Milwaukee Bucks: In search of the best Bucks player nicknames

Milwaukee Bucks: In search of the best Bucks player nicknames – Glenn Robinson

When Glenn Robinson entered the NBA more than 26 years ago, he arrived with plenty of fanfare and with a trusty nickname to boot.

Robinson was as rock-solid of a first overall pick as they come, despite being in a draft class that was headlined by future Hall of Famers in Grant Hill and Jason Kidd.

Of course, Robinson compiled an all-time campaign as a sophomore at Purdue University by averaging double figures in points (30.3) and rebounds (11.2), all of which vaulted him to the top of the 1994 NBA Draft and brought him to Milwaukee. And with that, the ‘Big Dog’ was viewed as the Bucks’ building block for the future.

As for how Robinson got the moniker, it all came before he became a star for the Boilermakers and courtesy of one of the school’s custodians that was tasked with cleaning Mackey Arena as Sports Illustrated’s Bruce Newman wrote the following in March of 1994:

"“Before Robinson ever played a game at Purdue, one of the school’s custodians unleashed the nickname Big Dog on him. Robinson liked the name so much, he even had himself tattooed on the chest with the head of a snarling bulldog wearing a spiked collar.”"

The nickname stuck all throughout Robinson’s basketball career and while success was ultimately fleeting during his eight years in Milwaukee, Robinson remains one of the most productive players in Bucks history.