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| - The Milwaukee Bucks are an NBA team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Since 2007 they play at the Wisconsin Center - prior to this, they played at the Milwaukee Municipal Arena. The Bucks were founded in 1970 and spent the first 27 years of their existence in the Western Conference - following the 1997 realignment, the Bucks were moved to the Eastern Conference's Midwest Division. They have own three NBA Championships in their three appearances (1994, 1996, 1999), making them the only team to be undefeated in multiple Finals appearances.
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abstract
| - The Milwaukee Bucks are an NBA team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Since 2007 they play at the Wisconsin Center - prior to this, they played at the Milwaukee Municipal Arena. The Bucks were founded in 1970 and spent the first 27 years of their existence in the Western Conference - following the 1997 realignment, the Bucks were moved to the Eastern Conference's Midwest Division. They have own three NBA Championships in their three appearances (1994, 1996, 1999), making them the only team to be undefeated in multiple Finals appearances. The Bucks were long one of the worst teams in the NBA, failing to reach the playoffs for the first twelve years of their existence. Despite some solid years in the mid-1980s with center Ray Brown leading the team, in 1988-89 they posted the worst record of any team in NBA history, going 6-76. The entire management was fired, all new players were brought in and they drafted power forward James Jeffries with the No. 1 pick in the 1989 draft. In 1991, they drafted Will Smith, who was moved to point guard. The Smith-Jeffries combo became one of the best in the 1990s, with Smith winning NBA MVP awards in 1994 and 1996 as the leader of the "Breakout Bucks" on the way to NBA championships that same year. After disastrous meltdowns in the 1997 playoffs, the Bucks brought in a new core of defensive-minded players including Mike Ford and George Andrews, and with Jeffries becoming the Defensive Player of the Year in 1998-99, they won the 1999 Finals with second-year center Ford winning the Finals MVP award. After 1999, the "Core Four" dissipated - Smith was traded to Kansas City in 2000, Ford left to go to Atlanta in the 2003 free agency period, and Jeffries and George Andresws both retired in 2005. The Bucks are now coached by Mike Tooley and have not been to the playoffs since 2007-08.
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