Milwaukee Bucks

• 1. Introduction

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  The Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 50 points in Game 6 of the 2021 NBA Finals at Fiserv Forum. The Bucks won 105-98 to claim their second NBA championship. Their first had come exactly 50 years before. Between those two titles lies a story of a coin flip that built a dynasty. A trade that many rank as one of the most lopsided in basketball history also figures in. So does a genuine threat of relocation that nearly sent the franchise to Las Vegas or Seattle. The road from expansion team to champion, and from champion to near-ruin and back again, is worth following closely. One thing to know at the outset: the franchise nearly received a very different name.

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• 2. Names and Coin Flips

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  On the 22nd of January 1968, the NBA awarded a franchise to Milwaukee Professional Sports and Services, Inc. The group was headed by Wesley Pavalon and Marvin Fishman. A naming contest followed, drawing more than 40,000 fan entries. The submission that received the most votes was the Robins, named for Wisconsin's state bird. The contest judges overruled the popular choice. They went with the second-most popular submission: the Bucks, a reference to Wisconsin's official wild animal, the white-tailed deer.

  R. D. Trebilcox was awarded a new car for his part in making the case for that name. He had argued that bucks were "spirited, good jumpers, fast and agile." The team's arrival also marked Milwaukee's return to NBA basketball after a 13-year absence. A previous franchise, the Hawks, had played four seasons in the city during the early 1950s before relocating to St. Louis in 1955.

  The Bucks played their first NBA regular-season game against the Chicago Bulls before a crowd of 8,467 at Milwaukee Arena. Their first victory came in their sixth game, a 134-118 defeat of the Detroit Pistons. They won only 26 more games that year. That modest record gave them a coin flip against the Phoenix Suns for the first overall pick in the upcoming draft. It was considered a foregone conclusion that the pick would be Lew Alcindor of UCLA. The Bucks won the coin flip. Securing Alcindor still required winning a bidding war against the New York Nets of the rival American Basketball Association.

  Oscar Robertson of the Cincinnati Royals would arrive as Alcindor's running mate within two seasons, adding a second future Hall of Famer to the Milwaukee roster.

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• 3. Robertson and the Ring

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  With Lew Alcindor in the lineup, the 1969-70 Bucks went 56-26, second-best in the entire league. The 29-game improvement from their first year was the best single-season turnaround in NBA history at the time. It stood as the record for a decade, until the Boston Celtics jumped from 29 wins in 1978-79 to 61 the following season.

  Alcindor was a runaway choice for NBA Rookie of the Year. The Bucks reached the Eastern Conference finals, losing to the New York Knicks in five games. The following season, Milwaukee traded for Oscar Robertson, a veteran guard from the Cincinnati Royals. The Bucks, now in the Western Conference, finished 66-16. That win total was the second-most in NBA history at the time and remains the franchise record. A 20-game winning streak during the regular season also set an NBA record at the time.

  On the 30th of April 1971, the Bucks swept the Baltimore Bullets in four games to win their first NBA title. Their playoff record that year was 12-2. The title came in only the franchise's third season. Few expansion teams in North American professional sports had risen to champion so quickly.

  In 1972, Alcindor publicly announced that he had changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He had already converted to Islam privately. The Bucks reached the division finals but lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games. The following year brought their third consecutive 60-win season, the first NBA team to do so. Injuries led to an early playoff exit. The 1974 NBA Finals brought them against the Boston Celtics. In game six, Abdul-Jabbar made a sky hook shot in double-overtime, winning the game. The Bucks then lost game seven. They would not return to the NBA Finals for 47 years.

  The 1974-75 season began badly when Abdul-Jabbar suffered a hand injury. The Bucks fell to a 3-13 record before he returned and finished the year 38-44. After the season, Abdul-Jabbar announced he no longer wished to play in Milwaukee, wanting either Los Angeles or New York. The Bucks traded him to the Lakers on the 16th of June 1975, receiving Elmore Smith, Junior Bridgeman, Brian Winters, and David Meyers in return.

  Minority owner Jim Fitzgerald had opposed the trade. Two years later, in 1976, he would become part of the ownership group that purchased the franchise outright.

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• 4. Nelson, Moncrief, and Nowitzki

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  After being sold to Jim Fitzgerald and his partners in 1976, the Bucks entered a new period of success. Don Nelson became head coach in November of that year, following the abrupt resignation of Larry Costello. In the 1977 draft, the Bucks held three first-round picks and selected Kent Benson, Marques Johnson, and Ernie Grunfeld. Johnson became a reliable presence in Milwaukee for years. Rookie Sidney Moncrief made his debut in 1979.

