 Moncrief in 2015 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1957-09-21)September 21, 1957 (age 68) Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Listed weight | 190 lb (86 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Hall (Little Rock, Arkansas) |
| College | Arkansas (1975–1979) |
| NBA draft | 1979: 1st round, 5th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Milwaukee Bucks |
| Playing career | 1979–1991 |
| Position | Shooting guard |
| Number | 4, 15 |
| Coaching career | 1999–2013 |
| Career history | |
Playing | |
| 1979–1989 | Milwaukee Bucks |
| 1990–1991 | Atlanta Hawks |
Coaching | |
| 1999–2000 | Arkansas–Little Rock |
| 2006–2007 | Fort Worth Flyers |
| 2007–2008 | Golden State Warriors (assistant) |
| 2009 | Beijing Ducks (assistant) |
| 2009–2010 | Beijing Ducks |
| 2011–2013 | Milwaukee Bucks (assistant) |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 11,931 (15.6 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 3,575 (4.7 rpg) |
| Assists | 2,793 (3.6 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
| Basketball Hall of Fame | |
| Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame | |
Sidney Alvin Moncrief (born September 21, 1957) is an American former professionalbasketball player. As anNCAA college basketball player from 1975 to 1979, Moncrief played for theUniversity of Arkansas Razorbacks, leading them to the 1978Final Four and a win in the NCAA Consolation Game versus #6Notre Dame. NicknamedSid the Squid,Sir Sid, andEl Sid,[1] Moncrief went on to play 11 seasons in theNational Basketball Association, including ten seasons with theMilwaukee Bucks. He was a five-timeNBA All-Star and won the first twoNBA Defensive Player of the Year awards in 1983 and 1984.[2] He was elected to theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019.[3]
Sidney Alvin Moncrief was born on September 21, 1957, inLittle Rock, Arkansas.
Moncrief,Marvin Delph ofConway, Arkansas, andRon Brewer ofFort Smith, Arkansas ("The Triplets"), along with head coachEddie Sutton and assistant coachGene Keady, resurrected theUniversity of Arkansas basketball program in the 1970s from decades of modest success and disinterest, and helped lay the foundation for what became one of the country's premier college basketball programs through the late-1990s. Moncrief led the Razorbacks to the SWC regular season championship in 1977, 1978, and 1979, and the SWC Tournament championship in 1977 and 1979. Moncrief was also part of the 1978 Final Four run for Arkansas, that saw the Razorbacks lose to eventual champion Kentucky in the semi-finals, and then defeat Notre Dame in the last 3rd place game ever played at the NCAA Final Four. The following year, Moncrief and Arkansas lost toLarry Bird and Indiana State in the Elite Eight. Moncrief's leadership on the court and electrifying play renewed interest in the Razorback program, and ushered in a new winning tradition in Arkansas basketball.
His jersey was retired not long after he graduated from school and went on to the NBA, and is one of only two, along withCorliss Williamson. Moncrief was the school's all-time leading scorer untilTodd Day broke his record in 1992. At 6'4", he still remains the schools leader in rebounds in a career with 1015. On November 10, 2014, Moncrief was inducted into theSouthwest ConferenceHall of Fame.[4] After being honored decades earlier with an unofficial banner, on February 7, 2015, Moncrief was officially honored by Arkansas when his name was put on a banner that was hung in the Razorbacks’ new home,Bud Walton Arena.[5] He was the first player in Arkansas’ program history to have his number retired.[6] Moncrief has also been inducted into the University of Arkansas Hall of Honor.
