1970–71 Milwaukee Bucks season

The 1970–71 Milwaukee Bucks season was the third season for the Bucks. Milwaukee posted a 66–16 record in only its third year of existence, and its second since drafting Lew Alcindor (later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). A key part of this championship season was the acquisition of Oscar Robertson. Other role players on the Bucks included players such as Bob Dandridge (18.4 ppg), Jon McGlocklin (15.8 ppg), power forward Greg Smith & key reserves such as Lucius Allen, Bob Boozer and Dick Cunningham completing the nucleus. This season included a 20-game winning streak, the NBA's longest at the time, and still ranked fifth all-time. The Bucks became the first team from the Midwest Division to win the NBA title; it would be 23 years before the Houston Rockets would do the same.

In the 1971 NBA Playoffs, the Bucks defeated the 4th-seeded Warriors in 5 games. In the Western Conference Finals, the team dispatched the Lakers in 5 games. The Bucks made their way into the Finals for the first time in NBA history in just their third year of existence. They faced off against the Baltimore Bullets and swept them in four games. The Bucks had won their first title in franchise history. Lew Alcindor won MVP and Finals MVP honors. HoopsHype would later rank this squad as the team with the sixth-easiest path to an NBA Finals championship due to the records that the San Francisco Warriors and Baltimore Bullets had this season.

Draft picks

Main article: 1970 NBA draft

The Milwaukee Bucks made ten selections in the 1970 NBA draft.

Round	Pick	Player	College/Club team
1	16	Gary Freeman	Oregon State
2	33	Bill Zopf	Duquesne
3	50	Marv Winkler	SW Louisiana
4	67	Virgle Fredricks	Drury
5	84	Mike Grosso	Louisville
6	101	Willy Watson	Oklahoma City
7	118	John Rinka	Kenyon
8	135	Jim Samo	Northwestern
9	152	Joe Hamilton	North Texas State
10	169	Bob Seemer	Georgia Tech

Roster

1970–71 Milwaukee Bucks roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	DOB	From
C	33	Alcindor, Lew	7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	1947–04–16	UCLA
PG	7	Allen, Lucius	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1947–09–26	UCLA
PF	20	Boozer, Bob	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	1937–04–26	Kansas State
C	19	Cunningham, Dick	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	1946–07–11	Murray State
SF	10	Dandridge, Bob	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1947–11–15	Norfolk State
F	18	Greacen, Bob	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	206 lb (93 kg)	1947–09–15	Rutgers
G	14	McGlocklin, Jon	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	1943–06–10	Indiana
SF	35	McLemore, McCoy	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	1942–04–03	Drake
PG	1	Robertson, Oscar	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	1938–11–24	Cincinnati
F	4	Smith, Greg	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1947–01–28	Western Kentucky
PG	8	Webb, Jeff	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1948–07–06	Kansas State
G	5	Winkler, Marv	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1948–02–18	Louisiana
G	6	Zopf, Bill	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1948–06–07	Duquesne

Head coach

Larry Costello

Assistant coach(es)

Tom Nissalke

Legend

(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

Regular season

In only his second professional season, Lew Alcindor led the league in scoring at 31.7 ppg, ranked second in field goal percentage at .577 and fourth in rebounding at 16.0 rpg. Newly arrived Oscar Robertson turned 32 early in the 1970–71 season, and was past his prime when he came to Milwaukee, but his versatile skills and experience provided a leadership role for the Bucks. Robertson had never won a championship and his desire to win seemed to inspire Alcindor and unite the rest of the Bucks. Robertson ranked third in the league in assists at 8.3 apg and was the Bucks' No. 2 scorer at 19.4 ppg.

Standings

Midwest Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Div
y-Milwaukee Bucks	66	16	.805	–	34–2	28–13	4–1	14–4
x-Chicago Bulls	51	31	.622	15	30–11	17–19	4–1	7–11
Phoenix Suns	48	34	.585	18	27–14	19–20	2–0	9–9
Detroit Pistons	45	37	.549	21	24–17	20–19	1–1	6–12

#	Western Conference v t e
#	Team	W	L	PCT
1	z-Milwaukee Bucks	66	16	.805
2	y-Los Angeles Lakers	48	34	.585
3	x-Chicago Bulls	51	31	.622
4	x-San Francisco Warriors	41	41	.500

