Milwaukee Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks, also known as the Bucks, are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference Central Division of the league.

Milwaukee Bucks

The team was founded in 1968 as an expansion team and plays at the Fiserv Forum. Former U.S. Senator Herb Kohl was the team's owner for a long time, but on April 16, 2014, a group led by billionaire hedge fund managers Wes Edens and Marc Lasry agreed to buy a majority stake in the team from Kohl, a sale that was approved a month later, on May 16, by the owners of the NBA and its board of directors. The team is led by Jon Horst, the team's former director of basketball operations, who took over from John Hammond in May 2017. The Bucks have won one league title (1971), two conference titles (1971 and 1974) and 15 division titles (1971-1974, 1976, 1980-1986, 2001, 2019, 2020). Among others, they have had such notable players as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Sidney Moncrief, Oscar Robertson and Bob Lanier. Abdul-Jabbar and Giannis Antetokounmpo were named the NBA's most valuable player while playing for the Bucks, for a total of five MVP awards.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Years: 1970-1975

Career: 24.6 PPG, 11.2 RPG, 3.6 APG, 2.6 BPG, 55.9 FG%

Bucks: 30.4 PPG, 15.3 RPG, 4.3 APG, 3.4 BPG *, 54.7 FG%

One of the greatest centers of all time, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, then known as Lew Alcindor, began his career in Milwaukee and dominated from the start. And although what he achieved later in his career with the Lakers has often cast a shadow over his days with the Bucks, with 30.4 points and 15.3 rebounds per game Kareem was an absolute force. At 7'2" with deadly footwork, a soft touch and his signature sky hook, he was a nightmare for defenders and nearly impossible to stop. He also led the franchise to its only championship in 1971, cementing his status as the greatest player in the history of the Milwaukee Bucks.

Oscar Robertson

Years: 1971-1974

Career: 25.7 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 9.5 APG, 48.5 FG%

Bucks: 16.3 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 7.5 APG, 46.8 FG%

Oscar "The Big O" Robertson is a close second when it comes to the best players ever to put on a Bucks uniform. When Robertson laid the foundation for future point guards like Magic Johnson, his ability to score, rebound and involve teammates through great passes was relatively unprecedented at the time for someone of 6'5". Although his numbers with the Cincinnati Royals were more impressive, it was the deadly duo he formed with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar when he arrived in Milwaukee that showed what he was really worth. If there was ever a duo that came close to the level of intimidation that Kareem and Magic radiated, it was that of Kareem and Robertson. Robertson helped lead the Bucks to a championship in 1971 before retiring after the 1973-74 season.

History of the Milwaukee Bucks

On January 22, 1968, the NBA awarded a franchise to Milwaukee Professional Sports and Services, Inc. (Milwaukee Pro). A group led by Wesley Pavalon and Marvin Fishman. A fan contest was held to name the new team, in which more than 40,000 fans took part. While the most voted-for name was the Robins, named after the state bird of Wisconsin, the contest judges went for the second most popular choice, the Bucks, a reference to Wisconsin's official wild animal, the white-tailed deer. One fan, RD Trebilcox, got a new car for his part in explaining why the Bucks was a good nickname, saying that bucks were "spirited, good jumpers, fast and agile." The Bucks marked a return of the NBA to Milwaukee after 13 years, since their previous team, the Hawks, had played four seasons there in the early fifties before moving to St. Louis in 1955 (now based in Atlanta). In October, the Bucks played their first regular-season NBA game against the Chicago Bulls in front of a Milwaukee Arena crowd of 8,467. As is common with expansion teams, the Bucks' first season (1968-69) was a struggle. Their first win came in their sixth game, when the Bucks beat the Detroit Pistons 134–118. They won only 26 games in their first year. The Bucks' record that year earned them a coin flip against their expansion cousins, the Phoenix Suns, to see who would get the first pick in the upcoming draft. It was considered a foregone conclusion that the first pick in the draft would be Lew Alcindor of UCLA. The Bucks won the coin flip, but had to win a bidding war with the upstart American Basketball Association (ABA) to secure him.