5. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Trade
Words by Ti Windisch
One of the darkest days in franchise history was July 16th, 1975. The Milwaukee Bucks dealt Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Junior Bridgeman, Dave Myers, Elmore Smith and Brian Winters.
Kareem wanted out of Milwaukee, despite winning a championship here. He went on to win five more in Los Angeles. The Bucks have not returned to the NBA Finals since.
Does it help to receive some very good players in return for Kareem? Not really. He’s probably the best basketball player of all time, looking at his amazing success in high school, college and the NBA. But what’s done is done, I suppose.
Next: 4. New Arena Go-Ahead