5	Phoenix Suns	48	34	.585
6	Detroit Pistons	45	37	.549
7	San Diego Rockets	40	42	.488
8	Seattle SuperSonics	38	44	.463
9	Portland Trail Blazers	29	53	.354

Record vs. opponents

1970–71 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BAL	BOS	BUF	CHI	CIN	CLE	DET	LAL	MIL	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SDR	SFW	SEA
Atlanta	—	3–3	2–4	3–1	1–4	2–4	4–0	0–5	3–2	1–4	3–3	4–2	1–4	2–2	2–3	2–3	3–2
Baltimore	3–3	—	3–3	3–1	2–3	3–3	4–0	2–3	2–3	1–4	2–4	3–3	3–2	2–2	4–1	2–3	3–2
Boston	4–2	3–3	—	4–0	4–1	4–2	3–1	2–3	3–2	0–5	0–6	4–2	2–3	2–2	3–2	3–2	3–2
Buffalo	1–3	1–3	0–4	—	0–4	0–4	5–7	1–5	2–2	0–4	2–2	0–4	1–3	6–6	1–3	1–3	1–3
Chicago	4–1	3–2	1–4	4–0	—	4–0	4–0	3–3	2–4	1–5	3–2	3–2	3–3	3–1	6–0	4–2	3–2
Cincinnati	4–2	3–3	2–4	4–0	0–4	—	5–1	1–4	1–4	1–4	2–4	1–5	1–4	4–0	1–3	2–3	1–4
Cleveland	0–4	0–4	1–3	7–5	0–4	1–5	—	2–2	0–4	0–4	0–4	1–3	0–4	2–10	0–4	1–3	0–4
Detroit	5–0	3–2	3–2	5–1	3–3	4–1	2–2	—	2–3	1–5	2–3	2–3	2–4	3–1	4–2	1–4	3–1
Los Angeles	2–3	3–2	2–3	2–2	4–2	4–1	4–0	3–2	—	1–4	3–2	3–2	2–4	4–0	3–3	4–2	4–2
Milwaukee	4–1	4–1	5–0	4–0	5–1	4–1	4–0	5–1	4–1	—	1–4	4–1	4–2	3–1	4–1	6–0	5–1
New York	3–3	4–2	6–0	2–2	2–3	4–2	4–0	3–2	2–3	4–1	—	2–4	4–1	3–1	4–1	3–2	2–3
Philadelphia	2–4	3–3	2–4	4–0	2–3	5–1	3–1	3–2	2–3	1–4	4–2	—	3–2	4–0	3–2	3–2	3–2
Phoenix	4–1	2–3	3–2	3–1	3–3	4–1	4–0	4–2	4–2	2–4	1–4	2–3	—	4–0	2–4	3–2	3–2
Portland	2–2	2–2	2–2	6–6	1–3	0–4	10–2	1–3	0–4	1–3	1–3	0–4	0–4	—	0–4	1–3	2–4
San Diego	3–2	1–4	2–3	3–1	0–6	3–1	4–0	2–4	3–3	1–4	1–4	2–3	4–2	4–0	—	2–4	5–1
San Francisco	3–2	3–2	2–3	3–1	2–4	3–2	3–1	4–1	2–4	0–6	2–3	2–3	2–3	3–1	4–2	—	3–3
Seattle	2–3	2–3	2–3	3–1	2–3	4–1	4–0	1–3	2–4	1–5	3–2	2–3	2–3	4–2	1–5	3–3	—

Game log

1970–71 game log
Total: 66–16 (Home: 34–2; Road: 28–14)

October: 5–1 (home: 3–0; road: 2–1)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
1	October 17, 1970	@ Atlanta	W 107–98	Lew Alcindor (32)	Lew Alcindor (17)	Oscar Robertson (4)	Alexander Memorial Coliseum	1–0
2	October 20, 1970	@ Detroit	L 114–115	Lew Alcindor (38)	Lew Alcindor (16)	Oscar Robertson (11)	Cobo Center	1-1
3	October 24, 1970	Baltimore	W 122–120 2OT	Lew Alcindor (39)	Lew Alcindor (17)		Milwaukee Arena	2–1
4	October 25, 1970	Seattle	W 126–107	Lew Alcindor (37)	Lew Alcindor (14)	Oscar Robertson (13)	Milwaukee Arena	3–1
5	October 27, 1970	San Diego	W 126–113	Bob Dandridge (39)	Lew Alcindor & Dick Cunningham (10)	Oscar Robertson (8)	Milwaukee Arena	4–1
6	October 31, 1970	@ Cincinnati	W 121–100	Lew Alcindor (28)	Lew Alcindor (22)	Bob Dandridge (9)	Cincinnati Gardens	5–1

