Champion produced replica jerseys based on team popularity and player popularity….basically on what fans would purchase.  Therefore, on a team level, there are lots of Bulls, Knicks and Lakers jerseys. On a player level, there are a ton of Michael Jordan, Grant Hill and Penny Hardaway jerseys. These teams and players were distributed nationally. The Milwaukee Bucks in the 1990s were terrible and lacked star power (other than Glenn Robinson and Ray Allen). Add to that ugly jersey design, and that’s a recipe for limited production runs and jerseys that were mainly sold locally in the greater Milwaukee market (again, not counting Glenn Robinson and Ray Allen).

Champion produced very few Milwaukee Bucks jerseys for the 1991-1992 and 1992-1993 seasons. In fact, for the 1991-1992 season they only released Alvin Robertson. I personally really like these jerseys. When I was young I never even saw one of these in person, and rightfully so. No kid would possibly spend money on a Blue Edwards jersey when given the choice of buying a Jordan, Magic Johnson or Bird jersey. So I imagine these were mainly sold at the Milwaukee Bucks arena and local Milwaukee sports stores. As a result they are extremely rare and you seldom see them. As with most Champion replica jerseys, these lack some of the side detail that you would find on the authentic jerseys that the players actually wore on the court. As mentioned in my previous Trailblazers post, lack of detail was due to printing limitations. And Champion at this time was not sewing separate side panels onto jerseys…they were simple monochromatic  nylon jerseys with the only color variation coming on the neckline trim. And Champion only produced green road jerseys…there are no white home jerseys in existence.

Champion produced this style of Bucks jersey for the 1991-1992 & 1992-1993 seasons.

For the 1993-1994 season, the Bucks completely redesigned their logo and uniform colors. Despite the redesign (which is generally considered one of the uglier uniforms), the Bucks were still horrible and lacked star power, so again, there were limited production runs. When the Bucks drafted Glenn “Big Dog” Robinson in the 1994 draft, Champion mass-distributed his jersey, and as a result you’ll see a lot of Robinson jerseys around. These new replicas were spot on with the authentic jerseys that the players actually wore on the court. As with most teams, Champion released most players and quantities in the purple road version, while the white home jersey were limited and are hard to find.

For the 1993-1994 season the Bucks redesigned their logo and uniform colors. The following season, Glenn Robinson was drafted and the Bucks finally had a replica jersey that was nationally distributed.

 For the 1995-1996 season, the Bucks introduced an alternate jersey (which they would wear for the next three seasons). The jersey went back to the classic green color and featured the big buck on the front. They were extremely hard to find during their initial release and mainly sold locally in Milwaukee. The awesome design and scarcity have thus made these extremely collectible. The print on these jerseys was not great, so a lot of times the buck image has disintegrated since people have washed them. So to find these in pristine condition is difficult and makes them that much more valuable.

1995-1996 Bucks alternate jersey

Champion made a minor adjustment to the Bucks replica jerseys for the 1999-2000 season. The neckline went from a crew neck to a v-neck. I have never seen a white home version of this jersey.

1999-2000 Bucks replica jersey had a v-neck instead of a crew neck

In 2001-2002, the Bucks went to a vest style jersey and added side panels. Champion replicas were spot on with what the Bucks wore on the court, as Champion was now sewing side panels onto their replica jersey vests. As usual, the white home versions were limited and are very difficult to find.

2001-2002 Bucks went to a vest style jersey with side panels