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Top rivals of the Sixers: the Milwaukee Bucks

Top rivals of the Sixers: the Milwaukee Bucks

When you think of the current Sixers and Bucks rivalry, it obviously revolves around Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Process versus the Greek Freak. Godzilla versus King Kong. Both have climbed a steep ladder toward NBA superstardom, while one knocks them over when frustrated after bad games. Ok, just kidding. What’s not to kid about is the fact that the franchises who drafted them have gone to battle over a time period that spans decades. Let’s reflect on this historic rivalry between the Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks.

A Sixers-Bucks rivalry retrospective

Let’s go with some astounding numbers first. Since these teams have existed, they’ve played 221 times. The Bucks have the edge, winning 117 games.  The Sixers have won 104. The most points the Sixers scored on Milwaukee came in March 1969 where they put up 143 on the Bucks. Milwaukee, just two years later, scored 142 points on the Sixers.

You wouldn’t expect such high scoring games back then, but consider that Hal Greer, Billy Cunningham, and Chet Walker, each scored more than 25 points in that game. In the Bucks’ high scoring game, Kareem, Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson combined for 52 points. Whoever had tickets to those games got quite a show and then some.

Over the years, the Sixers and Bucks have played in the playoffs 49 times. The Sixers have the edge though in this category, winning 29 games over Milwaukee in the postseason. Since 1970, out of the nine series the two teams competed in the playoffs, the 76ers have won six.

The majority of the postseason series between the two rivals took place in the 80s, where the Sixers played Milwaukee in the playoffs an astounding six different times. These were the years of Julius Erving and a young Charles Barkley. For the Bucks, they ran lineups that included great players like Sidney Moncrief, Ricky Pierce, and Terry Cummings.

In the 1981 Eastern Conference Semifinals that went seven games, Dr. J. averaged 24.7 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists. Marques Johnson had a monster series himself, putting up 24.7 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 4.9 assists. The Sixers won in seven games, only to lose in the conference finals against the eventual NBA champion, Boston Celtics.

In the playoffs, Charles Barkley and Terry Cummings squared off quite often. They played each other a total of 16 times in this Milwaukee/Philly postseason rivalry. In head-to-head matchups during the postseason, Barkley averaged 23.4 points and 13 rebounds,…

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