The List of Greatness - 1987

I think this is the first time this has ever happened - where the top ten guys stayed the same. Well, obviously Tiny Archibald isn't here anymore since he was inducted last year and was replaced by somebody else. So I should really say, everyone in the top ten who wasn't inducted last year was still in the top ten this year. There was some shifting of positions, but the names are all the same. Also, the new member of the top ten had an incredible season in 1987. Moved all the way from #82 to #4 and increased his rating by 72.9 points. That also might be a record for a single season.


1. Robert Parish - 208.1
Position: Center
Height: 7'0"
College: Centenary
Draft: 1976 - 8th pick
Experience: 11 years
Teams: Golden State Warriors - 1977-1980 (#00), Boston Celtics - 1981-1987 (#00)
90.1 Win Shares, 0.271 MVP Award Shares, 0 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 1 All-NBA 2nd Team Selection, 7 All-Star Selections, 3 Championships (1981 Celtics, 1984 Celtics, 1986 Celtics), 4.3 Championship Win Shares, 2 Finals Losses (1985 Celtics, 1987 Celtics), 3.9 Finals Win Shares, 1 Conference Finals Loss (1982 Celtics), 1.5 Conference Finals Win Shares


And the rest of the top ten:
2. Dennis Johnson - 198.0
Position: Guard
Height: 6'4"
College: Pepperdine
Draft: 1976 - 29th pick
Experience: 11 years
Teams: Seattle SuperSonics - 1976-1980 (#24), Phoenix Suns - 1981-1983 (#24), Boston Celtics - 1984-1987 (#3)
71.4 Win Shares, 0.083 MVP Award Shares, 1 All-NBA 1st Team Selection, 1 All-NBA 2nd Team Selection, 5 All-Star Selections, 3 Championships (1979 SuperSonics, 1984 Celtics, 1986 Celtics), 5.0 Championship Win Shares, 3 Finals Losses (1978 SuperSonics, 1985 Celtics, 1987 Celtics), 4.5 Finals Win Shares, 1 Conference Finals Loss (1980 SuperSonics), 0.8 Conference Finals Win Shares


3. Bob McAdoo - 197.5
Position: Center-Forward
Height: 6'9"
College: North Carolina
Draft: 1972 - 2nd pick
Experience: 14 years (retired 1 year)
Teams: Buffalo Braves - 1973-1977 (#11), New York Knicks - 1977-1979 (#11), Boston Celtics - 1979 (#11), Detroit Pistons - 1980-1981 (#11), New Jersey Nets - 1981 (#11), Los Angeles Lakers - 1982-1985 (#11), Philadelphia 76ers (#11)
89.1 Win Shares, 1.494 MVP Award Shares (1 MVP - 1975), 1 All-NBA 1st Team Selection, 1 All-NBA 2nd Team Selection, 5 All-Star Selections, 2 Championships (1982 Lakers, 1985 Lakers), 1.5 Championship Win Shares, 2 Finals Losses (1983 Lakers, 1984 Lakers), 1.2 Finals Win Shares, 0 Conference Finals Losses, 0.0 Conference Finals Win Shares


4. Kevin McHale - 193.5
Position: Forward-Center
Height: 6'10"
College: Minnesota
Draft: 1980 - 3rd pick
Experience: 7 years
Teams: Boston Celtics - 1981-1987 (#32)
67.0 Win Shares, 0.338 MVP Award Shares, 1 All-NBA 1st Team Selection, 3 All-Star Selections, 3 Championships (1981 Celtics, 1984 Celtics, 1986 Celtics), 6.4 Championship Win Shares, 2 Finals Losses (1985 Celtics, 1987 Celtics), 3.9 Finals Win Shares, 1 Conference Finals Loss (1982 Celtics), 1.8 Conference Finals Win Shares


5. Sidney Moncrief - 185.5
Position: Guard
Height: 6'3"
College: Arkansas
Draft: 1979 - 5th pick
Experience: 8 years
Teams: Milwaukee Bucks - 1980-1987 (#4)
79.9 Win Shares, 0.694 MVP Award Shares, 1 All-NBA 1st Team Selection, 4 All-NBA 2nd Team Selections, 5 All-Star Selections, 0 Championships, 0 Championship Win Shares, 0 Finals Losses, 0.0 Finals Win Shares, 3 Conference Finals Losses (1983 Bucks, 1984 Bucks, 1986 Bucks), 3.3 Conference Finals Win Shares


