“I didn’t even know Earl [Watson] had got fired when I tweeted it.”

Three games into the 2017-18 season, the Suns parted ways with Watson. Phoenix had suffered its worst loss in franchise history and also the worst opening day performance in league history. Five words later, Eric Bledsoe’s career would change as well.

I Dont wanna be here

— Eric Bledsoe (@EBled2) October 22, 2017

Bledsoe said he was talking about his wife’s salon. The Suns front office reportedly believed otherwise. Bledsoe was traded to Milwaukee, his third team in six seasons. Three summers earlier, he had agreed to a five-year, $70 million contract to stay in Phoenix.

“No question,” Bledsoe told Stadium NBA Insider Shams Charania on wanting to stay with the Suns. “That summer, you kind of know at the end of the season that you want to progress, make the playoffs. Not only make the playoffs but win a series in the playoffs and keep building on from that. I definitely wanted to keep going.”

Prior to his arrival in Phoenix, Bledsoe was a key contributor off the bench during the Clippers’ “Lob City” era. Backing up Chris Paul and Chauncey Billups, Bledsoe showed flashes of promise as a two-way star.

“To be able to be in the same gym, see how hard they work, that meant a lot to me,” Bledsoe said to Charania. “To see them in big-time moments, to be around them. They’re Hall of Fame players. Up 20, down 20, they competed every single night.”

The lessons Bledsoe learned in Los Angeles were on full display in Phoenix. The guard averaged 18.8 points per game in his Suns tenure, including a career-high 21.1 points per game during the 2016-17 campaign after suffering a torn meniscus the previous season.

“It taught me a lot,” Bledsoe told Charania on his time in Phoenix. “It was fun. To get to play with some great players, to go in the underdogs and come out winners.”

In Milwaukee, Bledsoe would be looked upon to provide veteran leadership to a budding young core featuring Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton. He said his first meeting with Antetokounmpo helped him ease into the new situation.

“I think we played San Antonio. Giannis texted me [and] told me to come to the gym before shootaround,” Bledsoe told Charania. “[It] made me feel good. He wants to do great things and that’s the type of player you want to be around.”

Despite the addition of Bledsoe, the Bucks were unable to get past the first round of the playoffs for the second straight season. Milwaukee lost 4-3 to the Celtics, prompting the organization to make several changes. One of those changes was bringing in Mike Budenholzer to replace Jason Kidd as head coach.

Budenholzer was the architect of a 60-win team in Atlanta and took the Hawks to four straight playoff appearances in his five seasons there. He was brought in to elevate the Bucks, and Antetokounmpo specifically, into championship contenders.

“It’s been amazing. Bud talked to me about certain situations, no matter how I’m playing, he always tells me what he sees, not just the good but also the bad,” Bledsoe told Charania. “You can tell, he wants me to be at the elite level I can be at.”

Bledsoe has indeed reached another level under Budenholzer. 30 games in, he’s shooting a career-high 50 percent from the field and his 119 offensive rating is the highest it’s ever been. But it’s the little things that have made Bledsoe better and taken Milwaukee from a middle-of-the-pack team in the East to a championship contender.

The Bucks are scoring 117.8 points per game as of Dec. 20, the most in the league. Their +8.8-point differential 30 games in is slightly above Houston’s point differential from last season. Milwaukee is also taking the second-most 3-pointers per game at 39.6 attempts, a massive boost from its 25th place mark at 24.7 attempts last year. Budenholzer’s focus for Bledsoe has been efficiency and distribution.

Bledsoe is taking more 3s and shots closer to the rim, resulting in a career-high season for efficiency. He’s also cut down on turnovers, allowing the Bucks to field the best offense in the league. While his uptick in production likely won’t result in an All-Star appearance, Bledsoe’s primary concern remains about the team.

“Obviously, I want to make the All-Star team one day, even be on the all-defensive team,” Bledsoe said to Charania. “But at the same time, as a team, we got to be in the right situation.”

30 games in, the Bucks sit 21-9 and second in the Eastern conference behind Toronto. They’ve already beaten the Raptors twice this season, but Bledsoe said he feels the real threat lies in the Bay Area.

“Everybody’s chasing Golden State,” Bledsoe told Charania. “That’s the team to beat.”

Milwaukee is 1-1 this season against the Warriors, but with Antetokounmpo having an MVP-caliber season and Bledsoe displaying impressive efficiency, the Bucks have finally taken the leap to contention after years of first-round playoff exits.