MILWAUKEE BUCKS FRANCHISE HISTORY
Previous Franchise Names: None
Principal Owner: Peter Feigin
CFO: Patrick McDonough
General Manager: John Hammond
Head Coach: Jason Kidd
Best Season: 1970-71 (66-16, .805)
Playoff Appearances: 28
NBA Championships: 1 (1970-71)
KANSAS CITY, MO – CIRCA 1974: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar #33 of the Milwaukee Bucks drives to the basket on Sam Lacey #44 of the Kansas City Kings during an NBA basketball game circa 1974 at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri. Abdul-Jabbar played for the Bucks from 1969 – 75. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
The fortunes of the Milwaukee Bucks were indelibly altered by the flip of a coin in the spring of 1969. Having just completed their expansion campaign, the Bucks won a coin flip with their expansion partner, the Phoenix Suns, for the first pick in the NBA Draft.
The Bucks chose UCLA legend Lew Alcindor, later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and the franchise was instantly a contender.
The team improved by 29 wins in its second season and, after adding future Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson in a 1970 trade, won the NBA title in its third.
That, however, turned out to be it for Milwaukee with Abdul-Jabbar. The Bucks lost Game 7 of the 1974 NBA Finals at home to the Boston Celtics and have not been back to the Finals since.
In the summer of 1975, the Bucks traded Abdul-Jabbar to the Los Angeles Lakers, putting together several pieces of the franchise’s return to contention in the early 1980s.
But despite the presence of stars Sidney Moncrief, Marques Johnson and veteran big man Bob Lanier, Milwaukee could never get past the twin dynasties of the Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers.
A run of 12 straight postseason appearances from 1980-91 was followed by seven lottery years before Milwaukee returned to the playoffs under coach George Karl in 1999.
The Bucks reached the conference finals in 2011 with stars Glenn Robinson, Ray Allen and Sam Cassell, but that was the zenith for that group.
A decade of bouncing around in the middle of the NBA pack was followed in 2013-14 by the worst year in franchise history, a 15-67 season.
Don Nelson, who replaced the team’s first coach, Larry Costello, early in the 1976-77 season, is the top coach in Bucks’ history, racking up a record of 540-344 from 1976-87, when he left to take over as coach and general manager of the Golden State Warriors. His Milwaukee teams, however, were just 42-46 in the playoffs.
Milwaukee Bucks Career Leaders (as of 3/9/2016)
- Games, Junior Bridgeman, 711
- Points, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 14211
- Rebounds, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 7161
- Assists, Paul Pressey, 3272
- Steals, Quinn Buckner, 1042
- Blocks, Alton Lister, 804
(1) in action vs Boston Celtics at Milwaukee Arena. Game 2.Milwaukee, WI 4/30/1974
CREDIT: Walter Iooss Jr. (Photo by Walter Iooss Jr. /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images)
(Set Number: X18605 TK1 R17 F16 )
Milwaukee Bucks Retired Numbers
- 1, Oscar Robertson
- 2, Junior Bridgeman
- 4, Sidney Moncrief
- 10, Bob Dandridge
- 14, Jon McGlocklin
- 16, Bob Lanier
- 32, Brian Winters
- 33, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Milwaukee Bucks Official Links
Official Team Site: nba.com/bucks
Official Twitter Handle: @bucks
Official Facebook Page: Milwaukee Bucks
Official Instagram Page: Milwaukee Bucks
Official Arena Page: Bradley Center
Milwaukee Bucks Beat Writers
Charles Gardner, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, @cf_gardner
Gery Woelfel, Racine Journal Times, @gerywoelfel
Related Milwaukee Bucks Blogs and Links
Milwaukee Bucks Logo History, courtesy of Chris Creamer’s Sportslogos.net
Salary Page: Milwaukee Bucks Salaries at Spotrac
FanSided Milwaukee Bucks: Behind The Buck Pass
SB Nation Milwaukee Bucks: Brew Hoop
ESPN TrueHoop Milwaukee Bucks: Bucksketball
HoopsHabit Milwaukee Bucks Archive: Milwaukee Bucks
Bleacher Report Milwaukee Bucks Team Stream: Milwaukee Bucks
RealGM Milwaukee Bucks Page: Milwaukee Bucks
Stats and retired number information courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com
