The Milwaukee Bucks are a professional basketball team in the National Basketball Association (the NBA).  The Milwaukee Bucks play in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference with four other teams: the Detroit Pistons, the Chicago Bulls, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Indiana Pacers.  Bucks tickets will surely be hard to come by during the 2010-2011 NBA schedule.

Bucks 2009-2010 Outlook

The Milwaukee Bucks had one of the most surprisingly good seasons for any NBA team during the 2009-2010 campaign.  Brandon Jennings emerged as a legitimate point guard in the NBA with his exciting style of play (Jennings led the team with 5.7 assists per game and was 3rd on the team in scoring with a 15.5 points per game average).  Power Forward Andrew Bogut re-invented his NBA play under the tutelage of Head Coach Scott Skiles (Bogut led the team with 10.2 rebounds per game and was 2nd on the team with a 15.9 points per game average).  And the stellar play of Ersan Ilyasova (10.2 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per game) caught everyone by surprise as he continued to get better and better as the season progressed.  The mid-season trade that sent Hakim Warrick to the division-rival Chicago Bulls for shooting guard John Salmons gave the Bucks the consistent scorer they needed all season long.  Salmons ended up leading the Bucks in scoring with his 19.9 points per game average. 

The Bucks finished the season 10 games over .500 with a 46-36 record, good for the 6th seed in the Eastern Conference.  The Bucks took the Atlanta Hawks to the brink of elimination, but ended up losing in Game 7 in Atlanta.  Skiles and the rest of the Bucks are confident they can be even better in 2010-2011.  While the rest of the league shed salary in order to try to land one of the "big" 2010 free agents - - the Bucks focused on keeping Salmons, Bogut and Jennings happy.  They also went out and landed Drew Gooden and Corey Maggette to help the team's depth.  Michael Redd is also still a part of the Bucks core, although he never seems to be able to avoid a serious injury during the course of the grueling NBA season.  The Bucks will certainly be a favorite to take the Central Division crown now that they don't have to worry about Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers capturing the division crown.  If the Bucks can hold off the Chicago Bulls and Cavs to claim the Central Division, they would lock up the coveted 3rd seed in the Eastern Conference and have home court advantage through at least the 1st round of the playoffs.  Get your Bucks NBA tickets at the Bradley Center before it's too late.

History

The Milwaukee Bucks joined the ranks of the NBA in 1968.  The team only won 26 games in its 1st year in the league, but because of that, they were awarded the coveted first overall pick in the 1967 draft, a pick that would land them the future Hall of Famer Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul Jabbar).  In the 1969-1970 season, Alcindor was named the NBA Rookie of the Year and the Bucks made the playoffs for the 1st time in the franchise’s short history.  The following year, the Bucks added future Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson to their roster in a move that would prove fruitful for the 3rd year franchise.  During the 1970-1971 season, the Milwaukee Bucks won 66 games and swept the Baltimore Bullets in the NBA Finals to record the franchise’s first and only NBA Championship.  The Milwaukee Bucks became the fastest expansion team in any of the 4 major sports (MLB professional baseball, NFL professional football, NHL professional hockey and NBA professional basketball) to win that league’s championship.  Jabbar and Robertson would help lead the Bucks to the playoffs in each of the next 3 seasons, but the Bucks would lose to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Eastern Conference Finals in 1972, to the Golden State Warriors in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in 1973 and to the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals in 1974.  That would be the last time the Milwaukee Bucks would advance to the NBA Finals. 

After the 1974-1975 season, the Milwaukee Bucks traded Jabbar to the Los Angeles Lakers for 4 talented players, but the team would never recapture the magic needed to win another NBA Championship.  In the late 1970’s and through the 1980’s, the Bucks were lead by head coach Don Nelson and several talented players: Marques Johnson, Kent Benson, Mark Grunfeld, Sidney Moncrief, Bob Lanier, Paul Pressey, Craig Hodges, Terry Cummings and Ricky Pierce.   During this time, the Milwaukee Bucks were one of the most successful franchises in the NBA, with 11 consecutive winning seasons and 6 consecutive Midwest division titles from 1980 through 1986.  The Milwaukee Bucks were one of only three teams during the 1980’s to have an overall winning record throughout the decade, the other 2 being the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers.  The Milwaukee Bucks could never turn that success into a trip to the NBA Finals, however, as the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers eliminated the Bucks from the Eastern Conference playoffs each year from 1981 through 1987.

After minimal success in the 1990’s, the Milwaukee Bucks advanced to the NBA playoffs 6 out of 8 years from 1999 through 2006.  However, the Milwaukee Bucks only advanced past the 1st round once, losing to the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals in 2001.    

The Milwaukee Bucks have retired the following players’ numbers:  Oscar Robertson’s #1; Junior Bridgeman’s #2; Sidney Moncrief’s #4; Jon McGlocklin’s #14; Bob Lanier’s #16; Brian Winters’ #32; and Kareem Abdul Jabbar’s #33.

Bucks TV/Radio

All Milwaukee Bucks basketball games can be seen on the Fox Sportsnet television networks in the greater Wisconsin area.  NBC, ESPN and TNT may also televise Milwaukee Bucks games based on the popularity of the game.  Tune into Newsradio 620 WTMJ on your AM dial to catch each Milwaukee Bucks basketball game on the radio.

The Milwaukee Bucks play their home games at the Bradley Center.  The Bradley Center opened in 1988.  In addition to hosting Milwaukee Bucks NBA home games, the Bradley Center also hosts all of the home college basketball games for the Marquette University Golden Eagles, and all of the home professional hockey games for the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League.  The Bradley center holds a seating capacity of 18,717 devoted die-hard Milwaukee Bucks fans.  The Bradley Center has also played host to numerous memorable and historic concerts and special events during its 20 year history.

Stadium: Bradley Center
                 1001 N. Fourth Street
                 Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53203

www.nba.com/bucks
www.bradleycenter.com

2007-2008 Bucks
2009-2010 Bucks