Sidney Moncrief facts for kids
Moncrief in 2015
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 21, 1957 Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S. |
| High school | Hall (Little Rock, Arkansas) |
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Listed weight | 190 lb (86 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College | Arkansas (1975–1979) |
| NBA Draft | 1979 / Round: 1 / Pick: 5th overall |
| Selected by the Milwaukee Bucks | |
| Pro career | 1979–1991 |
| Coaching career | 1999–2013 |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 1979–1989 | Milwaukee Bucks |
| 1990–1991 | Atlanta Hawks |
| As coach: | |
| 1999–2000 | Arkansas–Little Rock |
| 2006–2007 | Fort Worth Flyers |
| 2007–2008 | Golden State Warriors (assistant) |
| 2009 | Beijing Ducks(assistant) |
| 2009–2010 | Beijing Ducks |
| 2011–2013 | Milwaukee Bucks (assistant) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
|
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| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 11,931 (15.6 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 3,575 (4.7 rpg) |
| Assists | 2,793 (3.6 apg) |
Sidney Alvin Moncrief (born September 21, 1957) is a famous American former professional basketball player. He was known for his amazing skills on the court. From 1975 to 1979, Moncrief played college basketball for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks. He helped lead them to the 1978 Final Four.
Moncrief played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Ten of those seasons were with the Milwaukee Bucks. He was a five-time NBA All-Star. He also won the first two NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards in 1983 and 1984. He was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019.
Contents
Early Life
Sidney Alvin Moncrief was born on September 21, 1957. His hometown is Little Rock, Arkansas.
College Basketball Career
Sidney Moncrief, along with Marvin Delph and Ron Brewer, were called "The Triplets." They helped make the University of Arkansas basketball team very strong in the 1970s. Their coach was Eddie Sutton.
Moncrief led the Razorbacks to win the Southwest Conference (SWC) regular season championship three times. They won in 1977, 1978, and 1979. They also won the SWC Tournament championship in 1977 and 1979.
In 1978, Moncrief and the Razorbacks made it to the NCAA Final Four. They lost to Kentucky in the semifinals. But they beat Notre Dame in the third-place game. The next year, they lost to Larry Bird's Indiana State team in the Elite Eight. Moncrief's leadership made the Razorbacks a top college basketball program.
His jersey number was retired by the University of Arkansas. This means no other player can wear that number. He was the first player in Arkansas history to have his number retired. Moncrief was also inducted into the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame in 2014.
Professional Basketball Career
Playing for the Milwaukee Bucks (1979–1989)
Sidney Moncrief started his NBA career in 1979. The Milwaukee Bucks picked him as the 5th player in the 1979 NBA draft. In his first season, he showed great potential.
During the 1980-81 NBA season, Moncrief helped the Bucks have a great record of 60 wins and 22 losses. This was one of the best records in the league. He averaged 14 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game.
Moncrief was known for his strong defense. On December 5, 1982, he set a career high with 7 steals in one game. On February 24, 1983, he scored a career-high 42 points against the Houston Rockets.
In the 1983 playoffs, Moncrief led the Bucks to sweep Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics. This means they won every game in that series. The Bucks then faced the Philadelphia 76ers. They lost the series, but they were the only team to beat the 76ers in a playoff game that year.
On November 30, 1983, Moncrief blocked a career-high 4 shots. The next month, he achieved his first career triple-double. A triple-double means getting double-digit numbers in three different stats. He had 16 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists in that game.
In 1986, Moncrief played a full 48-minute game against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. He scored 27 points and had a career-high 12 assists. That postseason, the Bucks beat the Philadelphia 76ers in a tough seven-game series. Moncrief helped the team win when he played, even with injuries. The Bucks reached the Eastern Conference finals for the third time with Moncrief.
In the 1987 NBA Playoffs, Moncrief scored a playoff-career high of 34 points. This was in a game against the Boston Celtics. He was often guarded by the great defender Dennis Johnson. Moncrief's career was affected by knee and foot injuries. He retired from the NBA for the first time in 1989.
Playing for the Atlanta Hawks (1990–1991)
After taking a year off, Moncrief returned to play one season with the Atlanta Hawks in 1990–1991. He retired for good after the Hawks' playoff run that year. The Milwaukee Bucks retired his No. 4 jersey in 1990 to honor his contributions.
Legacy and Impact
During the 1980s, Sidney Moncrief was the main leader of the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks had one of the best winning records in the NBA during that decade. Only the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics had better records.
Moncrief was known for being a very versatile player. This means he could do many things well on the court. He was especially famous for his strong defense. Even though he was 6 feet 4 inches tall, he could defend much taller players.
He won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award twice. He was also an All-Star five times in a row. Many people, including other famous players, admired his defense. Michael Jordan once said that playing against Moncrief meant you were in for a tough game. Jordan said Moncrief would "hound you everywhere you go." Larry Bird also praised Moncrief, saying he did "everything you're supposed to do on defense."
Moncrief averaged over 20 points per game in four seasons. He finished his 11-season NBA career with an average of 15.6 points per game. He still holds a record for the Bucks in offensive rating.
His career was impacted by knee and foot injuries. These injuries caused him to miss games, especially later in his career.
