Milwaukee Bucks: Ranking Top 10 Draft Picks In Franchise History

Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

#9 – Paul Pressey

Pressey, who now serves as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers, was an integral part of some great 80s Bucks teams under Don Nelson. Nellie led those Bucks to the Eastern Conference Finals a few separate times, but unfortunately he and Pressey never made it to the NBA Finals.

Still though, Pressey deserves acclaim for being a crucial part of those exciting Bucks teams. His per game statistics aren’t crazy, but he did a lot of ball-handling for those teams and was solid at it. And he also potentially created the term point forward, although another member of this list would dispute that story!

No matter who created the term, Pressey embodied the point forward ideal. In Nelson’s forward-thinking scheme, Pressey led Milwaukee in assists for five straight seasons, from 1985-89. Pressey also leads all Bucks in all-time assists, with a whopping 3,272.

Pressey was a steal for the Bucks at the 20th overall pick back in 1982. Getting a player of his caliber in the draft despite winning 55 games the season before was huge for the Bucks of the mid-80s, and for the franchise in general. He isn’t the highest ranked draft steal in this piece, though…

Next: Round One, Pick 15, 2013