November: 13–2 (home: 5–1; road: 8–1)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
7	November 4, 1970	@ Cleveland	W 110–108	Lew Alcindor (53)	Lew Alcindor (11)	Bob Dandridge & Jon McGlocklin (9)	Cleveland Arena	6–1
8	November 8, 1970	Phoenix	W 125–105	Bob Dandridge (32)	Bob Dandridge (14)	Oscar Robertson & Jon McGlocklin (9)	Milwaukee Arena	7–1
9	November 11, 1970	@ Boston	W 123–113	Lew Alcindor (44)	Lew Alcindor (15)	Oscar Robertson (10)	Boston Garden	8–1
10	November 14, 1970	@ Buffalo	W 116–107	Lew Alcindor (27)	Lew Alcindor (20)	Lew Alcindor (7)	Buffalo Memorial Auditorium	9–1
11	November 15, 1970	Baltimore	W 105–90	Lew Alcindor & Oscar Robertson (27)	Lew Alcindor (21)	Oscar Robertson (12)	Milwaukee Arena	10–1
12	November 16, 1970	San Francisco	W 119–100	Lew Alcindor (30)	Bob Dandridge (14)	Oscar Robertson (10)	Milwaukee Arena	11–1
13	November 18, 1970	@ San Diego	W 117–111	Lew Alcindor (25)	Lew Alcindor (16)	Oscar Robertson (6)	San Diego Sports Arena	12–1
14	November 20, 1970	@ Los Angeles	W 117–100	Lew Alcindor (29)	Lew Alcindor (13)	Lucius Allen (5)	The Forum	13–1
15	November 21, 1970	@ San Francisco	W 127–102	Lew Alcindor (28)	Lew Alcindor (15)	Oscar Robertson (9)	Cow Palace	14–1
16	November 22, 1970	@ Portland	W 126–104	Lew Alcindor (30)	Lew Alcindor (26)	Oscar Robertson (9)	Memorial Coliseum	15–1
17	November 24, 1970	@ Chicago	W 117–108	Lew Alcindor (37)	Lew Alcindor (15)	Oscar Robertson (12)	Chicago Stadium	16–1
18	November 25, 1970	Detroit	W 113–87	Lew Alcindor (31)	Lew Alcindor & Greg Smith (17)	Oscar Robertson (9)	Milwaukee Arena	17–1
19	November 27, 1970	New York	L 94–103	Lew Alcindor (33)	Lew Alcindor (16)	Oscar Robertson (7)	Milwaukee Arena	17–2
20	November 28, 1970	@ New York	L 99-100	Lew Alcindor (35)	Lew Alcindor (24)	Oscar Robertson (5)	Madison Square Garden	17–3
21	November 29, 1970	Portland	W 124-111	Lew Alcindor (33)	Greg Smith (14)	Oscar Robertson (13)	Milwaukee Arena	18–3

