1969–70 Milwaukee Bucks season

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1969–70 Milwaukee Bucks season
Head coachLarry Costello
General managerJohn E. Erickson
OwnersMilwaukee Professional Sports and Services, Inc. (Milwaukee Pro)
ArenaMilwaukee Arena
Results
Record56–26 (.683)
PlaceDivision: 2nd (Eastern)
Playoff finishDivision Finals
(Lost to Knicks 1–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
< 1968–69 1970–71 >

The 1969–70 Milwaukee Bucks season was the second season for the Milwaukee Bucks. Led by the heralded rookie center Lew Alcindor, they finished with a 56–26 record, enough for second place in the Eastern Division. After beating the Philadelphia 76ers 4–1 in the Eastern semifinals, they lost to the eventual champions New York Knicks in five games.

Draft picks[]

After a 27–55 record in their inaugural NBA season, the Bucks won a coin toss over the Phoenix Suns to give them the right to select first overall in the 1969 NBA Draft.[1] Their designated selection had long been a foregone conclusion: UCLA Bruins center Lew Alcindor. However, Alcindor was also selected first overall by the New York Nets in the competing American Basketball Association's entry draft, which triggered a bidding war for Alcindor's services. He eventually opted for the Bucks' five-year $1.4 million offer over a much more lucrative $3.2 million offer from the Nets,[2] preferring the established NBA over a new and struggling ABA.

Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 1 Lew Alcindor C  United States UCLA
2 17 Bob Greacen F  United States Rutgers
3 31 Skeeter Swift G  United States East Tennessee State
4 45 Bob Dandridge F  United States Norfolk State
6 73 John Arthurs G  United States Tulane

Roster[]

1969–70 Milwaukee Bucks roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY-MM-DD) From
C 33 Alcindor, Lew 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 225 lb (102 kg) UCLA
PF 50 Chappell, Len 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Wake Forest
SG 16 Crawford, Freddie 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 189 lb (86 kg) St. Bonaventure
C 19 Cunningham, Dick 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Murray State
SF 10 Dandridge, Bob 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Norfolk State
F 18 Greacen, Bob 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 206 lb (93 kg) Rutgers
SG 14 McGlocklin, Jon 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Indiana
PG 21 Robinson, Flynn 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Wyoming
PG 5 Rodgers, Guy 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Temple
F 35 Smith, Don 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Iowa State
PF 4 Smith, Greg 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Western Kentucky
G 3 Williams, Sam 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Iowa
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Regular season[]

Season standings[]

Eastern Division
 W L PCT GB
x-New York Knicks 60 22 .732 –
x-Milwaukee Bucks 56 26 .683 4
x-Baltimore Bullets 50 32 .610 10
x-Philadelphia 76ers 42 40 .512 18
Cincinnati Royals 36 46 .439 24
Boston Celtics 34 48 .415 26
Detroit Pistons 31 51 .378 29


Record vs. opponents[]

1969–70 NBA Records
Team ATL BAL BOS CHI CIN DET LAL MIL NYK PHI PHO SDR SFW SEA
Atlanta — 2–4 6–0 5–2 3–3 3–3 4–3 3–3 4–2 3–3 2–4 4–2 5–2 4–2
Baltimore 4–2 — 5–2 5–1 4–3 5–2 4–2 3–3 1–5 3–4 3–3 6–0 2–4 5–1
Boston 0–6 2–5 — 3–3 3–3 4–3 2–4 1–6 4–3 2–4 2–4 4–2 5–1 2–4
Chicago 2–5 1–5 3–3 — 3–3 3–3 4–2 4–2 0–6 3–3 5–2 3–4 4–2 4–3
Cincinnati 3–3 3–4 3–3 3–3 — 4–2 2–4 2–5 2–5 4–3 3–3 4–2 2–4 1–5
Detroit 3–3 2–5 3–4 3–3 2–4 — 3–3 1–6 1–6 1–5 3–3 3–3 3–3 3–3
Los Angeles 3–4 2–4 4–2 2–4 4–2 3–3 — 3–3 2–4 4–2 3–4 5–2 5–2 6–0
Milwaukee 3–3 3–3 6–1 2–4 5–2 6–1 3–3 — 2–4 5–2 6–0 6–0 4–2 5–1
New York 2–4 5–1 3–4 6–0 5–2 6–1 4–2 4–2 — 5–2 6–0 5–1 5–1 4–2
Philadelphia 3–3 4–3 4–2 3–3 3–4 5–1 2–4 2–5 2–5 — 4–2 4–2 6–0 0–6
Phoenix 4–2 3–3 4–2 2–5 3–3 3–3 4–3 0–6 0–6 2–4 — 7–0 3–3 4–3
San Diego 2–4 0–6 2–4 4–3 2–4 3–3 2–5 0–6 1–5 2–4 0–7 — 5–2 4–2
San Francisco 2–5 4–2 1–5 2–4 4–2 3–3 2–5 2–4 1–5 0–6 3–3 2–5 — 3–4
Seattle 2–4 1–5 4–2 3–4 5–1 3–3 0–6 1–5 2–4 6–0 3–4 2–4 4–3 —

