Unsung Heroes: Khris Middleton

Reporters shuffled in the Milwaukee Buck’s locker room following a game against the Jazz in late November. After a game in which the Bucks fell to Utah 121-108, dropping the Bucks to .500 on the season, reporters searched out one Buck’s player in particular, Giannis Antetokounmpo. Reporters stood waiting for the NBA All-Star for nearly 30 minutes as he received treatment on his legs and searched Instagram. While all the attention was rightfully given to Milwaukee’s star, another member of the Buck’s young core was able to share a moment with teammate Jabari Parker before quietly leaving the locker room and heading for the team bus.

The lack of attention didn’t seem to bother Khris Middleton. He’s used to it by now, despite being the most underrated player on the Milwaukee Bucks – and possibly in the NBA.

The media swarm surrounding Giannis has become common place over the past 5 months for good reason, the Greek Freak is one of the most exciting young players in the league and has been at the center of Bleacher Report videos and NBA hype videos for the past season and a half. While most casual basketball fans almost certainly can identify Giannis – or have at least heard the name – while the name ‘Khris Middleton’ might be a bit more difficult to put a face to.

It doesn’t matter if Middleton scores 40 points in a game – something Middleton has done twice this season. It doesn’t matter if he puts up a triple-double – something he did against the Philadelphia Sixers. It doesn’t even matter if he were to average a career high in points, assists and rebounds – he is – Middleton rarely at the center of attention.

The Eastern Conference All-Stars were announced on TNT’s Inside the NBA on January 23, 2018. As name after name was read there was one name that was failed to be mentioned. Khris Middleton.

Even after East All-Stars John Wall, Kevin Love and Khristaps Porzingis went down with injuries, causing them to miss the All-Star game, Middleton was hardly mentioned as a potential replacement for any of the three injured stars. Rather, Detroit’s Andre Drummond, Charlotte’s Kemba Walker and Miami’s Goarn Dragic received the nod and replacements in the All-Star game. Even Boston’s second year guard Jaylen Brown received consideration as a potential replacement.

I didn’t matter that Middleton was averaging more points than All-Stars Goran Dragin, Andre Drummond, Kevin Love, John Wall, Draymond Green, Al Horford and Kyle Lowry. Or that Middleton dished out more assists per game than Karl-Anthony Towns, Klay Thompson, Joel Embiid, Paul George or Victor Oladipo. Khris Middleton failing to make an All-Star team seemed like a non-story to most basketball fans, but upon closer look, the decision to leave Middleton out of consideration was a perplexing move. Normally a player averaging 20, 5 and 4 would be considered an All-Star.

The decision could be attributed to multiple reasons. Perhaps it was Milwaukee Coach Jason Kidd’s failure to highlight the guard’s skill set for much of the season. Or maybe it was the fact that Middleton played under the shadow of one of the fastest growing superstars in the league. Or that his level of play was lost among the anticipation surrounding the return of Buck’s forward Jabari Parker. Or it could be attributed to Middleton’s tendency to stay away from the spotlight.

There’s no debating that in today’s NBA a social media presence plays a major factor in the popularity of players and teams. Joel Embiid has become a national sensation for his outlandish social media presence as he trolls opponents with hilarious Instagram locations or as he tries to score a date with Rihanna. Lebron James even has more followers – 41 million – than Drake, SportsCenter, ESPN, Kevin Hart or One Direction. Even Zaza Pachulia was nearly named an All-Star after a twitter campaign almost earned the back-up center a trip to All-Star weekend. But while NBA Stars can be seen across social media platforms, Middleton prefers to stay behind the scenes.

The shooting guard rarely tweets – only six times since Thanksgiving – and his Instagram pictures are typically photos from workouts or game pictures congratulating the team on a win. You’ll never see a video surface on Snapchat of Middleton surveying the streets of Las Vegas or clubbing in South Beach. Instead he’ll quietly go to work, score 30 points, and go home.

Despite averaging the same amount of points for his career as Jabari Parker – along with more assists – Middleton rarely receives the same amount of attention or praise as the fourth year forward out of Duke. Some of that may be attributed to the fact that Jabari – heralded as the savior as Milwaukee basketball – has been working to return from his second ACL tear in as many years, a situation Buck’s fans have been following closely. But most of Middleton’s lack of attention may be attributed to the fact that he has flown under the radar for his entire career.

Despite averaging 14.3 points his sophomore year at Texas A&M and 13.2 points during his Junior year, Middleton fell to the second round of the NBA Draft in 2012, going 39th to Detroit. Middleton appeared in only 27 games for Detroit his rookie year and was subsequently traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in a trade that sent Brandon Knight and Middleton to Milwaukee in return for Brandon Jennings.

In Milwaukee, Middleton appeared in all 82 games and saw his point average double. Middleton continued to produce for the Bucks and eventually signed a five-year, $70-million extension with Milwaukee.

Middleton has continued to improve year after year, increasing his PPG each year – except for 2016-17 in which Middleton suffered a hamstring injury that caused him to miss six months. Despite his constant improvement and averaging career highs in nearly every category, Middleton failed to receive any All-Star consideration.

While Middleton himself may not be concerned over an All-Star nod, fans in Milwaukee have taken note of his outstanding play this season. “I think he could have [been an All-Star],” Bucks fan Gabby Fuhriman said. “I love him. I think he’s underrated but such a core player to the Bucks. He keeps them intact.”

While NBA fans and the national media may pay more attention to the Giannis’ of the world and the Jabari Parkers, Khris Middleton is quietly building his case as a star in the NBA. And while Giannis Antetokounmpo is clearly the face of the Milwaukee Bucks, Middleton is quietly working in his shadow, helping to carry the Bucks to the playoffs in back-to-back years for the first time since 2002-2004.