If you were paying close attention to the List in 1979, our man in the driver's seat is Chet Walker, sitting with a total score of 190.4. Our top prospects to overtake him are now Bob Dandridge at 174.1 and Bob McAdoo at 162.9, neither of whom were in their prime in 1980. Here's where the interesting things start to happen. Do we see a few of the long standing second and third ranked guys (Walker and Hagan) make the List proper? Do some of the other veterans manage to overtake them first? And how long before the young guns (Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas, etc.) start to overtake them. It's going to be very interesting from here on out.
1. Chet Walker - 190.4
Position: Forward-Guard
Height: 6'6"
Draft: 1962 - 12th pick
Experience: 13 years (retired 5 years)
Teams: Syracuse Nationals - 1963 (#25), Philadelphia 76ers - 1964-1969 (#25), Chicago Bulls - 1970-1975 (#25)
117.5 Win Shares, 0.005 MVP Award Shares, 0 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 0 All-NBA 2nd Team Selections, 7 All-Star Selections, 1 Championship (1967 76ers), 2.3 Championship Win Shares, 0 Finals Losses, 0.0 Finals Win Shares, 5 Conference Finals Losses (1965 76ers, 1966 76ers, 1968 76ers, 1974 Bulls, 1975 Bulls), 5.9 Conference Finals Win Shares
Chet Walker finally gets his due by entering the List proper. Now the question becomes: can Cliff Hagan hold off all comers to claim 1981's slot?
And the rest of the top ten:
2. Cliff Hagan - 183.3
Position: Forward-Guard
Height: 6'4"
College: Kentucky
Draft: 1953 - 24th pick
Experience: 10 years/3 ABA years (retired 12 years/8 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)
10.2 ABA Win Shares, 1 ABA All-Star Selection
3. Billy Cunningham - 176.3
Position: Forward-Center
Height: 6'6"
College: North Carolina
Draft: 1965 - 5th pick
Experience: 9 years/2 ABA years (retired 4 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 (1966 76ers, 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 Conference Finals Loss (1973 Cougars), 1.7 ABA Conference Finals Win Shares
4. Bob Dandridge - 175.8
Position: Forward-Guard
Height: 6'6"
College: Norfolk State
Draft: 1969 - 45th pick
Experience: 11 years
Teams: Milwaukee Bucks - 1970-1977 (#10), Washington Bullets - 1978-1980 (#10)
79.7 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
5. George Gervin - 166.7
Position: Guard-Forward
Height: 6'7"
College: Eastern Michigan
Draft: 1974 - 40th pick (signed with ABA in 1972 before eligible to be drafted in the NBA)
Experience: 4 years/4 ABA years
Teams: Virginia Squires - 1973-1974 (#44), San Antonio Spurs - 1974-1976 (#44), San Antonio Spurs - 1977-1980 (#44)
44.5 Win Shares, 0.591 MVP Award Shares, 3 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 1 All-NBA 2nd Team Selection, 4 All-Star Selections, 0 Championships, 0.0 Championship Win Shares, 0 Finals Losses, 0.0 Finals Win Shares, 1 Conference Finals Loss (1979 Spurs), 2.3 Conference Finals Win Shares
28.2 ABA Win Shares, 2 All-ABA 2nd Team Selections, 3 ABA All-Star Selections, 1 ABA Conference Finals Loss (1976 Spurs), 1.4 ABA Conference Finals Win Shares
The "Iceman" is one of the coolest nicknames you can ever have. I don't care if you're talking George Gervin, Bobby Drake from the X-Men, or Val Kilmer from Top Gun. It's always going to be a top five nickname in any situation. If my wife would let me, (and I may try anyway if I think I can get away with it), I'd give my firstborn son Iceman as a middle name. Badass.
Actually, as a side note, the only basketball nicknames I can think of that are cooler than George "Iceman" Gervin are Darryl "Chocolate Thunder" Dawkins and Julius "Dr. J" Erving. (I'm not counting Magic Johnson. That's his first name. Deal with it.) Anyway, back to the list.
