The List of Greatness - 1982

An All-Time Great joins the ranks this year. Click ahead to find out which one.



1. Moses Malone - 212.1
Position: Center-Forward
Height: 6'10"
College: None (entered ABA out of high school)
Draft: Undrafted (drafted 27th by Utah Stars in 1974 ABA draft; selected 5th by Portland Trail Blazers in ABA dispersal draft in 1976)
Experience: 6 years/2 ABA years
Teams: Utah Stars - 1975 (#22), Spirits of St. Louis - 1976 (#13), Buffalo Braves - 1977 (#20), Houston Rockets - 1977-1982 (#21 - 1977, #24 - 1978-1982)
69.9 Win Shares, 1.546 MVP Award Shares (2 MVPs - 1979 & 1982), 2 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 2 All-NBA 2nd Team Selections, 5 All-Star Selections, 0 Championships, 0.0 Championship Win Shares, 1 Finals Loss (1981 Rockets), 3.5 Finals Win Shares, 1 Conference Finals Loss (1977 Rockets), 1.7 Conference Finals Win Shares
12.1 ABA Win Shares, 1 ABA All-Star Selection


This is the first time we've had a two-time MVP make the list. I mean, there's plenty of two-time winners on the list, but this is the first time a guy won his second before he made the list.


And the rest of the top ten:
2. Tiny Archibald - 201.7
Position: Guard
Height: 6'1"
College: Texas-El Paso
Draft: 1970 - 19th pick
Experience: 11 years
Teams: Cincinnati Royals - 1971-1972 (#10), Kansas City-Omaha Kings - 1973-1975 (#10 - 1973-1974, #1 - 1975), Kansas City Kings - 1976 (#1), New York Nets - 1977 (#1), Boston Celtics - 1979-1982 (#7)
79.1 Win Shares, 0.465 MVP Award Shares, 3 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 2 All-NBA 2nd Team Selections, 6 All-Star Selections, 1 Championship (1981 Celtics), 1.3 Championship Win Shares, 0 Finals Losses, 0.0 Finals Win Shares, 2 Conference Finals Losses (1980 Celtics, 1982 Celtics), 1.2 Conference Finals Win Shares


Nate becomes a supplementary member this year since this is his second year in the two slot. This might also be the first time (it's at least the first time in the last decade) that the man on deck has cracked 200. When you see the finished, updated, current list of all the player's, I think you'll all agree that 200 is about the threshold of a "no doubt about it" Hall of Famer.


3. Artis Gilmore - 191.7
Position: Center
Height: 7'2"
College: Jacksonville
Draft: 1971 - 117th pick (already signed with ABA; selected 1st by Chicago Bulls in ABA dispersal draft in 1976)
Experience: 6 years/5 ABA years
Teams: Kentucky Colonels - 1972-1976 (#53), Chicago Bulls - 1977-1982 (#53)
66.4 Win Shares, 0.022 MVP Award Shares, 0 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 0 All-NBA 2nd Team Selections, 4 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


4. Cliff Hagan - 183.3
Position: Forward-Guard
Height: 6'4"
College: Kentucky
Draft: 1953 - 24th pick
Experience: 10 years/3 ABA years (retired 14 years/10 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


5. Bob McAdoo - 176.6
Position: Center-Forward
Height: 6'9"
College: North Carolina
Draft: 1972 - 2nd pick
Experience: 10 years
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 (#21), Los Angeles Lakers - 1982 (#11)
79.2 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, 1 Championship (1982 Lakers), 1.0 Championship Win Shares, 0 Finals Losses, 0.0 Finals Win Shares, 0 Conference Finals Losses, 0.0 Conference Finals Win Shares


6. Bob Dandridge - 176.4
Position: Forward-Guard
Height: 6'6"
College: Norfolk State
Draft: 1969 - 45th pick
Experience: 13 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


7. Billy Cunningham - 165.8
Position: Forward-Center
Height: 6'6"
College: North Carolina
Draft: 1965 - 5th pick
Experience: 9 years/2 ABA years (retired 6 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


