On this day in 1968: The Milwaukee Bucks play their first NBA game — and lose to the Bulls

Fifty-eight years ago on October 16, the Milwaukee Bucks played their first NBA game. Before 8,467 fans at the Milwaukee Arena, the expansion club lost 89-84 to the Chicago Bulls — a rival that would keep intersecting with Milwaukee’s early roster in ways nobody in the building that night could have scripted.

The franchise had only existed for nine months. On January 22, 1968, the NBA’s Board of Governors awarded Milwaukee a club. By opening night it had a name, a building and a roster pieced together from an expansion draft. The result was a five-point home loss that still sits at the top of every Bucks season recap.

The box from the first night

According to Basketball-Reference, Chicago improved to 2-0 and Milwaukee fell to 0-1. Flynn Robinson led all scorers with 23 points for the Bulls. Jim Washington added 16 points and 11 rebounds, Bob Boozer scored 15, and Jerry Sloan finished with 11 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists in 44 minutes.

Guy Rodgers paced the Bucks with 16 points and nine assists. Wayne Embry, in 43 minutes, scored 15 and pulled down 20 rebounds. Fred Hetzel had 12 and 11 boards. Bob Love scored nine and Bob Weiss eight — two names that would not stay on Milwaukee’s roster for long.

• Result: Bulls 89, Bucks 84 — October 16, 1968, Milwaukee Arena (crowd 8,467).
• Bulls leaders: Flynn Robinson 23; Jim Washington 16 points, 11 rebounds; Bob Boozer 15; Jerry Sloan 11 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists.
• Bucks leaders: Guy Rodgers 16 points, 9 assists; Wayne Embry 15 points, 20 rebounds; Fred Hetzel 12 points, 11 rebounds.

The trades that followed the tip

A month later Milwaukee flipped Love and Weiss to Chicago for Robinson, the same guard who had just dropped 23 on them in the opener. Boozer, who scored 15 for the Bulls that night, later arrived in a 1970 deal and helped Milwaukee win the 1971 title. The first box score already contained pieces of the championship that would arrive three seasons later.

The inaugural 1968-69 season finished 27-55, second-worst in the league. The climb was fast. With Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and Oscar Robertson, the Bucks won the 1971 championship — still cited as the fastest expansion team in a major North American league to claim a title. From 1970-71 through 1990-91, Milwaukee posted only three losing seasons.

A busy night across the league

October 16, 1968, was crowded with beginnings. The same night Wes Unseld made his debut for the Baltimore Bullets in a 124-116 win over Detroit, launching a career that would earn him Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season. For Milwaukee, the story was simpler: a new franchise finally had a score in the books, even if it was an L.

Fifty-eight years on, the building is UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena and the franchise has two banners. The first line still reads the same way the official season recaps write it: Oct. 16, 1968, Milwaukee Arena, Bulls 89, Bucks 84.