Milwaukee Bucks: All-Time Greatest 15 Man Roster

Michael Redd – Third String

Words by Jordan Treske

It’s hard to strike it rich in the second round of the NBA draft.

We’ve seen recent success stories recently with Draymond Green and the Bucks’ very own Khris Middleton respectively, but for the most part, it’s hard to envision a second round player becoming more than a league average starter.

With that said, that’s what makes the story of Michael Redd all the more special.

Redd, the 43rd overall pick in the 2000 NBA draft, was looked at to be nothing more than a reserve when he initially joined the team, especially when you consider the team had a future hall-of-famer in Ray Allen starting at shooting guard.

However, Redd showcased his high work ethic right off the bat and following his rookie year where he saw little playing time, he started to see more minutes come his way as well as showing off his ability to shoot the ball from all areas of the floor and became the team’s sixth man.

That’s why Redd’s growth as a player must have been a factor in the shocking decision to send Allen to the Seattle Sonics in a deadline deal during the 2002-03 season, a trade which also saw another hall-of-famer in Gary Payton come to Milwaukee.

While the decision to send a keystone player in Allen away was and has been a lingering “what if?” for the franchise, Redd, to his credit, immediately stepped up in terms of production as well as being a leader in the locker room.

The 2003-04 season saw Redd earn his only all-star appearance, the last all-star appearance for the team as of this writing, as well as being voted to the all-NBA third team.

The following few seasons, Redd reached scoring numbers well over 20 points per game, with his career best coming in the 2006-07 season with 26.7 points per game.

That same season also Redd pass a team milestone when he scored 57 points in a game (with 42 of them coming in the 2nd half), in an early November game versus the Utah Jazz, the most points ever in a game in franchise history.

What makes the game symbolic, however, is that while Redd’s individual performance was spectacular, it also came in a losing fashion.

Throughout his Bucks tenure, Redd saw a lot of individual success (including being a part of the U.S. gold medal team during the 2008 Olympics), but team success proved to be elusive, as Redd only experienced 3 winning seasons and only 2 winning playoff series’ (from the “Big 3” Bucks era) throughout his 11 seasons in Milwaukee.

Redd’s latter seasons in Milwaukee were filled with injuries, including suffering a torn ACL and MCL in the same knee two years in a row.  While Redd was able to come back from those devastating injuries, the Bucks decided to move on without Redd following the 2010-11 season.

Although Redd didn’t officially end his career with the Bucks, Redd made his mark on the franchise with his special ability to score in a variety of ways and stands fourth on the Bucks all-time scoring list with 11,154 points, good for 20 points per game throughout his Bucks career.

Next: Marques Johnson