Bucks’ dismal start is one of the worst in franchise history
By GERY WOELFEL
The Milwaukee Bucks are off to one of the worst starts in the franchise’s long and proud history.
After losing to Cleveland on Monday night, the Bucks fell to 1-6. The Bucks and Utah Jazz now have the worst records in the 30-team NBA.
This mark the fourth time in Bucks’ history the Bucks have started a season with a 1-6 mark. The only other Bucks’ teams to have similarly poor starts were the 1968-69, 1974-75 and 1993-94 teams.
Let’s take a quick peek at those three Bucks teams and how their season played out:
1968-69
The Bucks were expected to be a horrible team and they were in their maiden NBA season.
The Bucks finished with a 27-55 record under then head coach Larry Costello.
The Bucks’ main players were Jon McGlocklin and Flynn “The Electric Eye’’ Robinson. McGlocklin averaged 19.6 points en route to being selected to the NBA All-Star Game.
Another member of this team was Wayne Embry, a Hall of Famer who played only one season for the Bucks before eventually moving into the front office as the general manager.
One other tidbit about this team: While today’s NBA teams have nearly an assistant coach for every player on the team, Costello had just one assistant: Tom Nissalke.
1974-75
So, how could any team with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on it, get off to such a lousy start to a season?
Well, while Abdul-Jabbar was on the roster, he didn’t play the early portion of the season. In a preseason game, Abdul-Jabbar, arguably the greatest basketball player ever, went up for the ball and suffered a scratched left eyeball.
Out of frustration, he then angrily punched the backboard post. He broke his right, shooting hand.
“How could I have done something so stupid,’’ Abdul-Jabbar said later to then Bucks trainer Billy Bates.
To which Bates replied, “Why do 10 million people kick waste baskets.’’
With Abdul-Jabbar sidelined – he missed 17 games that season — the Bucks literally didn’t have a center to replace him and were forced to move journeyman power forward Cornell Warner into the pivot.
The Bucks also didn’t have the great Oscar Robertson. He retired after the 1973-74 season and became a television analyst.
Even after Abdul-Jabbar returned, the Bucks never got in sync and finished with a 38-44 record.
1993-94
The Bucks’ putrid start was a harbinger of their forgettable season. After winning their regular-season opener, they dropped their next 10 games. It remains the worst start in Bucks’ history.
The Bucks finished with a 20-62 record under then head coach Mike Dunleavy.
Suffice to say, the Bucks roster wasn’t drenched in talent. Their best player was arguably Frank Brickowski, a much-traveled player who labored for six teams (Seattle twice) during his pro career.
The silver lining to the despicable season was the emergence of Vin Baker. It was his rookie season and he posted some impressive numbers, averaging 15.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in earning NBA All Rookie first-team honors.
Baker went on to become a four-time NBA All-Star and is currently an assistant coach for the Bucks.