December: 10–4 (home: 7–0; road: 3–4)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
22	December 3, 1970	Chicago	W 107–100	Lew Alcindor & Oscar Robertson (22)	Lew Alcindor (10)	Lew Alcindor (7)	Milwaukee Arena	19–3
23	December 4, 1970	Philadelphia	W 128–122 (OT)	Lew Alcindor (35)	Lew Alcindor (18)	Jon McGlocklin (9)	Milwaukee Arena	20–3
24	December 8, 1970	Atlanta	W 125–104	Lew Alcindor (24)	Lew Alcindor (13)	Oscar Robertson (13)	Milwaukee Arena	21–3
25	December 9, 1970	@ Baltimore	L 97–127	Lew Alcindor (24)	Lew Alcindor (15)	Lew Alcindor (4)	Baltimore Civic Center	21–4
26	December 11, 1970	Cleveland	W 134–92	Lew Alcindor (34)	Lew Alcindor (17)	Oscar Robertson (13)	Milwaukee Arena	22–4
27	December 12, 1970	@ Phoenix	L 111–113	Lew Alcindor (36)	Lew Alcindor (17)	Oscar Robertson (12)	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum	22–5
28	December 13, 1970	@ Seattle	W 124–107	Lew Alcindor (40)	Lew Alcindor (22)	Oscar Robertson (5)	Seattle Center Coliseum	23–5
29	December 18, 1970	Boston	W 124–114	Lew Alcindor (40)	Lew Alcindor (15)	Greg Smith (10)	Milwaukee Arena	24–5
30	December 19, 1970	@ Cincinnati	L 110-119	Lew Alcindor (35)	Lew Alcindor (20)	Jon McGlocklin (6)	Cincinnati Gardens	24–6
31	December 20, 1970	Buffalo	W 131–101	Lew Alcindor (27)	Lew Alcindor (13)	Oscar Robertson (11)	Milwaukee Arena	25–6
32	December 21, 1970	Los Angeles	W 113-88	Lew Alcindor (37)	Lew Alcindor (16)	Oscar Robertson (10)	Milwaukee Arena	26–6
33	December 26, 1970	San Francisco	W 131-111	Lew Alcindor (34)	Lew Alcindor (15)	Oscar Robertson (7)	Milwaukee Arena	27–6
34	December 28, 1970	@ Cincinnati	W 137-114	Lew Alcindor (29)	Lew Alcindor (15)	Greg Smith (8)	UW Field House	28–6
35	December 29, 1970	@ Cleveland	W 119-97	Lew Alcindor & Bob Dandridge (23)	Lew Alcindor (15)	Oscar Robertson (13)	Cleveland Arena	29–6
36	December 30, 1970	@ Philadelphia	L 107-119	Lew Alcindor (30)	Lew Alcindor (18)	Oscar Robertson (8)	The Spectrum	29–7

January: 13–2 (home: 6–1; road: 7–1)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
37	January 2, 1971	Cleveland	W 118-73	Lew Alcindor (27)	Bob Boozer (14)	Oscar Robertson (8)	Milwaukee Arena	30–7
38	January 4, 1971	Seattle	W 124-110	Lew Alcindor (38)	Lew Alcindor (14)	Oscar Robertson (7)	Milwaukee Arena	31–7
39	January 6, 1971	@ Chicago	W 119-106	Lew Alcindor (24)	Lew Alcindor & Bob Boozer (9)	Oscar Robertson (10)	UW Field House	32–7
40	January 7, 1971	New York	W 116-106	Oscar Robertson (35)	Lew Alcindor (13)	Oscar Robertson (13)	Milwaukee Arena	33–7
41	January 9, 1971	Detroit	W 118-100	Lew Alcindor (27)	Lew Alcindor (14)	Lew Alcindor (10)	Milwaukee Arena	34–7
42	January 10, 1971	Baltimore	W 151-99	Bob Dandridge (34)	Lew Alcindor (17)	Oscar Robertson (9)	Milwaukee Arena	35–7
43	January 15, 1971	Cincinnati	W 135-116	Lew Alcindor (35)	Lew Alcindor (16)	Lew Alcindor & Oscar Robertson (5)	Milwaukee Arena	36–7
44	January 16, 1971	@ Chicago	W 110-90	Lew Alcindor (25)	Lew Alcindor (19)	Lew Alcindor & Oscar Robertson (8)	Chicago Stadium	37–7
45	January 17, 1971	Boston	W 120–113	Lew Alcindor (44)	Lew Alcindor (20)	Lew Alcindor, Jon McGlocklin, Bob Dandridge, & Oscar Robertson (5)	Milwaukee Arena	38–7
46	January 20, 1971	@ Baltimore	W 120-116	Lew Alcindor (39)	Lew Alcindor (20)	Bob Dandridge (5)	Baltimore Civic Center	39–7
47	January 22, 1971	Atlanta	L 110–117	Bob Dandridge (22)	Lew Alcindor (20)	Oscar Robertson (8)	Milwaukee Arena	39–8
48	January 23, 1971	Portland	W 142–117	Lew Alcindor (44)	Lew Alcindor (17)	Lew Alcindor (7)	Milwaukee Arena	40–8
49	January 24, 1971	@ Atlanta	W 142-120	Bob Dandridge (33)	Lew Alcindor (17)	Oscar Robertson (15)	Alexander Memorial Coliseum	41–8
50	January 26, 1971	@ New York	L 98-107	Lew Alcindor (29)	Lew Alcindor (25)	Lew Alcindor (4)	Madison Square Garden	41–9
51	January 27, 1971	@ Boston	W 132-129	Lew Alcindor (53)	Lew Alcindor (14)	Lew Alcindor & Oscar Robertson (7)	Boston Garden	42–9
52	January 29, 1971	@ Philadelphia	W 142-118	Lew Alcindor (31)	Lew Alcindor (13)	Lew Alcindor & Oscar Robertson (6)	The Spectrum	43–9
53	January 31, 1971	@ Detroit	W 131-104	Lew Alcindor (28)	Bob Dandridge (15)	Oscar Robertson (7)	Wisconsin Field House	44–9

