7 teams the Washington Wizards can hope to emulate if they get 8th seed

7. 2017-18 Milwaukee Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks’ final season at the Bradley Center was one to remember as Giannis Antetokounmpo continued his march towards MVP-dom and Khris Middleton logged 82 games after missing 6 months due to a hamstring injury that required surgery.

They wound up snagging the 7th seed in the east, but did so without a true starting shooting guard. Tony Snell held it down for most of the season, but the Bucks would ultimately try eight different players at the shooting guard position in the 2017-18 campaign.

The major missing piece for them, however, was Jabari Parker. Injury-prone his whole career thus far, Parker suffered some devastating news when he tore his ACL in early February to the same knee as his previous ACL tear.

Up until this point, Jabari Parker had been a major contributor and piece in the Milwaukee Bucks’ plans, and with him missing the youngish Bucks team stumbled into the 7th seed and some valuable playoff experience for 26-year-old Middleton and 23-year-old Giannis.

The following season, with a revamped roster featuring George Hill, Malcolm Brogdon, and Brook Lopez, and more importantly no longer relying on Jabari Parker, the Bucks managed a league-best 60-22 record and went on to lose in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Record at all-star break: 32-25

2017-18 Final record & result : 44-38, Lost in the 1st round

2018-19 season record & result: 60-22, Lost in Eastern Conference Finals