Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played 6 seasons with the Bucks, occupying this lists’ top 2 spots.
The Bucks have had a long history of featuring elite talent on both ends of the court throughout the life of the organization. That includes having some noteworthy rim protectors who were among the best at their craft of defending the basket.
With that in mind, we’ll take a look at some of the best shot-blocking weapons the Bucks have had in their history from a statistical standpoint. Here we’ll take a look at the best five individual seasons for Bucks players in the category of blocks per game.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 1974, 3.5 blocks per game
Abdul-Jabbar is not only one of the best players to ever suit up for the Bucks, but he’s also one of the best centers to ever play in the NBA. With that in mind, it’s not surprising to see him in the top spot of our list. During the 1973-74 campaign, Abdul-Jabbar finished second in the NBA in blocks per game with 3.5 BPG, though he was a bit behind the league-leading Elmore Smith, who averaged an impressive 4.9 swats per game. Abdul-Jabbar was named the 1973-74 MVP after averaging 27.0 points, 14.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 3.5 blocks per game in the regular season.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 1975, 3.3 blocks per game
The 1974-75 season was Abdul-Jabbar’s final season of his six-year tenure with the Bucks, and he said goodbye to the franchise in style after leading the league in blocks per game with 3.3. This time, he bested Elmore Smith (2.9), Nate Thurmond (2.4) and Elvin Hayes (2.3) for the title in that category. Abdul-Jabbar would also average 30.0 points and 14.0 rebounds per game, finishing in the Top 5 in the league in both categories, but that wasn’t enough to lift the Bucks to a postseason berth. He’d join the Los Angeles Lakers in the summer of 1975.
Elmore Smith – 1976, 3.1 blocks per game
The 1975-76 season was Smith’s first — and only — full season with the Bucks, as he was one of the pieces Milwaukee got in return in the trade that sent Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the Lakers. Smith remained one of the league’s elite shot-blocking threats and finished second in the league in the blocks-per-game category with 3.1 swats per contest. The leader was Abdul-Jabbar, who not only averaged an impressive 4.1 blocks per game, but he also ended up winning the MVP award. As for Smith, his tenure with the Bucks was short-lived, and he was traded to Cleveland in the 1976-77 campaign-
Larry Sanders – 2013, 2.8 blocks per game
Sanders was playing in his third year in the NBA when he averaged 2.8 blocks per game for a Bucks team that finished with a 38-44 record in the Central Division in the 2012-13 campaign. Sanders finished that year in seventh place in the voting for the 2013 NBA Defensive Player of the Year award. That season stood as Sanders’ shot-blocking peak in his six-year NBA career.
Andrew Bogut – 2011, 2.6 blocks per game
Bogut, the No. 1 overall pick in 2005, was in his sixth year in the NBA when he delivered his best rim-protecting season for the Bucks. That says a lot about how good Bogut was, as he was widely recognized as one of the best defenders in The Association during his prime years. The 2.6 blocks per game led the league in this 2010-11 campaign, ahead of players such as Serge Ibaka, Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee, just to name a few.