February: 15–2 (home: 6–0; road: 9–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
54	February 2, 1971	@ Portland	L 111-123	Lew Alcindor (38)	Lew Alcindor & Bob Boozer (9)	Oscar Robertson (9)	Memorial Coliseum	44–10
55	February 3, 1971	@ San Diego	W 108-101	Lew Alcindor (25)	Lew Alcindor (12)	Oscar Robertson (10)	San Diego Sports Arena	45–10
56	February 5, 1971	@ Los Angeles	L 93–116	Lew Alcindor (27)	Lew Alcindor (10)	Oscar Robertson (7)	The Forum	45–11
57	February 6, 1971	@ San Francisco	W 111-85	Bob Dandridge & Jon McGlocklin (20)	Lew Alcindor (11)	Oscar Robertson (11)	Cow Palace	46–11
58	February 8, 1971	Phoenix	W 118-94	Lew Alcindor (39)	Lew Alcindor (23)	Oscar Robertson (12)	Milwaukee Arena	47–11
59	February 9, 1971	@ Detroit	W 107-106	Lew Alcindor (38)	Lew Alcindor (16)	Oscar Robertson (14)	Cobo Center	48–11
60	February 11, 1971	Los Angeles	W 122-88	Lew Alcindor (31)	Lew Alcindor (21)	Oscar Robertson (9)	Milwaukee Arena	49–11
61	February 13, 1971	Chicago	W 103–96	Lew Alcindor (35)	Lew Alcindor (20)	Oscar Robertson (9)	Milwaukee Arena	50–11
62	February 14, 1971	@ Atlanta	W 124-88	Lew Alcindor (23)	Lew Alcindor (19)	John McGlocklin (11)	Alexander Memorial Coliseum	51–11
63	February 16, 1971	@ Buffalo	W 135-103	Lew Alcindor (38)	Lew Alcindor (20)	Bob Dandridge (8)	Buffalo Memorial Auditorium	52–11
64	February 17, 1971	Philadelphia	W 119-114	Lew Alcindor (41)	Lew Alcindor (13)	Oscar Robertson (9)	Wisconsin Field House	53–11
65	February 19, 1971	@ Seattle	W 128-112	Lew Alcindor (42)	Lew Alcindor (29)	Oscar Robertson (8)	Seattle Center Coliseum	54–11
66	February 20, 1971	@ San Francisco	W 104-96	Jon McGlocklin (28)	Lew Alcindor (19)	Oscar Robertson (11)	Cow Palace	55–11
67	February 21, 1971	@ Phoenix	W 125–97	Lew Alcindor (36)	Lew Alcindor (21)	Oscar Robertson (10)	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum	56–11
68	February 23, 1971	San Francisco	W 118–107	Oscar Robertson (26)	Lew Alcindor (16)	Oscar Robertson (6)	Milwaukee Arena	57–11
69	February 24, 1971	San Diego	W 139–104	Bob Dandridge (33)	Lew Alcindor & Greg Smith (13)	Oscar Robertson (8)	Milwaukee Arena	58–11
70	February 26, 1971	Cincinnati	W 135–111	Lew Alcindor, Jon McGlocklin, & Bob Dandridge (24)	Lew Alcindor (22)	Oscar Robertson (9)	Milwaukee Arena	59–11
71	February 28, 1971	@ Boston	W 111–99	Lew Alcindor (26)	Lew Alcindor (30)	Oscar Robertson (5)	Boston Garden	60–11

