50 years ago, Bucks’ Abdul-Jabbar trade was a blockbuster like Dončić-Davis deal

ALLAN Y. SCOTT/MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL FILE 

The players were the same, but they had switched uniforms when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, right, of the Los Angeles Lakers and Elmore Smith of the Milwaukee Bucks did battle early in the 1975-76 season.

9 Feb 2025 - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

JR Radcliffe

More than one media outlet invoked a famous 1975 trade involving the Milwaukee Bucks over the weekend as a point of comparison to a shocking blockbuster that sent Luka Dončić from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis (with other players involved on both sides).

It’s been almost 50 years since the Bucks reluctantly parted with superstar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in a trade that made headlines across the sports landscape.

Though a couple of the players Milwaukee received in return now find themselves represented in the rafters of Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee wouldn’t see another NBA Finals for 47 years. Abdul-Jabbar, meanwhile, went on to win consecutive MVP awards immediately and three total with the Lakers.

It’s a trade that still leaves a wound locally, if for no other reason that it demonstrated Abdul-Jabbar didn’t want to remain in Milwaukee, essentially forcing the Bucks to make a move.

Perhaps the blow was softened generations later when Giannis Antetokounmpo elected to sign multiple extensions to remain with the Bucks and led his franchise to its second championship and first since Abdul-Jabbar’s days.

Here’s what to know about that fateful exchange in 1975:

Here was the full trade involving Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

On June 16, 1975, the Bucks traded Abdul-Jabbar and Walt Wesley to the Los Angeles Lakers for Junior Bridgeman, Dave Meyers, Elmore Smith and Brian Winters.

What to know about the players Milwaukee received in the trade

Winters had just completed his first NBA season with the Lakers, having been a first-round pick the year before from South Carolina. The New York native had averaged 11.7 points per game that first year.

Smith, a 7-foot center from Kentucky State, was the third overall pick in the 1971 draft and, at age 26, was the oldest newcomer. He’d finished as Rookie of the Year runner-up in 1972 with Buffalo and had played two seasons with the Lakers, leading the league in blocks in 1974 (4.9 per game) in the first year the stat was officially recorded. He averaged a doubledouble both seasons with the Lakers.

Both Meyers and Bridgeman were draft picks, selected by Los Angeles but with the Bucks’ full consultation. Meyers, a 6-8 big man from UCLA, Meyers, was taken second overall. Bridgeman, a 6-5 shooting guard from Louisville, was taken eighth.

Though Meyers had ties to the west coast, his dad went to Carroll College in Waukesha and played at Marquette, and his mother was from Milwaukee. Both draft picks had a strong feeling they’d wind up in Milwaukee, even on draft day.

“I know a lot of people wanted me to stay in L.A., but knowing that they’re going to get Kareem, probably the best player in the world, they’re going to be happy,” Meyers said. “They won’t miss me. You know, in a few years, this will just be a trivia question: Who were the four guys traded to the Bucks for Kareem?”

How did the players that Milwaukee received in the Abdul-Jabbar trade fare?

Unfortunately for Meyers, he wound up becoming one of the more difficult names to conjure. He only played in four NBA seasons, although he did have a respectable 14.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game in his third season. Injury cost him the 1978-79 season, and he was retired by 1980-81.

Winters and Bridgeman, meanwhile, became alltime greats in the Bucks franchise.

In the first year after the deal, when Bob Dandridge rose to the forefront for the Bucks with stars Robertson and Abdul-Jabbar gone, Winters joined Dandridge at the all-star game that season and averaged 18.2 points per game.

Smith averaged 15.6 points with 11.4 rebounds and 3.1 blocks that first season, and Bridgeman finished with 8.6 points per game and Meyers at 7.4.

Smith didn’t make it a second year, dealt by the Bucks in January 1977 to Cleveland for Rowland Garrett and a pair of first-round draft picks.

Winters played eight seasons in Milwaukee, making a second all-star team in 1978 and averaging 16.7 points per game. His number was retired in 1983.

Bridgeman stayed nine years and came back for one more season in 1987 in a second stint. Though he never made the all-star team, he averaged 13.9 points per game and played in more games than anyone else in Bucks history. His number was retired in 1988, and he’s now part-owner of the Bucks.

Abdul-Jabbar told the Bucks a full year in advance of his wishes

Abdul-Jabbar desired to leave Milwaukee, but it was handled in a way that gave the Bucks ample time to explore a move, albeit with some pretty notable restrictions. Abdul-Jabbar expressed a desire to play for either a team in New York or Los Angeles. Both locations offered more cultural opportunities and also had personal meaning to Abdul-Jabbar; he grew up in New York and attended college at UCLA.

“Culturally, what I’m about and what Milwaukee is about are two different things,” Abdul-Jabbar admitted publicly in March 1975. “The reason I haven’t commented on this before is I don’t want to take a knock at Milwaukee or the people here and have them think they’re unworthy of me. That’s not what it’s all about.

“I have no unkind feelings toward the people of Milwaukee or Wisconsin. I want to underline that. But my family and friends aren’t here and culturally what I’m into does not exist here.”

Abdul-Jabbar had approached the Bucks the previous October to explain his position. He then went on to deliver a strong 1975 season, though he missed the first 17 games of the season and Milwaukee didn’t make the playoffs.

The Bucks were able to generate a reasonable exchange given the limited number of teams Abdul-Jabbar preferred. He said he’d be willing to play out the final two years of his contract in Milwaukee, but that wasn’t something that the Bucks could afford, given that it meant they’d lose him for nothing in return.

Bucks team president William Alverson was asked how hard the Bucks worked on fashioning a trade and he said, “On a scale of zero to 100, I’d say about 102.” He also said, “The long ordeal is over.”

Larry Costello’s job as Bucks coach was in the balance

Bucks head coach Larry Costello, who helmed the team to the 1971 title, wasn’t present at the press conference announcing the Abdul-Jabbar trade. That was notable; the vibes were already a little sour for Costello, and it wasn’t clear if he’d be back. AbdulJabbar had acknowledged he didn’t always see eyeto-eye with the coach but didn’t identify it as a reason for wanting out of Milwaukee.

Costello stayed one more year before he departed, reported as him leaving. When Costello did leave, Fitzgerald took a risk on Don Nelson, installing him as coach immediately after the end of his playing career.

Both Costello and Nelson are in the Naismith Hall of Fame.

Abdul-Jabbar still won as many MVPs in Milwaukee as Los Angeles

Abdul-Jabbar’s incredible six-year run in Milwaukee yielded three MVP awards, the same number he procured with the Lakers. The difference was in championships; he won five with the Lakers and one with the Bucks. The 14,211 points that Abdul-Jabbar scored with the Bucks remained a franchise record until Antetokounmpo broke the mark in 2022.