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.
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 | C | UCLA | |||
| 2 | 17 | F | Rutgers | |||
| 3 | 31 | G | East Tennessee State | |||
| 4 | 45 | F | Norfolk State | |||
| 6 | 73 | G | Tulane |
| 1969–70 NBA Records | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| width=100 | 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 | — | |
|-style="background:#bbffbb;"| 1 || October 18, 1969 || Detroit| W 119–110|||| Milwaukee Arena| 1–0|-style="background:#bbffbb;"| 2 || October 19, 1969 || Seattle| W 130–106|||| Milwaukee Arena| 2–0|-style="background:#bbffbb;"| 3 || October 22, 1969 || @ San Diego| W 115–102|||| San Diego Arena| 3–0|-style="background:#fcc;"| 4 || October 24, 1969 || @ Los Angeles| L 112–123|||| The Forum| 3–1|-style="background:#fcc;"| 5 || October 25, 1969 || @ San Francisco| L 104–118|||| San Francisco Civic Auditorium| 3–2|-style="background:#bbffbb;"| 6 || October 26, 1969 || @ Phoenix| W 119–99|||| Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum| 4–2
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"| 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|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 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|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"| 3| March 30| @ Philadelphia| W 156–120| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (33)| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (17)| Flynn Robinson (14)| Spectrum
15,244| 2–1|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"| 4| April 1| @ Philadelphia| W 118–111| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (33)| Greg Smith (19)| Bob Dandridge (7)| Spectrum
14,206| 3–1|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"| 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|-|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 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|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 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|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"| 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|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 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|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 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|-
| Player | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PF | PPG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 | 20.5 | 43.4 | 64.3 | 7.5 | 0.8 | 2.1 | 7.4 | ||
| 82 | 43.1 | 51.8 | 65.3 | 14.5 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 28.8 | ||
| 11 | 3.2 | ||||||||
| 75 | 8.3 | ||||||||
| 77 | 7.6 | ||||||||
| 60 | 2.1 | ||||||||
| 81 | 3.2 | ||||||||
| 41 | 2.6 | ||||||||
| 82 | 17.6 | ||||||||
| 81 | 21.8 | ||||||||
| 64 | 3.2 | ||||||||
| 82 | 9.8 | ||||||||
| 11 | 2.5 |
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 4.3 | |||||||||||
| 10 | 35.2 | |||||||||||
| 9 | 7.7 | |||||||||||
| 10 | 8.8 | |||||||||||
| 8 | 2.6 | |||||||||||
| 10 | 16.3 | |||||||||||
| 1 | 2.0 | |||||||||||
| 10 | 14.9 | |||||||||||
| 10 | 12.8 | |||||||||||
| 7 | 2.4 | |||||||||||
| 10 | 10.7 | |||||||||||
| 2 | 4.0 |