Milwaukee Bucks: Top 5 Players in Franchise History
Sam Cassell helped the guide the Milwaukee Bucks all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2001.
It’s been a long time since the Milwaukee Bucks were able to sustain any type of long-term success. In fact, Milwaukee hasn’t made a deep postseason run since the recently retired Allen Iverson won an MVP award way back in the 2000-01 season. As a franchise, the Bucks certainly haven’t done a great job of putting themselves among the elite in the NBA, but during brief stints of glory, the Bucks have trotted out some terrific, Hall-of-Fame level players. Getting them into Milwaukee is one thing, but keeping them there? Different story. Here’s a look at the top five players to ever play for this team and as you’ll see, many of them didn’t stay long.
5.) Glenn Robinson: Milwaukee hit the lottery in 1994 and decided that Glenn Robinson, the 6’7″ small forward from Purdue, would be the player to lead this franchise to prominence. Robinson’s career as a Buck was an interesting one. Numbers say he was a terrific player. From his rookie year in 1994-95 all the way through 2002, “The Big Dog” averaged more than 20 points per game and proved to be one of the only truly elite mid-range shooters in the NBA. Despite that, however, one would never call Robinson a true “superstar.” He was a great scorer, but the rest of his game left a lot to be desired. Still, the Bucks had some success when they were able to flank Robinson with some talented teammates, making it all the way to the Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals in 2001.
4.) Sam Cassell: From the moment he stepped on NBA floor, “Sam-I-Am” lived for the big shot. He played an integral role as a neophyte in his first two seasons for the world champion Houston Rockets and in 1999 he landed in Milwaukee. Cassell played some of the best basketball of his career as a Buck, peaking as a player during that 2000-01 playoff run (noticing a trend here?) in a season which saw him average 18.2 points, 7.6 assists, and countless references to his genitalia after big buckets just about every night.
3.) Ray Allen: What can you say about Ray? The guy is the best shooter to ever step on a floor and he’s STILL doing it 19 years removed from his rookie season. As a Buck, Allen was a superstar who averaged in excess of 20 points per game and is the franchise’s all time leader, heck, the NBA’s all-time leader, in made 3-pointers. Milwaukee made a terrific deal to acquire him in the loaded 1996-97 draft, sending Stephon Marbury to Minnesota in order to land the former UConn sharp shooter. Ray was the final piece to the NBA’s original “big three,” pairing with Glenn Robinson and Sam Cassell to give the Bucks their last true title contender. Allen later played an integral role on two championship teams. Unfortunately for Bucks fans, neither title run took place in Milwaukee.
2.) Oscar Robertson: One of the best all-around players in the NBA spent the twilight of his career in a Milwaukee Bucks uniform. In the single most important trade in franchise history, the Bucks sent Flynn Robinson and Charlie Paulk to the Cincinnati Royals in exchange for the only player in NBA history to average a triple-double for an entire season. The move paid immediate dividends, as Milwaukee teamed Robertson up with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and steamrolled all the way to their only NBA championship in his first season as a Buck. The knock on Robertson throughout his career was that he couldn’t carry a team to an NBA title and Oscar finally shook the monkey off his back. Robertson’s stat line that season? Try 19.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game.
1.) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: One of the most dominant forces in the history of the NBA. A guy who revolutionized the way the sport was played. A guy with the most unblockable shot anyone has ever seen and a guy who scored the most career points of any player who has ever played. The 7’2″ Abdul-Jabbar, who came to Milwaukee as Lew Alcindor, averaged in excess of 27 points and 14 rebounds per game in every single one of his six seasons in a purple uniform. Unfortunately, as is consistently the case for the Milwaukee Bucks, all good things must come to an end and in this particular instance, far too soon. At age 27, Abdul-Jabbar forced a trade to the Los Angeles Lakers, where he would continue his career trajectory as the greatest center to ever play and lead a different franchise to five additional titles. Par for the course for the this franchise.
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