The Milwaukee Bucks are one of the best teams in the NBA with reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo leading the way. Certainly, their hopes to win a championship are very much within reach as long as The Greek Freak is in town. Milwaukee hopes it can add another banner to its lone 1971 championship banner in the rafters of the Fiserv Forum sooner rather than later.
It has been nearly four decades since the Bucks won the NBA title or reached the NBA Finals. They have certainly come close a couple of times. More often than not, the closer you get to the goal but fail in the end, the harder they are to swallow. Those moments served as some of the most gut-wrenching moments in the history of the franchise.
With that said, let's look back on some of the most heartbreaking Bucks news fans of the team wish they never heard.
Losing the 1974 NBA Finals
The Bucks became the fastest expansion team to ever win a title when they did so in 1971 with Lew Alcindor (he became Kareem Abdul-Jabbar right after this title) and Oscar Robertson. After failing to defend their championship the following season and an early playoff exit in 1973, the Bucks made a return trip to the Finals three years later.
This time, they faced the Boston Celtics, who were seeking their first title in the post-Bill Russell era. Both teams engaged in a hard-fought series that saw the road team win five of the seven games. The Celtics regained homecourt advantage by winning in Game 5, but Milwaukee answered back with a gutsy overtime win in Boston in Game 6.
With homecourt advantage in Game 7, the Bucks had a huge chance to win their second title in four years. Instead, they lost 102-87 as the Celtics double-teamed and triple-teamed Abdul-Jabbar through most of the decider. This was definitely a heartbreaking way to lose considering they did so on their home floor. Likewise, this would mark Milwaukee's last Finals appearance.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wants out
After losing the 1974 Finals, the Bucks struggled out of the gates the following season and missed the postseason mainly due to injuries. At the end of the season, Abdul-Jabbar expressed that he no longer wanted to be a Buck.
This certainly spelled doom for the franchise as it certainly seemed like they would have been a force for many years to come with the 1971 MVP leading the way. Instead, Abdul-Jabbar wanted to play in a bigger market, like New York or Los Angeles. The Bucks' front office certainly did their due diligence to convince him to stick around. However, Abdul-Jabbar didn't budge.
Finally, in June 1975, Milwaukee traded its franchise superstar. The Bucks had plenty of good players throughout the years after Kareem, but another legitimate superstar didn't come around until a Greek kid named Giannis Antetokounmpo came along and took over the league.
Game 5 of the 2001 Eastern Conference Finals
As mentioned, Milwaukee's last Finals appearance came in 1974. The Bucks made a couple of runs to the Eastern Conference Finals in the 1980s, but both squads were easily eliminated by the powerhouse Boston Celtics. Enter the 2000-01 season, when Milwaukee featured a promising Big Three of Ray Allen, Sam Cassell, and Glenn Robinson.
The Bucks finished as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 52-30 record, winning the Central Division. They got past the first two rounds and advanced to their first conference finals appearance in 15 years. Milwaukee faced the top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers led by league MVP Allen Iverson.
Philly and Milwaukee split the first four games, with both teams winning on each other's home floor once. Game 5 in Philadelphia proved to be a must-win game and became an all-time classic. The two squads fought it out in the pivotal contest and the game came down the wire.
With a one-point lead with 13.9 seconds left, the Sixers had a chance to ice the contest with free throws. However, Aaron McKie missed both of his freebies, leaving the door wide open for the Bucks to steal home-court advantage again and head to Milwaukee with the 3-2 series lead.
On the deciding possession, Glenn Robinson managed to create a clean look near the basket, one that he made a thousand times over. Unfortunately, he just failed to knock down the short jumper. Ray Allen missed on his tip-in as time expired. Milwaukee managed to win Game 6, but the Sixers eventually blew them out in Game 7 and advanced to the Finals.
In hindsight, the Game 5 loss definitely stung the most for the Bucks in this series. A win could have propelled them to their first NBA Finals appearance in three decades. Certainly, this defeat is one that got away for Milwaukee.
Failing to reach the NBA Finals in 2019
The 2018-19 Bucks finished the regular season with the best record in the NBA at 60-22. They dominated the league as seen with their No. 1 defense and top net rating. The Bucks managed to plow through the first two rounds and certainly looked every bit like the team to beat in the East.
In the Eastern Conference Finals, Milwaukee faced Kawhi Leonard and the Toronto Raptors. The Bucks won the first two games convincingly and looked poised to make their first Finals appearance in nearly four decades.
However, the Raptors switched up their defense and took control of the series. Milwaukee's 22-point win over Toronto in Game 2 proved to be its last of a dominant 2018-19 campaign. The Raptors won four straight, including Game 5 in Milwaukee, to close out the series and prevent the Bucks from ending their Finals drought.
Certainly, the disappointing exit stung hard as the Bucks are motivated to right the wrong, led by two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Milwaukee avoided a repeat of the summer of 1975 happening again when Antetokounmpo signed the richest contract in NBA history to remain with the team. Teams looking to pry away The Greek Freak have resorted to their respective Plan Bs. Meanwhile, the Bucks, with their franchise player locked in, continue to find ways to bolster an already-formidable lineup in their quest for another title.
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