1975–76 Milwaukee Bucks season

The 1975–76 NBA season was the Bucks' eighth season in the NBA.^[1]

1975–76 Milwaukee Bucks season
Division champions
Head coach	Larry Costello
Arena	MECCA Arena
Results
Record	38–44 (.463)
Place	Division: 1st (Midwest) Conference: 4th (Western)
Playoff finish	West First Round (lost to Pistons 1–2)
Stats at Basketball Reference
< 1974–75 1976–77 >

It was the team's first season since its inaugural year without Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers during the offseason. The Bucks would have a 38–44 record, the worst record in NBA history for a team to win its division.

Draft picks

Main article: 1975 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
2	22	Clyde Mayes	PF	United States	Furman
2	24	Cornelius Cash	F	United States	Bowling Green State
3	43	Brian Hammel		United States	Bentley
4	60	Bill Campion	C	United States	Manhattan
6	96	Oliver Purnell		United States	Old Dominion
7	115	Wilbur Thomas		United States	American
8	132	Bob McCurdy	SG	United States	Richmond
9	150	Eric Hays		United States	Montana
10	165	Romy Thomas		United States	Wisconsin-Eau Claire

Roster

1975–76 Milwaukee Bucks roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From G 2 Junior Bridgeman 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1953–09–17 Louisville G 25 Gary Brokaw 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 178 lb (81 kg) 1954–01–11 Notre Dame F 10 Bob Dandridge 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1947–11–15 Norfolk State G 20 Mickey Davis 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1950–06–16 Duquesne C 31 Jim Fox 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1943–04–07 South Carolina F 34 Clyde Mayes 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1953–03–17 Furman G 14 Jon McGlocklin 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1943–06–10 Indiana F 21 Dave Meyers 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1953–04–21 UCLA PG 15 Jim Price 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1949–11–27 Louisville F 18 Kevin Restani 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1951–12–23 San Francisco C 3 Elmore Smith 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1949–05–09 Kentucky State G 32 Brian Winters 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1952–03–01 South Carolina

Head coach Larry Costello Assistant(s) Jack McKinney Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Midwest Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Milwaukee Bucks	38	44	.463	–	22–19	16–25	13–8
x-Detroit Pistons	36	46	.439	2	24–17	12–29	12–9
Kansas City Kings	31	51	.378	7	25–16	6–35	10–11
Chicago Bulls	24	58	.293	14	15–26	9–32	7–14

#	Western Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Golden State Warriors	59	23	.720	–
2	x-Seattle SuperSonics	43	39	.524	16
3	x-Phoenix Suns	42	40	.512	17
4	y-Milwaukee Bucks	38	44	.463	21
5	x-Detroit Pistons	36	46	.439	23
6	Los Angeles Lakers	40	42	.488	19
7	Portland Trail Blazers	37	45	.451	22
8	Kansas City Kings	31	51	.378	28
9	Chicago Bulls	24	58	.293	35

