The 1971 NBA Championship

After a loss to the New York Knicks in Game 5 of the 1970 Eastern Conference Finals, Milwaukee Bucks center and New York City native Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) was serenaded by his fellow New Yorkers. As the 22-year-old rookie left the floor, the Madison Square Garden crowd taunted him with a song: "Good-bye Lewie, good-bye Lewie, good-bye Lewie, we're glad to see you go."

Despite a Rookie of the Year season in which he averaged 28.8 points and 14.5 rebounds per game and helped the Bucks win 29 more games than they had in their previous, inaugural season, Alcindor did not leave New York happy. Instead, the singing left him determined to come back in 1971 and triumph over the mighty Knicks. As he left the floor, he told Bucks general manager John Erickson, "We'll be back, Mr. Erickson."

In the off-season, the NBA added three new teams and the Bucks moved to the Western Conference, which meant Alcindor & Co. would have to wait until the NBA Finals to perhaps enact their revenge against the Knicks.

For that to be possible, the Bucks needed to give Alcindor a true running mate and that is exactly what Erickson and Bucks president Ray Patterson set out to do. They didn't waste any time either, trading for 10-time All-Star and former MVP Oscar Robertson on April 21, 1970, the day after losing to the Knicks.

"When I heard that Oscar was coming to play with the Bucks, I was very happy," Abdul-Jabbar later said. "I thought that really made it easy for us to win because of his abilities on both ends of the court. Getting to work with him every day really helped me see his greatness."

Entering his 11 NBA season, Robertson was no longer in his prime as an athlete, but he still represented a massive upgrade for a Bucks team desperately needing more scoring and dynamism from its guards. Since he was feuding with Cincinnati Royals head coach Bob Cousy at the time, Milwaukee only gave up shooting guard Flynn Robinson, coming off a career season, and previous seventh-round pick Charlie Paulk to acquire the 10-year-veteran.

The pairing worked out terrifically. Robertson's scoring average dipped in Milwaukee, but it wasn't needed in the same way it was when he was the lead man in Cincinnati. With Alcindor in the middle leading the league in scoring and winning NBA MVP for the first time, Robertson could focus on being a floor general and keeping his teammates involved.

Both Bobby Dandridge and Jon McGlocklin recorded the best shooting percentages of their careers in the 1970–71 season with "The Big O" at the helm. Erickson acquired a little bench help with a trade for Lucius Allen and Bob Boozer shortly before the season and the Bucks turned into a well-oiled machine running the Triangle offense implemented by head coach Larry Costello. Ultimately, the Bucks put together a 66–16 record, good for the first seed in the Western Conference and a franchise record for wins.

The Western Conference didn't pose much of a challenge to Milwaukee as the team needed only five games to vanquish each of its conference foes. In the first round, they blew past Nate Thurmond, Jerry Lucas, and the San Francisco Warriors, with a 106–104 loss in Game 4 serving as their only hiccup. Alcindor outplayed Wilt Chamberlain as the Bucks blew past the Los Angeles Lakers — who were without Elgin Baylor and Jerry West due to injuries — in the Western Conference Finals. The Bucks won their four games over the Lakers by an average of 20 points per game.

And with that, the Bucks awaited their rematch with the Knicks — but it never came. The Knicks fell to the Baltimore Bullets in a seven-game series in the Eastern Conference Finals and the Bucks have not met the Knicks in the playoffs since. But the Bullets paid a price to get through the Knicks, as forward Gus Johnson and guard Earl Monroe got banged up in the series. Each player missed two NBA Finals games, while...