About Me
The Milwaukee Bucks were formed in January 1968 when the NBA awarded a franchise to Milwaukee Professional Sports and Services, Inc. (Milwaukee Pro), a group headed by Wesley Pavalon and Marvin Fishman. In October, the Bucks played their first NBA regular season game against the Chicago Bulls before a Milwaukee Arena crowd of 8,467. Their first victory came in their 6th game as the Bucks beat the Detroit Pistons 134–118; they would win only 26 more games in their first year.But their record earned them a coin flip between them and the Phoenix Suns to see who would get Lew Alcindor, later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, in the 1968-69 NBA season. The Bucks won the coin flip and got their man, and instantly the Bucks became contenders. In only their second season the Bucks made the playoffs and Alcindor was named rookie of the year. In their third season, the Bucks became the fastest expansion team in any of the four major leagues to win a world championship.1970s-1980sThe following season, the final piece of the Bucks' championship puzzle came when Oscar Robertson joined the team, and in only their third season, the Bucks won 66 games, and on April 30, 1971, the Bucks won Game 4 of the NBA Finals over the Baltimore Bullets in Milwaukee 118–106, to win the NBA Championship.In 1972, the Los Angeles Lakers had their record 33-game winning streak snapped by the Bucks during a nationally televised game, and in 1973 the Bucks recorded their third consecutive 60-win season, the first NBA team to do so. One year later, the Bucks were back in the 1974 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics. In Game 6 of the Series, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar made a patented "sky hook" shot to end a classic double overtime victory for the Bucks. The Bucks lost Game 7 and the series to the Celtics. After the 1974-75 NBA season, the Bucks pulled a mega-trade by sending Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the Lakers for Elmore Smith, Junior Bridgeman, Brian Winters, and David Meyers.After the mega-deal, the Bucks brought with them several seasons in transition, but later on, most of these players would bear fruit. After being sold to cable television executive Jim Fitzgerald in 1977, the Bucks would enter in another era of greatness. It began with coach Don Nelson. In the 1977 draft, the Bucks drafted in Marques Johnson, Kent Benson, and Mark Grunfeld. Johnson would become a staple in the Bucks for years to come. Rookie Sidney Moncrief made his debut in 1979.In 1979, the Bucks also brought in veteran center Bob Lanier to fill in the hole left by the departure of Kareem. They then won the Midwest Division title in 1980. After losing to Seattle in the semi-finals, the Bucks moved to the Eastern Conference's Central Division. There, they would win 6 straight division titles and have .500 seasons for the next 11 years. Within those years, the Bucks became perennial Eastern Conference contenders, primarily due to the strong play of Moncrief, Paul Pressey, Craig Hodges and the arrival of Terry Cummings, Ricky Pierce, and Jack Sikma from trades with the Los Angeles Clippers and Seattle respectively. Other notable players who played for the Bucks in this era included Larry Krystkowiak, Randy Breuer, and Paul Mokeski.During the 1980's the Bucks were one of the most successful basketball teams in the league. Only three teams had winning records throughout the 80's- the Celtics, the Lakers and the Bucks. However they were perennially stymied by the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics in post-season: starting in 1980-81 season the Bucks were eliminated by either the Sixers or the Celtics for 7 consecutive seasons, including twice in 7 game series. On the occasions in which they did beat one of the two teams they would often lose to the other as in 1982-83 when they swept the Celtics only to lose the Sixers and in 1985-86 when they beat the Sixers only to be swept by the Celtics (see below section for season by season playoff recap).In 1985, Milwaukee businessman (and now U.S. Senator) Herb Kohl bought the Bucks after fears that out-of-town investors could buy the team and move it out of Milwaukee. (In 2003, after considering selling the team, Kohl announced that he had decided against selling the Bucks to Michael Jordan and would "continue to own them, improve them and commit them to remaining in Wisconsin.")In the 1988-89 season, after 20 years at the 11,052-seat MECCA (Milwaukee Arena, now U.S. Cellular Arena), the Bucks moved into the new 18,700-seat Bradley Center, located directly across the street from the MECCA in downtown Milwaukee. The Bradley Center was one of the first arenas in the country to be built with luxury suites. The Bradley Center was privately financed from a $90 million donation from Milwaukee businesswoman Jane Bradley Pettit in memory of her father.1990s-presentTo honor their 25th Anniversary in 1993, the Bucks changed their uniforms, replacing the cartoonish deer in favor of a more regal one. Also, red was replaced by purple.The Bucks had two high lottery picks in a row in the early 1990's that allowed them to get two high-caliber offensive players. In the 1993 NBA Draft, Milwaukee selected power forward Vin Baker. The following season the Bucks obtained small forward and college standout Glenn Robinson with the first selection in the 1994 NBA Draft. From the 1994-95 season to the 1996-97 season, the Bucks were led by the strong offensive play of both Robinson and Baker. Baker was traded to the Seattle