The Milwaukee Bucks will face the Indiana Pacers again in the first round of the 2025 playoffs, a rematch of last year's first-round series.

In the 2024 playoffs, the Pacers eliminated the Bucks in six games, which was a big upset. At that time, the team's core and super forward Giannis Antetokounmpo missed the entire series due to a left calf strain, which was also regarded as one of the key factors in the Bucks' defeat.

The Bucks are poised to make a comeback this season, and judging from their current form, Antetokounmpo is ready to dominate the playoffs. In the last three games of the regular season, he averaged a triple-double of 27.7 points, 11.7 rebounds and 10 assists per game, and his form was hot.

The NBA officially announced on Monday that Antetokounmpo won the "Player of the Week" for Week 25 of the 2024-25 season. During this week, he led his team to consecutive victories over the Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans and Detroit Pistons.

As a two-time MVP, Antetokounmpo will be selected to the NBA All-NBA Team for the ninth time this season. He averaged 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 6.5 assists in 67 games, with a shooting percentage of 60.1%. Although his three-point shooting percentage was only 22.2%, his offensive efficiency and dominance under the basket were still unbeatable.

Since leading the Bucks to defeat the Suns to win the championship in 2021, the team has never returned to the finals. In 2022, they lost to the Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals, were eliminated by the Heat in the first round in 2023, and lost to the Pacers in 2024, and were eliminated early for three consecutive years.

So far, Antetokounmpo has played 79 playoff games for the Bucks, averaging 26.6 points, 12 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game.