Sidney Moncrief

Although Jerry West wanted to draft him to the Los Angeles Lakers,[7] Moncrief's NBA career started with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1979 when he was drafted 5th overall. In the final game of his rookie season, Moncrief scored 13 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, and recorded 7 assists in 107-91 victory over the Utah Jazz.[8]

During the 1980-81 NBA season, Moncrief helped the Bucks to a 60-22 record, third best in the league, while averaging 14 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists.[9] Despite the strong showing in the regular season, Milwaukee lost in seven games to Philadelphia in the conference semifinals,[10] after coach Don Nelson unsuccessfully contested Milwaukee's 99-98 Game 7 loss for two hours and sixteen minutes, while questioning if Philadelphia got away with a 24 second violation at the end of the game.[11] The following year, in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference Semifinals matchup, Moncrief made a running bank shot at the buzzer to beat the Philadelphia 76ers, though the Bucks lost the series in six games.[12]

On December 5, 1982, in a loss against the New Jersey Nets, Moncrief recorded a career-high 7 steals.[13] On February 24, 1983, Moncrief scored a career-high 42 points, recorded 8 assists, and grabbed 8 rebounds in a 114-103 victory against the Houston Rockets.[14] That postseason, Moncrief led the Bucks to a sweep of Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics in the second round, averaging 23.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 4 assists per game,[15] and being on the dunking end of an alley-oop pass from Brian Winters to help put away the Game 4 win.[16] The following round, on May 14, 1983, Moncrief scored 19 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and recorded 4 steals in a Game 3 loss against the eventual champion 76ers.[17] The Bucks would lose the series 4-1, but would be the only team to beat Philadelphia in any postseason game that year.

On November 30, 1983, Moncrief scored 25 points and blocked a career-high 4 shots in a 139-122 victory against former Bucks player Alex English and the Denver Nuggets.[18] The following month, Moncrief recorded his first career triple-double, with 16 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists in a 89-83 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.[19]

On December 5, 1984, Moncrief and teammates Terry Cummings and Paul Pressey combined for 76 points, an impressive 67% of Milwaukee's points, in a 114-99 victory against the Detroit Pistons. A win in which The Bucks were without Coach Don Nelson, Mike Dunleavy Sr, and Charles Davis, who all suffered neck and back injuries the previous Saturday night at a Baltimore airport.[20] Despite again finding regular season success at a record of 59-23, after the Bucks eliminated the Bulls and Michael Jordan in the first round with a 3-1 series record, Moncrief and his team would be eliminated in the Eastern Conference Semifinals by Philadelphia again.[21]

On March 15, 1986, Moncrief played 48 minutes, the entire game, and scored 27 points along with recording a career-high 12 assists in a 125-116 regular season victory against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.[22] That postseason, Moncrief and Milwaukee advanced past the Philadelphia 76ers in a tightly contested seven game series. Moncrief was only able to play in three games of the series due to a heel and knee injuries but still rallied the team when he played,[23] and the Bucks won each game he appeared, including a 113-112 victory in Game 7 at home where he scored 23 points.[24] This meant the Bucks would reach the Eastern Conference finals for a third time with Moncrief. However, yet again Milwaukee would come up short, this time losing to the Boston Celtics.[25]

During the 1987 NBA Playoffs, after advancing past the 76ers in the first round, on May 15, 1987, Moncrief scored a playoff-career high of 34 points in a Game 6 win against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The performance was especially notable given he was primarily guarded by fellow defensive-great Dennis Johnson. However, the Bucks would lose the series in 7 games.[26] On May 24, it was announced Moncrief and teammates Jack Sikma, Randy Breuer, Paul Mokeski, Terry Cummings, and Jerry Reynolds would each be fined between $1,000 and $500 for their roles in an altercation in the game. Danny Ainge and Greg Kite of the Celtics were also fined. The altercation began when Ainge fouled Moncrief from behind during a fastbreak layup attempt, and no players were ejected or suspended.[27] In arguably the last healthy playoff series of his career, Moncrief averaged 20.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.[28]

On December 23, 1988, by then frequently missing games due to knee and foot injuries, Moncrief scored 25 points, largely thanks to making 13 of 13 free throw attempts, and added 5 assists in a 113-101 victory against the Dallas Mavericks.[29] Moncrief would retire for the first time at the conclusion of that year's postseason, an Eastern Semifinals loss to the eventual champion Detroit Pistons.[30]

After sitting out of the NBA for one year during the 1989-1990 season, Moncrief played one season with the Atlanta Hawks before retiring at the conclusion of their postseason run.[31] On May 2, 1991, Moncrief scored 23 points in only 22 minutes during a Game 4 victory against the Detroit Pistons, although the Hawks would go on to lose the series.[32] The Bucks initially retired his no. 4 jersey in 1990, and rededicated it at halftime on January 19, 2008, when the Warriors, with whom he was a shooting coach, visited the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to play the Bucks.[33]

• Moncrief: My Journey to the NBA (1990, with Myra McLarey) ISBN 9780874831139
• Your Passport to Becoming a Valuable Team Player: Your Travel Guide for Peak Performance at Work and Home (2012, with Kisha Wetherall) ISBN 9780983828518