The 50 Greatest Players in Milwaukee Bucks History

15. Ricky Pierce – Big Paper Daddy

The Stats: Eight seasons played in Milwaukee. 16.5/2.7/2.0/0.8/0.2 on 51.6/30.5/86.5.

The Accolades: Won NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 1987 and 1990. Made the All-Star team in 1991 despite starting just two games all season. 11th all-time in points scored among all Bucks. Led the 1987 Bucks in win shares. 

The Breakdown: Good teams have really good starting lineups. Great teams have great starting talent, and great guys off of the bench. Ricky Pierce helped keep the Bucks a great team throughout the late 1980s. Milwaukee never missed the playoffs with Pierce around, despite transitioning from Don Nelson to Del Harris about halfway through his Milwaukee tenure.

Pierce started just a tenth of his 460 games as a Buck, and that’s actually what makes him so great. He accepted and embraces his bench role, and was recognized for it, making an All-Star team once and winning Sixth Man of the Year twice in his time with the Bucks.

Although his stats don’t jump out thanks to his mere 26 minutes per game, the NBA community at the time obviously recognized Pierce’s greatness off of the bench. Bucks fans would be wise to do the same.

Next: Number 14