Milwaukee Bucks All-Time Team: Giannis Looms Large Over Cream City Basketball

The championships in 1971 and 2021 dominate the landscape of Bucks history, but I’ve long felt an appreciation for the interregnum period. With Marques Johnson leading the charge in the late 70s, then Moncrief and Pressey taking over in the 80s, Ray Allen and Glenn Robinson emerging in the late 90s and early 00s, and Michael Redd in the late 00s, the Bucks have had fruitful periods of exciting and eye-catching basketball that didn’t result in titles. That combination of fleeting championship success and constant contention that falls just short makes for an unexpectedly fun all-time team to craft, populated with underappreciated stars and long-serving role players. As a result, this is one of the few teams where the non-locks were more fun to parse out than the locks!

• As a reminder, the one wrinkle for these franchise all-time teams is that players are permitted to appear for only one franchise. I strive to make these teams reflective of general fan and media perception, though it’s unavoidable that my own subjective opinion seeps in too

Buck Locks

• Giannis Antetokounmpo
• Marques Johnson
• Khris Middleton
• Sidney Moncrief

There should be no surprises here. Giannis is already an all-time great and has spent his entire career with the Bucks. Moncrief spent all but one season of his career in Milwaukee and arguably reached the highest peak of any Buck not named Giannis or Kareem (or Lew!). Middleton is no longer with the Bucks, but it’s extremely unlikely that he matches either the accolades he achieved as a Buck or the twelve total seasons he spent as a Buck. And Marques Johnson did spend three productive seasons away from the Bucks playing with the Clippers, including one All-Star appearance, but far more of his career occurred in Milwaukee, as well as the bulk of his accolades.

Bucks Locks Despite Other Franchise Claims

Now this is where things get interesting! These three players are unquestionably among the greatest Bucks of all time. However, they each spent comparable or lengthier amounts of time with other franchises and/or achieved comparable or more team success or individual success with other franchises. In each case, I decided that the player was most well-suited to represent the Bucks and I lay out the rationale below, but this is very subjective!

• Ray Allen — This was the toughest call of the bunch. I picked the Bucks for Allen because it feels like his time in Milwaukee was a blend of all the important considerations, even if his time with the Bucks didn’t stand out in one particular area. For example, although he didn’t win a championship in Milwaukee like he did in Boston and Miami, he still performed as the star player on very good and competitive Bucks teams. And although he didn’t reach his pinnacle as a player in Milwaukee like he did in Seattle in the mid-00s, he was still one of the best players in the league and earned All-Star and All-NBA distinctions as a Buck. And although he achieved a peak degree of notoriety in Boston as part of the big three there, he was also very popular as a young face of the league with the Bucks. Taking all this into consideration, as well as the fact that he spent most of his career in Milwaukee, playing nearly 150 games more for the Bucks than any other team, I feel like the Bucks are the right call for him.
• Terry Cummings — Cases could be made for Cummings to represent the Spurs or the Clippers, but he achieved both of his All-Star selections as a Buck, his only All-NBA selections as a Buck, his only finish in the top five of MVP voting as a Buck, and he spent most of his career as a Buck.
• Bob Dandridge — Dandridge achieved his individual peak as a player in the 1978–79 and 79–80 seasons while with the Bullets. In those two years, he won a championship and earned his only All-NBA and All-Defensive Team selections. However, Dandridge played nearly 400 more games for the Bucks than the Bullets, he also won a championship in Milwaukee, and he had a longer period of sustained greatness with the Bucks, including three All-Star selections, than the comparatively briefer peak he achieved in Washington.

Notable Bucks Designated to Other Teams

Legends like Bob Lanier, Damian Lillard, and Jack Sikma spent time at the end of their careers with the Bucks but weren’t there long enough to warrant any true consideration to represent them. And Alvin Robertson made an All-Star team as a Buck but was designated as a Spur due to having played more of his career there and earning more accolades there. However, there are four other big names that deserve a deeper explanation for their omissions.

• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — The second greatest Buck ever apart from Giannis, Kareem would undoubtedly make any Bucks all-time team if there were no restrictions on franchise representation. Kareem dominated the league during his six seasons as a Buck, winning three MVPs and one championship and averaging 30/15/4/3. All that being said, there is no doubt that Kareem is primarily remembered as a Laker more so than a Buck.
• Sam Cassell — Cassell remains one of the toughest players to sort out. He won championships with the Rockets as a role player and achieved his only individual accolades with the Timberwolves, while his time with the Bucks is sort of a happy middle ground between the two — He was an important player but not a star on successful teams but not championship teams. In the end, I decided to place him with the Wolves based on his individual peak occurring with that franchise, but I don’t feel great about it. It’s unlikely he would’ve made the Bucks all-time team anyway.
• Oscar Robertson — Oscar is similar to Lanier, Lillard, and Sikma in that his Bucks tenure occurred at the end of a long career and a prime spent with a separate franchise, though he achieved much more team success during his brief run with the Bucks and, like Kareem, would likely be on most iterations of an all-time Bucks team without representation restrictions. Robertson won a championship as a Buck and made one All-NBA Second Team, but his prominent run with the Royals over the course of a decade prior to joining the Bucks takes priority, even if it didn’t result in a championship.
• Brook Lopez — Here’s how I previously described Lopez in the Brooklyn Nets all-time team article: “I initially figured Lopez would be a no-brainer Net, but the more I thought about it, the more I found myself leaning towards Brook Lopez representing the Milwaukee Bucks. I feel that Lopez’s title with the Bucks will be the most memorable aspect of his career and… he doesn’t have any notable Nets moments to his name. He played more of his career with the Nets, but his GP total with the Bucks is steadily rising and closing the gap [with his departure from Milwaukee in the 2025 offseason, Lopez’s GP total with the Bucks is 93 behind the Nets]. However, I ultimately settled on a single off-court element that swayed me back to the Nets. Lopez is currently the all-time leading scorer in Nets history. His status in that regard, even if it’s little more than trivia, ties him to the team in a significant way.” In hindsight, I still agree with this assessment. The championship with the Bucks is obviously the zenith of his career, but his status as one of the best Nets ever still takes priority in my eyes.

Players For Consideration

• Lucius Allen — 303 GP, 1 Championship
• Vin Baker¹ — 324 GP, 1 All-NBA selection, 3 All-Star selections
• Andrew Bogut² — 408 GP, 1 All-NBA selection, top ten in rebounds and blocks
• Junior Bridgeman — 711 GP, 2 Conference Finals appearances, top ten in games played, minutes, and points, number retired by team
• Quinn Buckner³ — 461 GP, 4 All-Defensive Team selections, franchise leader in steals, top ten in assists
• Jrue Holiday⁴ — 193 GP, 1 Championship, 1 All-Star selection, 3 All-Defensive Team selections
• Ersan İlyasova — 583 GP, top ten in games played and rebounds
• Jon McGlocklin — 595 GP, 1 Championship, 1 All-Star selection, top ten in games played and win shares, number retired by team
• Ricky Pierce⁵ — 460 GP, 1 Conference Finals appearance, 2 Sixth Man of the Year wins
• Bobby Portis — 336 GP, 1 Championship
• Paul Pressey — 580 GP, 3 Conference Finals appearances, 3 All-Defensive Team selections, top ten in games played, assists, steals, and win shares
• Michael Redd — 578 GP, 1 All-NBA selection, 1 All-Star selection, top ten in games played, minutes, points, and win shares
• Flynn Robinson — 146 GP, 1 All-Star selection
• Glenn Robinson — 568 GP, 1 Conference Finals appearance, 2 All-Star selections, top ten in minutes, points, rebounds, and steals
• Brian Winters — 582 GP, 1 Conference Finals appearance, 2 All-Star selections, top ten in games played, minutes, points, assists, and steals, number retired by team

This was one of the easier all-time teams to round out thus far. All four of Junior Bridgeman, Jon McGlocklin, Paul Pressey, and Michael Redd could very easily be in the lock category. I opted not to place them there simply because they aren’t quite of the same star caliber of the seven aforementioned selected players, but each of these four remains beloved by the fanbase, achieved significant personal accolades with the team, played for long stretches with the team, and, with the exception of Redd, experienced significant team success as a Buck. Each of them undeniably must be included in my eyes.

