| 1970–71 Milwaukee Bucks season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
NBA champions | |||
Conference champions | |||
Division champions | |||
| Head coach | Larry Costello | ||
| Arena | Milwaukee Arena | ||
| Results | |||
| Record | 66–16 (.805) | ||
| Place | Division: 1st (Midwest) Conference: 1st (Western) | ||
| Playoff finish | NBA champions (DefeatedBullets 4–0) | ||
Stats atBasketball Reference | |||
| Radio | WTMJ | ||
| |||
The1970–71 Milwaukee Bucks season was the third season for the Bucks. Milwaukee posted a 66–16 record in only its third year of existence, and its second since draftingLew Alcindor (later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar).[1] A key part of this championship season was the acquisition ofOscar Robertson. Other role players on the Bucks included players such asBob Dandridge (18.4 ppg),Jon McGlocklin (15.8 ppg), power forwardGreg Smith & key reserves such asLucius Allen,Bob Boozer andDick Cunningham completing the nucleus. This season included a 20-game winning streak, the NBA's longest at the time, and still rankedfifth all-time. The Bucks became the first team from the Midwest Division to win the NBA title; it would be 23 years before theHouston Rockets would do the same.
In the1971 NBA Playoffs, the Bucks defeated the 4th-seeded Warriors in 5 games. In the Western Conference Finals, the team dispatched the Lakers in 5 games. The Bucks made their way into the Finals for the first time in NBA history in just their third year of existence. They faced off against theBaltimore Bullets and swept them in four games. The Bucks had won their first title in franchise history.Lew Alcindor wonMVP andFinals MVP honors.HoopsHype would later rank this squad as the team with the sixth-easiest path to anNBA Finals championship due to the records that theSan Francisco Warriors andBaltimore Bullets had this season.[2]
This would be the last NBA championship for the Bucks until the2020–21 season. The Bucks tied with the Miami Heat for the best regular season record since the2012-13 season.
The Milwaukee Bucks made ten selections in the 1970 NBA draft.[3]
| Round | Pick | Player | College/Club team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | Gary Freeman | Oregon State |
| 2 | 33 | Bill Zopf | Duquesne |
| 3 | 50 | Marv Winkler | SW Louisiana |
| 4 | 67 | Virgle Fredricks | Drury |
| 5 | 84 | Mike Grosso | Louisville |
| 6 | 101 | Willy Watson | Oklahoma City |
| 7 | 118 | John Rinka | Kenyon |
| 8 | 135 | Jim Samo | Northwestern |
| 9 | 152 | Joe Hamilton | North Texas State |
| 10 | 169 | Bob Seemer | Georgia Tech |
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Head coach Assistant(s) Legend
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In only his second professional season, Lew Alcindor led the league in scoring at 31.7 ppg, ranked second in field goal percentage at .577 and fourth in rebounding at 16.0 rpg.[1] Newly arrived Oscar Robertson turned 32 early in the 1970–71 season, and was past his prime when he came to Milwaukee, but his versatile skills and experience provided a leadership role for the Bucks. Robertson had never won a championship and his desire to win seemed to inspire Alcindor and unite the rest of the Bucks. Robertson ranked third in the league in assists at 8.3 apg and was the Bucks' No. 2 scorer at 19.4 ppg.[1]
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Milwaukee Bucks | 66 | 16 | .805 | – | 34–2 | 28–13 | 4–1 | 14–4 |
| x-Chicago Bulls | 51 | 31 | .622 | 15 | 30–11 | 17–19 | 4–1 | 7–11 |
| Phoenix Suns | 48 | 34 | .585 | 18 | 27–14 | 19–20 | 2–0 | 9–9 |
| Detroit Pistons | 45 | 37 | .549 | 21 | 24–17 | 20–19 | 1–1 | 6–12 |
| # | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | |
| 1 | z-Milwaukee Bucks | 66 | 16 | .805 |
| 2 | y-Los Angeles Lakers | 48 | 34 | .585 |
| 3 | x-Chicago Bulls | 51 | 31 | .622 |
| 4 | x-San Francisco Warriors | 41 | 41 | .500 |
| 5 | Phoenix Suns | 48 | 34 | .585 |