AlthoughJerry West wanted to draft him to theLos Angeles Lakers,[7] Moncrief'sNBA career started with theMilwaukee Bucksin 1979 when he wasdrafted 5th overall. In the final game of his rookie season, Moncrief scored 13 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, and recorded 7 assists in 107–91 victory over theUtah Jazz.[8]
During the1980-81 NBA season, Moncrief helped the Bucks to a 60–22 record, third best in the league, while averaging 14 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists.[9] Despite the strong showing in the regular season, Milwaukee lost in seven games to Philadelphia in the conference semifinals,[10] after coachDon Nelson unsuccessfully contested Milwaukee's 99-98 Game 7 loss for two hours and sixteen minutes, while questioning whether Philadelphia got away with a 24-second violation at the end of the game.[11] The following year, in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference Semifinals matchup, Moncrief made a running bank shot at the buzzer to beat thePhiladelphia 76ers, though the Bucks lost the series in six games.[12]
On December 5, 1982, in a loss against theNew Jersey Nets, Moncrief recorded a career-high 7 steals.[13] On February 24, 1983, Moncrief scored a career-high 42 points, recorded 8 assists, and grabbed 8 rebounds in a 114–103 victory against theHouston Rockets.[14] That postseason, Moncrief led the Bucks to a sweep ofLarry Bird and theBoston Celtics in the second round, averaging 23.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 4 assists per game,[15] and being on the dunking end of an alley-oop pass fromBrian Winters to help put away the Game 4 win.[16] The following round, on May 14, 1983, Moncrief scored 19 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and recorded 4 steals in a Game 3 loss against the eventual champion 76ers.[17] The Bucks would lose the series 4–1, but would be the only team to beat Philadelphia in any postseason game that year.
On November 30, 1983, Moncrief scored 25 points and blocked a career-high 4 shots in a 139–122 victory against former Bucks playerAlex English and theDenver Nuggets.[18] The following month, Moncrief recorded his first careertriple-double, with 16 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists in a 89–83 win over theCleveland Cavaliers.[19]
On December 5, 1984, Moncrief and teammatesTerry Cummings andPaul Pressey combined for 76 points, an impressive 67% of Milwaukee's points, in a 114–99 victory against theDetroit Pistons. A win in which The Bucks were without CoachDon Nelson,Mike Dunleavy Sr, andCharles Davis, who all suffered neck and back injuries the previous Saturday night at a Baltimore airport.[20] Despite again finding regular season success at a record of 59–23, after the Bucks eliminated the Bulls andMichael Jordan in the first round with a 3–1 series record, Moncrief and his team would be eliminated in the Eastern Conference Semifinals by Philadelphia again.[21]
On March 15, 1986, Moncrief played 48 minutes, the entire game, and scored 27 points along with recording a career-high 12 assists in a 125–116 regular season victory againstMichael Jordan and theChicago Bulls.[22] That postseason, Moncrief and Milwaukee advanced past thePhiladelphia 76ers in a tightly contested seven-game series. Moncrief was only able to play in three games of the series due to a heel and knee injuries but still rallied the team when he played,[23] and the Bucks won each game he appeared, including a 113–112 victory in Game 7 at home where he scored 23 points.[24] This meant the Bucks would reach the Eastern Conference finals for a third time with Moncrief. However, yet again Milwaukee would come up short, this time losing to theBoston Celtics.[25]
During the1987 NBA Playoffs, after advancing past the 76ers in the first round, on May 15, 1987, Moncrief scored a playoff-career high of 34 points in a Game 6 win against theBoston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The performance was especially notable given he was primarily guarded by fellow defensive-greatDennis Johnson. However, the Bucks would lose the series in 7 games.[26] On May 24, it was announced Moncrief and teammatesJack Sikma,Randy Breuer,Paul Mokeski,Terry Cummings, andJerry Reynolds would each be fined between $1,000 and $500 for their roles in an altercation in the game.Danny Ainge andGreg Kite of the Celtics were also fined. The altercation began when Ainge fouled Moncrief from behind during a fastbreak layup attempt, and no players were ejected or suspended.[27] In arguably the last healthy playoff series of his career, Moncrief averaged 20.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.[28]
On December 23, 1988, by then frequently missing games due to knee and foot injuries, Moncrief scored 25 points, largely thanks to making 13 of 13 free throw attempts, and added 5 assists in a 113–101 victory against theDallas Mavericks.[29] Moncrief would retire for the first time at the conclusion of that year's postseason, an Eastern Semifinals loss to the eventual championDetroit Pistons.[30]
After sitting out of the NBA for one year during the 1989–1990 season, Moncrief played one season with theAtlanta Hawks before retiring at the conclusion of their postseason run.[31] On May 2, 1991, Moncrief scored 23 points in only 22 minutes during a Game 4 victory against theDetroit Pistons, although the Hawks would go on to lose the series.[32] The Bucks initially retired his no. 4 jersey in 1990, and rededicated it at halftime on January 19, 2008, when the Warriors, with whom he was a shooting coach, visited theBradley Center inMilwaukee, Wisconsin to play the Bucks.[33]
During the 1980s, Moncrief was the leader of the Milwaukee Bucks, who had the third best winning percentage for the decade behind only theLos Angeles Lakers andBoston Celtics. Moncrief was known for his versatility on the court, particularly given his 6′4″ stature, but was most known for his tenacious defensive plays. Although he was thought of as one of the greatest shooting guards of his time, he was never able to get to the Finals, as the Bucks frequently came up short in the Eastern Conference Finals. Moncrief was named theNBA Defensive Player of the Year for the1982–83 and1983–84 seasons. He also made the All-Star team for five consecutive years and was named to the All-NBA first team for the 1982–83 season. Moncrief averaged over 20 points per game in four seasons of his career and finished his 11-season NBA career with an average of 15.6 PPG. As of 2024, Moncrief still holds the Bucks record for career offensive rating (119.7).
