The List of Greatness - 1968

Okay, things are going to start getting complicated now. Why? It's all the fault of the American Basketball Association. One of the toughest parts of putting the Greatness Equation together was figuring out how much value to give players for their ABA accomplishments. This is a list of the greatest NBA players of all-time after all. But there were enough great players that missed NBA time to play in the ABA that those years had to be accounted for in some way. I had ABA accomplishments set at 25% for a long time, but ultimately that didn't give enough credit to guys who did quite a bit in the ABA. So now it's set at 40%, which seems to work much better overall. In other words, 1 ABA Win Share is worth .4 points instead of 1, 1 ABA All-Star Team is worth 2 points instead of 5, 1 All-ABA 1st Team is worth 6 points instead of 15, etc. You get the idea. The only accomplishment this doesn't work perfectly with is the ABA MVP. The ABA doesn't have voting results for its MVP awards, so I can't give points for MVP Award Shares, instead, winning an ABA MVP is worth the full 25 points - which at 40% puts it at 10 points. It's all or nothing for the ABA MVP. Anyway, you won't see any ABA stats on this year's top ten list, but they're going to start coming. On a separate note, this year's inductee is probably a complete surprise to absolutely everyone.




1. Bailey Howell - 165.2
Position: Forward
Height: 6'7"
Draft: 1959 - 2nd pick
Experience: 9 years
Teams: Detroit Pistons - 1960-1964 (#18), Baltimore Bullets - 1965-1966 (#15), Boston Celtics - 1967-1968 (#18)
95.3 Win Shares, 0.024 MVP Award Shares, 0 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 1 All-NBA 2nd Team Selection, 6 All-Star Selections, 1 Championship (1967 Celtics), 2.2 Championship Win Shares, 0 Finals Losses, 0.0 Finals Win Shares, 3 Conference Finals Losses (1962 Pistons, 1965 Bullets, 1967 Celtics), 2.9 Conference Finals Win Shares


I know. Who? Bailey Howell. This was a guy I'd never even heard of until I started the research for this project. And I've loved the NBA since I was 7, so that's saying something. I don't know why. The man's got some impressive career numbers: 17,770 points, 9,383 rebounds, and 1,853 assists. The only other players who match those numbers? Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Karl Malone, Shaquille O'Neal, David Robinson, Charles Barkley, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Robert Parish, Bob Pettit, Walt Bellamy, Patrick Ewing, Elvin Hayes, Bob Lanier, and Elgin Baylor. They're all Hall of Famers (or all will be). Not bad company. And if you only count players who (spoiler alert: Howell wins another title in 1969 with the Celtics) won two championships, that cuts the list down to Kareem, Wilt, Shaq, Robinson, Duncan, Hakeem, and Parish. That's a pretty elite group of almost all of the game's greatest big men. 


So now the question is, why haven't I heard of Bailey Howell? I blame the Celtics organization. Why haven't they retired his jersey? As long as you can lace up your sneakers, put on a green jersey, and happen to be on a championship team, they'll put your jersey up in the rafters. So what's the deal? They've already retired #18 for Dave Cowens, so it's not like they'd have to take another number out of circulation. I say just throw his name up there on a jersey with the rest of the Hall of Famers. And it's not like he just Mitch Richmond or Gary Payton-ed his way to a title, either. (Where he was a bench or role player who happened to be on a title team well past his prime, a la Richmond with the 2002 Lakers or Payton with the 2006 Heat.) He was the second or third best player on two of the Celtics title teams, and I don't think they win in '68 or '69 without him. So get on the ball, Boston. Nobody should have to learn who this guy is via my blog.


And the rest of the top ten:
2. John Havlicek - 144.0
Position: Forward-Guard
Height: 6'5"
Draft: 1962 - 7th pick
Experience: 6 years
Teams: Boston Celtics - 1963-1968 (#17)
38.8 Win Shares, 0.006 MVP Award Shares, 0 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 3 All-NBA 2nd Team Selections, 3 All-Star Selections, 5 Championships (1963 Celtics, 1964 Celtics, 1965 Celtics, 1966 Celtics, 1968 Celtics), 5.7 Championship Win Shares, 0 Finals Losses, 0.0 Finals Win Shares, 1 Conference Finals Loss (1967 Celtics), 1.2 Finals Win Shares


3. Jerry Lucas - 139.5
Position: Forward-Center
Height: 6'8"
Draft: 1962 - territorial selection
Experience: 5 years
Teams: Cincinnati Royals - 1964-1968 (#16)
48.1 Win Shares, 0.027 MVP Award Shares, 3 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 2 All-NBA 2nd Team Selections, 5 All-Star Selections, 0 Championships, 0.0 Championship Win Shares, 0 Finals Losses, 0.0 Finals Win Shares, 1 Conference Finals Loss (1964 Royals), 1.2 Conference Finals Win Shares


4. Richie Guerin - 135.9
Position: Guard
Height: 6'4"
Draft: 1954 - 17th pick
Experience: 11 years
Teams: New York Knicks - 1957-1964 (#9), St. Louis Hawks - 1964-1967 (#15)
68.1 Win Shares, 0.032 MVP Award Shares, 0 All-NBA 1st Team Selection, 3 All-NBA 2nd Team Selections, 6 All-Star Selections, 0 Championships, 0.0 Championship Win Shares, 0 Finals Losses, 0.0 Finals Win Shares, 3 Conference Finals Losses (1964 Hawks, 1966 Hawks, 1967 Hawks), 2.8 Conference Finals Win Shares


