NBA star Khris Middleton's frantic journey home for his daughter's birth

On April 22, it finally happened. The Milwaukee Bucks clinched their first series victory since 2001, closing out a sweep of the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena.

Bucks wing Khris Middleton, one of the team's longest-tenured players and an All-Star who had been part of every aspect of the team's turnaround, wasn't there for the celebration he'd been waiting for. He was anxious to leave the arena and didn't even see all his teammates on his way out of the locker room just moments after the buzzer.

"I was walking out, they were walking in," Middleton recalled in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "It was fun to know we won that series, but I didn’t get the joy of celebrating our first playoff series win.

"But I think it was all worth it in the end."

What could be more worth it than a playoff series win?

All things Bucks: Latest Milwaukee Bucks news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

At the other end of a wild, unexpected journey was his girlfriend, Samantha, who had gone into labor with their first child. The baby wasn't due until June, but Samantha's water broke that April night.

Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer was one of the first to find out. He had gotten word from members of the team staff during the fourth quarter and had to quickly decide what to do. During a Pistons timeout with 4:20 remaining, Budenholzer approached co-owner Marc Lasry, who was sitting courtside not far from the bench.

Before the game, Lasry had gone to the coaches' locker room and joked with Budenholzer that he was available off the bench if needed. He was shocked when Budenholzer started walking in his direction during this timeout, as Budenholzer had never fraternized with him during games.

Lasry leaned over to his son, Alex, a Bucks senior vice president and referenced the earlier conversation, saying, "You think he wants me to suit up?"

Budenholzer wanted something from him, but not that.

He told Lasry of the situation with Middleton and noted that the Bucks' team plane wasn't scheduled to leave Detroit for a few hours. He then asked Lasry, who had come to the game on a private plane, if he could take Middleton to Milwaukee as soon as possible. Lasry promptly agreed, later informing the plane's other passengers of the detour.

"If you can help somebody in a situation like that, you do it," Lasry said. "We were happy to do it. I told everybody, I said, 'Look, we’re going to back to Milwaukee. Khris is going to have his first child. We’re going to drop him off.' Everybody said it was a great idea. Let’s go."

Middleton, too, thought Budenholzer was going to put him back in the game when the coach approached him during the timeout. The Bucks were up 120-92, but Middleton instinctively started to prep for orders to go back in. Why else would Budenholzer want to talk to him?

Instead, Budenholzer told him of the situation back home and that Lasry's plane would take him back immediately. By the time the game came back from break, Middleton was already out of his seat at the end of the bench and on the way into the locker room. He quickly got his things together for a speedy exit.

Middleton's father, Samantha's brother and another friend who had been at the game all joined the Lasry travel party. They even got a surprise — a police escort to the airport.

"It wasn’t me," Lasry said when asked about the police escort. "It was definitely the Detroit organization. I’m sure (Pistons owner) Tom Gores’ security people or the Pistons’ security folks worked with Bucks security folks and they ended up getting us a police escort to go there."

That was the smoothest things would go as far as transportation was concerned. The flight to Milwaukee was short, but the atmosphere outside matched Middleton's inner anxiety.

"It was actually a wild plane ride," Middleton said, noting that the flight felt like it took a year with no cell service or Wi-Fi. "The weather was bad, so the turbulence was crazy in the air. ... Everybody was talking nonstop. It was just hectic. I know Marc was talking a lot, my dad was talking a lot, but if you asked what exactly they were saying I have no idea. My mind was just racing at the time. ...

"Just the combination of everything together makes you anxious at times, but I found a way to calm myself down after a while and just knew everything was going to be alright."

When the flight landed, Middleton thanked and bid farewell to Lasry, who wouldn't get back to New York until around 3:30 a.m. Middleton's teammates were still a few hours behind, unaware of the fans who would be gathered at the airport to welcome them.

Middleton didn't have time for a hero's welcome. He set a course for Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. However, there were challenges on the road ahead, too.