The final spot was tougher though. I strongly considered Jrue Holiday but ultimately decided that it was too much a result of recency bias and, despite the championship, that the 193 games played was too low of a number to warrant inclusion. I strongly considered, and subsequently omitted, Lucius Allen for the same reasons. I also initially considered Vin Baker due to his individual accolades, but his lack of team success and comparatively brief tenure, resulting in the Sonics also having a claim for him to represent them, resulted in him getting crossed off my list too.

Instead, the final spot boiled down to Glenn Robinson and Brian Winters. Each has two all-star appearances as a Buck, each played eight seasons as a Buck with minimal time spent with other teams, and each helped spearhead deep playoff runs with the team. They’re very similar cases, though I gave the edge to Winters for the simple fact that he has his number retired by the franchise, whereas Robinson does not.

• PG — Sidney Moncrief SG —Ray Allen SF — Khris Middleton PF — Marques Johnson C — Giannis Antetokounmpo B — Junior Bridgeman B — Terry Cummings B — Bob Dandridge B — Jon McGlocklin B — Paul Pressey B — Michael Redd B — Brian Winters

Potential changes on the Horizon

The only active player who can continue to build their case for inclusion is Bobby Portis. However, given that his case relies more on team success and fan appreciation than stat accumulation and accolades, I think Portis’ likelihood is dependent on experiencing at least one more deep playoff run to the Finals or Conference Finals and a few more seasons to crack the top ten of career games played. It feels like a long shot, but it’s possible.

Apart from that, I doubt that Myles Turner or Kyle Kuzma will contribute enough or stick around long enough to have a better case to represent the Bucks than their previous franchises, and I don’t expect their young players like AJ Green and Andre Jackson to blossom into big enough roles to eventually challenge for a spot.

25 Years Ago

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, and Michael Redd would not have been on an All-Time Bucks team in 2000, though Ray Allen is an interesting case. In the 2000 offseason, he would’ve just completed his fourth season with the team and collected his first All-Star recognition, while establishing himself as a popular star in the league. Although he did not have any playoff success at that point and would and would’ve had just 296 total games with the club. My gut tells me that he still would’ve made it on to an all-time team in 2000 given how popular he was, so I’ll keep him listed, but I’m not confident about that.

Replacing Giannis, Middleton, and Redd, I expect that Glenn Robinson and Ricky Pierce would be two obvious choices, with the final spot going to either Quinn Buckner or Lucius Allen. Buckner played with the team much longer, but I lean towards Allen mostly due to his role on the championship team in 1971.

Footnotes

¹ Baker played five seasons with Seattle as opposed to just four with Milwaukee, but injuries, the 1999 lockout, and off-court issues resulted in him playing just about the same number of games for the former (326) as the latter (324). Given that Baker also had a better and longer run of good form with the Bucks, I feel that he’s better suited as a Buck.

² Bogut spent far more time with the Bucks than the Warriors, but he was a key contributor to the 2015 Warriors championship squad and achieved his only All-Defensive Team recognition in Golden State. I still feel that the Bucks are a better option though given how much longer he spent there and his only All-NBA recognition occurring there.

³ Like Bogut, Buckner spent most of his career with the Bucks but went on to play an important defensive role on a championship team at the end of his career, in Buckner’s case being the 1984 Celtics, though I kept Buckner with the Bucks for much the same logic as I applied to Bogut.

⁴ Holiday could be claimed by the 76ers, Pelicans, Celtics, or Bucks. Given how bad both the 76ers and Pelicans (with the exception of the 2018 team) were during his time with those clubs, and given the fact that he didn’t emerge as a star until the last few years of his tenure with the Pelicans, I decided not to go with either of those teams and instead focus on his more memorable and successful, if briefer runs with the Bucks and Celtics. He played a bit longer with the Bucks than Celtics and earned more individual accolades as a Buck than Celtic, so I went with the Bucks.

⁵ Pierce’s run with the Sonics deserves a mention, though there was no doubt that he’d represent the Bucks.