Milwaukee Bucks: Forget The 70s, The 1980s Was Milwaukee’s Golden Age

In our latest editorial, Ti Windisch argues that the 1980s was the golden age of Milwaukee Bucks basketball.

Everybody who loves the Milwaukee Bucks loves the fact that the Bucks won a title in 1971. It was the highest peak in franchise history, without a doubt.

But just because the 70s was when the Bucks won their only championship shouldn’t automatically make it the premier decade in Milwaukee Bucks history. Mostly because it wasn’t.

As great as it was when Kareem won the Bucks that title, it completely sucked when he forced his way out of town, which also happened in the 1970s. The early 70s were a time of great success for the Bucks–the rest of the decade was not.

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Milwaukee recorded four losing seasons in the 1970s (defined here as from 1969-70 to 1978-79). They recorded zero in the 80s. I’m not actually arguing that the 1970s wasn’t a great part of Bucks history or that it should be remembered less often, just that the 80s deserve more recognition.

The Milwaukee Bucks didn’t have a single season under .500 in the 1980s. The first season qualifying as in the 80s was the 1979-80 season, which featured a Bucks team with young stars like Marques Johnson, Sidney Moncrief and Quinn Buckner.

Some older players were around too, including Junior Bridgeman, Bob Lanier and Brian Winters. That’s a ton of talent, and it showed when just one season later the Bucks won 60 games.

That’s a lower peak than the Bucks team that won 66 games and a title ten years prior, but here’s the difference–the Milwaukee Bucks of the 1980s survived losing their star players. They rebuilt instantly.

In the 1986-87 season there was no Marques Johnson, no Buckner, no Lanier and no Winters. Bridgeman played just 34 games and Moncrief played 39. The Bucks still won 50 games and forced a game seven against a Larry Bird-led Celtics team in the second round.

Newer Bucks like Terry Cummings, Ricky Pierce and John Lucas stepped in, and they kept Milwaukee’s NBA stock high.

The 1980s Bucks never missed the playoffs or won less than 42 games in a season, whereas the squads in the 70s missed qualifying for the postseason three different times.

The Bucks won an average of 52.2 games per season in the 1980s, compared to 49.2 wins per season in the 70s. Those early 1970s teams were the best ever in Bucks history, but in terms of consistency no decade can touch the 1980s.

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Milwaukee may have lost out on hosting any championship parades in the 80s, but the city was home to playoff basketball every single year and there was always a strong team with standout players to root for.

Consider this–Milwaukee was in the playoffs for ten out of ten seasons during the 1980s. In the 27 seasons since the 80s ended, the Bucks have made the playoffs 11 times.

Over a third of the Bucks 28 playoff appearances in franchise history happened during the 1980s. Although the era is often overlooked because no rings were won during it, there’s no question it was the best stretch of Bucks basketball to ever happen.

Next: How Dr. J Spurned The Bucks

It’s time to stop overlooking the 80s in favor of the Bucks squads from the early 1970s. There’s room in Milwaukee Bucks history for both eras.