1986–87 Milwaukee Bucks season

1986–87   Milwaukee Bucks season
Head coach	Don Nelson
General manager	Don Nelson
Owner(s)	Herb Kohl
Arena	MECCA Arena
Results
Record	50–32 (.610)
Place	Division: 3rd (Central) Conference: 4th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Conference semifinals (lost to Celtics 3–4)
Stats at Basketball Reference
< 1985–86 1987–88 >

The 1986-87 NBA season was the Bucks' 19th season in the NBA. ^[1] For the first time since 1978-79, the Bucks did not win their division.

During the season, coach and general manager Don Nelson started to experience a rift in friendship with Bucks owner Herb Kohl due to personal disagreements with Kohl on how to run the team. During Game 4 of the 1987 Eastern Conference semifinals between the Bucks and the Boston Celtics, Nelson controversially announced to the local and national sports media that he did not expect to return to the Bucks after the season was over due to said rift with Kohl. Nelson would in fact resign after the Bucks lost the series to Boston in seven games, coming back from being down 3–1 in the series only to lose the seventh and deciding game in Boston Garden. ^[2] After 11 seasons coaching and managing the Bucks, Nelson took the year off only to return in the 1988–89 season as coach and manager of the Golden State Warriors. The Bucks hired Nelson's assistant coach, Del Harris, to take over the team for the 1987–88 season.

Draft picks

Main article: 1986 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	22	Scott Skiles	PG	United States	Michigan State
2	45	Keith Smith	SG	United States	Loyola Marymount
3	68	Baskerville Holmes	PF	United States	Memphis
5	114	Bobby Deaton		United States	Southwestern
6	137	John Kimbrell		United States	Lipscomb
7	160	Jeff Strong		United States	Missouri

Roster

1986–87 Milwaukee Bucks roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From SG 24 Dudley Bradley 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1957–03–19 North Carolina C 45 Randy Breuer 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1960–10–11 Minnesota SF 2 Junior Bridgeman 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1953–09–17 Louisville F 34 Terry Cummings 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1961–03–15 DePaul PF 40 Jerome Henderson 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1959–10–05 New Mexico PG 15 Craig Hodges 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1960–06–27 Long Beach State G 10 John Lucas 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1953–10–31 Maryland C 44 Paul Mokeski 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1957–01–03 Kansas G 4 Sidney Moncrief 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1957–09–21 Arkansas G 22 Ricky Pierce 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1959–08–19 Rice F 25 Paul Pressey 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1958–12–24 Tulsa G/F 35 Jerry Reynolds 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1962–12–23 LSU C 43 Jack Sikma 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1955–11–14 Illinois Wesleyan PG 5 Scott Skiles 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1964–03–05 Michigan State G 11 Keith Smith 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1964–03–09 Loyola Marymount

Head coach Don Nelson Assistant(s) Del Harris Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Central Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Atlanta Hawks	57	25	.695	–	35–6	22–19	17–13
x-Detroit Pistons	52	30	.634	5	32–9	20–21	17–13
x-Milwaukee Bucks	50	32	.610	7	32–9	18–23	17–13
x-Indiana Pacers	41	41	.500	16	28–13	13–28	13–16
x-Chicago Bulls	40	42	.488	17	29–12	11–30	17–12
Cleveland Cavaliers	31	51	.378	26	25–16	6–35	8–22

#	Eastern Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Boston Celtics	59	23	.720	–
2	y-Atlanta Hawks	57	25	.695	2
3	x-Detroit Pistons	52	30	.634	7
4	x-Milwaukee Bucks	50	32	.610	9
5	x-Philadelphia 76ers	45	37	.549	14
6	x-Washington Bullets	42	40	.512	17
7	x-Indiana Pacers	41	41	.500	18
8	x-Chicago Bulls	40	42	.488	19
9	Cleveland Cavaliers	31	51	.378	28
10	New Jersey Nets	24	58	.293	35
11	New York Knicks	24	58	.293	35

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Game log

1986–87 game log Total: 50–32 (home: 1–0; road: 1–0)
October: 1–0 (home: 0–0; road: 1–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 October 31, 1986 @ Detroit W 120–104 Pontiac Silverdome 1–0
November: 1–0 (home: 1–0; road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 2 November 1, 1986 Boston W 111–105 MECCA Arena 2–0
December: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
January: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
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
1986–87 schedule

Playoffs

1987 playoff game log
First Round: 3–2 (home: 2–1; road: 1–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 24 Philadelphia W 107–104 Terry Cummings (21) Jack Sikma (11) Paul Pressey (10) MECCA Arena 11,052 1–0 2 April 26 Philadelphia L 122–125 (OT) Ricky Pierce (24) Randy Breuer (9) Paul Pressey (9) MECCA Arena 11,052 1–1 3 April 29 @ Philadelphia W 121–120 Terry Cummings (26) Jack Sikma (12) John Lucas (9) Spectrum 14,361 2–1 4 May 1 @ Philadelphia L 118–124 Terry Cummings (29) Jack Sikma (13) John Lucas (10) Spectrum 15,464 2–2 5 May 3 Philadelphia W 102–89 Jack Sikma (18) Jack Sikma (21) Paul Pressey (9) MECCA Arena 11,052 3–2
Conference semifinals: 3–4 (home: 2–1; road: 1–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 5 @ Boston L 98–111 Terry Cummings (28) Terry Cummings (12) Paul Pressey (8) Boston Garden 14,890 0–1 2 May 6 @ Boston L 124–126 Terry Cummings (28) Jack Sikma (14) Paul Pressey (6) Boston Garden 14,890 0–2 3 May 8 Boston W 126–121 (OT) John Lucas (30) Terry Cummings (12) Paul Pressey (7) MECCA Arena 11,052 1–2 4 May 10 Boston L 137–138 (2OT) Terry Cummings (31) Terry Cummings (11) Paul Pressey (11) MECCA Arena 11,052 1–3 5 May 13 @ Boston W 129–124 Sidney Moncrief (33) Sikma, Cummings (9) Paul Pressey (10) Boston Garden 14,890 2–3 6 May 15 Boston W 121–111 Sidney Moncrief (34) Terry Cummings (11) Paul Pressey (11) MECCA Arena 11,052 3–3 7 May 17 @ Boston L 113–119 Paul Pressey (28) Jack Sikma (10) Paul Pressey (8) Boston Garden 14,890 3–4
1987 schedule

