The Bucks entered the season as defending champions after winning the 2021 NBA Finals against the Phoenix Suns in the previous season in six games as the first team since the 2015–16 Cleveland Cavaliers to come back after trailing 2–0.
[1] On August 20, 2021, the NBA announced that the regular season for the league would begin October 19, 2021 and would return to the normal 82-game schedule for the first time since the 2018–19 season.
The Bucks beat the Chicago Bulls in the first round in five games, but lost to the eventual Conference champion Boston Celtics in seven games in the conference semifinals, in their third playoff matchup in five seasons.
[2] The Bucks had one second-round pick entering the draft.
[3] They would use their selection at the start of the second round to select power forward Isaiah Todd from the recently created NBA G League Ignite franchise, though they would later trade Todd away to the Washington Wizards.