NBA Draft: Evaluating Every Milwaukee Bucks 1st-Round Pick
By Phil Watson
![](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/fa5d4b96705c95795bb04145d89826f116ab9205ddd902cc2c5f9078a9d5fe64.jpg)
T.J. Ford arrived with the hype of a national collegiate player of the year. He spent three injury-plagued seasons with the Bucks. (Photo by Jeremey Jennene/This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.)
In The Rotation (Part 3)
2003, No. 8 overall: T.J. Ford, G, Texas
Ford earned the Wooden and Naismith awards as a sophomore at Texas and declared for the NBA draft and the Bucks pounced on him at No. 8, hoping he was the point guard of the future.
Instead, Ford missed part of his rookie season and all of the 2004-05 season with a back injury, but he came back to have a solid campaign in 2005-06.
In the two seasons he played in Milwaukee, Ford averaged 10 points, 6.5 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 31.7 minutes a game, starting all but two of his 127 games. He shot .405/.320/.772.
In June 2006, Ford was dealt to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for forward Charlie Villanueva and he also spent time with the Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs and played in Croatia during the 2011 lockout. His last NBA season was 2011-12 and he played eight seasons in the league.
Season | Tm | G | MP | FG | FGA | 3P | 3PA | FT | FTA | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2003-04 | MIL | 55 | 1472 | 153 | 398 | 5 | 21 | 80 | 98 | 177 | 356 | 60 | 3 | 139 | 123 | 391 |
2004-05 | Did Not Play (injury—back) | |||||||||||||||
2005-06 | MIL | 72 | 2557 | 328 | 789 | 35 | 104 | 187 | 248 | 311 | 473 | 104 | 7 | 219 | 196 | 878 |
2006-07 | TOR | 75 | 2243 | 393 | 902 | 21 | 69 | 240 | 293 | 236 | 595 | 101 | 8 | 231 | 186 | 1047 |
2007-08 | TOR | 51 | 1199 | 246 | 524 | 15 | 51 | 110 | 125 | 100 | 313 | 54 | 0 | 102 | 93 | 617 |
2008-09 | IND | 74 | 2258 | 413 | 913 | 35 | 104 | 245 | 281 | 259 | 392 | 89 | 16 | 180 | 180 | 1106 |
2009-10 | IND | 47 | 1189 | 186 | 418 | 8 | 50 | 104 | 135 | 149 | 180 | 44 | 11 | 90 | 102 | 484 |
2010-11 | IND | 41 | 773 | 91 | 236 | 6 | 32 | 35 | 48 | 81 | 141 | 35 | 8 | 63 | 69 | 223 |
2011-12 | SAS | 14 | 191 | 19 | 43 | 2 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 18 | 45 | 9 | 2 | 23 | 23 | 51 |
Career | 429 | 11882 | 1829 | 4223 | 127 | 439 | 1012 | 1242 | 1331 | 2495 | 496 | 55 | 1047 | 972 | 4797 | |
2 seasons | MIL | 127 | 4029 | 481 | 1187 | 40 | 125 | 267 | 346 | 488 | 829 | 164 | 10 | 358 | 319 | 1269 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 6/13/2014.
1985, No. 22 overall: Jerry Reynolds, F-G, LSU
Reynolds came out of LSU after his junior year and because of his size and athleticism, the Bucks took a flyer at the end of the first round.
He had three decent seasons in Milwaukee, but had trouble staying healthy, dealing with knee and hamstring problems throughout his first stint with the Bucks.
He was traded early in training camp before the 1988-89 season, but came back to the Bucks as a free agent in December 1995, playing with the team for a couple of months before he was released.
In four seasons, Reynolds averaged six points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 14.6 minutes a game, shooting .425/.297/.665. He started 53 of his 194 games.
The Bucks swapped Reynolds to the Seattle SuperSonics for a 1990 second-rounder in October 1988 and he also played with the Orlando Magic before missing the entire 1992-93 season with a knee injury and sitting out the 1993-94 campaign altogether. He played in the USBL in 1994-95 before coming back to the Bucks for a two-month cameo.
After his NBA days were over, he played in both the CBA and USBL as well as abroad in Italy, Puerto Rico and Cyprus before retiring in 2001.