  On the 18th of October 1977, a notable episode played out when former Buck Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, now with the Lakers, punched Benson during a game. Abdul-Jabbar was a martial arts black belt, but the punch broke his own hand. The NBA fined him $5,000. He missed the next 20 games. The Bucks eventually traded Benson to the Detroit Pistons in 1980 for veteran center Bob Lanier. With Lanier, they won the Midwest Division title that same year.

  Nelson won two NBA Coach of the Year awards with the Bucks, both in division-title seasons: 1983 and 1985. During those years and around them, the Bucks won six straight division titles. Their contributors included Moncrief, Marques Johnson, Paul Pressey, Junior Bridgeman, Craig Hodges, Terry Cummings, Ricky Pierce, and Jack Sikma. In 1983, the Bucks became the first team in NBA history to sweep the Boston Celtics in a best-of-seven playoff series. They were also the first team to defeat Michael Jordan in a playoff series, during Jordan's rookie year. The Celtics or the 76ers ended Milwaukee's run each time they reached the conference finals.

  From 1991 through 1998, the Bucks suffered a franchise-record seven straight losing seasons. They made the playoffs only three times during the 1990s and won just one playoff game in the entire decade. Coaches Frank Hamblen, Mike Dunleavy, and Chris Ford each took a turn without reversing the slide. Glenn Robinson arrived via the first overall pick of the 1994 NBA Draft. Ray Allen joined in 1996 through a draft-day trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

  The most significant personnel decision of this period came at the 1998 NBA draft. The Bucks selected Dirk Nowitzki with the ninth overall pick and immediately traded him to the Dallas Mavericks for Robert Traylor. Nowitzki played 21 seasons in Dallas, winning the championship in 2011 and being named Finals MVP. He also received the league's Most Valuable Player award in 2007. Many rank the swap as one of the most lopsided trades in basketball history. Traylor spent just two seasons in Milwaukee before joining the Cleveland Cavaliers.

  In 1998, the Bucks hired veteran coach George Karl, who had previously led the Seattle SuperSonics to the NBA Finals. Karl was brought in to restart the franchise's fortunes.

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• 5. Light It Up

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  Sam Cassell and Tim Thomas joined Ray Allen and Glenn Robinson to form what fans called the "big three": Allen, Cassell, and Robinson. General manager Ernie Grunfeld assembled the group under coach George Karl. The high-scoring offense they produced gave their era its nickname: the "Light It Up" years.

  The 2000-01 Bucks won 52 games and claimed their first division title in 15 years. They beat the Charlotte Hornets to reach the Eastern Conference Finals. There, they lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in seven games, falling one win short of an NBA Finals appearance.

  At the start of the 2001-02 season, following Karl's strong encouragement, the Bucks signed forward Anthony Mason. Mason struggled with his weight and had difficulty finding his role. Milwaukee collapsed in February and March, then lost to the Detroit Pistons on the final night of the regular season. That loss eliminated them from the playoffs and gave the division title to Detroit.

  Glenn Robinson was traded to Atlanta for Toni Kukoc and a first-round pick later used to select T. J. Ford. In the 2002-03 season, Ray Allen and backup Ronald "Flip" Murray were sent to Seattle for Gary Payton and Desmond Mason. Michael Redd took on a larger role and the Bucks finished 42-40. They lost in the first round of the playoffs to the New Jersey Nets in six games.

  Michael Redd, who became an All-Star in 2004, would be the franchise's leading figure in the years that followed. A 15th overall draft pick in 2013 would eventually change everything.

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• 6. Giannis and the Long Wait

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  On the 27th of June 2013, the Milwaukee Bucks selected Greek forward Giannis Antetokounmpo with the 15th overall pick of the NBA draft. The full season after that pick was a difficult one. The Bucks finished 15-67, the worst record in the league and the worst in franchise history.

  On the 16th of April 2014, long-time owner Herb Kohl agreed to sell a majority interest in the team. The buyers were Wes Edens and Marc Lasry, at a price of $550 million. The new owners pledged to keep the franchise in Milwaukee and contribute $100 million toward a new arena. The NBA had set a firm condition: have a new arena open or nearly complete by the 2017-18 season. Failing that, the league could sell the franchise to ownership groups in Las Vegas or Seattle.

