1968–69 Milwaukee Bucks season

The 1968–69 NBA season was the Bucks' inaugural season in the NBA.^[1][2]

1968–69 Milwaukee Bucks season
Head coach	Larry Costello
General manager	John E. Erickson
Owners	Milwaukee Professional Sports and Services, Inc. (Milwaukee Pro)
Arena	Milwaukee Arena
Results
Record	27–55 (.329)
Place	Division: 7th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
1969–70 >

Expansion draft

Player	Position	Team
Len Chappell	Forward	Detroit Pistons
Larry Costello	Guard	Philadelphia 76ers
Johnny Egan	Guard	Baltimore Bullets
Wayne Embry	Center	Boston Celtics
Dave Gambee	Forward	San Diego Rockets
Gary Gray	Guard	Cincinnati Royals
Fred Hetzel	Forward	San Francisco Warriors
Johnny Jones	Forward	Boston Celtics
Bob Love	Forward	Cincinnati Royals
Jon McGlocklin	Guard	San Diego Rockets
Jay Miller	Guard	Atlanta Hawks
Bud Olsen	Forward	Seattle SuperSonics
George Patterson	Center	Detroit Pistons
Jim Reid	Forward	Philadelphia 76ers
Guy Rodgers	Guard	Cincinnati Royals
Tom Thacker	Guard	Boston Celtics
Bob Warlick	Guard	San Francisco Warriors
Bob Weiss	Guard	Seattle SuperSonics

Draft picks

Main article: 1968 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	7	Charlie Paulk	Forward	United States	Northeastern State
2	22	Gene Moore		United States	Saint Louis
3	35	Sam Williams		United States	Iowa
4	50	Greg Smith		United States	Western Kentucky
5	63	Joe Franklin		United States	Wisconsin
6	78	Fred Smith		United States	Hawaii
7	91	Tom Kondla		United States	Minnesota
8	106	Elbert Miller		United States	Nevada-Las Vegas
9	119	Cliff Berger		United States	Kentucky
10	134	Eugene Jones		United States	Missouri
11	146	Brad Luchini		United States	Marquette
12	159	Dave Miller		United States	Florida

Roster

1968–69 Milwaukee Bucks roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From F 50 Chappell, Len 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1941–01–31 Wake Forest C 19 Cunningham, Dick 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1946–07–11 Murray State C 15 Embry, Wayne 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1937–03–26 Miami (OH) G 14 McGlocklin, Jon 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1943–06–10 Indiana C 27 Niemann, Rich 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1946–07–02 Saint Louis G 21 Robinson, Flynn 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1941–04–28 Wyoming G 5 Rodgers, Guy 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1935–09–31 Temple C 16 Smith, Don 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1946–04–07 Iowa State F 4 Smith, Greg 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1947–01–28 Western Kentucky G 3 Williams, Sam 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1945–01–22 Iowa

Head coach Larry Costello Assistant coach(es) Tom Nissalke Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Last transaction: January 31, 1969

Regular season

Season standings

Eastern Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Div
x-Baltimore Bullets	57	25	.695	–	29–9	24–15	4–1	26–14
x-Philadelphia 76ers	55	27	.671	2	26–8	24–16	5–3	23–17
x-New York Knicks	54	28	.659	3	30–7	19–20	5–1	26–14
x-Boston Celtics	48	34	.585	9	24–12	21–19	3–3	23–17
Cincinnati Royals	41	41	.500	16	15-13	16–21	10–7	20–20
Detroit Pistons	32	50	.390	25	21–17	7–30	4–3	13–27
Milwaukee Bucks	27	55	.329	30	15–19	8–27	4–9	7–29

