Milwaukee Bucks: Meet the 2000s All-Decade Team

Milwaukee Bucks: Meet the 2000s All-Decade Team – Toni Kukoc

Given the largely brief playoff runs the Bucks had throughout the 2000s and the roster instability they had throughout the decade, selecting a Sixth Man isn’t something that comes as easy, just as it was during the 1990s.

With that in mind, the honor goes to Toni Kukoc, who came to Milwaukee for the final stop of his successful 13-year NBA career.

Having entered the NBA after being a highly successful player overseas, Kukoc made his mark on those late ’90s Bulls teams that had won their second ‘Three-Peat’ by near the end of the decade. Stops in Philadelphia and Atlanta followed before the Croatian was dealt to Milwaukee as part of the Glenn Robinson trade before the 2002-03 campaign.

By then, Kukoc’s game had gone in decline and was a few years removed from his peak production and efficiency after having arrived to Milwaukee at 34 years old. With that said, though, his smooth play and offensive creativity still had its place on largely middle of the road Bucks teams, at least early on in his tenure.

It was during Kukoc’s first season in Milwaukee back in 02-03 where he played his most productive basketball while in a Bucks uniform, finishing with 11.6 points on a 55.1 true shooting percentage, 4.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists through his 63 appearances, all off the bench.

That season would also double as Kukoc’s most featured role in terms of minutes played and his playing time decreased with each passing season during his four years with the Bucks.

After playing a bit part in the Bucks’ 2005-06 season that saw them get the gentleman’s sweep by the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, Kukoc waited on an offer from either the Bucks or the Bulls to continue his playing career. When no offer came from either team and preferring to stay near his home in Illinois, Kukoc called it a day:

"“My choice was either Chicago or Milwaukee,” he told the newspaper. “Milwaukee is going with a young team and Chicago is in need of a big guy, so that’s it.”"

In his 254 appearances with the Bucks, Kukoc averaged 7.7 points on .416/.333/.718 shooting splits, 3.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists across 21 minutes per game.

With four All-Decade Teams now filled out, we’ll have our final entry when we select the Bucks’ 2010s All-Decades Team later in the week.