Best Milwaukee Bucks Draft Picks: Number 7, Bob Dandridge

Hi Bucks’ fans! Welcome to the all-time top Bucks’ draft picks, power ranked by the fan’s yourselves. We are counting down all the way from #12 to #1, and today we are moving on to the “Greyhound” himself, Bob Dandridge. Don’t forget to vote below for who is number 6.

THE SELECTION

Bob Dandridge was the 45th selection (4th round back then) in the 1969 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks, out of Norfolk State University. According to basketball reference, he was the second best player in his draft based on win-shares, behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

Bob Dandridge was an NBA Champion in 1971 with the Bucks and in 1978 with the Washington Bullets. He also was a four-time All-Star (73, 75, 76, 79), made the All-NBA 2nd Team in 1979 along with the All-Defensive First Team that same season. His number 10 is retired by the Milwaukee Bucks, and in 2021 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame. His similarity scores are to players like Rashard Lewis, Antawn Jamison and James Worthy.

CAREER SUCCESS, WHAT-IF’S, AND THE NICKNAME

Dandridge, from what I’ve researched, seems to be that “other guy” on the Bucks when they won the 1971 NBA Championship. Dandridge was third in scoring behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson, and that gave him a lot of opportunities but also overshadowed him somewhat. I think even more so because Jon McGlocklin, another great player from that 1971 team, was the broadcaster for the Bucks for decades and might have taken a bit of the spotlight away from Dandridge. That’s a shame, because Dandridge was the scoring leader in the Finals when he was with the Bucks and a great player overall.

Regardless, Dandridge had a Hall of Fame career, and aside from his last season he seemingly averaged between 17 and 22 points per season, and over six rebounds. He always put up good numbers, and was even the main catalyst in the mid-70‘s after Kareem and Oscar left. In 1978 though, and it’s hard to find out exactly why Dandridge left on Google, he went to the Washington Bullets (who ironically were the team we beat in the 71 Finals). There, he joined a really good squad led by himself, Elvin Hayes and Wes Unseld to win the 1978 Finals. He played with the Bullets/Wizards for another three seasons after, before coming to the Bucks for one last hurrah.

The what-if’s for “The Greyhound” are pretty slim, mainly because his career after the 1980 season was pretty poor compared to his previous seasons, and that is kind of when we needed him the most. He was already there in the early and mid-70’s, so it’s hard to say his presence would have really made a difference then. His nickname came from his ability to get out and lead a fastbreak, and somehow resembled a bus in that sense?

BUCKS’ LEGACY

I think Dandridge definitely deserves more recognition and memory for his success in the NBA, but I think with all of the great players that surrounded him, it’s hard to give him as much credit as he deserves. When left alone to be the best player, Dandridge didn’t get the job done, such as the Bucks never made the postseason when Dandridge led in scoring. I think his legacy therefore is as a complementary star, similar to James Worthy and the Lakers.

There you have it, Bod Dandridge. Who’s next? Not who’s best, but who is number 6 on this list counting up to number 1 (based on their overall basketball career, not just Bucks’ career)?