Wayne Embry was drafted by the Bucks in the 1968 expansion draft and averaged 13.1 points and 8.6 rebounds during his only season in Milwaukee. (Getty)

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January 26, 2008

MILWAUKEE -- They called him "The Wall."

He may have been one of the most aptly nicknamed players in National Basketball Association history. Anyone who ever felt the wrath of one of his 6-foot-8-inch, 255-pound picks could attest to that.

And during his 45+ years in the NBA, Wayne Embry became a pillar, too. The foundation of the Milwaukee Bucks would not be the same without him.

Life was good for Wayne Embry in the spring of 1968. He had just helped the Boston Celtics reach the pinnacle of professional basketball with their 10th NBA championship conquest.

The 1967-68 season was Embry's 10th in the NBA, and the thought of going out on top carried some appeal for him. He had enjoyed a successful run -- one which would help him earn enshrinement into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Then he got a phone call from Milwaukee, notifying him that the Bucks had made him one of their 18 selections in the 1968 NBA Expansion Draft.

"The Wall" decided to become a pillar, but not right away.

"Well, I was a veteran," he said. "I had played 10 years in the league and didn't know quite what playing for an expansion team would be like, coming off a championship season with the Celtics.

"I had held out that year, for all of $40,000. But I reported, and it was quite an experience for me."

Embry's first official workout in Milwaukee under coach Larry Costello, who had just finished a rewarding NBA playing career of his own, was an eye-opener.

"After our first practice, a couple of my teammates asked me for an autograph," Embry said with a chuckle. "Greg Smith was one of them. I thought, 'Oh my goodness, this must be a sign of age, or something!'"

Embry was being extremely humble. He had averaged a double-double in points and rebounds for the Cincinnati Royals for five consecutive seasons spanning 1961 through '65, and received first-team all-NBA honors following each of those years.

So to Greg Smith and some of his other young Milwaukee teammates, Embry was an icon. He also became the Bucks' very first captain.

Embry had played for one of professional sports' proudest franchises with the Celtics, and he helped lay the foundation for another one in Milwaukee. The original Bucks won 27 games -- the second-most ever by an NBA expansion team.

"What really stood out was the way we came together," Embry recalled. "We really dignified ourselves.

"We had myself, Guy Rodgers, Jon McGlocklin, Sam Williams and some pretty good rookies. We were competitive."

Embry's team-high 30 points led Milwaukee to the first win in franchise history, a 134-118 decision over the Detroit Pistons, at the Milwaukee Arena on Oct. 31, 1968. He either held or shared the team scoring lead in 11 contests that season.

With Embry manning the middle for the majority of the minutes, the '68-69 Bucks grabbed 4,727 rebounds, which still stands as a team record.

And at least one of Embry's former Bucks teammates still appreciates all of those bone-jarring picks he set.

"Wayne had a great year in that first year," said Jon McGlocklin, who was the Bucks' first NBA All-Star that season. "I think he and I were both averaging close to 20 points a game. After Flynn Robinson came (following a trade with the Chicago Bulls), he said, 'Stop rolling; just pick.' And Wayne said, 'There's no point in rolling anymore with you two here. I might get it back from you once in awhile, Jon, but I wasn't going to get it back from both of you!' Wayne's scoring average dropped dramatically after that, because we had those two shooting, scoring guards."

Embry still managed to average 13.4 points per game and finished second on the team in rebounding.

The Bucks set a home attendance record for a first-year team, averaging 6,246 spectators at the Arena. And as Milwaukee embraced the Bucks, Embry embraced Milwaukee.

"We felt part of the community, and the community embraced us," he said. "We knew Milwaukee as a sports town because of the Packers and the Braves.

"But to come and experience how the fans opened up and embraced the Bucks was great."

Embry enjoyed Milwaukee so much that, after retiring as a player, he stayed here.

The Bucks made Embry the first NBA African American general manager in 1972. He held the position for eight years leading the team to two seasons of 59 or more wins and four playoff appearances, including the 1974 Finals.

He was also instrumental in negotiations that brought former Cincinnati teammate and perennial all-pro guard Oscar Robertson to Milwaukee to join forces with Lew Alcindor, the first overall pick in the 1969 NBA Draft. In 1971, of course, the Bucks captured the NBA title, becoming the fastest expansion team in sports history to achieve that feat.

Embry went on to serve as vice-president and general manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers from 1985-92. He moved to an executive vice-president position with the club from 1992-94, and in 1994 made history again by becoming the first African American NBA team president and chief operating officer.

On his watch, the Cavaliers won 40 or more games 10 times, 50 or more on three occasions and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals in 1992. Embry earned The Sporting News Executive of the Year honors in 1992 and 1998, and was Sports Illustrated’s Executive of the Year in 1998.

Embry joined the Toronto Raptors in 2004 as senior basketball advisor. He took charge of the basketball operations area as Interim GM in 2006, and during that time, he engineered two trades to create significant salary cap space for his successor, Bryan Colangelo, to rebuild the roster in the offseason.

"I feel really indebted to Milwaukee and the Bucks organization," Embry said. "They gave me my chance in management, which set a precedent. I'm really appreciative for that to Wes Pavalon and the ownership group at that time. I was able to stay here 16 or 17 years, and all of them were great."

Embry visited Milwaukee when the Bucks rededicated Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's retired No. 33 jersey earlier this season.

"One of the comments I'll make regarding Kareem is, I felt when the Bucks won the coin flip to draft Kareem, I couldn't beat him out," Embry said. "So that was my decision to retire.

"But it was really a joy working with Kareem the years that I did, and the way that he handled himself with class as a player."

And Kareem had a pillar of a role model in that respect in his predecessor, Wayne Embry.