Five years ago this July, our Milwaukee Bucks won their second NBA Championship. The energy in the city was electric, and it brought together communities in a way that only sports can.
Of course, the first time we had championship gold in Milwaukee was 1971 — a heady and creative time that gave us Marvin Gaye’s What’s Goin’ On and Carole King’s Tapestry in the world of music, plus classic films like A Clockwork Orange and The French Connection.
At that time, the Milwaukee Bucks franchise was just three years old, a relative baby in the NBA landscape. The league was celebrating its 25th anniversary, and the Bucks were “Green and Growing.” Legendary players like Oscar Robertson, Bobby Dandridge and Jon McGlocklin were instrumental in the team’s success, but the biggest star in the sport was a young, gangly center named Lew Alcindor.
That core led our team to its first title. One day after securing the championship, Alcindor changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabard. Three years later, he asked for a trade, having become less-than-enamored with the city and the team’s lack of success.
Fast-forward to 2026, and we’re seeing something similar play out. The Bucks missed the playoffs for the first time in 10 years, coach Doc Rivers “stepped down,” and there are rumblings about losing yet another generational talent, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
With all that playing out, it’s worth remembering what Kareem and Giannia brought to Milwaukee — and the gentleman who made the team itself possible: Marvin Fishman.
Back when he began his quest to bring an NBA franchise here, the city was deemed too small to support such an endeavor. But on Jan. 22, 1968, Milwaukee Professional Sports and Services Inc. (led by Fishman and Wesley Pavalon) handed the league a then-lofty fee of $2 million for the rights to establish the Bucks.
Almost 30 years later, Fishman wrote Bucking the Odds, a great read chronicling the highs and lows of that endeavor. The book is available at most places you get your books from, but we decided to take it a step further and sit down with Marvin’s daughter, the marvelously engaging Leslie Hayes, to get her firsthand account of the events that went into creating this foundational aspect of our city.
The conversation touched on her perspective of the events and what it’s like being the daughter of an early NBA owner. At her lovely Whitefish Bay home, we talked about her father, her life, his hubbub with Vince Lombardi, being one of the early proponents of Summerfest, the Jackson 5 and Cadillac El Dorados. She also shared what the energy and vibe were like around the team in its early years, particularly that historic championship season.
Hit that “Listen” button at the top of the page to hear our engaging and informative conversation — and GO BUCKS!!!