6. Bob McAdoo - 164.9
Position: Center-Forward
Height: 6'9"
College: North Carolina
Draft: 1972 - 2nd pick
Experience: 8 years
Teams: Buffalo Braves - 1973-1977 (#11), New York Knicks - 1977-1979 (#11), Boston Celtics - 1979 (#11), Detroit Pistons - 1980 (#11)
77.5 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, 0 Championships, 0.0 Championship Win Shares, 0 Finals Losses, 0.0 Finals Win Shares, 0 Conference Finals Losses, 0.0 Conference Finals Win Shares
7. Larry Foust - 160.1
Position: Center-Forward
College: La Salle
Draft: 1950 - 7th pick
Experience: 12 years (retired 18 years)
Teams: Fort Wayne Pistons - 1951-1957 (#16), Minneapolis Lakers - 1958-1960 (#14), St. Louis Hawks - 1960-1962 (#13 - 1960-1961, #14 - 1962)
69.8 Win Shares, 0.000 MVP Award Shares, 1 All-NBA 1st Team Selection, 1 All-NBA 2nd Team Selection, 8 All-Star Selections, 0 Championships, 0.0 Championship Win Shares, 5 Finals Losses (1955 Pistons, 1956 Pistons, 1959 Lakers, 1960 Hawks, 1961 Hawks), 3.6 Finals Win Shares, 1 Conference Finals Loss (1953 Pistons), 1.1 Conference Finals Win Shares
8. Lenny Wilkens - 158.8
Position: Guard
Height: 6'1"
College: Providence
Draft: 1960 - 6th pick
Experience: 15 years (retired 5 years)
Teams: St. Louis Hawks - 1961-1968 (#32 - 1961, #15 - 1962, #32 - 1963, #14 - 1964-1968), Seattle SuperSonics - 1969-1972 (#19), Cleveland Cavaliers - 1973-1974 (#19), Portland Trail Blazers - 1975 (#17)
95.5 Win Shares, 0.323 MVP Award Shares, 0 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 0 All-NBA 2nd Team Selections, 9 All-Star Selections, 0 Championships, 0.0 Championship Win Shares, 1 Finals Loss (1961 Hawks), 0.5 Finals Win Shares, 4 Conference Finals Losses (1963 Hawks, 1964 Hawks, 1966 Hawks, 1967 Hawks), 3.1 Conference Finals Win Shares
9. Spencer Haywood - 157.8
Position: Forward-Center
Height: 6'8"
College: Detroit
Draft: 1971 - 30th pick (signed with ABA in 1970 before eligible to be drafted in the NBA)
Experience: 10 years/1 ABA year
Teams: Denver Rockets - 1970 (#24), Seattle SuperSonics - 1971-1975 (#24), New York Knicks - 1976-1979 (#42), New Orleans Jazz - 1979 (#24), Los Angeles Lakers - 1980 (#31)
57.5 Win Shares, 0.114 MVP Award Shares, 2 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 2 All-NBA 2nd Team Selections, 4 All-Star Selections, 1 Championship (1980 Lakers), 0.0 Championship Win Shares, 0 Finals Losses, 0.0 Finals Win Shares, 0 Conference Finals Losses, 0.0 Conference Finals Win Shares
17.1 ABA Win Shares, 1 ABA MVP (1970), 1 All-ABA 1st Team Selection, 1 ABA All-Star Selection, 1 ABA Conference Finals Loss, 2.6 ABA Conference Finals Win Shares
10. Artis Gilmore - 157.2
Position: Center
Height: 7'2"
College: Jacksonville
Draft: 1971 - 117th pick (signed with ABA instead)
Experience: 4 years/5 ABA years
Teams: Kentucky Colonels - 1972-1976 (#53), Chicago Bulls - 1977-1980 (#53)
42.0 Win Shares, 0.016 MVP Award Shares, 0 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 0 All-NBA 2nd Team Selections, 2 All-Star Selections, 0 Championships, 0.0 Championship Win Shares, 0 Finals Losses, 0.0 Finals Win Shares, 0 Conference Finals Losses, 0.0 Conference Finals Win Shares
82.2 ABA Win Shares, 1 ABA MVP (1972), 5 All-ABA 1st Team Selections, 5 ABA All-Star Selections, 1 Championship (1975 Colonels), 3.0 ABA Championship Win Shares, 1 ABA Finals Loss (1973 Colonels), 3.4 ABA Finals Win Shares, 2 ABA Conference Finals Losses (1974 Colonels, 1976 Colonels), 3.1 ABA Conference Finals Win Shares