6. Cliff Hagan - 183.3
Position: Forward-Guard
Height: 6'4"
College: Kentucky
Draft: 1953 - 24th pick
Experience: 10 years/3 ABA years (retired 19 years/15 years from ABA)
Teams: St. Louis Hawks - 1957-1966 (#6 - 1957, #17 - 1957, #16 - 1958-1966), Dallas Chaparrals - 1968-1970 (#16)
75.1 Win Shares, 0.043 MVP Award Shares, 0 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 2 All-NBA 2nd Team Selections, 5 All-Star Selections, 1 Championship (1958 Hawks), 2.7 Championship Win Shares, 3 Finals Losses (1957 Hawks, 1960 Hawks, 1961 Hawks), 3.9 Finals Win Shares, 4 Conference Finals Losses (1959 Hawks, 1963 Hawks, 1964 Hawks, 1966 Hawks), 3.8 Conference Finals Win Shares
10.2 ABA Win Shares, 1 ABA All-Star Selection


7. Dan Issel - 181.2
Position: Center-Forward
Height: 6'9"
College: Kentucky
Draft: 1970 - 122nd pick (signed with ABA instead)
Experience: 9 years/6 ABA years (retired 2 years)
Teams: Kentucky Colonels - 1971-1975 (#44), Denver Nuggets - 1976 (#25), Denver Nuggets - 1977-1985 (#25 - 1977, #44 - 1978-1985)
82.3 Win Shares, 0.004 MVP Award Shares, 0 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 0 All-NBA 2nd Team Selections, 1 All-Star Selection, 0 Championships, 0.0 Championship Win Shares, 0 Finals Losses, 0.0 Finals Win Shares, 2 Conference Finals Losses (1978 Nuggets, 1985 Nuggets), 2.0 Conference Finals Win Shares
75.6 Win Shares, 1 All-ABA 1st Team Selection, 4 All-ABA 2nd Team Selections, 6 ABA All-Star Selections, 1 ABA Championship (1975 Colonels), 1.7 ABA Championship Win Shares, 3 ABA Finals Losses (1971 Colonels, 1973 Colonels, 1976 Nuggets), 8.5 ABA Finals Win Shares, 1 ABA Conference Finals Loss (1974 Colonels), 0.8 ABA Conference Finals Win Shares


8. Bob Dandridge - 176.4
Position: Forward-Guard
Height: 6'6"
College: Norfolk State
Draft: 1969 - 45th pick
Experience: 13 years (retired 5 years)
Teams: Milwaukee Bucks - 1970-1977 (#10), Washington Bullets - 1978-1981 (#10), Milwaukee Bucks - 1982 (#10)
80.3 Win Shares, 0.034 MVP Award Shares, 0 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 1 All-NBA 2nd Team Selection, 4 All-Star Selections, 2 Championships (1971 Bucks, 1978 Bullets), 3.7 Championship Win Shares, 2 Finals Losses (1974 Bucks, 1979 Bullets), 4.4 Finals Win Shares, 2 Conference Finals Losses (1970 Bucks, 1972 Bucks), 2.5 Conference Finals Win Shares


9. Billy Cunningham - 176.3
Position: Forward-Center
Height: 6'6"
College: North Carolina
Draft: 1965 - 5th pick
Experience: 9 years/3 ABA years (retired 11 years)
Teams: Philadelphia 76ers - 1966-1972 (#32), Carolina Cougars - 1973-1974 (#32), Philadelphia 76ers - 1975-1976 (#32)
63.2 Win Shares, 0.288 MVP Award Shares, 3 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 1 All-NBA 2nd Team Selection, 4 All-Star Selections, 1 Championship (1967 76ers), 0.4 Championship Win Shares, 0 Finals Losses, 0.0 Finals Win Shares, 2 Conference Finals Losses 91966 y6ers, 1968 76ers), 0.4 Conference Finals Win Shares
15.4 ABA Win Shares, 1 ABA MVP (1973), 1 All-ABA 1st Team Selection, 1 ABA All-Star Selection, 1 ABA Conference Finals Loss (1973 Cougars), 1.7 ABA Conference Finals Win Shares