8. Larry Bird - 165.8
Position: Forward
Height: 6'9"
College: Indiana State
Draft: 1978 - 6th pick
Experience: 3 years
Teams: Boston Celtics - 1980-1982 (#33)
34.5 Win Shares, 1.342 MVP Award Shares, 3 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 0 All-NBA 2nd Team Selections, 3 All-Star Selections, 1 Championship (1981 Celtics), 3.1 Championship Win Shares, 0 Finals Losses, 0.0 Finals Win Shares, 2 Conference Finals Losses (1980 Celtics, 1982 Celtics), 2.7 Conference Finals Win Shares


9. Paul Westphal - 162.2
Position: Guard
Height: 6'4"
College: Southern California
Draft: 1972 - 10th pick
Experience: 10 years
Teams: Boston Celtics - 1973-1975 (#44), Phoenix Suns - 1977-1980 (#44), Seattle SuperSonics - 1981 (#44), New York Knicks - 1982 (#44)
62.3 Win Shares, 0.014 MVP Award Shares, 3 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 1 All-NBA 2nd Team Selection, 5 All-Star Selections, 1 Championship (1974 Celtics), 0.5 Championship Win Shares, 1 Finals Loss (1976 Suns), 1.9 Finals Win Shares, 3 Conference Finals Losses (1973 Celtics, 1975 Celtics, 1979 Suns), 2.0 Conference Finals Win Shares


10. Spencer Haywood - 161.4
Position: Forward-Center
Height: 6'8"
College: Detroit
Draft: 1971 - 13th pick (already signed with ABA before eligible to play in NBA)
Experience: 11 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), Washington Bullets - 1982 (#24)
61.1 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 (1970 Rockets), 2.6 ABA Conference Finals Win Shares


And the 36 Greatest Players Ever after 36 seasons:
(Inducted List of Greatness members in bold; supplementary members in underlined italics)
1. Bill Russell - 739.6
2. Wilt Chamberlain - 712.6
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - 687.4
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. Julius Erving - 375.6
13. Rick Barry - 329.3
14. Walt Frazier - 321.8
15. Elvin Hayes - 319.5
16. Sam Jones - 283.0
17. Bill Sharman - 278.7
18. Paul Arizin - 258.2
19. Hal Greer - 251.9
20. Dave Cowens - 237.2
21. George Gervin - 236.6
22. Willis Reed - 234.5
23. Vern Mikkelsen - 225.8
24. Wes Unseld - 221.6
25. Jerry Lucas - 221.6
26. Tom Heinsohn - 217.8
27. Moses Malone - 212.1
28. Neil Johnston - 209.8
29. Ed Macauley - 204.7
30. Tiny Archibald - 201.7
31. Bailey Howell - 200.7
32. Artis Gilmore - 191.7
33. Chet Walker - 190.4
34. Cliff Hagan - 183.3
35. Slater Martin - 178.9
36. Bob McAdoo - 176.6


And the next tier:
37. Bob Dandridge - 176.4
38. Billy Cunningham - 176.3
39. Larry Bird - 165.8
40. Paul Westphal - 162.2
41. Spencer Haywood - 161.4
42. Bob Lanier - 160.8
43. Dan Issel - 160.8
44. Larry Foust - 160.1
45. Harry Gallatin - 159.0
46. Lenny Wilkens - 158.8
47. Walt Bellamy - 156.1
48. Jim Pollard - 154.2
49. Dave Bing - 153.5
50. Gail Goodrich - 151.8
51. Bobby Wanzer - 151.4
52. Bob Davies - 150.7
53. Jo Jo White - 150.2
54. George McGinnis - 149.1
55. George Yardley - 145.1
56. Earl Monroe - 144.8
57. Nate Thurmond - 141.8
58. Dave DeBusschere - 141.4
59. Richie Guerin - 138.0
60. Connie Hawkins - 135.1
61. Max Zaslofsky - 134.9
62. Zelmo Beaty - 133.7
63. Jack Twyman - 131.7
64. Lou Hudson - 127.5
65. Joe Fulks - 126.7
66. Pete Maravich - 123.7
67. Gus Williams - 123.2
68. Arnie Risen - 120.0
69. Dennis Johnson - 119.4
70. Clyde Lovellette - 119.2
71. Mel Daniels - 118.4
72. Paul Silas - 118.2