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1975–76 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	BUF	CHI	CLE	DET	GSW	HOU	KCK	LAL	MIL	NOJ	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SEA	WAS
Atlanta	—	2–3	2–3	2–2	2–5	1–3	2–2	2–5	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–4	3–2	2–3	0–4	2–2	1–3	1–5
Boston	3–2	—	4–3	2–2	3–2	4–0	2–2	4–1	2–2	4–0	2–2	4–1	5–2	4–3	4–0	2–2	2–2	3–2
Buffalo	3–2	3–4	—	3–1	3–2	1–3	1–3	3–2	4–0	2–2	3–1	4–1	4–3	3–4	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–3
Chicago	2–2	2–2	1–3	—	0–4	3–4	1–4	1–3	1–6	3–2	3–4	2–2	0–4	0–4	2–3	1–4	2–3	0–4
Cleveland	5–2	2–3	2–3	4–0	—	2–2	1–3	2–4	1–3	2–2	4–0	4–3	3–2	3–2	3–1	4–0	3–1	4–2
Detroit	3–1	0–4	3–1	4–3	2–2	—	0–5	2–2	5–2	1–4	3–4	1–3	3–1	1–3	1–4	2–3	3–2	2–2
Golden State	2–2	2–2	3–1	4–1	3–1	5–0	—	2–2	4–1	5–2	5–0	2–2	4–0	3–1	4–2	4–2	4–3	3–1
Houston	5–2	1–4	2–3	3–1	4–2	2–2	2–2	—	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–4	3–2	3–2	0–4	3–1	2–2	3–4
Kansas City	2–2	2–2	0–4	6–1	3–1	2–5	1–4	2–2	—	2–3	2–5	1–3	1–3	1–3	3–2	0–5	2–3	1–3
Los Angeles	3–1	0–4	2–2	2–3	2–2	4–1	2–5	3–1	3–2	—	2–3	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–4	3–4	3–3	1–3
Milwaukee	2–2	2–2	1–3	4–3	0–4	4–3	0–5	2–2	5–2	3–2	—	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–2	2–3	2–3	2–2
New Orleans	4–2	1–4	1–4	2–2	3–4	3–1	2–2	4–2	3–1	1–3	2–2	—	2–3	1–4	1–3	3–1	1–3	4–3
New York	2–3	2–5	3–4	4–0	2–3	1–3	0–4	2–3	3–1	1–3	2–2	3–2	—	5–2	2–2	3–1	0–4	3–2
Philadelphia	3–2	3–4	4–3	4–0	2–3	3–1	1–3	2–3	3–1	2–2	2–2	4–1	2–5	—	3–1	4–0	2–2	2–3
Phoenix	4–0	0–4	1–3	3–2	1–3	4–1	2–4	4–0	2–3	4–2	2–3	3–1	2–2	1–3	—	5–2	4–3	0–4
Portland	2–2	2–2	2–2	4–1	0–4	3–2	2–4	1–3	5–0	4–3	3–2	1–3	1–3	0–4	2–5	—	3–3	2–2
Seattle	3–1	2–2	2–2	3–2	1–3	2–3	3–4	2–2	3–2	3–3	3–2	3–1	4–0	2–2	3–4	3–3	—	1–3
Washington	5–1	2–3	3–2	4–0	2–4	2–2	1–3	4–3	3–1	3–1	2–2	3–4	2–3	3–2	4–0	2–2	3–1	—

Game log

1975–76 game log Total: 38–44 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0)
October: 0–3 (home: 0–2; road: 0–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 October 25, 1975 Chicago L 87–91 Brian Winters (21) MECCA Arena 0–1 2 October 28, 1975 Los Angeles L 92–99 Dave Meyers (21) MECCA Arena 0–2 3 October 31, 1975 @ New Orleans L 85–100 Dave Meyers (28) Louisiana Superdome 0–3
November: 7–8 (home: 4–3; road: 3–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 4 November 1, 1975 Portland L 97–113 MECCA Arena 0–4 5 November 2, 1975 @ Houston L 89–104 The Summit 0–5 6 November 4, 1975 Detroit W 103–101 MECCA Arena 1–5 7 November 7, 1975 Boston W 104–101 MECCA Arena 2–5 8 November 8, 1975 @ Washington W 99–95 Brian Winters (27) Capital Centre 3–5 9 November 11, 1975 Philadelphia W 108–81 MECCA Arena 4–5 10 November 12, 1975 @ Philadelphia W 107–84 The Spectrum 5-5 11 November 14, 1975 Buffalo L 98–112 MECCA Arena 5–6 12 November 15, 1975 @ Detroit L 89–101 Cobo Center 5–7 13 November 19, 1975 @ Phoenix W 96–94 Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 6–7 14 November 21, 1975 @ Los Angeles L 104–116 The Forum 6–8 15 November 23, 1975 @ Seattle L 104–112 Seattle Center Coliseum 6–9 16 November 27, 1975 Golden State L 105–106 MECCA Arena 6–10 17 November 28, 1975 @ Chicago L 69–89 Chicago Stadium 6–11 18 November 29, 1975 Chicago W 88–85 MECCA Arena 7–11
December: 6–7 (home: 4–2; road: 2–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 19 December 3, 1975 Portland W 114–92 MECCA Arena 8–11 20 December 5, 1975 Kansas City W 105–92 MECCA Arena 9–11 21 December 9, 1975 @ New York W 109–100 Madison Square Garden 10–11 22 December 10, 1975 @ Boston L 98–111 Boston Garden 10–12 23 December 12, 1975 Cleveland L 91–109 MECCA Arena 10–13 24 December 17, 1975 @ Phoenix L 111–116 Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10–14 25 December 20, 1975 @ Golden State L 87–124 Oakland Coliseum Arena 10–15 26 December 21, 1975 @ Seattle W 103–101 Seattle Center Coliseum 11–15 27 December 23, 1975 New York L 108–110 MECCA Arena 11–16 28 December 26, 1975 Washington W 85–81 MECCA Arena 12–16 29 December 27, 1975 @ Atlanta L 82–87 Omni Coliseum 12–17 30 December 28, 1975 Phoenix W 88–85 MECCA Arena 13–17 31 December 30, 1975 @ Buffalo L 106–118 Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 13–18
January: 2–1 (home: 1–1; road: 1–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 32 January 2, 1976 @ Detroit W 98–83 Cobo Arena 14–18 33 January 3, 1976 Houston W 126–101 MECCA Arena 15–18 34 January 6, 1976 Atlanta L 87–91 MECCA Arena 15–19
February: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
March: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
April: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
1975–76 schedule