x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1968-69 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BAL	BOS	CHI	CIN	DET	LAL	MIL	NYK	PHI	PHO	SDR	SFW	SEA
Atlanta	–	2–4	3–3	6–1	4–2	6–0	3–4	4–2	2–4	1–5	6–0	3–4	4–3	4–2
Baltimore	4–2	–	5–2	6–0	4–3	7–0	3–3	5–1	3–4	2–4	6–0	5–1	3–3	4–2
Boston	3–3	2–5	–	4–2	5–2	5–1	2–4	5–1	1–6	5–2	6–0	4–2	3–3	3–3
Chicago	1–6	0–6	2–4	–	1–5	3–3	3–4	5–1	2–4	1–5	4–2	3–3	4–3	4–3
Cincinnati	2–4	3–4	2–5	5–1	–	3–4	2–4	5–1	4–2	3–4	4–2	2–4	3–3	3–3
Detroit	0–6	0–7	1–5	3–3	4–3	–	3–3	2–4	3–4	3–4	4–2	3–3	2–4	4–2
Los Angeles	4–3	3–3	4–2	4–3	4–2	3–3	–	5–1	5–1	1–5	6–0	7–0	4–3	5–1
Milwaukee	2–4	1–5	1–5	1–5	1–5	4–2	1–5	–	0–6	0–6	6–2	4–2	3–3	3–5
New York	4–2	4–3	6–1	4–2	2–4	4–3	1–5	6–0	–	4–3	5–1	3–3	5–1	6–0
Philadelphia	5–1	4–2	2–5	5–1	4–3	4–3	5–1	6–0	3–4	–	5–1	4–2	2–4	6–0
Phoenix	0–6	0–6	0–6	2–4	2–4	2–4	0–6	2–6	1–5	1–5	–	1–7	2–4	3–3
San Diego	4–3	1–5	2–4	3–3	4–2	3–3	0–7	2–4	3–3	2–4	7–1	–	3–3	3–3
San Francisco	3–4	3–3	3–3	3–4	3–3	4–2	3–4	3–3	1–5	4–2	4–2	3–3	–	4–3
Seattle	2–4	2–4	3–3	3–4	3–3	2–4	1–5	5–3	0–6	0–6	3–3	3–3	3–4	—

