The List of Greatness - 1959

It's time for another edition of the List of Greatness. Two more names will be added, bringing us to 8 after 13 years. All stats and info through the end of the 1959 season.

1. Bob Pettit - 226.9
Position: Forward-Center
Height: 6'9"
Draft: 1954 - 2nd pick
Experience: 5 years
Teams: Milwaukee Hawks - 1955 (#9), St. Louis Hawks - 1956-1959 (#9)
61.9 Win Shares, 1.618 MVP Award Shares (2 MVPs - 1956, 1959), 5 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 0 All-NBA 2nd Team Selections, 5 All-Star Selections, 1 Championship (1958 Hawks), 1.2 Championship Win Shares, 1 Finals Loss (1957 Hawks), 1.7 Finals Win Shares, 2 Conference Finals Losses (1956 Hawks, 1959 Hawks), 1.6 Conference Finals Win Shares


2. Paul Arizin - 197.2

Position: Forward-Guard

Height: 6'4"

Draft: 1950 - territorial selection

Experience: 7 years

Teams: Philadelphia Warriors - 1951-1952, 1955-1959 (#11)

69.9 Win Shares, 0.492 MVP Award Shares, 3 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 1 All-NBA 2nd Team Selection, 7 All-Star Selections, 1 Championship (1956 Warriors), 2.2 Championship Win Shares, 0 Finals Losses, 0.0 Finals Win Shares, 1 Conference Finals Loss (1958 Warriors), 1.2 Conference Finals Win Shares

And the rest of the top ten:


3. Ed Macauley - 179.7

Position: Center-Forward

Height: 6'8"

Draft: 1949 - territorial selection

Experience: 10 years

Teams: St. Louis Bombers - 1950 (#50), Boston Celtics - 1951-1956 (#22), St. Louis Hawks 1957-1959 (#50 - 1957, #20 -1957-1959)

73.9 Win Shares, 0.000 MVP Award Shares, 3 All-NBA 1st Teams 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), 2.3 Conference Finals Win Shares

4. Slater Martin - 159.5

Position: Guard

Height: 5'10"

Experience: 10 years

Teams: Minneapolis Lakers - 1950-1956 (#22), New York Knicks - 1957 (#7), St. Louis Hawks - 1957-1959 (#22)

37.7 Win Shares, 0.000 MVP Award Shares, 0 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 5 All-NBA 2nd Team Selections, 7 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, 2 Conference Finals Losses (1951 Lakers, 1959 Hawks), 0.5 Conference Finals Win Shares

5. Larry Foust - 147.3

Position: Center-Forward

Height: 6'9"

Draft: 1950 - 5th pick

Experience: 9 years

Teams: Fort Wayne Pistons - 1951-1957 (#16), Minneapolis Lakers - 1958-1959 (#14)

63.5 Win Shares, 1 All-NBA 1st Team Selection, 1 All-NBA 2nd Team Selection, 8 All-Star Selections, 3 Finals Losses (1955 Pistons, 1956 Pistons, 1959 Lakers), 3.2 Finals Losses, 1 Conference Finals Loss (1953 Pistons), 1.1 Conference Finals Win Shares

6. Harry Gallatin - 131.9

Position: Forward-Center

Height: 6'6"

Experience: 10 years (retired 1 year)

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 Selection, 1 All-NBA 2nd Team Selection, 7 All-Star Selections, 0 Championships, 0.0 Championship Win Shares, 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

7. George Yardley - 131.1

Position: Forward-Guard

Height: 6'5"

Draft: 1950 - 7th pick

Experience: 6 years

Teams: Fort Wayne Pistons - 1954-1957 (#12), Detroit Pistons - 1958-1959 (#12), Syracuse Nationals - 1959 (#12)

49.5 Win Shares, 0.382 MVP Award Shares, 1 All-NBA 1st Team Selection, 1 All-NBA 2nd Team Selection, 5 All-Star Selections, 0 Championships, 0 Championship Win Shares, 2 Finals Losses (1955 Pistons, 1956 Pistons), 3.3 Finals Win Shares, 2 Conference Finals Losses (1958 Pistons, 1959 Nationals), 2.2 Conference Finals Win Shares

