The List of Greatness - 1983

I hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend. Well, all my American readers anyway. I dunno how stuff works in other countries. I assume you had a regular weekend. Which I hope you had a good one of anyway. I did absolutely nothing productive with my three days off, this was as much as I got done, so enjoy it, folks.



1. Artis Gilmore - 212.1
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: 7 years/5 ABA years
Teams: Kentucky Colonels - 1972-1976 (#53), Chicago Bulls - 1977-1982 (#53), San Antonio Spurs - 1983 (#53)
77.4 Win Shares, 0.066 MVP Award Shares, 0 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 0 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 (1983 Spurs), 1.3 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


Gilmore gets a little bit lucky this year and just narrowly edges out Bird for 1983's slot on the List. I say lucky, not because he doesn't deserve it (he certainly does), but because with the guys that are starting to rack up the points, this was probably his last chance to make it. This is also our third inductee in a row that spent time in the ABA, and fifth overall. (And unless Dan Issel finishes really strongly, probably our final overall, too. I can't see any other ABAers making it up the List far enough to be inducted.)

And the rest of the top ten:

2. Larry Bird - 211.9
Position: Forward
Height: 6'9"
College: Indiana State
Draft: 1978 - 6th pick
Experience: 4 years
Teams: Boston Celtics - 1980-1983 (#33)
48.5 Win Shares, 1.827 MVP Award Shares, 4 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 0 All-NBA 2nd Team Selections, 4 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

3. Tiny Archibald - 204.6
Position: Guard
Height: 6'1"
College: Texas-El Paso
Draft: 1970 - 19th pick
Experience: 12 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 - 1979-1983 (#7)
82.0 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, o Finals Losses, 0.0 Finals Win Shares, 2 Conference Finals Losses (1980 Celtics, 1982 Celtics), 1.2 Conference Finals Win Shares


Well, it's looking like Archibald will be forever left with Cliff Hagan as a "Top 2" on the Supplementary List - meaning he finished second in two or more seasons while never finishing first. Not a bad list to be on by any means, but not quite the same as having your own year. (Extra disappointing for me... as he's pretty much my home state of Nebraska's only chance of having a representative on the List of Greatness. Not that Archibald is from Nebraska, but he played for the short-lived Kansas City-Omaha Kings, which was the state's only professional sports team. Ever. Even if it was shared, I'll take what I can get.)

4. Cliff Hagan - 183.3
Position: Forward-Guard
Height: 6'4"
College: Kentucky
Draft: 1953 - 24th pick
Experience: 10 years/3 ABA years (retired 15 years/11 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 - 181.6
Position: Center-Forward
Height: 6'9"
College: North Carolina
Draft: 1972 - 2nd pick
Experience: 11 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 - 1982-1983 (#11)
82.7 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, 1 Finals Loss (1983 Lakers), 0.3 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 (retired 1 year)
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 - 176.3
Position: Forward-Center
Height: 6'6"
College: North Carolina
Draft: 1965 - 5th pick
Experience: 9 years/2 ABA years (retired 7 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. Dan Issel - 169.2
Position: Center-Forward
Height: 6'9"
College: Kentucky
Draft: 1970 - 122nd pick (signed with ABA instead)
Experience: 7 years/6 ABA years
Teams: Kentucky Colonels - 1971-1975 (#44), Denver Nuggets - 1976 (#25), Denver Nuggets - 1977-1983 (#25 - 1977, #44 - 1978-1983)
72.0 Win Shares, 0.004 MVP Award Shares, 0 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 0 All-NBA 2nd Team Selections, 1 All-Star Selection, 0 Championships, 0.0 Championship Win Shares, 0 Finals Losses, 0.0 Finals Win Shares, 1 Conference Finals Loss (1978 Nuggets), 1.3 Conference Finals Win Shares
75.6 Win Shares, 1 All-ABA 1st Team Selection, 4 All-ABA 2nd Team Selections, 6 All-Star Selections, 1 Championship (1975 Colonels), 1.7 Championship Win Shares, 3 Finals Losses (1971 Colonels, 1973 Colonels, 1976 Nuggets), 8.5 Finals Win Shares, 1 Conference Finals Loss (1974 Colonels), 0.8 Conference Finals Win Shares

9. Paul Westphal - 165.9
Position: Guard
Height: 6'4"
College: Southern California
Draft: 1972 - 10th pick
Experience: 11 years
Teams: Boston Celtics - 1973-1975 (#44), Phoenix Suns - 1977-1980 (#44), Seattle SuperSonics - 1981 (#44), New York Knicks - 1982-1983 (#44)
66.0 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. Bob Lanier - 165.1
Position: Center
Height: 6'11"
College: St. Bonaventure
Draft: 1970 - 1st pick
Experience: 13 years
Teams: Detroit Pistons - 1971-1980 (#16), Milwaukee Bucks - 1980-1983 (#16)
110.5 Win Shares, 0.504 MVP Award Shares, 0 All-NBA 1st Team Selections, 0 All-NBA 2nd Team Selections, 8 All-Star Selections, 0 Championships, 0.0 Championship Win Shares, 0 Finals Losses, 0.0 Finals Win Shares, 1 Conference Finals Loss (1983 Bucks), 0.8 Conference Finals Win Shares


