By Matt Mueller Culture Editor Published May 09, 2022 at 12:01 PM

The Bucks' championship status has earned them a place in the global spotlight – and where there's a spotlight, you'll find celebrities. Indeed, Milwaukee may not be New York or Los Angeles, but thanks to their excellent on-court play and must-see star, Bucks games have become a place to be seen – especially now that they've triumphed on the league's ultimate stage. 

Here are eight of the Bucks' biggest celeb backers – some that are well-established and obvious, others that are new to the crew or just started letting their #FearTheDeer flag fly, all welcome into Deer District. Somehow we get the feeling this list will get a lot longer now that they've won the Finals ... but before the bandwagon really starts bustling, here are the Bucks' most famous fans. 

1. Sheryl Crow

One of the most surprising developments from the last postseason (beyond the amount of Jeff Teague minutes) was the discovery that pop country singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow is a Bucks superfan. Indeed, you might've thought the "Soak Up the Sun" singer would lean toward the Suns, but as it turns out, she's a hardcore Bucks fan thanks to her 11-year-old sports-loving son Levi's passion for the team. And while her son is a big Giannis fan – with the absolutely glorious autographed wall decor to match, as demonstrated in a Twitter video confirming the Crow family's fandom – Sheryl's favorite Buck is the perpetually underrated and underappreciated Khris Middleton, who she happily repped last year at her Summerfest gig opening for Chris Stapleton. So you KNOW she's a real and dedicated fan. 

2. Chance the Rapper

Considering his close bond to his hometown of Chicago and that he grew up during the golden age of Michael Jordan in a Bulls uniform, you'd think Chance the Rapper's NBA affiliations would land solidly on southern side of the Wisconsin-Illinois border. But the Grammy-winning rapper was a regular on the sideline during Bucks home games during last year's playoffs, cheering on the Bucks, throwing all sorts of love at the raucous local crowd, meeting Giannis offcourt for a post-game congrats and even promising a song for the team if they finish the job in the Finals. (Though "Light It Up, Light It Up" is a tough banger to top.)

It'd be easy to assume Chance the Rapper's just a bandwagon fan hopping on board at conveniently the right time – but he actually appreciated the Bucks beyond their championship run, stretching as far as back as 2015 when he went to a game at the old Bradley Center to support fellow Chicago son Jabari Parker during his Milwaukee days. But even if he was a newcomer to the soon-to-be-crowded Bucks bandwagon, we'd have "No Problem" with that. (But seriously, don't try to top "Light It Up, Light It Up"; we already tried, and it can't be done.)

3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

We saw many Bucks icons courtside during their Finals run – from Michael Redd to Oscar Robertson to Bob Dandridge to John McGlocklin to Marques Johnson and, of course, the prophet Brandon Jennings. But few are quite as esteemed as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who's reconnected with Milwaukee over the decades after their notoriously rough breakup in the '70s –  especially in recent years, with the all-time great becoming a more regular sight at key Bucks events like the building of Fiserv Forum. 

This mutual re-embrace between Kareem and Milwaukee reached its apex last postseason as the NBA legend proudly proclaimed his fandom for his original team with courtside appearances, Twitter videos making his Bucks-friendly Finals predictions and even coining a phrase for this Milwaukee playoff surge: Bucksalypse. OK, that didn't really catch on – doesn't quite roll off the tongue, but one of us is a New York Times bestselling author and one of us once wrote about Kid Rock riding Jimmy John's yacht, so who am I to criticize. Plus, when your name and number's up in our rafters and you delivered this city its only championship for 50 years, you can come up with whatever tortured wordplay you want. 

Also: Can we just quick appreciate this incredible coffee art?

4. Gucci Mane

The Bucks bandwagon is about to pick up a wild amount of new passengers, so credit where credit is due: Gucci Mane was one of the first on board. Why? Excellent question! The rapper suddenly just started showing up courtside during the 2019 playoffs, getting into a friendly beef with Raptors superfan Drake in the process. The Bucks unfortunately lost the series – and Gucci Mane apparently lost a six-figure bet with Drake – but the rapper's stuck by the Bucks side since then, showing up courtside for the Bucks' first Finals game in 47 years. Well ... mostly, as he notably went absent during the Eastern Conference Finals as the Bucks took on his hometown Atlanta Hawks. But hey, now that their wings got clipped, Gucci Mane's all ours now!

