Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton played just his eighth game this season in Monday's win over the Detroit Pistons. But there aren't too many players like Middleton - and certainly nobody on this current Bucks roster. The Bucks have been admirable in his stead as a whole, especially with Holiday stepping into the second scorer role and Bobby Portis arguably being the league’s top sixth man. Middleton shot 39% in that period - think they’ve missed him much? Milwaukee was fifth in 3-point percentage the past two seasons, but this year, the Bucks are 18th. “Me being out gives those other guys a chance to grow, which will make us better in the long run.” Take a lot of pressure off Giannis and Jrue, everyone,” Middleton told Yahoo Sports. “I try to pride myself in my job, making everybody’s job easier. You might not know James Jamerson from The Funk Brothers, but you’d know his guitar riffs and bass lines when you hear them - giving room for the star to be the star. Middleton isn’t a background voice he might not even be someone you’d notice at first glance in that way.īut he makes everything better, like a great bass player. David Ruffin, Ronald Isley, Michael Jackson - take your pick. If the Bucks were a band, Antetokounmpo would, of course, be the lead singer. He was doing rehab and going through the battle by himself.” “It’s good to see him out there, run up and down, connect with him, play with him. “The band is back together,” Antetokounmpo said. The numbers are immaterial, in a way, but the feeling of optimism was palpable in the locker room afterward. Giannis Antetokounmpo returned from a five-game absence and didn’t look out of rhythm at all, scoring 20 in the first quarter and finishing with 29 and 12 rebounds in 26 minutes. The Bucks played with fervor and a pop that was a sharp contrast from the malaise they’ve worn for a few stretches this season. The Pistons are without cornerstone Cade Cunningham and still likely road-weary from their Paris trip last week, but this beatdown was likely coming regardless of the circumstances. He may have been an unlikely pick, but Milddeton is inarguably the greatest player to come out of Texas A&M’s basketball program, and if he keeps this up, could go down as one of the greatest Aggie athletes of all time.He came off the bench to play 15 minutes Monday in their 150-130 win over the Detroit Pistons in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated. But here he is nine years later as a two-time All Star, halfway through a five-year, $177 million contract, leading his team to an NBA crown before jetting off to Tokyo to play on the US Olympic basketball team. It would have surprised nobody if he hopped around on NBA benches for a few years before ending up in the Developmental League or playing overseas, as is the case for so many second round picks. Middleton had a good but not great career at Texas A&M and was drafted in the second round of the NBA Draft (which is only two rounds long) by the Detroit Pistons. Khris Middleton is the first second-round pick in NBA history to score 500 points in a single postseason.

The others are LeBron James/Kyrie Irving and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar/Magic Johnson. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton are the 3rd pair of teammates (4th instance) over the last 50 years to each have a 40-point game in a single NBA Finals.Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton join Dwyane Wade and LeBron James in 2012 as the only pair of teammates to each have 500 points and 100 assists in a single postseason.That’s tied with LeBron James (2007) for the most in a single playoffs in the last 25 seasons. Khris Middleton has made 15 game-tying or go-ahead shots in the 4th-quarter/OT this postseason.A few blurbs from the ESPN Stats & Info folks to really drive home how huge of a postseason Middleton just had: He was an essential piece to the Bucks’ success, at times even outshining two-time League MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. And Middleton wasn’t just a benchwarmer or a role player on this championship run. But more importantly for our purposes, Texas A&M Aggie Khris Middleton is an NBA Champion.

Khris middleton stats nba finals