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Milwaukee Bucks: 49 years in 49 days – 1985-86 season

By Ti Windisch

BOSTON, MA - 1986: Dennis Johnson #3 of the Boston Celtics drives to the basket against the basket against Sidney Moncrief #4 of the Milwaukee Bucks during a game circa 1986 at the Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1986 NBAE (Photo by Dick Raphael/NBAE via Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - 1986: Dennis Johnson #3 of the Boston Celtics drives to the basket against the basket against Sidney Moncrief #4 of the Milwaukee Bucks during a game circa 1986 at the Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1986 NBAE (Photo by Dick Raphael/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Milwaukee Bucks locked in most of their previous year’s squad for the 1985-86 season, and it paid off for the team’s success.

The season: 1985-86

The record: 57-25

The postseason: 7-7, lost in Conference Finals

The story:

The Milwaukee Bucks found a ton of success in the 1984-85 NBA season, and for once decided to not follow it up by dealing some key players from the team in an attempt to get better. In fact, for the first year since 1973, the Bucks did not record a transaction logged on the significant transactions section of the team’s website in 1985.

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Aside from Randy Breuer taking most of the starts at center from Alton Lister, the ’85-86 Bucks rotation looked awfully similar to the one the team used a year ago. That worked out for Milwaukee, as the team again piled up wins like they were going out of style.

Sidney Moncrief and Terry Cummings continue to serve as the team’s leading scorers, and the potent pairing combined to post exactly 40 points per game during the regular season. Sid the Squid especially had a ton of respect around the Association.

Moncrief was on a roll through the 1985-86 season, and the accolades he received confirm it. In ’86, Moncrief was named to his fifth consecutive All-Star team, his fourth consecutive All-Defensive First Team, and his third consecutive All-NBA second team.

The Bucks were good, and they had some continuity. That combination worked out, and led the team to the third-best record in the league, behind just the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, two absolutely titans of the era.

Once the postseason rolled around, the New Jersey Nets were Milwaukee’s first opponents. The Nets didn’t give the Bucks much trouble, and fell to Milwaukee in three games. T.C. took the scoring lead, but in a typical performance for Don Nelson‘s Bucks the team thrived by playing strong team defense and holding the Nets to four points per game less than their season average.

Next up was a true challenge, as the Bucks met with their greatest rival, the Philadelphia 76ers. The challenge was made so much greater by a foot injury Moncrief suffered against the Nets, effectively forcing him to play every other postseason game.

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He only suited up three times against the 76ers. The Bucks won all three of those games, including a dramatic Game 7 victory that saw Milwaukee advance to the Conference Finals thanks to a final score of 113-112.

Sid the Squid, hobbled, put up 23 points, two assists, and two rebounds in the win. Somehow, even without their best player for more than half the series, the Milwaukee Bucks were heading to the Conference Finals after dispatching Charles Barkley, Julius Erving, and Maurice Cheeks.

The Boston Celtics were waiting. Moncrief took the first game off to recover, and Milwaukee got trounced. The Bucks had their star guard for the rest of the series, but without him at 100 percent Larry Bird and Boston were far too good to let the Bucks hang in the series.

Next: 49 years in 49 days: 1984-85 season

Another fantastic regular season ended poorly, this time in the form of a Conference Finals sweep. One of the great yet underrated what-if’s in Bucks history has to be: what if Sidney Moncrief was healthy in 1986?

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