  Ground was broken on a new arena on the 18th of June 2016. On the 19th of September 2016, Antetokounmpo signed a four-year, $100 million extension. Fiserv Forum opened to the public on the 26th of August 2018. Under new head coach Mike Budenholzer, the 2018-19 Bucks finished 60-22, the fifth 60-win season in franchise history and their first since 1980-81. They swept the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the playoffs on the 22nd of April 2019. They then eliminated Boston in five games. Antetokounmpo was named the league's Most Valuable Player after the season.

  On the 26th of August 2020, the Bucks' players refused to take the court against the Orlando Magic. They were responding to the police shooting of Jacob Blake. During a game against the Detroit Pistons on the 6th of January 2021, both teams took a knee. They held the ball for seven seconds, a reference to the seven gunshots Blake had received. That same off-season, Antetokounmpo signed a five-year, $228 million contract extension, then the largest in NBA history. The team traded Eric Bledsoe and George Hill to the New Orleans Pelicans for former All-Defense selection Jrue Holiday.

  In the 2021 playoffs, the Bucks swept the Miami Heat in the first round. They then defeated the Brooklyn Nets in seven games in the Conference Semifinals. The Brooklyn roster featured Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden. Milwaukee next beat the Atlanta Hawks in six games to reach their first NBA Finals since 1974. The Phoenix Suns were favored, having already eliminated the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers. The Bucks fell behind two games to none and came all the way back. Antetokounmpo averaged 35.2 points, 13.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.8 blocks across the series and was named Finals MVP. The 2021 title also made the Bucks the only franchise in NBA history to have won championships in both the Eastern and Western Conferences.

  On the 27th of September 2023, the Bucks acquired seven-time all-star Damian Lillard in a three-team trade. The team won its first NBA Cup on the 17th of December 2024, defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder in Las Vegas. Antetokounmpo was named the tournament's MVP. Lillard suffered a torn achilles in Game 4 of a 2024-25 first-round playoff series against the Indiana Pacers. The Bucks subsequently waived and stretched Lillard and signed Myles Turner from Indiana.

  On the 13th of October 2025, Alex Antetokounmpo joined the team on a two-way contract, making him teammates with Giannis and Thanasis. For the first time in NBA history, three brothers played on the same active roster.

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• 7. Bango's Remarkable Life

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  The word "Bango" was coined by Eddie Doucette, the longtime play-by-play announcer for the Bucks. He used it whenever a Milwaukee player connected on a long-range basket. Sharpshooter Jon McGlocklin was often the player who triggered the call.

  Bango became the official Bucks mascot on the 18th of October 1977, the home opener of the 1977-78 season. That game also featured former Buck Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who had returned to Milwaukee Arena with his Los Angeles Lakers. Bango's original outfit was a green wool sweater with the letter "B" on the front.

  Since the 1990s, Bango has worn a Bucks uniform bearing the number 68, a reference to the franchise's 1968 inaugural year. He has become a goodwill ambassador throughout Wisconsin, appearing at schools, parades, and festivals. Since 2001, Bango has also made perennial appearances at the NBA All-Star Game.

  Bango's most notable moment of physical drama came at the 2009 All-Star Weekend in Phoenix, Arizona. During a mascot skit, his right leg slipped through a basket's hoop and he fell through the rim entirely. He tore his ACL and spent part of the 2008-09 season appearing at games in a wheelchair.

  At the 2009 Mascot Challenge, a video of Bango's fall was uploaded to YouTube shortly after. Recovery did not dim his ambitions. In game four of the 2009-10 playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks, Bango climbed a 16-foot ladder. He then performed a back-flip dunk.

  In 2010, Bango was named Mascot of the Year. Cartoon Network gave him the title of "Most Awesome Mascot" the following year. He dunked while riding a human hamster wheel in 2012. He also made a behind-the-back half-court shot at the All-Star game in New Orleans. Bango appeared in ESPN commercials alongside Brandon Jennings in 2011 and Giannis Antetokounmpo in 2018.

  In 2013, Bango was featured in a Hulu original documentary series called Behind the Mask. The 20-episode series followed seven sports mascots inside and outside their costumes.

  Eddie Doucette, who gave Bango his name, co-founded the Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer Fund alongside former Buck Jon McGlocklin in 1976. The fund raises money for cancer research. Doucette served as the Bucks' original play-by-play voice from 1968 until 1984.

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