Milwaukee Bucks: Ranking the top 5 power forwards of the last 10 seasons
Top 5 Milwaukee Bucks power forwards of the last 10 seasons – No. 4: Jabari Parker
There’s absolutely a case to be made for Jabari Parker to be higher up on this list, but for me, he comes in at number four. The second overall pick by the Bucks back in 2014, Parker dealt with multiple severe knee injuries before the team and player moved on from each other in the summer of 2018. Since then, Parker has played for five different teams across three seasons and hasn’t reached the heights we saw from him with the Bucks.
Parker played a total of 183 games for the Bucks to begin his career, averaging 15.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, two assists, and one steal while playing over 30 minutes per game. Parker never had issues scoring the basketball, with his peak season coming in 2016-17, where he averaged over 20 points in 51 games and played nearly 34 minutes a night. He shot the three relatively well for his Bucks career at 35.2 percent and posted a true shooting percentage of 54.6 percent — right around league average.
Parker’s biggest issue in his Bucks career, aside from injuries, was his defensive ability (or lack thereof). For as much belief as I had in Parker, his lack of willingness to play defense was a bit hard to defend, especially his infamous “they don’t pay players to play defense” comment at his first press conference after signing with the Bulls. Regardless, I’m always going to be sad Parker didn’t end up having a successful career with the Bucks. He seems like a great person and wanted to be a Buck.
Top 5 Milwaukee Bucks power forwards of the last 10 seasons – No. 3: P.J. Tucker
You could certainly argue that Parker should be ahead of P.J. Tucker as his peak season was considerably better than Tucker’s. But Tucker’s impact on the defensive end and off-the-court helped lead the Bucks to a championship. That’s a pretty tough resume to beat.
I won’t focus too much on Tucker’s regular-season numbers since that wasn’t why he was brought in. In 23 playoff games (starting 19), Tucker averaged 4.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, and a steal per game in around 30 minutes a night. The 36-year-old didn’t shoot the three particularly well at 32.2 percent on 2.6 attempts per game, but he made up for it by crashing the offensive glass, averaging over two offensive rebounds per game and a 7.4 percent offensive rebound percentage.
Tucker started the “We Dogs” mentality with the Bucks during their championship run, becoming the heart-and-soul of the team and an immediate fan favorite. He stepped into the starting lineup after Donte DiVincenzo’s injury and was a key piece in beating the Brooklyn Nets by guarding Kevin Durant. Fans will always be thankful for what Tucker did and is a Bucks legend despite playing less than 50 total games with the franchise.