Playoffs

1976 playoff game log
First Round: 1–2 (home: 1–1; road: 0–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 13 Detroit W 110–107 Gary Brokaw (36) Elmore Smith (13) Brian Winters (7) MECCA Arena 8,912 1–0 2 April 16 @ Detroit L 123–126 Winters, Dandridge (31) Bob Dandridge (9) Gary Brokaw (12) Cobo Arena 8,330 1–1 3 April 18 Detroit L 104–107 Brian Winters (33) Dave Meyers (10) Gary Brokaw (7) MECCA Arena 8,213 1–2
1976 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

Season^[2]

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Bob Dandridge	73		37.5	50.2		82.4	7.4	2.8	1.5	0.5	21.5
Brian Winters	78		35.8	46.4		82.9	3.2	4.7	1.6	0.3	18.2
Elmore Smith	78		36.0	51.8		63.2	11.4	1.2	1.0	3.1	15.6
Jim Price	80		31.6	41.5		84.9	3.3	4.9	1.9	0.4	11.7
Junior Bridgeman	81		20.3	43.9		79.5	3.6	1.9	0.6	0.3	8.6
Gary Brokaw	75		19.6	45.7		70.0	1.7	3.3	0.5	0.2	8.4
Dave Meyers	72		22.1	41.9		64.3	6.2	1.4	1.0	0.3	7.4
Kevin Restani	82		20.1	47.5		57.1	4.6	1.2	0.4	0.1	6.0
Clyde Mayes	65		14.6	46.0		57.7	4.0	0.6	0.1	0.6	4.4
Jon McGlocklin	33		10.2	42.6		90.0	0.5	1.2	0.2	0.0	4.1
Jim Fox	70		13.1	51.7		78.5	3.4	0.6	0.4	0.2	3.9
Mickey Davis	45		9.1	36.2		79.4	1.9	0.8	0.3	0.0	3.6

Playoffs

Playoffs^[2]

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Brian Winters	3		42.0	62.9		80.0	2.3	5.0	1.7	0.7	27.3
Bob Dandridge	3		40.7	49.0		90.0	7.7	2.7	1.0	0.0	22.0
Gary Brokaw	3		36.0	62.2		94.4	3.7	8.0	1.0	1.0	21.0
Elmore Smith	3		34.7	55.6		66.7	7.3	0.3	0.7	3.7	14.7
Jim Price	1		19.0	37.5		57.1	0.0	4.0	1.0	0.0	10.0
Junior Bridgeman	3		22.3	45.0		63.6	3.7	1.7	0.3	0.0	8.3
Dave Meyers	3		18.0	45.5		82.4	4.7	0.7	0.3	0.0	8.0
Jim Fox	3		11.0	80.0		100.0	2.3	1.0	0.0	0.3	3.3
Jon McGlocklin	2		6.5	75.0		0.0	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.0	3.0
Clyde Mayes	3		13.7	20.0		75.0	2.0	0.3	0.3	0.3	1.7
Kevin Restani	3		11.0	20.0		0.0	1.7	0.3	0.3	0.0	0.7

Transactions

Trades

June 16, 1975	To Milwaukee Bucks---- Junior Bridgeman Dave Meyers Elmore Smith Brian Winters	To Los Angeles Lakers---- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Walt Wesley
October 22, 1975	To Milwaukee Bucks---- Jim Fox	To Seattle SuperSonics---- 1976 2nd round pick (Bayard Forrest)