The List of Greatness - 1958

Here is our third round of inductees, and we're inching ever so much closer to the one player/one year concept. This will bring us up to 6 players in 12 years.



1. Bill Sharman - 182.4
Position: Guard
Height: 6'1"
Draft: 1950 - 2nd round pick
Experience: 8 years
Teams: Washington Capitols - 1951 (#10), Boston Celtics - 1952-1958 (#21)
60.1 Win Shares, 0.053 MVP Award Shares, 3 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 2 All-NBA 2nd Team Selections, 6 All-Star Selections, 1 Championship (1957 Celtics), 1.3 Championship Win Shares, 1 Finals Loss (1958 Celtics), 1.5 Finals Win Shares, 3 Conference Finals Losses (1953 Celtics, 1954 Celtics, 1955 Celtics), 2.2 Conference Finals Win Shares




2. Vern Mikkelsen - 181.4
Position: Forward-Center
Height: 6'7"
Draft: 1949 - territorial selection
Experience: 9 years
Teams: Minneapolis Lakers - 1950-1958 (#19)
60.7 Win Shares, 0.008 MVP Award Shares, 4 All-NBA 2nd Team Selections, 6 All-Star Selections, 4 Championships (1950 Lakers, 1952 Lakers, 1953 Lakers, 1954 Lakers), 4.8 Championship Win Shares, 3 Conference Finals Losses (1951 Lakers, 1955 Lakers, 1957 Lakers), 1.0 Conference Finals Win Shares


And the rest of the top ten:
3. Ed Macauley - 178.5

Position: Center-Forward

Height: 6'8"

Draft: 1949 - territorial selection

Experience: 9 years

Teams: St. Louis Bombers - 1950 (#50), Boston Celtics - 1951-1956 (#22), St. Louis Hawks - 1957-1958 (#50 - 1957, #20 - 1957-1958)

74.2 Win Shares, 3 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 1 All-NBA 2nd Team Selection, 7 All-Star Selections, 1 Championship (1958 Hawks), 0.6 Championship Win Shares, 1 Finals Loss (1957 Hawks), 0.8 Finals Win Shares, 3 Conference Finals Losses (1953 Celtics, 1954 Celtics, 1955 Celtics), 1.7 Conference Finals Win Shares

4. Bob Pettit - 170.2
Position: Forward-Center

Height: 6'9"

Draft: 1954 - 2nd pick

Experience: 4 years

Teams: Milwaukee Hawks - 1955 (#9), St. Louis Hawks - 1956-1958 (#9)

47.1 Win Shares, 0.845 MVP Win Shares, 4 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 4 All-Star Selections, 1 Championship (1958 Hawks), 1.2 Championship Win Shares, 1 Finals Loss (1957 Hawks), 1.7 Finals Win Shares, 1 Conference Finals Loss (1956 Hawks), 0.6 Conference Finals Win Shares

5. Paul Arizin - 166.8
Position: Forward-Guard

Height: 6'4"

Draft: 1950 - territorial selection

Experience: 6 years

Teams: Philadelphia Warriors - 1951-1952, 1955-1958 (#11)

56.9 Win Shares, 0.397 MVP Win Shares, 3 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 6 All-Star Selections, 1 Championship (1956 Warriors), 2.2 Championship Win Shares, 1 Conference Finals Loss (1958 Warriors), 1.2 Conference Finals Win Shares

6. Slater Martin - 141.8
Position: Guard

Height: 5'10"

Experience: 9 years

Teams: Minneapolis Lakers - 1950-1956 (#22), New York Knicks - 1957 (#7), St. Louis Hawks - 1957-1958 (#22)

35.3 Win Shares, 4 All-NBA 2nd Team Selections, 6 All-Star Selections, 5 Championships (1950 Lakers, 1952 Lakers, 1953 Lakers, 1954 Lakers, 1958 Hawks), 3.3 Championship Win Shares, 1 Finals Loss (1957 Hawks), 0.5 Finals Win Shares, 1 Conference Finals Loss (1951 Lakers), 0.4 Conference Finals Win Shares

7. Larry Foust - 134.1
Position: Center-Forward

Height: 6'9"

Draft: 1950 - 5th pick

Experience: 8 years

Teams: Fort Wayne Pistons - 1951-1957 (#16), Minneapolis Lakers - 1958 (#14)

59.3 Win Shares, 1 All-NBA 1st Team Selection, 1 All-NBA 2nd Team Selection, 7 All-Star Selections, 2 Finals Losses (1955 Pistons, 1956 Pistons), 2.4 Finals Win Shares, 1 Conference Finals Loss (1953 Pistons), 1.1 Conference Finals Win Shares

8. Harry Gallatin - 131.9
Position: Forward-Center

Height: 6'6"

Experience: 10 years

Teams: New York Knicks - 1949-1957 (#11), Detroit Pistons - 1958 (#10)

60.1 Win Shares, 0.012 MVP Award Shares, 1 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 1 All-NBA 2nd Team Selection, 7 All-Star Selections, 3 Finals Losses (1951 Knicks, 1952 Knicks, 1953 Knicks), 2.2 Finals Win Shares, 3 Conference Finals Losses (1949 Knicks, 1950 Knicks, 1958 Pistons), 0.2 Conference Finals Win Shares

9. Jim Pollard - 126.0
Position: Forward-Center

Height: 6'4"

Experience: 7 years (retired 3 years)

Teams: Minneapolis Lakers - 1949-1955 (#17)

18.2 Win Shares, 2 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 2 All-NBA 2nd Team Selections, 4 All-Star Selections, 5 Championships (1949 Lakers, 1950 Lakers, 1952 Lakers, 1953 Lakers, 1954 Lakers), 3.7 Championship Win Shares, 2 Conference Finals Losses (1951 Lakers, 1955 Lakers), 0.3 Conference Finals Win Shares

10. Bob Davies - 118.5
Position: Guard-Forward

Height: 6'1"

Experience: 7 years (retired 3 years)

Teams: Rochester Royals - 1949-1955 (#11)

26.5 Win Shares, 4 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 1 All-NBA 2nd Team Selection, 4 All-Star Selections, 1 Championship (1951 Royals), 0 Championship Win Shares, 3 Conference Finals Losses (1949 Royals, 1952 Royals, 1954 Royals), 0.8 Conference Finals Win Shares

And here's the 12 Greatest Players Ever after 12 years of play:
(* - active the previous year)
1. Dolph Schayes - 298.0*
2. George Mikan - 232.2
3. Bob Cousy - 227.7*
4. Neil Johnston - 209.1*
5. Bill Sharman - 182.4*
6. Vern Mikkelsen - 181.4*
7. Ed Macauley - 178.5*
8. Bob Pettit - 170.2*
9. Paul Arizin - 166.8*
10. Slater Martin - 141.8*
11. Larry Foust - 134.1*
12. Harry Gallatin - 131.9


And the next tier:
13. Jim Pollard - 126.0
14. Bob Davies - 118.5
15. George Yardley - 116.8*
16. Bobby Wanzer - 99.5
17. Andy Phillip - 85.5
18. Carl Braun - 84.2*
19. Paul Seymour - 82.8*
20. Dick McGuire - 82.3*
21. Clyde Lovellette - 76.4*
22. Max Zaslofsky - 75.8
23. Arnie Risen - 72.3
24. Bill Russell - 67.4*