In NBA history, only six outside players – point guard and shooting guard – have won the Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award: Alvin Robertson (1986), Michael Cooper (1987), Michael Jordan (1988), Gary Payton (1996) and Marcus Smart (2022). Yes, there is one missing: Sidney Moncrief.
Born on September 21, 1958, the former Bucks guard deserves to be singled out because he is the only one to have won it twice, in 1983 and 1984. The kind of performance that classifies a player. His five appearances in the All-NBA and the All-Defensive Team are enough to better understand his impact in the 1980s.
“We didn't want to take him out because he was excellent on both ends of the pitch. He couldn't play 48 minutes, but we wanted to leave him in the whole game every night.”, sums up his former coachDon Nelson.
A huge defender
A cornerstone of the Bucks' excellent defense, Sidney Moncrief led Milwaukee to its best seasons after the passage of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson in the early 1970s. Unfortunately for him, he never touched the Grail, the fault of Philadelphia and Boston. Three times, the Bucks would fail in the conference finals.
“People forget that with Don Nelson, and Sidney was a key, we were one of the best defenses in the league.”recalls Garry St. Jean, a Bucks bench assistant in the 1980s. “We were one of the first teams to change defense. We also double-teamed. Nelson was ahead defensively. He always studied the rules so he could break them.”
What kind of player was he? Let's hear from the five-time All-Star.
“The effort at its maximum”he defines himself, evoking his greatest quality. “Being involved and focused on being a professional, on performance, following instructions, interacting with your teammates. When I look at footage of myself, what strikes me is how explosive I was and how I could score and defend in different ways. Not being one-dimensional was important to me.”
The proof: between 1982 and 1986, he averaged 21 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists. A way of responding to those who, when he was at university, saw him only as an athlete (90 centimeters of dry jump).
Intensity, knee injury and $40 million
On February 13, 1978, he made the cover of Sports Illustrated. He is then in the colors of the University of Arkansas and goes up to dunk. The photo is superb. The reality a little less.
“It was when I dunked that I started having problems with my left knee.”he specifies. “I remember it hurting when I took my push. So if you look at this cover, you can see my grimace and think it's intensity. It's more pain.”
The injuries that would ruin and shorten his career: 11 seasons, 767 matches and retirement at 33. In this article So he brushed aside false compliments about his intensity.
“Everyone knows their role, and no one takes themselves for anyone else. In some teams, players get on each other's nerves and friction arises. Here, there is none of that. What bothers me is when people only talk about my intensity, as if that's all I have to offer. I think I have a bit of talent too.”
Perhaps the one who speaks best about it is his former teammate, Marques Johnson, whose jersey was recently retired in Milwaukee.
“He was so strong defensively in big moments.”recalls the Bucks star between 1977 and 1984. “I've always said Michael Jordan was the best two-way player I've ever seen. Sidney Moncrief is right behind him. He was a world-class athlete who could dunk on centers like Robert Parish. He was our best rebounder for several seasons and he was working on his outside shot. So his style would still be well suited to today's game. He would be worth $40 million a season.”
| Sidney Moncrief | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 1979-80 | MIL | 77 | 20 | 46.8 | 0.0 | 79.5 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 4.4 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 8.5 |
| 1980-81 | MIL | 80 | 30 | 54.1 | 22.2 | 80.4 | 2.3 | 2.8 | 5.1 | 3.3 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 14.0 |
| 1981-82 | MIL | 80 | 37 | 52.3 | 7.1 | 81.7 | 2.8 | 3.9 | 6.7 | 4.8 | 2.6 | 1.7 | 2.6 | 0.3 | 19.8 |
| 1982-83 | MIL | 76 | 36 | 52.4 | 10.0 | 82.6 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 5.8 | 4.0 | 2.4 | 1.5 | 2.6 | 0.3 | 22.5 |
| 1983-84 | MIL | 79 | 39 | 49.8 | 27.8 | 84.8 | 2.7 | 4.0 | 6.7 | 4.5 | 2.6 | 1.4 | 2.8 | 0.3 | 20.9 |
| 1984-85 | MIL | 73 | 38 | 48.3 | 27.3 | 82.8 | 2.0 | 3.3 | 5.4 | 5.2 | 2.7 | 1.6 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 21.7 |
| 1985-86 | MIL | 73 | 35 | 48.9 | 32.7 | 85.9 | 1.6 | 3.0 | 4.6 | 4.9 | 2.4 | 1.4 | 2.4 | 0.3 | 20.2 |
| 1986-87 | MIL | 39 | 25 | 48.8 | 25.8 | 84.0 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 11.8 |
| 1987-88 | MIL | 56 | 26 | 48.9 | 16.1 | 83.7 | 1.0 | 2.2 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 10.8 |
| 1988-89 | MIL | 62 | 26 | 49.1 | 34.2 | 86.5 | 0.7 | 2.0 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 12.1 |
| 1990-91 | ATL | 72 | 15 | 48.8 | 32.8 | 78.1 | 0.4 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 4.7 |
| Total | 767 | 30 | 50.2 | 28.6 | 83.1 | 1.9 | 2.8 | 4.7 | 3.6 | 2.1 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 15.6 | |
How to read the stats? GM = Games Played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots Made / Shots Attempted; 3pts = 3-pointers / 3-pointers Attempted; LF = Free Throws Made / Free Throws Attempted; Off = Offensive Rebound; Def = Defensive Rebound; Tot = Total Rebounds; Pd = Assists; Fte: Personal Fouls; Int = Steals; Bp = Loose Balls; Ct: Blocks; Pts = Points.