Player statistics

Source: ^[3]

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

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Terry Cummings	82	77	33.8	51.1	0.0	66.2	8.5	2.8	1.6	1.0	20.8
Ricky Pierce	79	31	31.7	53.4	10.7	88.0	3.4	1.8	0.8	0.3	19.5
John Lucas	43	40	31.6	45.7	36.5	78.7	2.9	6.7	1.7	0.1	17.5
Paul Pressey	61	60	33.7	47.7	29.1	73.8	4.9	7.2	1.8	0.8	13.9
Jack Sikma	82	82	30.9	46.3	0.0	84.7	10.0	2.5	1.1	1.1	12.7
Sidney Moncrief	39	30	25.4	48.8	25.8	84.0	3.3	3.1	0.7	0.3	11.8
Craig Hodges	78	43	27.5	46.2	37.3	89.1	1.8	3.1	1.0	0.1	10.8
Randy Breuer	76	10	19.3	48.5	0.0	58.4	4.6	0.6	0.7	0.8	7.9
Jerry Reynolds	58	24	16.6	39.3	33.3	64.1	3.0	1.8	0.9	0.5	7.0
Junior Bridgeman	34	4	12.3	46.2	16.7	80.0	1.5	1.0	0.3	0.1	5.1
Don Collins	6	0	9.5	35.7	0.0	71.4	2.5	0.3	0.3	0.2	4.2
Scott Skiles	13	0	15.8	29.0	21.4	83.3	2.0	3.5	0.4	0.1	3.8
Mike Glenn	4	0	8.5	38.5	0.0	71.4	0.5	0.3	0.3	0.0	3.8
Keith Smith	42	4	11.0	38.0	33.3	75.0	0.8	1.0	0.6	0.1	3.3
Kenny Fields	4	0	5.5	75.0	0.0	20.0	0.5	0.3	0.3	0.0	3.3
Dudley Bradley	68	2	13.2	35.7	26.0	81.0	1.5	1.0	1.5	0.1	3.1
Hank McDowell	7	0	10.0	47.1	0.0	85.7	2.7	0.3	0.3	0.0	3.1
Cedric Henderson	2	0	3.0	66.7	0.0	100.0	2.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	3.0
Paul Mokeski	62	3	10.1	40.3	0.0	71.9	2.2	0.4	0.3	0.2	2.4
Jerome Henderson	6	0	6.0	30.8	0.0	100.0	1.2	0.0	0.2	0.2	2.0
Marvin Webster	15	0	6.8	52.6	100.0	75.0	1.7	0.2	0.2	0.5	1.8
Chris Engler	5	0	9.6	25.0	0.0	100.0	3.2	0.6	0.2	0.2	1.4

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Terry Cummings	12	10	36.9	48.8	0.0	68.7	7.9	2.3	1.0	1.1	22.3
Sidney Moncrief	12	10	35.5	47.3	28.6	81.1	4.5	3.0	1.1	0.5	19.4
Jack Sikma	12	12	35.5	48.7	0.0	98.0	10.8	1.9	1.3	0.8	16.2
Ricky Pierce	12	2	26.4	47.9	0.0	82.1	2.3	1.3	0.8	0.4	15.9
John Lucas	12	12	30.2	45.3	33.3	81.3	2.1	5.2	1.2	0.1	15.6
Paul Pressey	12	12	38.8	46.6	12.5	73.9	5.2	8.6	2.3	0.7	14.3
Craig Hodges	12	0	18.8	51.9	29.4	90.9	1.8	1.7	0.8	0.2	7.9
Randy Breuer	12	2	13.0	48.5	0.0	66.7	2.6	0.3	0.6	0.8	3.3
Paul Mokeski	12	0	8.9	36.4	0.0	80.0	2.4	0.2	0.3	0.2	2.3
Dudley Bradley	12	0	3.8	36.4	0.0	50.0	0.0	0.2	0.3	0.0	0.8
Jerry Reynolds	4	0	1.3	33.3	0.0	50.0	0.3	0.5	0.8	0.0	0.8
Jerome Henderson	1	0	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

Awards and records

• Ricky Pierce, NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award
• Paul Pressey, NBA All-Defensive Second Team

Transactions

Trades

July 1, 1986

To Milwaukee Bucks ---- Jack Sikma

To Seattle SuperSonics ---- Alton Lister

References

1. 1986-87 Milwaukee Bucks
2. "Don Nelson resigned as coach of the Milwaukee Bucks".
3. "1986-87 Milwaukee Bucks Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 3, 2021.

See also

• 1986-87 NBA season