5. Harry Gallatin - 131.9
Position: Forward-Center
Height: 6'6"
Experience: 10 years (retired 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 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


6. Jack Twyman - 131.7
Position: Forward-Guard
Height: 6'6"
Draft: 1955 - 8th pick
Experience: 11 years (retired 2 years)
Teams: Rochester Royals - 1956-1957 (#10), Cincinnati Royals - 1958-1966 (#27 - 1958-1960, #31 - 1961-1964, #27 - 1965-1966)
75.0 Win Shares, 0.066 MVP Award Shares, 0 All-NBA 1st Team Selection, 2 All-NBA 2nd Team Selections, 6 All-Star Selections, 0 Championships, 0.0 Championship Win Shares, 0 Finals Losses, 0.0 Finals Win Shares, 2 Conference Finals Losses (1963 Royals, 1964 Royals), 2.0 Conference Finals Win Shares


7. Jim Pollard - 126.0
Position: Forward-Center
Height: 6'4"
Experience: 7 years (retired 13 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


8. Clyde Lovellette - 119.2
Position: Center-Forward
Height: 6'9"
Draft: 1952 - 9th pick
Experience: 11 years (retired 4 years)
Teams: Minneapolis Lakers - 1954-1957 (#89 - 1954, #34 - 1954-1957), Cincinnati Royals - 1958 (#34), St. Louis Hawks - 1959-1962 (#34), Boston Celtics - 1963-1964 (#4 - 1963, #34 - 1964)
71.1 Win Shares, 0.013 MVP Award Shares, 0 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 1 All-NBA 2nd Team Selection, 4 All-Star Selections, 3 Championships (1954 Lakers, 1963 Celtics, 1964 Celtics), 0.8 Championship Win Shares, 2 Finals Losses (1960 Hawks, 1961 Hawks), 0.9 Finals Win Shares, 3 Conference Finals Losses (1955 Lakers, 1957 Lakers, 1959 Hawks), 2.1 Conference Finals Win Shares


9. Bob Davies - 118.5
Position: Guard-Forward
Height: 6'1"
Experience: 7 years (retired 12 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


10. Larry Costello - 111.1
Position: Guard
Height: 6'1"
Draft: 1954 - 12th pick
Experience: 12 years
Teams: Philadelphia Warriors - 1955 (#5), 1957 (#18), Syracuse Nationals - 1958-1963 (#15 - 1958, #6 - 1958-1959, #21 - 1960-1963), Philadelphia 76ers - 1964-1968 (#21)
62.7 Win Shares, 0.037 MVP Award Shares, 0 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 1 All-NBA 2nd Team Selection, 6 All-Star Selections, 1 Championship (1967 76ers), 0.2 Championship Win Shares, 0 Finals Losses, 0.0 Finals Win Shares, 4 Conference Finals Losses (1959 Nationals, 1961 Nationals, 1965 76ers, 1967 76ers), 2.2 Conference Finals Win Shares


And the 22 Greatest Players Ever after 22 seasons:
Inducted List of Greatness members in bold; Retired players highlighted in silver
(Previous rank and rating, if applicable, in parentheses)
1. Bill Russell - 705.1 (1 - 665.9)
2. Wilt Chamberlain - 532.9 (3 - 467.6)
3. Bob Pettit - 468.2 (2)
4. Bob Cousy - 402.1 (4)
5. Dolph Schayes - 388.2 (5)
6. Oscar Robertson - 361.5 (6 - 325.7)
7. Elgin Baylor - 358.0 (7 - 315.7)
8. Jerry West - 324.6 (8 - 282.0)
9. Bill Sharman - 276.2 (9)
10. Sam Jones - 271.2 (10 - 247.5)
11. Paul Arizin - 244.5 (11)
12. George Mikan - 232.2 (12)
13. Tom Heinsohn - 217.8 (13)
14. Neil Johnston - 209.8 (14)
15. Hal Greer - 207.1 (18 - 176.6)
16. Vern Mikkelsen - 190.5 (15)
17. Cliff Hagan - 182.0 (17 - 177.2)
18. Ed Macauley - 179.7 (16)
19. Bailey Howell - 165.2 (23 - 133.1)
20. Slater Martin - 160.6 (19)
21. Larry Foust - 155.6 (20)
22. George Yardley - 145.1 (21)


And the next tier:
23. John Havlicek - 144.0 (35 - 93.4)
24. Jerry Lucas - 139.5 (29 - 109.4)
25. Richie Guerin - 135.9 (22)
26. Harry Gallatin - 131.9 (24)
27. Jack Twyman - 131.7 (25)
28. Jim Pollard - 126.0 (26)
29. Clyde Lovellette - 119.2 (27)
30. Bob Davies - 118.5 (28)
31. Larry Costello - 111.1 (30 - 109.1)
32. Walt Bellamy - 109.2 (34 - 98.1)
33. Tom Gola - 103.6 (31)
34. Bobby Wanzer - 99.5 (32)
35. Dick McGuire - 98.2 (33)
36. Carl Braun - 92.6 (36)
37. Gene Shue - 92.5 (37)
38. Rudy LaRusso - 91.1 (41 - 76.8)
39. Lenny Wilkens - 91.0 (NR - 67.9)
40. Red Kerr - 87.7 (38)
41. Andy Phillip - 85.5 (39)
42. Chet Walker - 84.8 (NR - 74.3)
43. Paul Seymour - 82.9 (40)
44. Max Zaslofsky - 75.8 (41)