I find it somewhat strange that Lanier never made an All-NBA 1st or 2nd Team, especially when you consider that he ended his career with 117.1 Win Shares. That's pretty impressive. (42nd all-time, to be exact. And of the 41 players above him, only four others share that distinction: Reggie Miller, Walt Bellamy, Horace Grant, and Chet Walker.) Lanier's best year was probably 1974, where he had 14.4 Win Shares, had a 23.9 PER, averaged 22.5 points per game, 13.3 rebounds per game, 4.2 assists per game, 3.0 blocks per game, and 1.4 steals per game. He did all this while leading the Pistons to a 52-30 record (fourth best in the league) before getting beat in seven games in the first round of the playoffs by the Chicago Bulls. He finished third in the MVP voting that year - behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bob McAdoo. Anyone care to guess who were the centers on the All-NBA 1st and 2nd Teams that year? ... Yes! You're right! Kareem and McAdoo!


Anyway, what can we learn from all this? Well, maybe nothing, other than that the basketball gods can be cruel. They allowed Lanier to have his best year the same year they allowed two other centers to have great years. I mean, Kareem and McAdoo clearly both had better seasons than Lanier that year, so it's not like he got screwed or anything. What I take away from it though, is that sometimes even your best isn't going to be quite as good as the other guy's best. Those are the times you just shake your opponent's hand and say, "well done, sir." That, my friends, is essentially what sports are all about.


(Side Note: Lenny Wilkens finished 14th this year, which puts him on the Supplementary List for being his 14th year in the Top 14.)

And the 37 Greatest Players Ever after 37 seasons:
(Inducted List of Greatness members in bold; supplementary members in underlined italics.)
1. Bill Russell - 739.6
2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - 724.3
3. Wilt Chamberlain - 712.6
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. Julius Erving - 422.2
10. Elgin Baylor - 416.2
11. Bob Cousy - 406.2
12. George Mikan - 380.0
13. Rick Barry - 329.3
14. Elvin Hayes - 321.9
15. Walt Frazier - 321.8
16. Moses Malone - 299.2
17. Sam Jones - 283.0
18. Bill Sharman - 278.7
19. George Gervin - 264.5
20. Paul Arizin - 258.2
21. Hal Greer - 251.9
22. Dave Cowens - 239.8
23. Willis Reed - 234.5
24. Vern Mikkelsen - 225.8
25. Wes Unseld - 221.6
26. Jerry Lucas - 221.6
27. Tom Heinsohn - 217.8
28. Artis Gilmore - 212.1
29. Larry Bird - 211.9
30. Neil Johnston - 209.8
31. Ed Macauley - 204.7
32. Tiny Archibald - 204.6
33. Bailey Howell - 200.7
34. Chet Walker - 190.4
35. Cliff Hagan - 183.3
36. Bob McAdoo - 181.6
37. Slater Martin - 178.9


And the next tier:
38. Bob Dandridge - 176.4
39. Billy Cunningham - 176.3
40. Dan Issel - 169.2
41. Paul Westphal - 165.9
42. Bob Lanier - 165.1
43. Spencer Haywood - 161.7
44. Magic Johnson - 161.0
45. Larry Foust - 160.1
46. Harry Gallatin - 159.0
47. Lenny Wilkens - 158.8
48. Walt Bellamy - 156.1
49. Jim Pollard - 154.2
50. Dave Bing - 153.5
51. Gail Goodrich - 151.8
52. Bobby Wanzer - 151.4
53. Bob Davies - 150.7
54. Jo Jo White - 150.2
55. Goerge McGinnis - 149.1
56. George Yardley - 145.1
57. Earl Monroe - 144.8
58. Nate Thurmond - 141.8
59. Dave DeBusschere - 141.4
60. Richie Guerin - 138.0
61. Gus Williams - 136.8
62. Connie Hawkins - 135.1
63. Bobby Jones - 134.9
64. Max Zaslofsky - 134.9
65. Zelmo Beaty - 133.7
66. Jack Twyman - 131.7
67. Lou Hudson - 127.5
68. Joe Fulks - 126.7
69. Jamaal Wilkes - 126.4
70. Dennis Johnson - 126.0
71. Pete Maravich - 123.7
72. Marques Johnson - 123.1
73. Arnie Risen - 120.0
74. Clyde Lovellette - 119.2