5. Aaron Rodgers

Small-market sports teams gotta stick together – so it's not a surprise to see a plethora of popular Packers supporting the Bucks courtside, from Za'Darius Smith to Aaron Jones to David Bakhtiari and David Bakhtiari's voracious liver. And that goes all the way up to Green Bay's star multi-MVP quarterback, A-grade "Jeopardy" guest host and C-grade dancer Aaron Rodgers, who during his less eventful offseasons often can be a regular sitting courtside, cheering on the Bucks during big games and half-committing to chugging beer.

Due likely to reasons of not wanting to cause a small Wisconsin sports fan riot, Rodgers kept his physical distance during last year's Milwaukee playoff run, but judging by his Twitter feed, he kept tabs on the Bucks from far away. Look at that, a Wisconsin team whose ownership Rodgers doesn't hate ... probably because, well, he is an owner, becoming such a fan of his fellow Sconnie sports squad that he claimed a minority stake in the team back in 2017. That marks the second professional team Rodgers owns – the other being the Chicago Bears. 

6. Mallory Edens

Sure, her celebrity status originated from being the owner's daughter – and she was originally a big-time New York Knicks fan, even pondering the idea of potentially buying the team someday. (That sound you just heard was millions of Knicks fans crying out, "PLEASE! SOMEBODY! ANYBODY!") But thanks to her famous debut at the 2014 NBA Draft lottery, Edens became the closest thing our pretty middling small-market team had to a noteworthy fan – not exactly a glamorous place to find oneself. But family connections or no, she not only stuck by the Bucks during their growing pains but steadily increased her fandom over the years – to the point that she savagely trolled Drake courtside with a t-shirt of Pusha T during the 2019 playoffs. And anybody who does that deserves a well-earned place in the highest eschelon of celebrity fans. 

7. Christian Yelich

The Brewers outfielder endeared himself to Milwaukee fans quite nicely after arriving in a robbery trade with the Miami Marlins thanks to his impressive bat, low-key charming persona, winning ways and his outspoken appreciation for the local basketball team. Yelich has snagged seats for key Bucks games – complete with a beer chug – bonded with his fellow MVP-winning Milwaukee-committed hero and offered himself as a dunk contest prop to Pat Connaughton, going well above and beyond mere requisite small-market cross-team synergy. And while he wasn't been able to make it to a playoff game in 2021 thanks to his day job, Yelich cheered on the Bucks via Twitter. Next time you're in attendance, Yeli, we'll have a chug-ready beer waiting for you (and probably just a few strong words about that watched third strike in Game 4 against the Braves last postseason).

8. John Carpenter

Giannis is a slashing monster on the court – so it would only make sense that John Carpenter, the man behind some of the most famous on-screen slashers and monsters in Hollywood history, would be a fan.

We don't know exactly when or why the "Halloween" and "The Thing" fear master got on board with fearing the deer. (He's said in interviews that he's a huge basketball fan and likes teams that play the right way, so maybe like us, he just enjoys watching the Greek Freak and a smartly assembled team.) No matter when or why it began, though, he's certainly made his Bucks fandom known over the past few seasons, celebrating the Bucks championship run and happily posting on Twitter about Bucks wins making his day. Well ... and also the Golden State Warriors. An Eastern Conference team and a Western Conference team? We'll allow it. 

Carpenter's dream teams may turn into a fan nightmare, however, as both teams are still in the playoffs and could end up facing off in the Finals – a dramatic dilemma of a decision on par with any tense setpiece in "The Thing." Hopefully he chooses right and chooses Milwaukee. 

Matt Mueller Culture Editor

As much as it is a gigantic cliché to say that one has always had a passion for film, Matt Mueller has always had a passion for film. Whether it was bringing in the latest movie reviews for his first grade show-and-tell or writing film reviews for the St. Norbert College Times as a high school student, Matt is way too obsessed with movies for his own good.

When he's not writing about the latest blockbuster or talking much too glowingly about "Piranha 3D," Matt can probably be found watching literally any sport (minus cricket) or working at - get this - a local movie theater. Or watching a movie. Yeah, he's probably watching a movie.