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Milwaukee Bucks: Greatest Rivalry Dead And Forgotten?

By Adam McGee

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Rivalries are one of the most important components of professional sport. It’s that competitive fire and battle of wills between teams and fanbases that often evokes the best of the passionate and tribalistic elements of the games we love. Who is the Milwaukee Bucks greatest rival though?

Over the past couple of weeks at Bucks.com on on the team’s official social media accounts that’s exactly what they have been looking to establish too.

Coming off the back of a competitive playoff series with their I-94 neighbors, it’s no surprise that the Chicago Bulls are the team that instantly comes to mind.

They were the team that Wisconsinites had to watch (along with the rest of the country) dominate the NBA during the 90’s. That helped to breed it’s own jealousies, as well as fueling a rivalry that was already a natural fit due to the proximity of the two states and the two teams regular meetings in the Central Division.

Truman Reed noted in his piece on the team’s website analyzing the shared history between the two franchises, the reasons why he and many others would feel Bucks’ rivalries can’t get bigger than Chicago:

"It is doubtful that the Bucks will ever develop a more consistently intense rivalry than the one shared since their inception with their closest NBA neighbors, the Chicago Bulls. The two cities are separated by just 90 miles, and the teams have been perpetual division rivals."

It seems most of you Bucks fans agreed too, as that’s how the Twitter vote played out as well.

There are of course other rivals though. Alex Boeder broke down some of the teams that could be in for really competitive battles over the next few years.

Other Eastern Conference teams with young cores like Orlando and Philadelphia were obvious inclusions, as were the teams in the West who are also lucky enough to be blessed with some of the league’s best young talent too, such as Minnesota and New Orleans.

Then of course, there’s another Central Divsion foe in the form of the Detroit Pistons.

A couple of weeks ago, our own Ti Windisch explored the potential for that rivalry to surge back to relevance, and the reasons he suggested are undeniable.

Of course there’s the familiarity that NBA divisions naturally create, two teams with young and developing talent, but then there’s also the factor that there has been significant personnel crossover between both teams too.

And then that got me thinking about another team who might actually be the Bucks’ biggest rival. A franchise who, for a whole host of reasons, Bucks fans could feel a lot of animosity towards.

There’s only one problem though; the Seattle Supersonics (in that past incarnation) are no longer really an active NBA franchise.

Why should the Supersonics be considered a real Bucks rival? Let me see, where do I even begin?

The number of players that both franchise’s history shares between the 80’s, 90’s and early 00’s is truly remarkable, and we’re not just talking about run of the mill journeymen either.

Of course, most famously of all might be the fact that Seattle was the team that Ray Allen was traded to back in 2003 in a deal that marked a real watershed moment for the Bucks.

To add further bad feeling for Milwaukee fans, Gary Payton who became a Buck in that deal would go down to be a real villain in Bucks history too.

Having been a legendary figure in Seattle, Payton only played 28 games for Milwaukee before skipping town in free agency to join the Los Angeles Lakers.

Aside from Allen and Payton, there have been a whole host more of high profile names to play on both sides of the divide. Vin Baker, Jack Sikma, Ricky Pierce, Desmond Mason, Frank Brickowski, Terry Cummings and Dale Ellis are evidence of that.

With the two teams playing in the opposite conferences, there might not be the type of post-season history that rival clashes often have, but that doesn’t mean that the teams didn’t share some epic battles.

Most notably, in 1989 the Bucks and Supersonics shared a five overtime classic that finished 155-154, with Milwaukee prevailing after 73 minutes of play.

More than any player or game from the past that could have stoked the fires though, more recent events have ensured that Milwaukee and Seattle have the potential to hold an NBA rivalry like no other.

The Bucks look set to come out on the right side of a long and arduous battle to build a new arena and keep their team in Milwaukee. Throughout that process, lurking in the shadows wishing ill-intent and ready to pounce has been the city and fans of Seattle though.

It’s understandable that Seattle wants an NBA team again, and for their contribution to the game it could be argued that they deserve that much. Having gone through the pain of seeing their team leave, how could they wish that same fate on another city though?

Well, that’s what many people associated with Seattle did.

It led to Facebook pages being setup to support the idea, Twitter accounts to rally support, and countless articles like this one from a desperate fanbase on “Bucks Watch”.

Bucks fans should hope that Seattle, and the Supersonics, make a return to the NBA. It would be good for basketball and it could certainly grow into one of the league’s more heated rivalries. Saying that, if it doesn’t happen via expansion, it seems unlikely that many Bucks fans would like to see any city lose their franchise to Seattle.

In the meantime, the Bucks will be winning, and the people of Milwaukee will be waiting, for a chance to square off with their Emerald City foes once again.

Next: Milwaukee Bucks Announce Pre-Season Schedule

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