And the 34 Greatest Players Ever after 34 seasons:
(Inducted List of Greatness members in bold; Honorary Members in underlined italics)
1. Bill Russell - 739.6
2. Wilt Chamberlain - 712.6
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - 610.9
4. Jerry West - 584.6
5. Oscar Robertson - 511.2
6. John Havlicek - 479.1
7. Bob Pettit - 468.2
8. Dolph Schayes - 431.8
9. Elgin Baylor - 416.2
10. Bob Cousy - 406.2
11. George Mikan - 380.0
12. Rick Barry - 329.3
13. Walt Frazier - 321.8
14. Elvin Hayes - 309.3
15. Sam Jones - 283.0
16. Bill Sharman - 278.7
17. Julius Erving - 266.2
18. Paul Arizin - 258.2
19. Hal Greer - 251.9
20. Dave Cowens - 237.2
21. Willis Reed - 234.5
22. Vern Mikkelsen - 225.8
23. Jerry Lucas - 221.6
24. Tom Heinsohn - 217.8
25. Wes Unseld - 216.2
26. Neil Johnston - 209.8
27. Ed Macauley - 204.7
28. Bailey Howell - 200.7
29. Chet Walker - 190.4
30. Cliff Hagan - 183.3
31. Slater Martin - 178.9
32. Billy Cunningham - 176.3
33. Bob Dandridge - 175.8
34. George Gervin - 166.7
And the next tier:
35. Bob McAdoo - 164.9
36. Larry Foust - 160.1
37. Harry Gallatin - 159.0
38. Lenny Wilkens - 158.8
39. Spencer Haywood - 157.8
40. Artis Gilmore - 157.2
41. Walt Bellamy - 156.1
42. Paul Westphal - 154.5
43. Tiny Archibald - 154.2
44. Jim Pollard - 154.2
45. Dave Bing - 153.5
46. Gail Goodrich - 151.8
47. Bobby Wanzer - 151.4
48. Bob Davies - 150.7
49. Jo Jo White - 149.9
50. George McGinnis - 146.9
51. George Yardley - 145.1
52. Earl Monroe - 144.8
53. Bob Lanier - 142.3
54. Nate Thurmond - 141.8
55. Dave DeBusschere - 141.4
56. Dan Issel - 140.4
57. Richie Guerin - 138.0
58. Connie Hawkins - 135.1
59. Max Zaslofsky - 134.9
60. Zelmo Beaty - 133.7
61. Jack Twyman - 131.7
62. Lou Hudson - 127.5
63. Joe Fulks - 126.7
64. Pete Maravich - 123.7
65. Arnie Risen - 120.0
66. Clyde Lovellette - 119.2
67. Mel Daniels - 118.4
68. Paul Silas - 118.2
The 80s begin with.....Chet Walker...lol.
ReplyDeleteMagic will be in by 1982, Bird by 1984. My answer to your Hagan question...Not a chance. No way Gervin wont win.
The 800 game rule was something that I felt would probably be important to a specific team's fan base. It's in there so that "fan favorites" who might not have been league-wide stars but were important to their own time throughout their careers would have a chance to be recognized. (I'm thinking guys like Michael Cooper, Mark Eaton, Maurice Cheeks, Alvan Adams, etc. need to have a chance to be recognized by their teams.)
ReplyDeleteI guess I see where that would be important to a fan base....Michael Cooper should be recognized...
ReplyDeleteI guess I would see why if I was a Hawks fan...(which Im not).
Also, I just realized I posted this on the wrong post. Oh well. Anyway, I meant to post on this one that I realize 1980 isn't exactly Chet Walker's year since he'd been retired for five years, but that's kind of the beauty of the system. If nobody steps up, one of the older guys still gets his chance to be enshrined. (And yes, I'm afraid Hagan will fall victim to George Gervin in 1981...)
ReplyDeleteKnew it...I think he won scoring title that year, yes?
ReplyDeleteActually, that was the only year in a five year stretch Gervin DIDN'T win the scoring title. He was actually third in 1981 (27.1 PPG). Dantley was first with 30.6 and Moses Malone was second with 27.8.
ReplyDeleteOh....I knew he didn't win it one year in that period....I was wrong....:)
ReplyDelete