Sonics in a three-team deal that brought Terrell Brandon and Tyrone Hill to Milwaukee following the 1996-97 season. This marked the start of the climb of the Bucks towards their eventual playoff success.With the steady addition of talent such as Ray Allen, Tim Thomas, and Sam Cassell, as well as the hiring of head coach George Karl, the Bucks grew to become an elite team in the Eastern Conference, winning the Central Division title in 2001. However, the Bucks lost Game 7 of the 2001 Eastern Conference Finals to the Philadelphia 76ers.Behind the strong encouragement of George Karl, the Bucks acquired Anthony Mason in the 2001 offseason. Statistically this made the Bucks the team to beat in the Eastern Conference for the 2001-02 season. On the court and off, however, team chemistry was destroyed by the presence of Mason. The Bucks, who at the season's midway point were the number one seed in the Eastern Conference, began an unthinkable free-fall that was culminated with a loss to Detroit on the final night of the season that eliminated the Bucks from NBA playoff contention. The resulting fallout caused tension between the team's three stars and coach, resulting in the eventual trades of Glenn Robinson to Atlanta (for Toni Kukoc and a first-round draft pick that they used to select T.J. Ford), Sam Cassell to Minnesota (for Joe Smith), and the firing of George Karl.In the midst of the 2002-03 season, the Bucks traded their superstar Ray Allen to the Seattle SuperSonics for Gary Payton and Desmond Mason. The trade allowed for increased playing time for Michael Redd, and with Gary Payton in the backcourt, the Bucks finished the season with a 42–40 record and made the playoffs; however, the Bucks lost in the first round to the New Jersey Nets. Rookie point guard T.J. Ford suffered a potentially career ending back injury near the end of the season. Payton would leave in free agency following the season.Having been in hurt in the previous season, point guard T.J. Ford would miss the entire 2004-05 season. The Bucks had a disappointing season ending with a 30–52 record, however, strong play by young stars Maurice Williams and Michael Redd was encouraging. Due to their poor record the Bucks were placed in the NBA Draft Lottery. Despite only having a 6% chance for the first selection in the lottery, the Bucks won the first pick for the 2005 NBA Draft, which was used to select Andrew Bogut of Australia and the University of Utah. This luck would raise expectations for the coming season, as the team anticipated the return of T.J. Ford along with the addition of Bogut and Jamal Magloire who was acquired in a trade with the New Orleans Hornets for Desmond Mason.On April 1, 2006 the Bucks set a new NBA record for the fewest team turnovers in one game when they committed just two turnovers in a 96–89 victory over the Indiana Pacers. Earlier that week, on March 28, they set a new NBA record with 11 3-pointers in a quarter, another new NBA record with 14 3-pointers in a half, and a team record with 18 3-pointers in a 132–110 shootout victory over the Phoenix Suns.The Bucks finished the 2006 Regular Season with a loss to the Wizards, giving them a 40–42 record, dropping them to the 8th seed in the East. The Bucks lost to the Detroit Pistons, the defending Eastern Conference Champions, in the 1st round of the 2006 NBA Playoffs, with a final series tally of 4–1. The Pistons also won the regular season series 3–1. Milwaukee had their only win in the playoff series when they beat Detroit 124–104 on April 29, 2006.On June 28, 2006, the Bucks revealed a new color scheme as well as an updated logo. The new colors revealed were dark red and forest green, returning the team to its original color scheme. Its new uniform identity was also revealed on the last week of September 2006.After the 2005-06 season, the Bucks made substantial changes to their roster, trading several of their key players. The Bucks traded starting point guard T.J. Ford to the Raptors for forward Charlie Villanueva, and starting center Jamaal Magloire to Portland for Steve Blake, Brian Skinner, and Ha Seung-Jin. On August 10, 2006 the Bucks traded Joe Smith to the Denver Nuggets for Ruben Patterson[1]. In January 2007, Steve Blake was traded to the Denver Nuggets for point guard Earl Boykins, Julius Hodge, and cash considerations. In Boykins Milwaukee Bucks debut he contributed 11 points and 11 assists, while Julius Hodge added 2 points and 1 rebound. Hodge was later waived by the Bucks.The beginning of the 2006-07 season gave Bucks fans high hopes. The Bucks had a fantastic December going 11–6, but soon after, starters Michael Redd, Charlie Villanueva, and Moe Williams suffered key injuries. This left Andrew Bogut as the only remaining starting player from the anticipated lineup for the beginning of the season for much of January, with Bobby Simmons already side-lined for the season. Their record suffered as a result of these injuries, with the team recording only 2 wins in the month of January. In February the Bucks lost a crucial game to the Boston Celtics who were riding a franchise long 18-game losing streak. The Bucks struggles continued with more injuries until they fired head coach Terry Stotts after losing their 41st game of the season. During the final weeks of the season, 4 out of the 5 planned starters for the season, Bogut, Villanueva, Simmons, and Redd, were all on the injured list for the rest of the year. The Bucks finished with a 28-54 record, third-worst in the NBA. They currently have a 15.6% chance of winning the 2007 NBA Lottery.