| 6 | Detroit Pistons | 45 | 37 | .549 |
| 7 | San Diego Rockets | 40 | 42 | .488 |
| 8 | Seattle SuperSonics | 38 | 44 | .463 |
| 9 | Portland Trail Blazers | 29 | 53 | .354 |
| 1970–71 game log Total: 66–16 (Home: 34–2; Road: 28–14) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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October: 5–1 (home: 3–0; road: 2–1)
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November: 13–2 (home: 5–1; road: 8–1)
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December: 10–4 (home: 7–0; road: 3–4)
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January: 13–2 (home: 6–1; road: 7–1)
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February: 15–2 (home: 6–0; road: 9–2)
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March: 6–5 (home: 4–1; road: 2–4)
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| 1970–71 schedule | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lew Alcindor | 82 | 40.1 | 57.7 | 69.0 | 16.0 | 3.3 | 31.7 | |||
| Oscar Robertson | 81 | 39.4 | 49.6 | 85.0 | 5.7 | 8.2 | 19.4 | |||
| Bob Dandridge | 79 | 36.2 | 50.9 | 70.2 | 8.0 | 3.5 | 18.4 | |||
| Jon McGlocklin | 82 | 35.3 | 53.5 | 86.2 | 2.7 | 3.7 | 15.8 | |||
| Greg Smith | 82 | 29.6 | 51.2 | 66.2 | 7.2 | 2.8 | 11.7 | |||
| Bob Boozer | 80 | 22.2 | 45.0 | 81.8 | 5.4 | 1.6 | 9.1 | |||
| Lucius Allen | 61 | 19.0 | 44.7 | 70.0 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 7.1 | |||
| McCoy McLemore | 28 | 14.8 | 36.8 | 82.9 | 3.8 | 1.1 | 4.7 | |||
| Gary Freeman | 41 | 8.2 | 50.8 | 73.7 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 3.7 | |||
| Marv Winkler | 3 | 4.7 | 30.0 | 100.0 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 2.7 | |||
| Dick Cunningham | 76 | 8.9 | 41.5 | 66.1 | 3.4 | 0.6 | 2.6 | |||
| Bob Greacen | 2 | 21.5 | 8.3 | 42.9 | 3.0 | 6.5 | 2.5 | |||
| Jeff Webb | 29 | 10.3 | 34.6 | 73.3 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 2.2 | |||
| Bill Zopf | 53 | 7.5 | 36.3 | 55.6 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 2.2 |
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lew Alcindor | 14 | 41.2 | 51.5 | 67.3 | 17.0 | 2.5 | 26.6 | |||
| Bob Dandridge | 14 | 38.2 | 46.3 | 78.2 | 9.6 | 3.4 | 19.2 | |||
| Oscar Robertson | 14 | 37.1 | 48.6 | 75.4 | 5.0 | 8.9 | 18.3 | |||
| Jon McGlocklin | 14 | 35.1 | 53.6 | 84.8 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 14.9 | |||
| Greg Smith | 14 | 32.4 | 54.7 | 55.0 | 8.6 | 2.6 | 11.6 | |||
| Bob Boozer | 14 | 20.2 | 48.2 | 75.9 | 5.3 | 1.2 | 7.4 | |||
| Lucius Allen | 14 | 22.3 | 50.6 | 71.4 | 2.9 | 3.7 | 7.3 | |||
| Dick Cunningham | 14 | 6.4 | 42.9 | 66.7 | 1.7 | 0.1 | 1.7 | |||
| Bob Greacen | 7 | 2.3 | 36.4 | 100.0 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 1.7 | |||
| Jeff Webb | 9 | 2.6 | 57.1 | 100.0 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 1.2 | |||
| McCoy McLemore | 10 | 5.2 | 25.0 | 50.0 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 0.7 | |||
| Marv Winkler | 5 | 1.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
On April 21, 1970, the Bucks traded two young players, Flynn Robinson and Charlie Paulk, to the Cincinnati Royals for 10-year veteran guard Oscar Robertson.[1]
| April 21,1970 | ToMilwaukee Bucks---- | ToCincinnati Royals---- |
| September 17,1970 | ToMilwaukee Bucks---- | ToSeattle SuperSonics---- |
| February 1,1971 | ToMilwaukee Bucks---- | ToCleveland Cavaliers---- |
| Subtractions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | Date signed | New team |
| Len Chappell | Expansion Draft May 11, 1970 | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| Freddie Crawford | Expansion Draft May 11, 1970 | Buffalo Braves |
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| Arenas | |
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| G League affiliate | |
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| NBA championships | |
| NBA Cup championships | |
| Culture and lore | |
