The 1998 NBA Draft is one that Milwaukee Bucks fans don't like to talk about too often.
With the ninth overall pick, the Bucks selected Dirk Nowitzki, but he was immediately traded to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for sixth overall selection Robert Traylor. Of course, Nowitzki quickly became an NBA star, earning 14 All-Star nods, 12 All-NBA selections and a Finals MVP, while Traylor lasted just two seasons in Milwaukee and seven in the league total.
It must be noted that Nowitzki was very unlikely to ever play in Milwaukee. Larry Harris, who was the Bucks' director of scouting when the pick was made, has said that the deal was in place before the draft and that Dallas would have taken the German big man had the trade not taken shape. Still, that has not stopped Milwaukee Bucks fans from thinking about what could have been.
Nowitzki himself even chimed in recently.
Dirk Nowitzki on what could have been with the Milwaukee Bucks
On a recent episode of 'Thanalysis,' the podcast of NBA Champion Thanasis Antetokounmpo, the NBA Hall of Famer talked about how things might have gone had he ended up in Milwaukee.
"I think Milwaukee would have been fun. Being in Dallas, I enjoyed my time. It’s my new home. I still live there. It ended up working out for me. But I think Milwaukee would have been fun."
Nowitzki on a team with Ray Allen, Glenn Robinson, and Sam Cassell would have been must-see TV. Due to their sheer firepower, they could have been one of the league's most formidable quartets not only at the time but in the entire history of the NBA. Bucks fans can only dream of what things could have been like for the franchise had the proper dominos fallen.
While Nowitzki's comments certainly twist the knife in the hearts of Bucks fans everywhere, knowing that he was seemingly destined to end up in Dallas one way or another does help ease the agony. It took a few decades, but the Milwaukee Bucks did eventually get their generational foreign superstar in Giannis Antetokounmpo, and that has certainly worked out quite well for them thus far.
The NBA is all about what ifs, and the Bucks surely have plenty of their own. However, there's no reason to dwell on them for too long, as it is only an exercise in futility.
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