Bucks All-Star Khris Middleton Is The Ultimate Supporter Of His Community

Since coming to Milwaukee via trade after his rookie season in 2013, Khris Middleton quickly established himself both on and off the court. In his first season with the Bucks, he doubled his point total from the previous year while shooting better than 40 percent from downtown. As the years went on, Middleton kept getting better and better, culminating in back-to-back All-Star appearances and a strong argument to make an All-NBA team this season.

It turns out that pales in comparison to his work in the community.

During these difficult times, Middleton has stepped up his game to provide support to the community by donating $25,000 to six local restaurants in the Milwaukee area who will in turn be using the budget to provide meals to over 600 families dealing with food insecurity.

“Keeping the most vulnerable Milwaukee residents fed was my first priority,” says Middleton. “MPS immediately stepped up by providing meals for students Monday – Friday but with so many families out of work, the weekend could be just as scary. We figured if we were going to step in and help feed these kids, we wanted to see if we could support small businesses at the same time. So far we’ve donated $25,000 to 6 different family owned and minority owned restaurants in Milwaukee.”

The meals are provided on the weekends to help fill the gap for parents and children. The initiative got off to a good start, feeding 1,100 people the first weekend according to Middleton and he’s hoping for an even bigger second weekend. When it’s all said and done, he estimates they’ll be able to feed over 2,500 people.

It’s a selfless partnership with small businesses and Middleton thanks his parents for instilling these beliefs, “My parents taught me the importance of entrepreneurship from a young age. I was blessed with an incredible childhood but if I wanted a new video game or the latest pair of Jordans it was lemonade stands and mowing neighbor’s lawns for sure,” says Middleton. “I’ve always admired how brave you have to be to go out and start a business of your own and now more than ever they need our support.”

His sister has also played a strong role in his beliefs, as she owns a small business as well. “My sister is resilient, it’s been really cool to watch how creative she’s gotten throughout these times,” Middleton continued. “They’re doing free shipping across anywhere in the US. She’s offering discounts to all healthcare professionals. She’s even been on IG live giving tutorials on new products the store is carrying. I’ve been a proud little brother. Make sure y’all go check out BeautyBeez on IG.”

In December of 2019, he received the NBA Cares Community Assist Award thanks to his first annual “12 Days of Khristmas” which included 12 acts of kindness around the holiday season. This program helped the Milwaukee, Charleston, S.C. and Shreveport, La communities in various ways such as shopping trips for kids in Big Brothers, Big Sisters and helping an elementary school teacher redo her classroom.

He and his family also established the Middleton Family Foundation which has also contributed during this crisis including $100,000 to Fiserv Forum Staff and $25,000 to hygiene kits and arts and crafts for the kids of the Milwaukee Public School System.

After a tremendous 2018-19 season on the court which saw Middleton average career-highs in point (21.2), assists (5.0) and rebounds (6.9) per 36 minutes, he signed a five-year, $177.5 million contract with the Bucks last summer allowing him to expand his work with the community in various ways; including during this time of COVID-19 crisis.

He feels Milwaukee has had his back since the moment he arrived in 2013 and wants to return a bit of the favor during challenging times, “It’s painful to see, I love this community,” says Middleton. “The people of Milwaukee have stood by us from a 15 win season to a really special run we were in the middle of. That’s why it was important to me to support Milwaukee residents the way they have always supported me.”