Lew, Kent, Glenn and Andrew:
Milwaukee’s All-Time Top Picks

Milwaukee had its biggest turnaround after they drafted UCLA big-man Lew Alcindor (who from here on out we will refer to as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) number one overall. Abdul-Jabbar came to the Bucks in the team’s second year of existence and turned a 27-55 team that missed the playoffs into a 56-26 team that beat Philadelphia 4-1 in the Division Semifinals and lost to New York in the Division Finals 4-1. Abdul-Jabbar averaged 28.8 points and 14.5 rebounds while racking up the following credentials: NBA All-Star, NBA All-Rookie Team, NBA All-Defensive Second Team, All-NBA Second Team, NBA Rookie of the Year. The following season, the Bucks were the NBA champions. In all, Milwaukee made it to the playoffs in five of his six seasons. Abdul-Jabbar is still the franchise leader in many categories for the Bucks and finished his time with the team with averages of 30.4 points, 15.3 rebounds and 3.4 blocks (that’s his average from the 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons as blocks weren’t recorded before that).

Career At A Glance | Biography | Career Stats

Another big man was the top selection for the Bucks in 1977. Kent Benson from Indiana averaged 7.8 points and 4.3 rebounds in his first season as a Buck. That Milwaukee team improved 14 games from the previous season and made the jump to the playoffs. Milwaukee swept Phoenix 2-0 in the first round, but lost to Denver (4-3) in the Conference Semifinals. Benson was a part of two playoff teams in his three seasons with the Bucks. For his Bucks career, Benson averaged 9.9 points and 5.9 rebounds.

17 years passed before Milwaukee had another shot and the first pick in the draft. In 1994 the Bucks won the lottery and chose Glenn Robinson out of Purdue. Robinson promptly led the team in scoring (21.9 points per game) and chipped in with 6.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals. In five of his eight years, the “Big Dog” led the team in scoring and helped guide the team into the playoffs three times. He’s also among the franchise leaders in many areas, including points (12,010 - 2nd), scoring average (21.4 - 2nd), field goals made (4,723 - 3rd), free throws made (2,070 - 3rd) and three-point field goals made (494 - 3rd). He averaged 21.1 points and 6.2 rebounds with the Bucks and appeared in 568 games.

With only a 6.3 percent chance of drafting first overall, Milwaukee ‘bucked’ the odds and wound up with the first overall pick in the 2005, selecting Consensus National Player of the Year Andrew Bogut from the University of Utah. Bogut became the fourth overall number one pick in the club’s overall history and helped the Bucks to a 10-game improvement from the previous year – the 6th best win increase in team history. The Bucks captured the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference making, Bogut just one of four first overall picks since 1985 to lead his team to the playoffs in his rookie campaign. Bogut earned NBA All-Rookie First Team honors after posting 9.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game in 82 contests for Milwaukee. He led all rookies in rebounds, blocked shots and field goal percentage, while ranking 5th in the entire NBA with a .533 field goal accuracy. His rookie season highlights include a 13-point, 9-rebound effort in his NBA debut in a win at Philadelphia, followed up by a 10-point and season-high 17-rebound performance at New Jersey on 11/2. He blocked the potential game-winning shot vs. Dallas on 11/29 and scored on a buzzer-beater to beat the World Champion Spurs in overtime on 12/20. Bogut was named NBA Rookie of the Month for January and selected to the Rookie/Sophomore Challenge as part of the All-Star Weekend.