March: 6–5 (home: 4–1; road: 2–4)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
72	March 1, 1971	Philadelphia	W 127–103	Lew Alcindor & Oscar Robertson (29)	Oscar Robertson (12)	Oscar Robertson (10)	Milwaukee Arena	61–11
73	March 3, 1971	Los Angeles	W 112–97	Oscar Robertson (24)	Bob Dandridge (8)	Greg Smith (7)	Milwaukee Arena	62–11
74	March 4, 1971	Buffalo	W 113–116	Oscar Robertson (32)	Lew Alcindor (17)	Oscar Robertson (9)	Milwaukee Arena	63–11
75	March 5, 1971	@ Detroit	W 108–95	Lew Alcindor (34)	Lew Alcindor (11)	Oscar Robertson (16)	Cobo Arena	64–11
76	March 8, 1971	Seattle	W 99–104	Lew Alcindor (32)	Lew Alcindor (16)	Jon McGlocklin & Oscar Robertson (7)	Milwaukee Arena	65–11
77	March 9, 1971	@ Chicago	L 103–110 (OT)	Lew Alcindor (39)	Lew Alcindor (17)	Oscar Robertson (8)	Chicago Stadium	65–12
78	March 13, 1971	@ New York	L 103–108	Lew Alcindor (34)	Lew Alcindor (16)	Jon McGlocklin (5)	Madison Square Garden	65–13
79	March 14, 1971	Phoenix	L 125–113	Lew Alcindor (38)	Lew Alcindor (15)	Greg Smith (6)	Wisconsin Field House	65–14
80	March 16, 1971	@ Phoenix	W 119–111	Lew Alcindor (48)	Lew Alcindor (14)	Oscar Robertson (13)	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum	66–14
81	March 18, 1971	@ Seattle	L 121–122	Lew Alcindor (39)	Lew Alcindor (13)	Greg Smith (7)	Seattle Center Coliseum	66–15
82	March 19, 1971	@ San Diego	L 99–111	Lew Alcindor (22)	Dick Cunningham (12)	Bob Greacen (8)	San Diego Sports Arena	66–16

1970–71 schedule

Playoffs

1971 playoff game log

Conference Semifinals: 4–1 (home: 3–0; road: 1–1)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	March 27	@ San Francisco	W 107–96	Oscar Robertson (31)	Alcindor, Smith (10)	Oscar Robertson (9)	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 11,216	1–0
2	March 29	San Francisco	W 104–90	Lew Alcindor (26)	Lew Alcindor (18)	Oscar Robertson (7)	University of Wisconsin Field House 12,868	2–0
3	March 30	San Francisco	W 114–102	Lew Alcindor (33)	Lew Alcindor (12)	Lucius Allen (8)	University of Wisconsin Field House 12,868	3–0
4	April 1	@ San Francisco	L 104–106	Lew Alcindor (32)	Lew Alcindor (21)	Lucius Allen (6)	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 7,615	3–1
5	April 4	San Francisco	W 136–86	Jon McGlocklin (28)	Lew Alcindor (17)	Lucius Allen (7)	University of Wisconsin Field House 12,868	4–1

Conference Finals: 4–1 (home: 3–0; road: 1–1)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	April 9	Los Angeles	W 106–85	Lew Alcindor (32)	Lew Alcindor (22)	Oscar Robertson (10)	Milwaukee Arena 10,746	1–0
2	April 11	Los Angeles	W 91–73	Lew Alcindor (22)	Bob Dandridge (11)	Oscar Robertson (7)	Milwaukee Arena 10,746	2–0
3	April 14	@ Los Angeles	L 107–118	Bob Dandridge (25)	Lew Alcindor (19)	Oscar Robertson (9)	The Forum 17,334	2–1
4	April 16	@ Los Angeles	W 117–94	Lew Alcindor (31)	Lew Alcindor (20)	Oscar Robertson (6)	The Forum 17,505	3–1
5	April 18	Los Angeles	W 116–98	Greg Smith (22)	Alcindor, Dandridge (15)	Oscar Robertson (12)	Milwaukee Arena 10,746	4–1