Game log

1968–69 game log Total: 27–55 (home: 15–19; road: 8–27; neutral: 4–9)
October: 1–5 (home: 1–3; road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 October 16, 1968 Chicago L 84–89 Guy Rodgers (16) Wayne Embry (20) Guy Rodgers (9) Milwaukee Arena 0–1 2 October 19, 1968 @ Atlanta L 107–125 Guy Rodgers (25) Wayne Embry, Len Chappell, Dick Cunningham (6) Guy Rodgers (11) Alexander Memorial Coliseum 0–2 3 October 23, 1968 New York L 112–114 Wayne Embry (26) Wayne Embry (17) Guy Rodgers (13) Milwaukee Arena 0–3 4 October 26, 1968 @ Boston L 89–102 Wayne Embry (20) Bob Love (9) Boston Garden 0–4 5 October 29, 1968 Baltimore L 112–129 Fred Hetzel, Jon McGlocklin (21) Charlie Paulk (10) Guy Rodgers (11) Milwaukee Arena 0–5 6 October 31, 1968 Detroit W 134–118 Wayne Embry (30) Milwaukee Arena 1–5
November: 5–10 (home: 4–3; road: 1–7) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 7 November 1, 1968 @ Cincinnati L 114–132 Dave Gambee (21) Fred Hetzel (13) Guy Rodgers (7) Cincinnati Gardens 1–6 8 November 2, 1968 San Francisco W 102–101 Dave Gambee (20) Wayne Embry (15) Guy Rodgers (11) Milwaukee Arena 2–6 9 November 6, 1968 N Los Angeles L 115-128 Wayne Embry (30) Veterans Memorial Coliseum 2–7 10 November 9, 1968 Boston L 97-98 Wayne Embry, Fred Hetzel (16) Milwaukee Arena 2–8 11 November 12, 1968 Seattle W 127-114 Dave Gambee (29) Wayne Embry (13) Guy Rodgers (16) Milwaukee Arena 3–8 12 November 15, 1968 @ Baltimore L 102–129 Wayne Embry (24) Wayne Embry, Fred Hetzel (13) Guy Rodgers (12) Baltimore Civic Center 3–9 13 November 16, 1968 @ Philadelphia L 92-136 Jon McGlocklin (19) Fred Hetzel (14) Guy Rodgers (8) The Spectrum 3–10 14 November 19, 1968 Atlanta W 119-98 Guy Rodgers (26) Fred Hetzel (13) Guy Rodgers (10) Milwaukee Arena 4–10 15 November 21, 1968 @ Chicago L 111-120 Guy Rodgers (29) Wayne Embry (19) Jon McGlocklin (6) Chicago Stadium 4–11 16 November 23, 1968 Phoenix W 115-112 Fred Hetzel (28) Fred Hetzel, Wayne Embry (18) Guy Rodgers (11) Milwaukee Arena 5–11 17 November 24, 1968 @ Seattle L 120-141 Wayne Embry (29) Wayne Embry (12) Guy Rodgers (6) Seattle Center Coliseum 5–12 18 November 25, 1968 Seattle L 113-123 Jon McGlocklin (25) Fred Hetzel, Wayne Embry, Greg Smith (9) Jon McGlocklin (6) Milwaukee Arena 5–13 19 November 28, 1968 @ Seattle L 103-115 Wayne Embry (27) Wayne Embry (14) Guy Rodgers (13) Seattle Center Coliseum 5–14 20 November 29, 1968 @ San Francisco W 119-140 Fred Hetzel (29) Fred Hetzel (10) Guy Rodgers (9) Cow Palace 5–15 21 November 30, 1968 @ San Francisco W 107–101 Fred Hetzel (22) Wayne Embry, Fred Hetzel (11) Guy Rodgers (9) Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena 6–15
December: 4–15 (home: 4–7; road: 0–8) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 22 December 1, 1968 @ Los Angeles L 112-119 Fred Hetzel (25) Wayne Embry (20) Guy Rodgers (10) The Forum 6–16 23 December 3, 1968 Boston L 115-137 Wayne Embry (29) Milwaukee Arena 6–17 24 December 4, 1968 @ Boston L 99-101 Jon McGlocklin (20) Len Chappell (13) Guy Rodgers (9) Boston Garden 6–18 25 December 6, 1968 Philadelphia L 112-121 Guy Rodgers (24) Dave Gambee (12) Jon McGlocklin (6) Milwaukee Arena 6–19 26 December 7, 1968 @ New York L 113-119 Jon McGlocklin (24) Jon McGlocklin (9) Jon McGlocklin (9) Madison Square Garden 6-20 27 December 8, 1968 N Philadelphia L 117-122 Len Chappell (28) Len Chappell (13) Guy Rodgers (10) Onondaga War Memorial 6-21 28 December 10, 1968 Cincinnati L 96-107 Jon McGlocklin (20) Greg Smith (15) Milwaukee Arena 6-22 29 December 11, 1968 N San Francisco W 106-96 Flynn Robinson (24) Greg Smith (19) Guy Rodgers (7) Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7-22 30 December 13, 1968 San Diego W 101-96 Guy Rodgers (20) Greg Smith (13) Guy Rodgers (8) Milwaukee Arena 8-22 31 December 14, 1968 @ Cincinnati L 115-121 Wayne Embry (23) Greg Smith (15) Cincinnati Gardens 8-23 32 December 18, 1968 @ Atlanta L 116-122 Len Chappell, Jon McGlocklin (23) Len Chappell, Greg Smith (10) Guy Rodgers (5) Alexander Memorial Coliseum 8-24 33 December 19, 1968 @ Chicago L 111-113 Len Chappell (35) Len Chappell (16) Jon McGlocklin, Wayne Embry, Flynn Robinson, Fred Hetzel (2) Chicago Stadium 8-25 34 December 20, 1968 Seattle W 100-92 Flynn Robinson (28) Greg Smith (16) Guy Rodgers (7) Milwaukee Arena 9-25 35 December 22, 1968 Phoenix W 127-116 Fred Hetzel (31) Fred Hetzel (14) Flynn Robinson (11) Milwaukee Arena 10–25 36 December 25, 1968 Detroit L 113-119 Guy Rodgers (24) Milwaukee Arena 10–26 37 December 26, 1968 @ Boston L 106-139 Jon McGlocklin, Flynn Robinson (17) Fred Hetzel (13) Flynn Robinson, Guy Rodgers (3) Boston Garden 10–27 38 December 27, 1968 @ Baltimore L 122-136 Fred Hetzel, Flynn Robinson (25) Fred Hetzel (8) Guy Rodgers (8) Baltimore Civic Center 10–28 39 December 29, 1968 Chicago Bulls L 97-102 Jon McGlocklin (24) Len Chappell (16) Guy Rodgers (6) Milwaukee Arena 10–29 40 December 31, 1968 Philadelphia L 107-128 Len Chappell (22) Greg Smith (15) Flynn Robinson, Guy Rodgers (6) Milwaukee Arena 10–30
