Best player to wear each number for the Bucks, part 2 (25-77)
The Milwaukee Bucks have been playing basketball since 1968 and in that time they have issued 50 different numbers ranging from 00 to 77.
Some of these players make the list because they are among the best players in Bucks history and some make it because they were fortunate enough to wear a unique jersey number. Furthermore, a handful of really good Milwaukee players did not make the list because of a shared number with a better player (sorry Ray Allen).
The list below is the best player for each number in Bucks franchise history, based off information from basketballreference.com.
This edition covers numbers 26-88. Our previous installment went over 0-25.
No. 25: Paul Pressey
Mo Williams was a better scorer for the Bucks, but Pressey’s defensive prowess gives him the spot here. He recorded 11.9 points and 5.6 assists per game and made the All-NBA Defensive First Team in 1985 and 1986 and the second team in 1987.
No. 26: Kyle Korver
Korver is the only Bucks player to wear No. 26. He has maintained his 3-point shooting abilities this season with Milwaukee (41.5% from deep) and has averaged 6.7 points per game.
No. 27: Zaza Pachulia
Pachulia had two stops in Milwaukee – the 2004-05 season and from 2013-15. In his three seasons with the Bucks, Pachulia recorded 7.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, primarily as a bench player.
No. 28: Andrew Lang
Lang is the only Buck to wear No. 28 and averaged 3.9 points and 4.0 boards in two seasons with the franchise from 1996-98.
No. 30: Blue Edwards
Edwards started almost all of the games he played in from 1992-94 and stood out as an efficient scorer. He shot 49.7% from the field and recorded 14.2 points per game in that span.
No. 31: Charlie Villanueva
After spending his rookie season with the Toronto Raptors, Villanueva averaged 13.5 points and 6.3 rebounds for the Bucks from 2006-09. Villanueva’s best season of his career came in 2008-09 when he scored 16.2 points per game while shooting 44.7%.
No. 32: Brian Winters
Winters’ number is retired by the Bucks and was named an All-Star in 1976 and 1978. His last name may be the coldest season of the year, but Winters could heat it up on the court, scoring 16.2 points and shooting 47.8% from the floor as a member of the Bucks
No. 33: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
He’s the only Buck to wear No. 33. And even if he wasn’t … need I say more?
No. 34: Giannis Antetokounmpo
As good as Ray Allen was for the Bucks, Giannis, Milwaukee’s only other MVP besides Kareem, gets the nod for this one.
No. 35: Swen Nater
Nater played for the Bucks in the 1976-77 season at age 27 after spending the first three years of his professional career in the ABA. Nater averaged a double-double with 13.0 points and 12.0 rebounds with Milwaukee.
No. 36: Dave Cowens
After his excellent career with the Boston Celtics and two years of retirement, Cowens came back to the NBA to play with Milwaukee during the 1982-83 season. His best years were behind him at that point, as he averaged 8.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.
No. 40: Frank Brickowski
Brickowski played both power forward and center during his time in Milwaukee. He was on the Bucks from 1990-91 until he was traded to Charlotte midway through the 1993-94 season. During that stretch he scored 13.9 points per game and shot 52.3%.
No. 41: Nikola Mirotić
The power forward from Montenegro played only 14 regular-season games for the Bucks last season after he was traded from the New Orleans Pelicans, but he gets the spot here since he is the only No. 41 in Bucks history (all of whom played just one year in Milwaukee) to score in double figures (11.6 ppg).
No. 42: Vin Baker
Baker got off to a hot start with the Bucks. He made the NBA All-Rookie team after the 1993-94 campaign and went on to make three straight All-Star teams before he was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics in 1997. Baker averaged 18.3 points, 9.5 boards and 1.3 blocks as a Buck.
No. 43: Jack Sikma
After winning an NBA championship and making seven All-Star teams with the Sonics, Sikma spent the final five years of his career with the Bucks. The big man proved he could still play by recording 13.4 points and 7.9 rebounds per game in Milwaukee and shot a league-leading 92.2% from the free-throw line during the 1987-88 season.
No. 44: Keith Van Horn
Van Horn came to the Bucks in a trade from the New York Knicks in 2004 and was subsequently traded away to the Dallas Mavericks the next season. In the 58 games he played for Milwaukee, Van Horn averaged 12.7 points and 5.6 rebounds.
No. 45: Randy Breuer
At 7-foot-3, Breuer occupied the paint for the Bucks from 1983-90. On the whole, he was not the scariest offensive threat for Milwaukee, but he did manage to average 12.0 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in the 1987-88 season.
No. 50: Len Chappell
Chappell played just two seasons for the Bucks from 1968-70, recording 11.5 points and 5.9 rebounds in that stretch.
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No. 51: Michael Ruffin
Ruffin averaged 2.0 points coming off the bench for the Bucks in 2007-08. He gets the spot here since he played 46 games for Milwaukee, more than any other Bucks player who wore No. 51.
No. 52: Eric Mobley
Mobley was with the Bucks for just over a year and averaged 3.9 points and 3.3 rebounds during his rookie season in 1994-95. He traded to the Vancouver Grizzlies five games into the next season.
No. 53: Alton Lister
Lister played his first five seasons of his career (1981-86) in Milwaukee and later returned to the team for just over a season in the mid-‘90s. His best season as a Buck was in 1984-85 when he recorded 9.9 points, 8.0 boards and 2.1 blocks per game.
No. 54: Kent Benson
After leading the Indiana Hoosiers to an NCAA championship in 1976, Benson spent his first two NBA seasons on the Bucks before he was traded to Detroit in his third season as part of the Bob Lanier deal. His best year with the Bucks came in 1978-79 when he averaged 12.3 points and 7.1 rebounds while shooting 51.8%.
No. 55: Keyon Dooling
Dooling spent the 2010-11 season as a reserve point guard with Milwaukee. During his stop with the Bucks he recorded 7.1 points and 3.0 assists per game and shot 83% from the charity stripe.
No. 77: Johnny O’Bryant
Ersan Ilyasova also wore No. 77 at one point, but since he’s already on our list (see part 1) O’Bryant gets the spot. O’Bryant only suited up in a No. 77 jersey during his second full season with the Bucks in 2015-16. During his entire career with Milwaukee he averaged 3.0 points and 2.4 rebounds.
