The 50 Greatest Players in Milwaukee Bucks History

14. Brian Winters – The Smooth Shooter

The Stats: Eight seasons played in Milwaukee. 16.7/2.7/4.3/1.2/0.3 on 47.8/36.3/84.3.

The Accolades: Made the All-Star team in 1976 and 1978. Had his number 32 retired by the Milwaukee Bucks. 

The Breakdown: Part of the return haul the Bucks got when they traded Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Brian Winters was a great Buck for the late 1970s and early 1980s. Of course Winters could never live up to Kareem (who could?), but he still played a part on some really good Bucks teams.

Milwaukee struggled for the first part of his Bucks tenure. Of course, it took a little while to properly get things moving again after moving the franchise cornerstone. But by 1980 the Don Nelson train was really rolling, and the Bucks would make the playoffs 12 straight years.

Of course Winters wasn’t around for all of them–he retired in 1983–but through his strong scoring performances and determination the Bucks were able to regroup after losing one of the greatest players ever and become great again themselves. Not all of that is due to Winters, but he certainly deserves some credit for his role in the Bucks staying relevant in the 1970s.

Next: Number 13