In the 1980's there were so many uniquely skilled, great players. There was the brilliant passing of Magic, the lethal scoring of Jordan, the defense of Kareem, and the rebounding of Malone. It was one player who could give you everything, Sidney Moncrief, arguably one of the best two-way and all around players in the history of the NBA. He was able to have a positive impact on both sides of the court in every way possible. Whether it meant shooting from the outside, scoring in the paint, grabbing rebounds, making the right pass, or guarding the best player, Moncrief always made an impact on the court. He did it all and was a winner as well as he led the Bucks to the third best winning percentage in the NBA in the 1980s behind the Lakers and Celtics. Despite never finishing with a championship, the Hall of famer still has earned his respect as one of the NBA's all-time greats. Unfortunately, in some ways due to the legends from his era having championship success his greatness has been severely overlooked. Here, I will go in depth on the basketball career of 5x all star Sidney Moncrief.
Sidney Moncrief was born in Little Rock, Arkansas on September 21, 1957 and played college ball at the University of Arkansas. Moncrief's excellent play and strong leadership helped to revitalize the Razorbacks into a premier college basketball program. The Razorbacks boasted a very talented team during Moncrief's time there as he led them to a final four appearance in 1978.
After 4 years at Arkansas, he went on to the NBA draft and was a highly touted prospect. So much so, Jerry West wanted to draft him as the first overall pick instead of Magic Johnson. He ended up being drafted 5th overall in the 1979 to the Milwaukee Bucks. In his rookie season, he averaged 8.5 points,4.4 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game and the Bucks finished with a record of 49-33. Next season, Moncrief made a gradual improvement this time as he averaged 14 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game. The Bucks as a team made a considerable improvement as they finished with the 3rd best record in the league at 60-22. They eventually would go on to lose in 7 games to Julius Erving and the Philadelphia 76ers in the conference semifinals.
The 1981-82 season would prove to be Moncrief's breakout year as he was placed in the Milwaukee Bucks starting lineup. He averaged 19.8 points, a career high 6.7 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game. These excellent numbers were good enough to earn him his first all star nod. As for his team, the Bucks would once again finish with one of the best records in the league at 55-27. Unfortunately, the Philadelphia 76ers once again stood in their way beating them.
The following season would prove to be arguably the best of his career as he averaged 22.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game. He had his career high scoring performance this season dropping 42 points along with 8 rebounds and 8 assists in a 114-103 victory against the Houston Rockets. His defensive prowess became a major part of his impact this season which he showed against the New Jersey Nets, where he recorded a career-high 7 steals. With his dynamic play this season, he established himself as one of the best all around players in the league. He would go on to earn his 2nd all star nod while also making first team all-NBA and NBA Defensive first team honors as well. He also received the NBA's inaugural Defensive player of the year award making his case as the most imposing defensive presence in the league. In the postseason, Moncrief led the Bucks to the eastern conference finals after an impressive sweep of Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics. The Bucks would once again be matched up with the Sixers who were in the midst of a dominant playoff run. Milwaukee would lose the series 4-1 to the eventual champion Sixers but incredibly were the only team to beat them in any playoff game that year.
Next season, Moncrief would back up his impressive season last year by averaging 20+ points per game for back to back seasons and was an all star for the 3rd straight year. That was not the best part of his season however, as he showed he was the best defensive player in the league by winning the defensive player of the year award for the second straight year. Moncrief led his Bucks to the conference finals once again but were defeated in 5 games by the eventual champion Boston Celtics. In the 84-85 season, Moncrief averaged 21.7 points, 5.4 rebounds per game and a career high 5.2 assists per game. The Bucks, once again led by their all star in Moncrief had a great regular season finishing with a 59-23 but were again matched up with Sixers in the Conference semifinals. Despite Moncrief having his best postseason run scoring wise of his career where he averaged a career high 23 points per game the Bucks were eliminated by Philadelphia yet again.
The 85-86 season would prove to be a major bounce back year for the Milwaukee Bucks and their all star Sidney Moncrief. Coming off yet another 50+ win season the Bucks would face the Sixers in a hotly contested 7 game series. Moncrief played just 3 games due to injury but rallied the team to a dramatic 113-112 victory in Game 7 in Milwaukee where he dropped 23 points. The Milwaukee Bucks would go on to make the eastern conference finals for the 3rd time in the decade. They unfortunately matched up with one of the great teams of the decade as they were swept by the eventual champion Boston Celtics. Next season, Moncrief played just 39 games due to injury but came back to form in the postseason. He scored a playoff career-high 34 points in a Game 6 win against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semifinals but would go on to lose the series in 7 games. This series would be the last time he was healthy for a playoff series in his career and for the series Moncrief averaged 20.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.
The last couple years of his career in Milwaukee were marred due to severe knee and foot injuries. The lingering injuries robbed us of more great seasons from Moncrief as he ended up retiring at the end of the 88-89 season at just 32 years old. He was not able to fully call it quits yet however as the love of the game would bring Moncrief back to the NBA after sitting out one season. Moncrief played for the Atlanta Hawks in the 90-91 season and would later retire after the Hawks were eliminated by the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the playoffs. Sidney Moncrief was finally elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019.
The greatness of Sidney Moncrief is best described by the greats he shared the court with. Greats like the GOAT, Michael Jordan who gave Moncrief high praise stating "When you play against Moncrief, you're in for a night of all-around basketball. He'll hound you everywhere you go, both ends of the court. You just expect it." Jordan described his on court tenacity best as it is exactly what made him the definition of a two-player. Moncrief is arguably one of the greatest guards of all time but his career is tremendously underrated due to never making an NBA final. Moncrief was known for his versatility on the court as he was a master of making winning plays on both sides of the ball which is a testament to how impactful a player he was in his prime.