Why the Bucks Retired Sidney Moncrief's #4: Milwaukee's Greatest Two-Way Guard

The Milwaukee Bucks retired Sidney Moncrief's #4 because he gave the franchise a decade of two-way excellence it has never replicated at his position. Moncrief won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award in 1983, then won it again in 1984 — the first player to claim it in back-to-back seasons and the first to win it in the award's first two years of existence. He was far more than a defender: a five-time All-Star who scored 20-plus points per game in three consecutive seasons and was one of the most efficient mid-range scorers of his era. Selected fifth overall in 1979 out of Arkansas, the 6'4" guard spent his entire prime in Milwaukee, anchoring Bucks teams that reached the Eastern Conference Finals in 1984, 1985, and 1986, losing each time to the Larry Bird Celtics. #4 is in the rafters because Moncrief was excellent enough to be remembered and loyal enough to give everything to one place.

The Complete Player

Moncrief was not just a defender. He was a five-time All-Star who averaged 20+ points per game in three consecutive seasons and was one of the most efficient mid-range scorers of his era. At 6'4" with a 6'7" wingspan, exceptional lateral quickness, and the physical strength to stay connected through any contact, he was a two-way weapon that had no contemporary equivalent at his position during the early 1980s.

Selected 5th overall in 1979 out of Arkansas, Moncrief spent his entire prime with Milwaukee, building an identity as the franchise's defensive anchor during the years when the Bucks competed with the best teams in the Eastern Conference despite lacking Kareem's overwhelming physical dominance.

The Bucks reached the Eastern Conference Finals in 1984, 1985, and 1986 — losing each time to the Larry Bird Celtics dynasty. Moncrief's Milwaukee teams were among the best to never win a championship during that era, and his individual excellence was the constant that kept them competitive.

The DPOY Award's Definition

When the NBA introduced the Defensive Player of the Year award before the 1982-83 season, the evaluators needed a player to set the standard. Moncrief set it immediately. His lateral quickness, his anticipation, his physical commitment to every defensive possession — these were the qualities the award was created to honor, and Moncrief embodied them so completely that winning it twice in the first two seasons felt less like achievement and more like inevitability.

• 5x NBA All-Star (1979-1983)
• 2x NBA Defensive Player of the Year (1983, 1984) — first back-to-back winner in history
• 2x All-NBA Team
• 20+ PPG scorer in three consecutive seasons

Why #4 Is in the Rafters

Sidney Moncrief gave Milwaukee a decade of two-way excellence that the franchise has never replicated at his position. He was the most complete guard in Bucks history, the player who defined defensive individual achievement at its highest formal level, and the competitor who kept Milwaukee in contention through the most difficult era of Eastern Conference basketball — the Bird Celtics years when everyone else was simply trying not to lose by too much. #4 is in the rafters because Sidney Moncrief was exactly what every franchise hopes a star player becomes: excellent enough to be remembered, loyal enough to give everything to one place.