Game log[]

1969–70 game log
Total: 56–26 (Home: 7–1; Road: 2–1)
October: 4–2 (Home: 2–1; Road: 2–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 October 18, 1969 Detroit W 119–110 Lew Alcindor (29) Milwaukee Arena 1–0
2 October 19, 1969 Seattle W 130–106 Flynn Robinson (22) Milwaukee Arena 2–0
3 October 22, 1969 @ San Diego W 115–102 San Diego Sports Arena 3–0
4 October 24, 1969 @ Los Angeles L 112–123 The Forum 3-1
7 October 28, 1969 Boston L 107–120 Milwaukee Arena 4–3
9 October 31, 1969 @ Philadelphia W 129–125 The Spectrum 6–3
November: 1–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
23 November 26, 1969 Los Angeles W 100–81 Milwaukee Arena 13–10
December: 0–0 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
January: 4–0 (Home: 4–0; Road: 0–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
41 January 2, 1970 New York W 118–105 Milwaukee Arena 27–14
43 January 7, 1970 Cincinnati W 138–119 Milwaukee Arena 28–15
44 January 9, 1970 Phoenix W 120–116 Milwaukee Arena 29–15
45 January 10, 1970 Boston W 124–109 Milwaukee Arena 30–15
February: 1–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
62 February 11, 1970 Phoenix W 127–120 Milwaukee Arena 43–19
March: 0–0 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1969–70 schedule

Playoffs[]

1970 playoff game log
Division Semifinals: 4–1 (Home: 2–1; Road: 2–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 March 25 Philadelphia W 125–118 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (36) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (20) Bob Dandridge (6) University of Wisconsin Field House
9,686 		1–0
2 March 27 Philadelphia L 105–112 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (33) Bob Dandridge (12) Bob Dandridge (7) University of Wisconsin Field House
9,686 		1–1
3 March 30 @ Philadelphia W 156–120 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (33) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (17) Flynn Robinson (14) Spectrum
15,244 		2–1
4 April 1 @ Philadelphia W 118–111 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (33) Greg Smith (19) Bob Dandridge (7) Spectrum
14,206 		3–1
5 April 3 Philadelphia W 115–106 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (46) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (25) Bob Dandridge (8) University of Wisconsin Field House
12,868 		4–1
Division Finals: 1–4 (Home: 1–1; Road: 0–3)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 April 11 @ New York L 102–110 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (35) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (15) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (5) Madison Square Garden
19,500 		0–1
2 April 13 @ New York L 111–112 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (23) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (11) Madison Square Garden
19,500 		0–2
3 April 17 New York W 101–96 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (33) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (31) Bob Dandridge (8) Milwaukee Arena
10,746 		1–2
4 April 19 New York L 105–117 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38) Abdul-Jabbar, Smith (9) Flynn Robinson (7) Milwaukee Arena
10,746 		1–3
5 April 20 @ New York L 96–132 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (27) Zaid Abdul-Aziz (12) Guy Rodgers (6) Madison Square Garden
19,500 		1–4
1970 schedule

Player statistics[]

Legend
  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

Season[]

Player GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PF PPG
Zaid Abdul-Aziz 80 20.5 43.4 64.3 7.5 0.8 2.1 7.4
Lew Alcindor 82 43.1 51.8 65.3 14.5 4.1 3.5 28.8
John Arthurs 11 3.2
Len Chappell 75 8.3
Freddie Crawford 77 7.6
Dick Cunningham 60 2.1
Bob Dandridge 81 3.2
Bob Greacen 41 2.6
Jon McGlocklin 82 17.6
Flynn Robinson 81 21.8
Guy Rodgers 64 3.2
Greg Smith 82 9.8
Sam Williams 11 2.5

Playoffs[]

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Zaid Abdul-Aziz 10 4.3
Lew Alcindor 10 35.2
Len Chappell 9 7.7
Freddie Crawford 10 8.8
Dick Cunningham 8 2.6
Bob Dandridge 10 16.3
Bob Greacen 1 2.0
Jon McGlocklin 10 14.9
Flynn Robinson 10 12.8
Guy Rodgers 7 2.4
Greg Smith 10 10.7
Sam Williams 2 4.0

Awards and honors[]

  • Lew Alcindor, NBA Rookie of the Year
  • Lew Alcindor, NBA All-Rookie Team
  • Lew Alcindor, NBA All-Star Game Appearance

References[]

  1. ^ "Tails-Up Call on Coin Toss Wins First Basketball Pick for Bucks". The New York Times. March 20, 1969.
  2. ^ "Alcindor Rejects A.B.A.'s $3.2-Million Offer and Will Sign With Bucks". The New York Times. March 30, 1969.
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