January: 5–9 (home: 4–6; road: 1–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 41 January 2, 1969 N Cincinnati L 109-113 Jon McGlocklin (26) Greg Smith (20) Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10–31 42 January 3, 1969 Phoenix W 121-104 Len Chappell (33) Greg Smith (22) Guy Rodgers (12) Milwaukee Arena 11–31 43 January 7, 1969 @ Cincinnati W 116-101 Len Chappell (30) Fred Hetzel (13) Cincinnati Gardens 12–31 44 January 8, 1969 New York L 101-115 Jon McGlocklin (23) Fred Hetzel, Wayne Embry (12) Guy Rodgers (4) Milwaukee Arena 12–32 45 January 10, 1969 Seattle W 115-104 Jon McGlocklin, Flynn Robinson (24) Greg Smith (23) Guy Rodgers (6) Milwaukee Arena 13–32 46 January 12, 1969 Boston W 114-110 Flynn Robinson (26) Milwaukee Arena 14–32 47 January 17, 1969 @ Detroit L 108-123 Flynn Robinson (23) Cobo Arena 14–33 48 January 18, 1969 N New York L 109-117 Flynn Robinson (22) Greg Smith (15) Guy Rodgers (8) Boston Garden 14–34 49 January 20, 1969 N Detroit W 102-101 Jon McGlocklin (38) Veterans Memorial Coliseum 15–34 50 January 21, 1969 Los Angeles L 105-122 Jon McGlocklin (33) Milwaukee Arena 15–35 51 January 25, 1969 @ New York L 96-113 Jon McGlocklin (26) Jon McGlocklin, Greg Smith (10) Flynn Robinson (9) Madison Square Garden 15–36 52 January 27, 1969 N Seattle L 107-128 Wayne Embry, Fred Hetzel (20) Len Chappell (12) Jon McGlocklin (7) Tacoma, WA 15–37 53 January 29, 1969 N Phoenix L 107-111 Len Chappell, Fred Hetzel (27) Len Chappell (11) Jon McGlocklin (10) Tucson, Arizona 15–38 54 January 31, 1969 @ Los Angeles L 104-105 Flynn Robinson (43) Greg Smith (15) Flynn Robinson (8) The Forum 15–39
February: 8–7 (home: 6–4; road: 2–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 55 February 1, 1969 @ San Diego L 95-101 Flynn Robinson (22) Zaid Abdul-Aziz (23) Guy Rodgers (6) San Diego Sports Arena 15–40 56 February 2, 1969 @ Phoenix L 121-122 Len Chappell (32) Len Chappell (16) Flynn Robinson (7) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 15–41 57 February 4, 1969 @ Chicago W 107-98 Flynn Robinson (22) Len Chappell (12) Guy Rodgers (8) Chicago Stadium 16–41 58 February 5, 1969 New York L 102-111 Flynn Robinson (35) Zaid Abdul-Aziz (14) Flynn Robinson (8) Milwaukee Arena 16–42 59 February 7, 1969 Baltimore L 107-114 Jon McGlocklin (22) Zaid Abdul-Aziz (23) Jon McGlocklin (8) Milwaukee Arena 16–43 60 February 9, 1969 San Diego W 117-109 Len Chappell (23) Len Chappell (15) Flynn Robinson (10) Milwaukee Arena 17–43 61 February 12, 1969 Atlanta L 106-113 Len Chappell (26) Greg Smith (18) Flynn Robinson, Dick Cunningham (9) Milwaukee Arena 17–44 62 February 14, 1969 @ Baltimore L 122-132 Jon McGlocklin (37) Dick Cunningham (17) Flynn Robinson (8) Baltimore Civic Center 17–45 63 February 16, 1969 Los Angeles W 106-97 Flynn Robinson (41) Greg Smith (16) Flynn Robinson, Guy Rodgers (6) Milwaukee Arena 18–45 64 February 17, 1969 N Atlanta W 123-111 Flynn Robinson (43) Baltimore Civic Center 19–45 65 February 22, 1969 @ Detroit W 108-107 Flynn Robinson (45) Cobo Arena 20–45 66 February 23, 1969 N Phoenix L 107-103 Len Chappell (24) Zaid Abdul-Aziz (18) Guy Rodgers (9) Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena 21–45 67 February 25, 1969 San Diego W 114-112 Len Chappell (26) Greg Smith (15) Guy Rodgers (13) Milwaukee Arena 22–45 68 February 27, 1969 Baltimore W 126-117 Flynn Robinson (35) Greg Smith (21) Flynn Robinson (9) Milwaukee Arena 23–45 69 February 28, 1969 N Philadelphia L 102-123 Jon McGlocklin (27) Greg Smith (10) Greg Smith (5) Boston Garden 23–46
March: 4–9 (home: 0–5; road: 4–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 70 March 2, 1969 @ Atlanta L 108-112 Flynn Robinson (28) Zaid Abdul-Aziz (13) Flynn Robinson (6) Alexander Memorial Coliseum 23–47 71 March 3, 1969 Philadelphia L 132-143 Flynn Robinson (34) Greg Smith (18) Flynn Robinson (10) Milwaukee Arena 23–48 72 March 5, 1969 Chicago L 108-124 Jon McGlocklin (38) Len Chappell (13) Jon McGlocklin, Flynn Robinson (5) Milwaukee Arena 23–49 73 March 6, 1969 Cincinnati L 110-112 Flynn Robinson (39) Zaid Abdul-Aziz (17) Milwaukee Arena 23–50 74 March 9, 1969 @ Detroit W 126-121 Jon McGlocklin, Flynn Robinson (21) Zaid Abdul-Aziz (16) Jon McGlocklin (8) Cobo Arena 24–50 75 March 10, 1969 San Francisco L 106-123 Jon McGlocklin (31) Zaid Abdul-Aziz (16) Jon McGlocklin (8) Milwaukee Arena 24–51 76 March 13, 1969 N Seattle L 118-141 Flynn Robinson (27) Zaid Abdul-Aziz (11) Guy Rodgers (9) Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena 24–52 77 March 14, 1969 @ Los Angeles L 103-111 Jon McGlocklin (32) Greg Smith (12) Flynn Robinson (7) The Forum 24–53 78 March 18, 1969 @ San Diego L 108-128 Jon McGlocklin, Flynn Robinson (25) Zaid Abdul-Aziz (12) Flynn Robinson (6) San Diego Sports Arena 24–54 79 March 19, 1969 @ Phoenix W 117-110 Jon McGlocklin (26) Zaid Abdul-Aziz (16) Jon McGlocklin, Flynn Robinson (8) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 25–54 80 March 21, 1969 @ San Francisco L 100-103 Flynn Robinson (20) Zaid Abdul-Aziz (23) Flynn Robinson (7) Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena 25–55 81 March 22, 1969 @ San Diego W 120-106 Flynn Robinson (28) Zaid Abdul-Aziz (17) Guy Rodgers (9) San Diego Sports Arena 26–55 82 March 23, 1969 @ Phoenix W 128-118 Flynn Robinson (33) Zaid Abdul-Aziz (19) Jon McGlocklin (9) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 27–55
1968–69 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