NBA Finals: 4–0 (home: 2–0; road: 2–0)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	April 21	Baltimore	W 98–88	Lew Alcindor (31)	Lew Alcindor (17)	Oscar Robertson (7)	Milwaukee Arena 10,746	1–0
2	April 25	@ Baltimore	W 102–83	Lew Alcindor (27)	Lew Alcindor (24)	Oscar Robertson (10)	Baltimore Civic Center 12,289	2–0
3	April 28	Baltimore	W 107–99	Bob Dandridge (29)	Lew Alcindor (21)	Oscar Robertson (12)	Milwaukee Arena 10,746	3–0
4	April 30	@ Baltimore	W 118–106	Oscar Robertson (30)	Alcindor, Dandridge (12)	Oscar Robertson (9)	Baltimore Civic Center 11,842	4–0

1971 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

Season

Regular season statistics
Player	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	82	40.1	57.7	69.0	16.0	3.3	31.7
Oscar Robertson	81	39.4	49.6	85.0	5.7	8.2	19.4
Bob Dandridge	79	36.2	50.9	70.2	8.0	3.5	18.4
Jon McGlocklin	82	35.3	53.5	86.2	2.7	3.7	15.8
Greg Smith	82	29.6	51.2	66.2	7.2	2.8	11.7
Bob Boozer	80	22.2	45.0	81.8	5.4	1.6	9.1
Lucius Allen	61	19.0	44.7	70.0	2.5	2.6	7.1
McCoy McLemore	28	14.8	36.8	82.9	3.8	1.1	4.7
Gary Freeman	41	8.2	50.8	73.7	2.4	0.8	3.7
Marv Winkler	3	4.7	30.0	100.0	1.3	0.7	2.7
Dick Cunningham	76	8.9	41.5	66.1	3.4	0.6	2.6
Bob Greacen	2	21.5	8.3	42.9	3.0	6.5	2.5
Jeff Webb	29	10.3	34.6	73.3	0.8	0.7	2.2
Bill Zopf	53	7.5	36.3	55.6	0.9	1.4	2.2

Playoffs

Playoff statistics
Player	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	14	41.2	51.5	67.3	17.0	2.5	26.6
Bob Dandridge	14	38.2	46.3	78.2	9.6	3.4	19.2
Oscar Robertson	14	37.1	48.6	75.4	5.0	8.9	18.3
Jon McGlocklin	14	35.1	53.6	84.8	2.2	2.4	14.9
Greg Smith	14	32.4	54.7	55.0	8.6	2.6	11.6
Bob Boozer	14	20.2	48.2	75.9	5.3	1.2	7.4
Lucius Allen	14	22.3	50.6	71.4	2.9	3.7	7.3
Dick Cunningham	14	6.4	42.9	66.7	1.7	0.1	1.7
Bob Greacen	7	2.3	36.4	100.0	0.7	0.0	1.7
Jeff Webb	9	2.6	57.1	100.0	0.1	0.2	1.2
McCoy McLemore	10	5.2	25.0	50.0	1.6	0.8	0.7
Marv Winkler	5	1.6	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.0

Awards and records

Lew Alcindor, NBA scoring champion
Lew Alcindor, NBA MVP
Lew Alcindor, NBA Finals MVP

Transactions

On April 21, 1970, the Bucks traded two young players, Flynn Robinson and Charlie Paulk, to the Cincinnati Royals for 10-year veteran guard Oscar Robertson.

Trades

April 21, 1970	To Milwaukee Bucks---- Oscar Robertson	To Cincinnati Royals---- Charlie Paulk Flynn Robinson
September 17, 1970	To Milwaukee Bucks---- Lucius Allen Bob Boozer	To Seattle SuperSonics---- Zaid Abdul-Aziz
February 1, 1971	To Milwaukee Bucks---- McCoy McLemore	To Cleveland Cavaliers---- Gary Freeman

Free agents

Subtractions
Player	Date signed	New team
Len Chappell	Expansion Draft May 11, 1970	Cleveland Cavaliers
Freddie Crawford	Expansion Draft May 11, 1970	Buffalo Braves

Notes

Changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar before the 1971–72 season.

References

^ NBA.com: All-Time Finals Challenge: 1971 Bucks
"Ranking the easiest paths to an NBA title ever". June 18, 2024.
"1970 NBA Draft". Basketball Reference. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
Milwaukee Bucks (1968 – ) 1970 Stats, History, Awards and More Archived 2008-03-16 at the Wayback Machine
^ "1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 5, 2021.