10. Bob Lanier - 174.5
Postion: Center
Height: 6'11"
College: St. Bonaventure
Draft: 1970 - 1st pick
Experience: 14 years (retired 2 years)
Teams: Detroit Pistons - 1970-1980 (#16), Milwaukee Bucks - 1980-1984 (#16)
117.1 Win Shares, 0.504 MVP Award Shares, 0 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 0 All-NBA 2nd Team Selections, 8 All-Star Selections, 0 Championships, 0.0 Championship Win Shares, 0 Finals Losses, 0.0 Finals Win Shares, 2 Conference Finals Losses (1983 Bucks, 1984 Bucks), 1.9 Conference Finals Win Shares


And the 41 Greatest Players Ever after 41 seasons:
(Inducted List of Greatness members in bold; supplementary members in underlined italics)
1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - 904.2
2. Bill Russell - 739.6
3. Wilt Chamberlain - 712.6
4. Jerry West - 584.6
5. Larry Bird - 549.6
6. Oscar Robertson - 511.2
7. Julius Erving - 485.4
8. John Havlicek - 479.1
9. Bob Pettit - 468.2
10. Magic Johnson - 433.1
11. Dolph Schayes - 431.8
12. Elgin Baylor - 416.2
13. Moses Malone - 407.3
14. Bob Cousy - 406.2
15. George Mikan - 380.0
16. Rick Barry - 329.3
17. Elvin Hayes - 322.1
18. Walt Frazier - 321.8
19. George Gervin - 287.5
20. Sam Jones - 283.0
21. Bill Sharman - 278.7
22. Paul Arizin - 258.2
23. Hal Greer - 251.9
24. Artis Gilmore - 246.3
25. Dave Cowens - 239.8
26. Willis Reed - 234.5
27. Vern Mikkelsen - 225.8
28. Wes Unseld - 221.6
29. Jerry Lucas - 221.6
30. Tom Heinsohn - 217.8
31. Neil Johnston - 209.8
32. Robert Parish - 208.1
33. Tiny Archibald - 206.0
34. Ed Macauley - 204.7
35. Bailey Howell - 200.7
36. Dennis Johnson - 198.0
37. Bob McAdoo - 197.5
38. Kevin McHale - 193.5
39. Chet Walker - 190.4
40. Sidney Moncrief - 185.5
41. Cliff Hagan - 183.3


And the next tier:
42. Dan Issel - 181.2
43. Slater Martin - 178.9
44. Bob Dandridge - 176.4
45. Billy Cunningham - 176.3
46. Bob Lanier - 174.5
47. Adrian Dantley - 172.7
48. Paul Westphal - 167.6
49. Spencer Haywood - 161.7
50. Larry Foust - 160.1
51. Harry Gallatin - 159.0
52. Lenny Wilkens - 158.8
53. Walt Bellamy - 156.1
54. Jack Sikma - 154.8
55. Jim Pollard - 154.2
56. Isiah Thomas - 154.1
57. Dave Bing - 153.5
58. Gail Goodrich - 151.8
59. Bobby Wanzer - 151.4
60. Bobby Jones - 151.1
61. Bob Davies - 150.7
62. Alex English - 150.7
63. Gus Williams - 150.6
64. Jo Jo White - 150.2
65. George McGinnis - 149.1
66. Marques Johnson - 148.4
67. George Yardley - 145.1
68. Earl Monroe - 144.8
69. Nate Thurmond - 141.8
70. Dave DeBusschere - 141.4
71. Richie Guerin - 138.0
72. Connie Hawkins - 135.1
73. Max Zaslofsky - 134.9
74. Jack Twyman - 134.2
75. Zelmo Beaty - 133.7
76. Jamaal Wilkes - 133.2
77. Maurice Cheeks - 129.4
78. Maurice Lucas - 128.7
79. Bernard King - 127.7
80. Lou Hudson - 127.5
81. Joe Fulks - 126.7
82. Pete Maravich - 123.7


Other Notables:
83. Bill Walton - 123.3
98. Hakeem Olajuwon - 96.6
100. Dominique Wilkins - 95.8
101. James Worthy - 95.3
105. Michael Jordan - 91.5