10 greatest Bucks in franchise history, ranked

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10 greatest Bucks in franchise history, ranked

James Salmon, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Fri, Oct 3, 2025 ·

8 min read

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In the more than 50 years which have passed since the franchise came into existence, the Milwaukee Bucks have seen some pretty high-level talent walk through their doors.

Though they had an extended period with minimal success, their 58-year history was nearly book-ended by Bucks championships , and it's little surprise that some of the most notable of those talents played leading roles in those triumphs.

But while the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar stand out for their contributions to the Bucks' achieving the ultimate success, there have been plenty of other great players to represent the franchise who haven't been quite so lucky.

So how to separate the likes of Sidney Moncrief, who played virtually his whole career in Milwaukee but never made it out of the Eastern Conference, with someone like Abdul-Jabbar, who played a far smaller proportion of his career with the Bucks but who led them to the top of the mountain in that time?

It's a task which will invariably invoke plenty of debate, so without further ado, here are the 10 greatest Bucks in history, ranked.

10. Jrue Holiday

It might seem premature to have Jrue Holiday in this list given he played just three seasons to date with the Bucks, but he crammed plenty of accolades into that short period of time. In his first season with the team, he played a key role in leading them to their first championship in 50 years.

That season he was also named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team, a feat he repeated in 2022-23, while he made the NBA All-Defensive Second Team the season sandwiched in between. He was also an NBA All-Star in 2022-23 and was named NBA Teammate of the Year in two of his three seasons in Milwaukee. That's a pretty hefty list of achievements in a short period of time and enough to earn him a place among the Top 10 Bucks in history.

9. Ray Allen

Ray Allen made his name as one of the sweetest jump shooters in the game's history with a number of different teams, but it all started with the Milwaukee Bucks . After being drafted with the fifth pick in 1996, Allen wasted no time showing his wares for the Bucks, averaging 19.5 points per game in his first season.

Those numbers jumped up into the low 20s for much of his career with the Bucks, though more notable than his points per game was the efficiency with which he got them with a three-point percentage in excess of 42% in his third, fourth, and fifth seasons with the team.

Unfortunately, the furthest he got in his time there was a Conference Finals series in 2001, but with three All-Star appearances, an All-NBA Third Team appearance and a Three-Point Contest win to boot, it's safe to say he made an indelible mark on the franchise.

8. Terry Cummings

Like Ray Allen, Terry Cummings never achieved the ultimate success with the Milwaukee Bucks, but he played a key role in their consistent presence in the playoffs during his time there, putting up some impressive individual numbers along the way.

In his six seasons with the Bucks, Cummings averaged 19.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game, racking up a couple of All-NBA and All-Star appearances in that time. A power forward who was very comfortable with ball in hand, Cummings was a pivotal part of a strong era for the Bucks, cementing his place firmly in this list.

7. Marques Johnson

Marques Johnson certainly doesn't receive the kind of recognition of some of the names ahead of him in this list, and while that's understandable given the quality of those names, he is nonetheless right up there in the list of greatest Bucks players in history.

He put up strong numbers in his seven seasons in Milwaukee, averaging 21.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game, and alongside Sidney Moncrief helped to lead the Bucks to consistent appearances in the playoffs and challenge for the Eastern Conference title on multiple occasions.

6. Khris Middleton

Though he played second fiddle to Giannis Antetokounmpo for much of his career, Middleton was a driving force in the Bucks' resurgence over recent years. A three-time NBA All-Star, Middleton has at times been a whipping boy for NBA analysts who feel he's out of place among the other All-Stars, but such criticism is unwarranted.

He was a key member of the Bucks' team for over a decade and transformed himself into a bona fide star in recent years with his ability to play multiple positions at both ends of the floor, which is vital to his team's success. He averages 17.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists in his nearly 12 seasons with Milwaukee before the Bucks traded Middleton to the Washington Wizards in 2025.

5. Bob Dandridge

Bob Dandridge comes a little way down the list of names people remember from the Bucks' 1970 championship team, but given that list includes Oscar Robertson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, that's not exactly a fault of his own.

In just his second season in the league, Dandridge averaged 18.4 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists that year, and by the end of his career had compiled nine seasons with the Bucks which bore similar numbers. With three All-Star appearances in his time with Milwaukee, he undoubtedly deserves his spot in the top five Milwaukee players of all time.

4. Sidney Moncrief

Sidney Moncrief is synonymous with the 1980s Bucks outfit, having led the charge as the team's best player during much of that period and leading them on many deep playoff runs. Between 1982 and 1986 he made five consecutive NBA All-Star teams, while he also made the All-NBA First Team once and the All-NBA Second Team four times during that time period.

During that period he also made the All-NBA First Defensive Team four times and the Second Team once, and won the Defensive Player of the Year award on two occasions. That's some record. One of the best players in the league for an extended period and with ten Bucks' seasons under his belt, Moncrief will be hard to dislodge from this top four.

3. Oscar Robertson

Oscar Robertson had a great impact on the game of basketball. With an ability to terrorize oppositions in a multitude of ways which was unprecedented for someone of his size at the time, he established himself as one of the greats of the game with the Sacramento Kings before moving to the Bucks for the final four seasons of his career.

He was a shadow of the player he once was by that stage, and his numbers declined each year he was with the team, but it's a testament to just how good he was that he was still such a pivotal player despite being well past his best. Milwaukee won the championship in his first year with them with his influence on that team surpassed only by the next man on this list.

2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Like Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is not best remembered for his time in a Bucks uniform, but that too is testament to how great his career with the Los Angeles Lakers was. Kareem played the first six seasons of his illustrious career in Milwaukee, leading them to their inaugural championship and averaging a casual 30.4 points, 15.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists.

He was Finals MVP that season, league MVP that season and two others with Milwaukee, an All-Star every season, four times named to the All-NBA First Team in his six seasons with the Bucks, and the list goes on. He is the greatest player to don the Milwaukee jersey, and it's only the fact that he played the bulk of his career in Los Angeles that bumps him out of the top spot.

1. Giannis Antetokounmpo

There was a time when it looked like Giannis Antetokounmpo would seek greener pastures elsewhere, but fortunately for both he and the city of Milwaukee, he stayed. That decision, of course, proved key in the fortunes of the franchise as the man affectionately known as the Greek Freak went on to live up to his name en route to the team's first championship in 50 years .

He was Finals MVP that year, adding to a trophy cabinet which already included two NBA MVPs and could very easily have included a third from that season. One of the most unique players in the game's history, Giannis can do literally everything (except shoot…) on the floor, and has for years been averaging close to 30 points, double-figure rebounds and 5+ assists.

He is going about establishing himself as one of the game's greats, and with his entire career likely to take place in Milwaukee, his spot atop this list is difficult to dispute, especially as he finished Top 5 in MVP voting for the seventh consecutive year in 20224-25. Now if only the Bucks can keep Giannis Antetokounmpo from thinking about a trade .

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