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Milwaukee Bucks: 49 years in 49 days – 1994-95 season

By Ti Windisch

PHILADELPHIA - JANUARY 25: Glenn Robinson #13 of the Milwaukee Bucks slam dunks against Shawn Bradley #76 the Philadelphia 76ers during a game at The Spectrum on January 25, 1995 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges 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 1995 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA - JANUARY 25: Glenn Robinson #13 of the Milwaukee Bucks slam dunks against Shawn Bradley #76 the Philadelphia 76ers during a game at The Spectrum on January 25, 1995 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges 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 1995 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Milwaukee Bucks weren’t very good, but they started to become fun again during the 1994-95 NBA season.

The season: 1994-95

The record: 34-48

The postseason: N/A

The story:

March 22, 1994 was a huge day for the Milwaukee Bucks. That was the draft lottery that determined the order of the 1994 NBA Draft, and the Bucks got lucky, getting the first overall pick despite being tied for the second-worst record in the Association.

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The Bucks went on to draft Glenn Robinson, known now as a Bucks legend and as Big Dog. Robinson, unlike his new teammate Vin Baker, did not need much time to establish that he was an elite talent in the league.

Big Dog started off hot, scoring 21.9 points per game in his first Bucks season. He added 6.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.4 steals per game in an excellent coming out party for Milwaukee’s latest first overall pick.

Baker, maybe picking up his game due to his new running mate in Milwaukee, increased all of his per game averages in a big way. Vin put up 17.7 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game and played in all 82 regular season contests for the second consecutive season.

Todd Day also played in all 82 games, and he picked up his performance to go with Big Dog and Vin Baker too. Day averaged 16.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game, becoming a makeshift third banana on Big Dog’s first Bucks team.

Luckily for Milwaukee, some better second and third options would show up eventually. For now, though, it was Robinson, Baker, and Day against the world. Spoiler alert: the world won.

Milwaukee was still a bottom-10 offense and defense overall, as the supporting cast wasn’t all that strong yet. Blue Edwards had been dealt, along with Derek Strong, for Ed Pinckney before the season began. Pinckney was ineffective on the NBA level, scoring 2.3 points per game despite somehow getting minutes in 62 different games.

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In a rich Milwaukee Bucks tradition, a far past his prime Alton Lister was added to the bench so that he could lower his career averages significantly. Lister managed 2.8 points and 3.9 rebounds in the 12.9 minutes per game he received in his age 36 season.

Players like Pinckney and Lister getting actual minutes as role players was a bad sign for the Bucks, who lost more than they won. Still, 34 wins is a significant jump over the 20 that Milwaukee totaled during the 1993-94 season, a testament to Baker’s leap and Big Dog’s presence on the team.

The Bucks definitely needed more help, but the foundation was coming together for a good team down the line. Unfortunately, it’d be farther down the line than most Bucks fans might’ve hoped at the time.

Next: 49 years in 49 days: 1993-94 season

Still, two exciting young players is two more than the team had before adding Vin Baker, and Big Dog was living up to the heavy expectations of being a first overall pick early on in his Milwaukee Bucks tenure. It could have been worse.

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