Season | Tm | G | MP | FG | FGA | 3P | 3PA | FT | FTA | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1985-86 | MIL | 55 | 508 | 72 | 162 | 1 | 2 | 58 | 104 | 80 | 86 | 43 | 19 | 52 | 57 | 203 |
1986-87 | MIL | 58 | 963 | 140 | 356 | 6 | 18 | 118 | 184 | 173 | 106 | 50 | 30 | 82 | 91 | 404 |
1987-88 | MIL | 62 | 1161 | 188 | 419 | 3 | 7 | 119 | 154 | 160 | 104 | 74 | 32 | 104 | 97 | 498 |
1988-89 | SEA | 56 | 737 | 149 | 357 | 3 | 15 | 127 | 167 | 100 | 62 | 53 | 26 | 57 | 58 | 428 |
1989-90 | ORL | 67 | 1817 | 309 | 741 | 1 | 14 | 239 | 322 | 323 | 180 | 93 | 64 | 139 | 162 | 858 |
1990-91 | ORL | 80 | 1843 | 344 | 793 | 10 | 34 | 336 | 419 | 299 | 203 | 95 | 56 | 172 | 123 | 1034 |
1991-92 | ORL | 46 | 1159 | 197 | 518 | 3 | 24 | 158 | 189 | 149 | 151 | 63 | 17 | 96 | 69 | 555 |
1992-93 | Did Not Play (injury) | |||||||||||||||
1993-94 | Did Not Play | |||||||||||||||
1994-95 | Did Not Play (other pro league—USBL) | |||||||||||||||
1995-96 | MIL | 19 | 191 | 21 | 53 | 1 | 10 | 13 | 21 | 33 | 12 | 15 | 6 | 16 | 20 | 56 |
Career | 443 | 8379 | 1420 | 3399 | 28 | 124 | 1168 | 1560 | 1317 | 904 | 486 | 250 | 718 | 677 | 4036 | |
4 seasons | MIL | 194 | 2823 | 421 | 990 | 11 | 37 | 308 | 463 | 446 | 308 | 182 | 87 | 254 | 265 | 1161 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 6/13/2014.
1974, No. 18 overall: Gary Brokaw, G, Notre Dame
Picking last in the first round in 1974, the Bucks took a chance on the Notre Dame guard and he was a solid rotational contributor during his time in Milwaukee.
In parts of three seasons for the Bucks, Brokaw averaged 8.4 points, 3.1 assists and 1.8 rebounds in 21.2 minutes per game, shooting 44.3 percent from the floor and 71.2 percent from the line.
In January 1977, the Bucks traded Brokaw and center Elmore Smith to the Cleveland Cavaliers for forward Rowland Garrett and a pair of first-round picks, one in 1977 and the other in 1978.
Brokaw also played with the Buffalo Braves, but his NBA career lasted just four seasons. He has also been a coach at the collegiate and NBA levels, including five seasons as head coach at Iona from 1986-91.
Season | Tm | G | MP | FG | FGA | 3P | 3PA | FT | FTA | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1974-75 | MIL | 73 | 1639 | 234 | 514 | 126 | 184 | 147 | 221 | 31 | 18 | 176 | 594 | |||
1975-76 | MIL | 75 | 1468 | 237 | 519 | 159 | 227 | 125 | 246 | 37 | 17 | 138 | 633 | |||
1976-77 | TOT | 80 | 1487 | 242 | 564 | 163 | 219 | 123 | 228 | 36 | 36 | 164 | 647 | |||
1976-77 | MIL | 41 | 891 | 130 | 324 | 105 | 137 | 64 | 111 | 22 | 23 | 85 | 365 | |||
1976-77 | CLE | 39 | 596 | 112 | 240 | 58 | 82 | 59 | 117 | 14 | 13 | 79 | 282 | |||
1977-78 | BUF | 13 | 130 | 18 | 43 | 18 | 24 | 12 | 20 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 11 | 54 | ||
Career | 241 | 4724 | 731 | 1640 | 466 | 654 | 407 | 715 | 107 | 76 | 12 | 489 | 1928 | |||
3 seasons | MIL | 189 | 3998 | 601 | 1357 | 390 | 548 | 336 | 578 | 90 | 58 | 399 | 1592 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 6/13/2014.
1972, No. 6 overall: Russ Lee, F, Marshall
Lee was a hot prospect out of Marshall, but festered on the bench for two years, coming to a team that was a perennial title contender and never breaking into the rotation.
Lee averaged 2.9 points and 1.2 rebounds in just six minutes per game for Milwaukee, shooting 39.1 percent overall and 72.9 percent from the line.
In training camp in October 1974, Lee was traded along with a first-round pick in 1975 to the expansion New Orleans Jazz in exchange for big man Steve Kuberski and a 1975 second-round choice.
Season | Tm | G | MP | FG | FGA | 3P | 3PA | FT | FTA | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1972-73 | MIL | 46 | 277 | 49 | 127 | 32 | 43 | 43 | 38 | 36 | 130 | |||||
1973-74 | MIL | 36 | 166 | 38 | 94 | 11 | 16 | 40 | 20 | 11 | 0 | 29 | 87 | |||
1974-75 | NOJ | 15 | 139 | 29 | 76 | 7 | 14 | 31 | 7 | 11 | 3 | 17 | 65 | |||
Career | 97 | 582 | 116 | 297 | 50 | 73 | 114 | 65 | 22 | 3 | 82 | 282 | ||||
2 seasons | MIL | 82 | 443 | 87 | 221 | 43 | 59 | 83 | 58 | 11 | 0 | 65 | 217 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 6/13/2014.