8. Bill Russell - 128.0

Position: Center

Height: 6'9"

Draft: 1956 - 2nd pick

Experience: 3 years

Teams: Boston Celtics - 1957-1959 (#6)

30.4 Win Shares, 0.945 Win Shares (1 MVP - 1958), 1 All-NBA 1st Team Selection, 1 All-NBA 2nd Team Selection, 2 All-Star Selections, 2 Championships (1957 Celtics, 1959 Celtics), 3.3 Championship Win Shares, 1 Finals Loss (1958 Celtics), 1.2 Finals Win Shares, 0 Conference Finals Losses, 0.0 Conference Finals Win Shares

9. Jim Pollard - 126.0

Position: Forward-Center

Height: 6'4"

Experience: 7 years (retired 4 years)

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

18.2 Win Shares, 0.000 MVP Award 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, 0 Finals Losses, 0.0 Finals 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 4 years)

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

26.5 Win Shares, 0.000 MVP Award Shares, 4 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 1 All-NBA 2nd Team Selection, 4 All-Star Selections, 1 Championship (1951 Royals), 0.0 Championship Win Shares, 0 Finals Losses, 0.0 Finals Win Shares, 3 Conference Finals Losses (1949 Royals, 1952 Royals, 1954 Royals), 0.8 Conference Finals Win Shares

Here's the 13 Greatest Players Ever after 13 years:
(* - active the previous year)
1. Dolph Schayes - 327.3*
2. Bob Cousy - 275.7*
3. George Mikan - 232.2
4. Bob Pettit - 226.9*
5. Bill Sharman - 223.0*
6. Neil Johnston - 209.8
7. Paul Arizin - 197.2*
8. Vern Mikkelsen - 190.5
9. Ed Macauley - 179.7
10. Slater Martin - 159.5*
11. Larry Foust - 147.3*
12. Harry Gallatin - 131.9*
13. George Yardley - 131.1*


And the next tier:
14. Bill Russell - 128.0*
15. Jim Pollard - 126.0
16. Bob Davies - 118.5
17. Bobby Wanzer - 99.5
18. Dick McGuire - 94.4*
19. Cliff Hagan - 89.8*
20. Carl Braun - 88.7*
21. Andy Phillip - 85.5
22. Clyde Lovellette - 84.9*
23. Paul Seymour - 83.1*
24. Max Zaslofsky - 75.8
25. Arnie Risen - 72.3
26. Maurice Stokes - 64.6


Finally, here's the career stats for our already inducted members who already made the list:

Neil Johnston

Position: Center

Height: 6'8"

Experience: 8 years

Teams: Philadelphia Warriors - 1952-1959 (#6)

92.0 Win Shares, 0.002 MVP Award Shares, 4 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 1 All-NBA 2nd Team Selections, 6 All-Star Selections, 1 Championship (1956 Warriors), 1.6 Championship Win Shares, 0 Finals Loss, 0.0 Finals Win Shares, 1 Conference Finals Losses (1958 Warriors), 0.7 Conference Finals Win Shares

Vern Mikkelsen

Position: Forward-Center

Height: 6'7"

Draft: 1949 - territorial selection

Experience: 10 years

Teams: Minneapolis Lakers - 1950-1957, 1959 (#19)

65.3 Win Shares, 0.008 MVP Award Shares, 1 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 4 All-NBA 2nd Team Selections, 6 All-Star Selections, 4 Championship (1950 Lakers, 1952 Lakers, 1953 Lakers, 1954 Lakers), 4.8 Championship Win Shares, 1 Finals Loss (1959 Lakers), 0.9 Finals Win Shares, 3 Conference Finals Losses (1951 Lakers, 1955 Lakers, 1957 Lakers), 1.0 Conference Finals Win Shares