This era Milwaukee Bucks basketball is a real treat for fans born in the behind schedule 1980s and 1990s who had to endure decades of playing on mediocre or downright terrible teams. Sure, the years with Sam Cassell, Ray Allen and Glenn Robinson were competitive until the 2001 Eastern Conference Finals, but their era was no match for this one.
Despite two straight first-round exits, the Bucks’ core four of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard, Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez ensures the championship window remains open for the next few years. Indeed, there were times when just making the NBA Playoffs was considered a successful season in Milwaukee.
The road to transforming the Bucks into a contender wasn’t a miniature one. The nearly two decades between the dissolution of the Cassell-Allen-Robinson Big Three and Milwaukee’s emergence as a title contender were filled with years of needy basketball.
The Milwaukee Bucks were hoping that Larry Sanders would be their long-term center
The Milwaukee Bucks team from the 2010/2011 season had high expectations before the season. The year before, they lost 46-36 under Scott Skiles, but lost to the Atlanta Hawks in seven games in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. That little taste of success led many to believe that maybe, just maybe, the Bucks could build a contender after all.
With the 15th overall pick in the NBA Draft this season, Milwaukee selected center Larry Sanders out of VCU. At six-foot-eleven, Sanders boasted an even longer wingspan, making him a reliable rim protector.
And that he was. During his five seasons with the Bucks, Sanders never averaged less than 1.2 blocks per game in a season, topping out at 2.8 blocks per game in 2012-13, when he finished seventh in Defensive Player of the Year voting and third in Most Defensive Player of the Year voting. Improved Player. . He also averaged 9.8 points and 9.5 rebounds this year.
Unfortunately, his NBA career didn’t last long after that season.
Former Milwaukee Bucks head coach Jason Kidd forced Larry Sanders to take a year off
Sanders’ career began to decline rapidly when the Bucks hired Jason Kidd as head coach. According to the book Giannis: An unlikely rise to NBA MVPKidd was verbally and mentally abusive to Sanders so much that he had to take a year off from the game for his mental health.
According to the bookDuring one practice, Kidd directed the Bucks so much that Sanders’ body began to convulse. When Kidd called him “pathetic” and said he needed to run some more, Sanders excused himself and went to the bathroom. But instead of going there, he went to the hospital.
Sanders withdrew from the competition during the 2015–16 season, citing mental health issues. He then played just five games for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2016–17 season before his NBA career came to an end.
Former Milwaukee Bucks center Larry Sanders went second overall in the Big Three draft
Since 2019, Sanders has competed in Ice Cube’s Big 3 Basketball League, a three-on-three league that includes many former NBA players. This year, Sanders was selected with the second pick in his annual draft:
Roscoe Smith and Shakur Juiston #UNLVmbb @thebig3 pic.twitter.com/12A89HSe3d
— Tony Cordasco (@TonyDasco) May 25, 2024
In the past, former Bucks players Drew Gooden, Nate Robinson and Joe Alexander also competed in the league.
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