His career was hampered by a degenerative knee condition that affected the cartilage in both of his knees. Starting in 1986, he also frequently missed time due to a reoccurring foot injury.[34]
Among Moncrief's admirers wasAll-StarMichael Jordan who once described his on-court intensity to anL.A. Times reporter: "When you play against Moncrief, you're in for a night of all-around basketball. He'll hound you everywhere you go, both ends of the court. You just expect it."[35]
Another all-time great,Larry Bird, heralded Moncrief's ability to defend anyone, and said that “Moncrief does everything you're supposed to do on defense and doesn't take any shortcuts, plus he does it every night.”[36]
On finding success covering the best guards and wing players on opposing teams throughout postseason games, from Jordan toJulius Erving, even though at 6’4” he was slightly smaller in many instances, Moncrief said “I just took it as a responsibility as much as it was a challenge. That was something I needed to do to help the team win games. I'd rather just chill on defense and get back on offense, but I didn't have that luxury."[37]
Moncrief was elected to theArkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1993 and theWisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998.[38] Moncrief was finally elected to theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019.[3]
| 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 | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979–80 | Milwaukee | 77 | — | 20.2 | .468 | .000 | .795 | 4.4 | 1.7 | .9 | .2 | 8.5 |
| 1980–81 | Milwaukee | 80 | — | 30.2 | .541 | .222 | .804 | 5.1 | 3.3 | 1.1 | .5 | 14.0 |
| 1981–82 | Milwaukee | 80 | 80 | 37.3 | .523 | .071 | .817 | 6.7 | 4.8 | 1.7 | .3 | 19.8 |
| 1982–83 | Milwaukee | 76 | 76 | 35.7 | .524 | .100 | .826 | 5.8 | 3.9 | 1.5 | .3 | 22.5 |
| 1983–84 | Milwaukee | 79 | 79 | 38.9 | .498 | .278 | .848 | 6.7 | 4.5 | 1.4 | .3 | 20.9 |
| 1984–85 | Milwaukee | 73 | 72 | 37.5 | .483 | .273 | .828 | 5.4 | 5.2 | 1.6 | .5 | 21.7 |
| 1985–86 | Milwaukee | 73 | 72 | 35.2 | .489 | .320 | .859 | 4.6 | 4.9 | 1.4 | .2 | 20.2 |
| 1986–87 | Milwaukee | 39 | 30 | 25.4 | .488 | .258 | .840 | 3.3 | 3.1 | .7 | .3 | 11.8 |
| 1987–88 | Milwaukee | 56 | 51 | 25.5 | .489 | .161 | .837 | 3.2 | 3.6 | .7 | .3 | 10.8 |
| 1988–89 | Milwaukee | 62 | 50 | 25.7 | .491 | .342 | .865 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 1.0 | .2 | 12.1 |
| 1990–91 | Atlanta | 72 | 3 | 15.2 | .488 | .328 | .781 | 1.8 | 1.4 | .7 | .1 | 4.7 |
| Career | 767 | 513 | 30.2 | .502 | .284 | .831 | 4.7 | 3.6 | 1.2 | .3 | 15.6 | |
| All-Star | 5 | 2 | 23.8 | .404 | 1.000 | .864 | 4.4 | 2.4 | 2.4 | .4 | 11.6 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Milwaukee | 7 | — | 26.0 | .588 | .000 | .871 | 4.4 | 1.6 | .7 | .1 | 12.4 |
| 1981 | Milwaukee | 7 | — | 39.6 | .435 | .000 | .745 | 6.7 | 2.9 | 1.7 | .4 | 14.0 |