1970–71 NBA season by team

Eastern

Atlantic	Boston Buffalo New York Philadelphia
Central	Atlanta Baltimore Cincinnati Cleveland

Western

Midwest	Chicago Detroit Milwaukee Phoenix
Pacific	Los Angeles Portland San Diego San Francisco Seattle

v t e NBA champions
1940s	1947: Philadelphia Warriors 1948: Baltimore Bullets 1949: Minneapolis Lakers
1950s	1950: Minneapolis Lakers 1951: Rochester Royals 1952: Minneapolis Lakers 1953: Minneapolis Lakers 1954: Minneapolis Lakers 1955: Syracuse Nationals 1956: Philadelphia Warriors 1957: Boston Celtics 1958: St. Louis Hawks 1959: Boston Celtics
1960s	1960: Boston Celtics 1961: Boston Celtics 1962: Boston Celtics 1963: Boston Celtics 1964: Boston Celtics 1965: Boston Celtics 1966: Boston Celtics 1967: Philadelphia 76ers 1968: Boston Celtics 1969: Boston Celtics
1970s	1970: New York Knicks 1971: Milwaukee Bucks 1972: Los Angeles Lakers 1973: New York Knicks 1974: Boston Celtics 1975: Golden State Warriors 1976: Boston Celtics 1977: Portland Trail Blazers 1978: Washington Bullets 1979: Seattle SuperSonics
1980s	1980: Los Angeles Lakers 1981: Boston Celtics 1982: Los Angeles Lakers 1983: Philadelphia 76ers 1984: Boston Celtics 1985: Los Angeles Lakers 1986: Boston Celtics 1987: Los Angeles Lakers 1988: Los Angeles Lakers 1989: Detroit Pistons
1990s	1990: Detroit Pistons 1991: Chicago Bulls 1992: Chicago Bulls 1993: Chicago Bulls 1994: Houston Rockets 1995: Houston Rockets 1996: Chicago Bulls 1997: Chicago Bulls 1998: Chicago Bulls 1999: San Antonio Spurs
2000s	2000: Los Angeles Lakers 2001: Los Angeles Lakers 2002: Los Angeles Lakers 2003: San Antonio Spurs 2004: Detroit Pistons 2005: San Antonio Spurs 2006: Miami Heat 2007: San Antonio Spurs 2008: Boston Celtics 2009: Los Angeles Lakers
2010s	2010: Los Angeles Lakers 2011: Dallas Mavericks 2012: Miami Heat 2013: Miami Heat 2014: San Antonio Spurs 2015: Golden State Warriors 2016: Cleveland Cavaliers 2017: Golden State Warriors 2018: Golden State Warriors 2019: Toronto Raptors
2020s	2020: Los Angeles Lakers 2021: Milwaukee Bucks 2022: Golden State Warriors 2023: Denver Nuggets 2024: Boston Celtics

v t e Milwaukee Bucks
Founded in 1968 Based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Franchise	All-time roster Draft history 1968 Records Head coaches Seasons Current season
Arenas	MECCA Arena Bradley Center Fiserv Forum
Personnel	Owner(s) Wes Edens Jimmy Haslam Jamie Dinan Mike Fascitelli Junior Bridgeman President Peter Feigin General manager Jon Horst Head coach Doc Rivers
G League affiliate	Wisconsin Herd
Retired numbers	1 2 4 8 10 14 16 32 33
NBA championships	1971 2021
NBA Cup championships	2024
Culture and lore	Radio network Bally Sports Wisconsin The Big O Bango 1970–71 championship season 1974 NBA Finals MECCA Court Fear the Deer Herb Kohl 2024 NBA Cup championship game

Milwaukee Bucks seasons

1960s

1970s

1970–71

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

2020–21

2024–25

Bold indicates NBA Finals victory; italics indicates NBA Cup victory

v t e Milwaukee Bucks 1970–71 NBA champions
1 Robertson 4 Smith 5 Winkler 6 Zopf 7 Allen 8 Webb 10 Dandridge 14 McGlocklin 18 Greacen 19 Cunningham 20 Boozer 33 Alcindor (Finals MVP) 35 McLemore
Head coach: Costello Assistant coach: Nissalke
Regular season Playoffs

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