It was raining that night, with buckets pouring down in a way Middleton says he had never experienced during his years in Milwaukee. A harrowing half-hour later, Middleton was at the hospital where his fears quickly dissipated.

The baby hadn't arrived yet and everything was OK.

"Once I saw Sam, she was in a better state than I thought. She was a lot calmer than I thought," Middleton said. "That made it easier on me, for sure."

For all the hurrying, the baby didn't arrive until the next evening. The couple, which thought they had more time to think of a name, started searching everywhere for the perfect name.

They agreed on naming her Audrielle.

For a premature baby, she was strong and healthy. However, she was still going to have an extended stay at the hospital attached to numerous monitors, with doctors projecting 3-4 weeks before she could go home.

"They wanted her to get bigger, stronger, be able to suck, swallow and breathe for feeding," Middleton said. "She wasn’t able to feed by mouth when she came out. We started feeding by mouth probably a week or two afterward."

With nearly a week before the Eastern Conference semifinals, Middleton spent every minute he could at the hospital. He was at every practice, every video session, every workout, but once his team responsibilities were done he would head back to the hospital. His coaches and teammates knew what was going on and they were all supportive.

That's how things remained until Audrielle came home, with the exception of road trips and nights before home games when Middleton would leave around 10 or 11 p.m. to get adequate sleep.

"It definitely was (difficult)," Middleton said. "But I mean, you’ll do anything for your child. I learned that very quickly. It put things in perspective of what’s important. At the same time, it involves knowing what’s at stake, knowing what you can handle and what you can do. We tried to handle the situation as best we could and we came through."

Middleton's on-court performance didn't suffer as he averaged 19.2 points per game and shot 47.2% from 3-point range in a 4-1 series win over the Boston Celtics. When the Bucks closed the series out in five games, Middleton was especially happy not to have to go back to Boston and to again have a week before the start of the Eastern Conference finals — it meant more time with Audrielle.

The young family's experience at the hospital was an overall positive one, with doctors and nurses who Middleton says took the absolute best care of Audrielle. There was one slight issue, though, which stemmed from Middleton's celebrity.

In the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, there's a rule that prohibits the closing of doors or curtains so that nurses and doctors can easily monitor their tiny patients. Middleton's room was right in front of the entrance door and it was hard to miss the 6-foot-8 NBA all-star.

"Everybody would just come into the NICU and they would just stare at me for a split second and try to walk away or look away," Middleton said. "They finally allowed us to start closing that curtain because they realized what was going on, that word of mouth was spreading and it was a safety concern after a while."

Audrielle was allowed to go home on May 17, the day of Game 2 against the Toronto Raptors and about 3½ weeks after her birth. At last, life could start to get into a more normal pattern.

"That took a lot of pressure and stress off everybody from us going back and not being able to be at home, be comfortable," Middleton said. "Not having people looking at us, staring at us walking around the hospital sometimes.

"It was good, but it was a little nerve-wracking, too. She was hooked up on all these monitors and whatnot and now she’s home and it’s on the parents now. You don’t get these little alarms or whatever to let you know when something’s a little off, but it’s been great, it’s been fun."

As Middleton celebrates his first Father's Day, he does so on the verge of a potential inflection point in his career. He's expected to turn down a $13 million player option to test free agency, where he could get a maximum contract — worth up to $190 million over five years — from the Bucks or another team. Throughout the season, the Bucks front office and ownership have consistently spoken about Middleton's value to the team and their goal of keeping him in Milwaukee long term.

During team exit interviews in May, Middleton didn't tip his hand to what he'll do in free agency. Instead, he insisted he'll do whatever is best for himself and his family.

"You think about it all the time when your child is coming, but when it’s here and you look at her or him in the face you realize you’re responsible for a human being," Middleton said. "Like, literally responsible for somebody eating, breathing, sleeping, all of the above. I think that’s the main thing that I realized and it hit me that I’m responsible for this child’s well-being."

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is part of the USA TODAY Network.