| 1982 | Milwaukee | 6 | — | 42.0 | .419 | .000 | .789 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 1.5 | .3 | 15.3 |
| 1983 | Milwaukee | 9 | — | 41.9 | .437 | .000 | .754 | 6.7 | 3.7 | 2.0 | .3 | 18.9 |
| 1984 | Milwaukee | 16 | — | 38.6 | .518 | .250 | .791 | 6.9 | 4.3 | 1.8 | .6 | 19.1 |
| 1985 | Milwaukee | 8 | 7 | 39.9 | .556 | .400 | .933 | 4.3 | 5.0 | .6 | .5 | 23.0 |
| 1986 | Milwaukee | 9 | 9 | 36.3 | .426 | .286 | .698 | 4.6 | 4.9 | .6 | .6 | 16.9 |
| 1987 | Milwaukee | 12 | 10 | 35.5 | .473 | .286 | .811 | 4.5 | 3.0 | 1.1 | .5 | 19.4 |
| 1988 | Milwaukee | 5 | 5 | 34.6 | .480 | 1.000 | .963 | 3.8 | 5.2 | .6 | .2 | 15.0 |
| 1989 | Milwaukee | 9 | 9 | 20.4 | .396 | .286 | .938 | 2.9 | 1.4 | .6 | .2 | 6.1 |
| 1991 | Atlanta | 5 | 0 | 18.2 | .500 | .167 | .813 | 3.2 | .4 | .6 | .0 | 7.2 |
| Career | 93 | 40 | 34.7 | .475 | .293 | .811 | 5.0 | 3.4 | 1.1 | .4 | 16.0 | |
Moncrief was the head coach at theUniversity of Arkansas-Little Rock for one season, 1999–2000. The Trojans finished with a record of 4 wins and 24 losses.
In 2006, Moncrief returned to basketball as thehead coach of theFort Worth Flyers, a professional basketball team in theNBA D-League.
He rejoined the NBA in October 2007 when he became the shooting coach for theGolden State Warriors.[39][40]
He rejoined the CBA in January 2009 when he became the assistant coach for theBeijing Ducks.
In 2011, he returned to theMilwaukee Bucks as an assistant coach.
It was announced in July 2013 that Moncrief would analyze and commentate Bucks games forFSN Wisconsin.
Moncrief has four sons.[41] Moncrief's son Brett was awide receiver forMississippi Gulf Coast Community College andTroy University.[42][43][44] His nephewAlbrey Battle played eight seasons in theArena Football League and for theSan Francisco Demons of theXFL.[45]
Upon retiring for the first time in 1989, Moncrief opened Sidney Moncrief's Buick, a car dealership inSherwood, Arkansas.[46] He also later owned a Ford dealership inBlytheville, Arkansas.
Looking back on his career in March 2021, Moncrief said "I have a greater appreciation for the accomplishments and the awards [now] then when I played the game of basketball. When I played the game, it was like: 'Okay. You are an All-Star. Okay, cool. You are a Defensive Player of the Year. Okay'. I never really thought about it. When you retire, and you have time to reflect upon your career, I started to have a greater appreciation for what I was able to accomplish."[47]
On May 15, 2021, Moncrief spoke at the posthumous Hall of Fame enshrinement of his former coachEddie Sutton.[48]
'West wanted Moncrief, and he made it very clear to Jack Kent Cooke,' said Rich Levin, who covered the team for theLos Angeles Herald-Examiner. 'There was a strong belief, for a brief time at least, that Moncrief, not Magic, would wind up a Laker.'
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