Milwaukee Bucks

• 1. The Deer And The Coin Flip

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  On the 22nd of January 1968, the National Basketball Association awarded a franchise to Milwaukee Professional Sports and Services, Inc. A group led by Wesley Pavalon and Marvin Fishman received this new team. Over 40,000 fans participated in a contest to name the squad. Most voters chose Robins for Wisconsin's state bird. Judges selected Bucks instead as the second-most popular entry. This name referenced the white-tailed deer, Wisconsin's official wild animal. R. D. Trebilcox won a car for explaining why bucks were spirited jumpers. The team returned to Milwaukee after thirteen years of absence. Their previous team, the Hawks, moved to St. Louis in 1955. On the 13th of October 1968, the Bucks played their first regular-season game against the Chicago Bulls. An audience of 8,467 watched at the Milwaukee Arena. That inaugural season proved difficult for the expansion club. They secured only twenty-six wins total. Their first victory arrived in their sixth game when they beat Detroit Pistons 134, 118. The poor record earned them a coin flip with the Phoenix Suns. The winner would receive the first pick in the upcoming draft. Lew Alcindor of UCLA was expected to be that top selection. The Bucks won the coin flip but had to outbid the New York Nets of the American Basketball Association. They successfully secured Alcindor.

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• 2. The Sky Hook And The Trade

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  With Alcindor on board, the Bucks finished 56, 26 in the 1969, 70 season. This marked a near-reversal from their inaugural year. A twenty-nine-game improvement stood as the best in league history for ten years. Alcindor won NBA Rookie of the Year honors easily. The following season brought Oscar Robertson via trade from Cincinnati Royals. The team now in the Western Conference posted sixty-six wins and sixteen losses. This second-most win total in NBA history included a then-record twenty-game winning streak. On the 30th of April 1971, they swept the Baltimore Bullets to claim their first championship. Winning in just their third season made them one of the fastest true expansion teams to win a title. In 1972, Alcindor publicly announced his name change to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He had privately converted to Islam earlier. The Bucks reached the finals three times during the early 1970s but lost each time. Injuries plagued the squad during the 1974, 75 campaign. Abdul-Jabbar suffered a hand injury and the team started 3, 13. After returning, other injuries piled up. They finished with a thirty-eight-win record. Abdul-Jabbar requested a move to Los Angeles or New York. The front office could not convince him to stay. On the 16th of June 1975, they traded him to the Lakers for Elmore Smith, Junior Bridgeman, Brian Winters, and David Meyers. Minority owner Jim Fitzgerald opposed this deal and wanted to sell his stock.

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• 3. The Kohl Era And Arena Shift

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  Fitzgerald sold the team to himself and partners in 1976 after health issues arose. Don Nelson became head coach in November 1976 following Larry Costello's resignation. The Bucks drafted Kent Benson and Marques Johnson in 1977. Johnson became a staple for years. Sidney Moncrief debuted as a rookie in 1979. Nelson won two Coach of the Year awards during division title seasons in 1983 and 1985. In 1980, Bob Lanier filled the hole left by Abdul-Jabbar. The franchise moved to the Eastern Conference Central Division. Milwaukee businessman Herb Kohl bought the team in 1985. He acted after fears that out-of-town investors might relocate the club. Before Kohl completed the transaction, Lloyd Pettit and Jane Bradley Pettit donated a new arena called the Bradley Center. Kohl announced in 2003 he would not sell to Michael Jordan. He chose to keep the team in Wisconsin. On the 21st of May 2012, naming rights went to BMO Harris Bank. The arena was renamed the BMO Harris Bradley Center. On the 16th of April 2014, Kohl agreed to sell a majority interest to Wes Edens and Marc Lasry for $550 million. Kohl retained a significant minority stake. Approval came from the NBA Board of Governors on May 15, one month later. The old Bradley Center was seen as obsolete. New owners pledged $100 million toward building a replacement. An ultimatum required them to open a new arena by the 2017, 18 season or return the franchise to the league.

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• 4. The Greek Freak And The Title

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  On the 27th of June 2013, the Bucks selected Giannis Antetokounmpo with the fifteenth overall pick. They finished the 2013, 14 season with a fifteen-win record, the worst in team history. On the 1st of July 2014, they secured coaching rights for Jason Kidd from the Brooklyn Nets. The team improved vastly under new leadership. By December 13, they matched their previous win total just thirty games into the season. From January 8 to February 30, they went twenty wins and two losses. This made them the first-ever NBA team to double their win total before the All-Star Break. On the 26th of August 2018, the new Fiserv Forum opened to the public. Mike Budenholzer became head coach that same year. The team raced out to a twenty-five-win start in 2018, 19. They finished sixty wins and twenty-two losses. This marked the fifth 60-win season in franchise history. In 2021, they defeated the Phoenix Suns to win their second championship. Antetokounmpo averaged 35.2 points per game in the series. He received Finals MVP honors after scoring fifty points in Game 6 at Fiserv Forum. He signed a five-year, $228 million contract extension during the offseason. This deal stood as the largest contract in NBA history. The Bucks won the 2024 NBA Cup by defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder on December 17.

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• 5. The Green And The Purple

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  In 1968, the Bucks entered wearing hunter green and white uniforms with red trim. White jerseys featured Bucks in green serifed letters with red block numbers. Green uniforms had Milwaukee in white serifed letters with red trim. Both sets displayed the deer head logo on the left leg. Prior to the 1971, 72 season, letters changed to red with green trim. The green uniform remained until 1973 when it got script Milwaukee lettering. Red was removed before the 1985, 86 season. Lime green became an accent color instead. The 1993, 94 season brought a new logo and purple uniforms. Green became a trim color while silver added as an accent. Former creative director Tom O'Grady claimed the scheme came from a mysterious FedEx package containing a dark green cap and purple shirt. In 2015, they unveiled new primary colors including Good Land green and Cream City cream. Blue and black joined the palette. On the 13th of April 2015, the team revealed these changes for the 2015, 16 season. The new home jersey stayed white while road uniforms turned green. Red replaced by cream appeared on the bottom left upside down. A gold tab commemorated championships in 1971 and 2021. The 2018, 19 City uniform paid homage to Robert Indiana's MECCA court.

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• 6. The Voice And The Vision

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  Since the 2007, 08 season, all non-national games aired exclusively on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin. In 2018, the Bucks agreed to a seven-year extension with that network. Prior to exclusivity, broadcasts split between Fox Sports Wisconsin and WCGV from 1999 to 2007. Before that, WVTV served as over-the-air partner from 1994 to 1999. Until his 2021 retirement, Jim Paschke called play-by-play since 1986. Jon McGlocklin provided color commentary from 1976 to 2018. Gus Johnson called selected games alongside Paschke from 2015 to 2018. Marques Johnson became permanent color commentator for the 2018, 19 season at Fiserv Forum. Eddie Doucette served as original voice from 1968 to 1984. He co-founded the Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer Fund in 1976. In 2021, Lisa Byington became lead TV play-by-play announcer. She was the first woman to hold this role in any men's professional league. On radio, the team has been carried by WTMJ throughout most of its history. Dave Koehn announces with Ben Brust providing color.

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