As we all know, having one of them go off is a headache for NBA defenses. However, if both of them get hot, they’ll be next to unstoppable. In addition to this, with elite lockdown wing defenders in Iggy and Draymond to throw at Giannis, the Bucks will have to think outside of the box to outplay the Warriors.

The Warriors and Bucks have yet to meet in the postseason. However, we all saw last season how Curry torched the Bucks for 41 points, spiked by five threes.

If Curry maintains his MVP form again this year and Thompson makes a successful return, the Bucks will need to dig deeper than ever to accomplish this NBA championship repeat.