Player	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
Zaid Abdul-Aziz	29	28.9	.363	.642	13.0	1.1	11.0
Len Chappell	80	27.6	.454	.737	8.0	1.2	14.6
Dick Cunningham	77	16.1	.425	.651	5.7	0.8	4.6
Wayne Embry	78	30.2	.427	.664	8.6	1.9	13.1
Dave Gambee	34	18.4	.464	.827	5.3	0.9	12.1
Fred Hetzel	53	30.0	.416	.837	8.9	1.6	15.9
Bob Love	14	16.2	.368	.763	4.6	0.2	7.9
Jon McGlocklin	80	36.1	.487	.842	4.3	3.9	19.6
Jay Miller	3	9.0	.200	.714	0.7	0.0	3.0
Rich Niemann	18	8.3	.407	.733	3.3	0.4	3.3
Charlie Paulk	17	12.8	.226	.565	4.6	0.2	3.0
Flynn Robinson	65	31.8	.436	.841	3.6	4.9	20.3
Guy Rodgers	81	26.6	.377	.793	2.8	6.9	10.3
Greg Smith	79	27.9	.450	.587	10.2	1.7	8.1
Bob Warlick	3	7.3	.125	.800	0.3	0.3	2.0
Bob Weiss	15	16.1	.316	.794	1.8	1. 8	6.6
Sam Williams	55	11.4	.342	.537	2.0	1.1	4.1

Transactions

Trades

November 23, 1968	To Milwaukee Bucks---- Flynn Robinson	To Chicago Bulls---- Bob Love Bob Weiss
January 1, 1969	To Milwaukee Bucks---- Rich Niemann	To Detroit Pistons---- Dave Gambee
January 31, 1969	To Milwaukee Bucks---- Zaid Abdul-Aziz	To Cincinnati Royals---- Fred Hetzel

Free agents

References

1. 1968–69 Milwaukee Bucks
2. "New N. B. A. Milwaukee Team Is Looking Good, Commercially". The New York Times. October 24, 1968.