Moncrief was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1993. He was also inducted into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998. In 2019, he was finally elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
NBA Career Statistics
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979–80 | Milwaukee | 77 | — | 20.2 | .468 | .000 | .795 | 4.4 | 1.7 | .9 | .2 | 8.5 |
| 1980–81 | Milwaukee | 80 | — | 30.2 | .541 | .222 | .804 | 5.1 | 3.3 | 1.1 | .5 | 14.0 |
| 1981–82 | Milwaukee | 80 | 80 | 37.3 | .523 | .071 | .817 | 6.7 | 4.8 | 1.7 | .3 | 19.8 |
| 1982–83 | Milwaukee | 76 | 76 | 35.7 | .524 | .100 | .826 | 5.8 | 3.9 | 1.5 | .3 | 22.5 |
| 1983–84 | Milwaukee | 79 | 79 | 38.9 | .498 | .278 | .848 | 6.7 | 4.5 | 1.4 | .3 | 20.9 |
| 1984–85 | Milwaukee | 73 | 72 | 37.5 | .483 | .273 | .828 | 5.4 | 5.2 | 1.6 | .5 | 21.7 |
| 1985–86 | Milwaukee | 73 | 72 | 35.2 | .489 | .320 | .859 | 4.6 | 4.9 | 1.4 | .2 | 20.2 |
| 1986–87 | Milwaukee | 39 | 30 | 25.4 | .488 | .258 | .840 | 3.3 | 3.1 | .7 | .3 | 11.8 |
| 1987–88 | Milwaukee | 56 | 51 | 25.5 | .489 | .161 | .837 | 3.2 | 3.6 | .7 | .3 | 10.8 |
| 1988–89 | Milwaukee | 62 | 50 | 25.7 | .491 | .342 | .865 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 1.0 | .2 | 12.1 |
| 1990–91 | Atlanta | 72 | 3 | 15.2 | .488 | .328 | .781 | 1.8 | 1.4 | .7 | .1 | 4.7 |
| Career | 767 | 513 | 30.2 | .502 | .284 | .831 | 4.7 | 3.6 | 1.2 | .3 | 15.6 | |
| All-Star | 5 | 2 | 23.8 | .404 | 1.000 | .864 | 4.4 | 2.4 | 2.4 | .4 | 11.6 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Milwaukee | 7 | — | 26.0 | .588 | .000 | .871 | 4.4 | 1.6 | .7 | .1 | 12.4 |
| 1981 | Milwaukee | 7 | — | 39.6 | .435 | .000 | .745 | 6.7 | 2.9 | 1.7 | .4 | 14.0 |
| 1982 | Milwaukee | 6 | — | 42.0 | .419 | .000 | .789 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 1.5 | .3 | 15.3 |
| 1983 | Milwaukee | 9 | — | 41.9 | .437 | .000 | .754 | 6.7 | 3.7 | 2.0 | .3 | 18.9 |
| 1984 | Milwaukee | 16 | — | 38.6 | .518 | .250 | .791 | 6.9 | 4.3 | 1.8 | .6 | 19.1 |
| 1985 | Milwaukee | 8 | 7 | 39.9 | .556 | .400 | .933 | 4.3 | 5.0 | .6 | .5 | 23.0 |
| 1986 | Milwaukee | 9 | 9 | 36.3 | .426 | .286 | .698 | 4.6 | 4.9 | .6 | .6 | 16.9 |
| 1987 | Milwaukee | 12 | 10 | 35.5 | .473 | .286 | .811 | 4.5 | 3.0 | 1.1 | .5 | 19.4 |
| 1988 | Milwaukee | 5 | 5 | 34.6 | .480 | 1.000 | .963 | 3.8 | 5.2 | .6 | .2 | 15.0 |
| 1989 | Milwaukee | 9 | 9 | 20.4 | .396 | .286 | .938 | 2.9 | 1.4 | .6 | .2 | 6.1 |
| 1991 | Atlanta | 5 | 0 | 18.2 | .500 | .167 | .813 | 3.2 | .4 | .6 | .0 | 7.2 |
| Career | 93 | 40 | 34.7 | .475 | .293 | .811 | 5.0 | 3.4 | 1.1 | .4 | 16.0 | |
Coaching Career
After his playing career, Moncrief became a coach.
- He was the head coach at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock for one season (1999–2000).
- In 2006, he coached the Fort Worth Flyers in the NBA D-League.
- He became a shooting coach for the Golden State Warriors in 2007.
- He also coached as an assistant for the Beijing Ducks in China.
- From 2011 to 2013, he returned to the Milwaukee Bucks as an assistant coach.
Broadcasting Career
In July 2013, Moncrief started working as a basketball analyst. He commented on Bucks games for FSN Wisconsin.
Life After Playing
Books Authored
Sidney Moncrief has also written books:
- Moncrief: My Journey to the NBA (1990, with Myra McLarey)
- Your Passport to Becoming a Valuable Team Player: Your Travel Guide for Peak Performance at Work and Home (2012, with Kisha Wetherall)
Personal Life and Reflections
Sidney Moncrief has four sons. His son Brett played college football. His nephew Albrey Battle played in the Arena Football League.
After retiring from basketball, Moncrief owned car dealerships in Arkansas. He reflected on his career in 2021. He said he now has a greater appreciation for his achievements. He didn't think much about them when he was playing.
In May 2021, Moncrief spoke at the Hall of Fame ceremony for his former coach, Eddie Sutton.
See also
In Spanish: Sidney Moncrief para niños
- List of NCAA Division I men's basketball players with 2000 points and 1000 rebounds
