(Spokeo)

When the ABA comes to mind, the likes of Julius Erving, George Gervin, Mel Daniels, and Artis Gilmore flicker first in memory. However, there was a small little guard in Kentucky who may not quickly come to mind, but was steadfastly attached to the ABA.

Louie Dampier played every season of the ABA’s existence. Dampier played more games and minutes than any other ABA player. He also scored more points, dished out more assists, and made more three-pointers than anyone else in that league’s history. He should have a place right alongside Dr. J and the Ice Man in ABA lore.

He debuted with the Colonels in the 1967-68 season. His career benefited immensely from the three-point shot, a shot debuted professionally in the American Basketball League in the early 1960s. Precious few may have used that shot before Dampier, but he made it a deadly basketball weapon. In 1969 he nailed 199 three-pointers. The following season he swished 198. These stood as the record number of three-pointers made by a player for a single season for over 30 years.*

*(A few players broke it in the mid-90s, but they benefited from a shortened distance)

The Colonels however weren’t quite successful on the court during these early years. After the acquisition of Dan Issel and Artis Gilmore, though, the Colonels became perennial contenders in the ABA. Dampier transitioned into more a passing guard with that tremendous front-line. His number of field goal attempts also decreased, but the quality increased. His overall FG% rose steadily from 42% his rookie season to 50% in 1975 with Issel and Gilmore providing him cover.

During his decade in Kentucky, Dampier endured only one losing season and helped lead the Colonels to three ABA Finals including the title in 1975. The powerful Colonels, however, didn’t make the transition to the NBA in 1976 when the ABA was merged with the older league. Dampier still found his way onto the San Antonio Spurs, an ABA team that did survive to the NBA.

His years with the Spurs were not as productive or illustrious but by this point, Dampier was 32-years old and was already showing signs of decline in his final Kentucky season (1976). That his glory days came in a defunct league with a defunct team doesn’t help folks recover the career that Dampier enjoyed. It was one that truly presaged today’s era of three-pointer domination.

A shame that the man who indeed presaged it all isn’t always given his proper credit and due.

Seasons Played: 1968 – 1979

Kentucky Colonels

Accolades

ABA -
Champion (1975)
4x All-ABA 2nd Team (1968-’70, 1974)
7x All-Star (1968-’70, 1972-’75)
All-Rookie 1st Team (1968)

Statistics

ABA - 728 Games
18.9 PPG, 5.6 APG, 3.1 RPG, 0.9 SPG, 43.9% FG, 35.8% 3PT, 82.6% FT
3PT% Leader (1974), MPG Leader (1969)

1st All-Time Minutes Played, 1st All-Time Games Played
1st All-Time FGs Made, 1st All-Time 3PTs Made
1st All-Time Points, 1st All-Time Assists
10th All-Time FTs Made

4th All-Time APG, 4th All-Time 3PT%, 7th All-Time MPG
15th All-Time FT%, 19th All-Time PPG

NBA - 232 Games
6.7 PPG, 2.8 APG, 1.1 RPG, 0.7 SPG, 48.8% FG, 74.8% FT

(Sun-Times)

Bob Love’s road to NBA stardom was a long one. Drafted by the Cincinnati Royals in 1965, Love wound up spending his rookie professional season in the Eastern Basketball League. Turns out the 4th Round pick of the Royals was not deemed good enough for the NBA, but with the Trenton Colonials in the Eastern League, Love soared and took home of Rookie of the Year honors in 1966

With a second shot at the NBA, Love made the Royals roster, but languished as a reserve in 1967 and 1968.  The Royals left the unimpressive forward unprotected for the Milwaukee Bucks’ expansion draft. The Bucks snagged Love but traded him after just 14 games to the Chicago Bulls. He continued to ride the pine and averaged a career-low 5 points for the Bulls.

That’s two leagues and four teams for Love in his first four seasons.

Finally, in his fifth pro season at age 27, Love began to soar. Averaging 21 points a game in 1970, Love then notched 25 points per game in 1971, and peaked in 1972 with 26 points a night. Overall from 1970 to 1976, the forward would maintain a 22.6 PPG and 7.1 RPG average with the Chicago Bulls.

The smooth-scoring forward earned the nickname “Butterbean” for his effortless and gossamer shots. Love could turn baseline and nail tough fade-aways, go middle and knock down turn-arounds, curl off picks for catch-and-shoots… if there was a way to make a jump shot Bob Love knew how to do it and do it well.

Teaming with Jerry Sloan, Norm Van Lier, Chet Walker, and Tom Boerwinkle, Love formed the core of a highly successful Bulls team in the early-and-mid 1970s. The squad perennially pushed deep into the playoffs, but never quite got over the hump. For his efforts, though, Love was recognized as one of basketball’s best forwards in the era with a combined 8 All-Star, All-NBA, and All-Defensive team selections.

But with such a late rise to greatness, Love’s peak didn’t last extraordinarily long. By his 10th NBA season he was already 34-years old. He endured a quick, precipitous decline. In 1976, his field goal percentage plummeted to 39% and the next year (1977) he played briefly for the Bulls, New York Nets, and Seattle SuperSonics. For those trio of teams, Love averaged only 7 points in what would be his final season.

It was an abrupt, unceremonious end. Given how his basketball career began in a similar unceremonious fashion it was somewhat fitting for Love. But the splendor of what occurred in between shouldn’t be discounted. The Butterbean was one smooth shooter.

Seasons Played: 1967 – 1977

Chicago Bulls

Accolades

NBA -
2x All-NBA 2nd Team (1971-’72)
3x All-Defensive 2nd Team (1972, 1974-’75)
3x All-Star (1971-’73)

Statistics

NBA - 789 Games
17.6 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.4 APG, 42.9% FG, 80.5% FT

The last great player to emerge from the St. Louis Hawks, Lou Hudson was a member of the All-Rookie 1st Team in 1967 thanks to a healthy 18.5 points and 5.5 rebounds that season. The sweet shooting Super Lou seemingly had a sophomore slump in 1968, though. He averaged a disappointing 12.5 points in only 46 games. The true story here though is that the military drafted Hudson and kept him from the NBA for half the season. By the time he fully returned to form, the Hawks had flown the Missouri coop and landed in Atlanta, Georgia.

Hudson’s game truly took flight in the Peach State.

From 1969 to 1975, Hudson averaged 25 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 49.6% FG and 80.3% FT. His defensive acumen is hinted at in the 1974 season when averaged 2.5 steals a game. Sadly, we don’t know how truly incredible he was in that department since that was the first season steals were tracked.

What we do know is that Hudson formed an offensive juggernaut playing alongside Pete Maravich. The two men played seamlessly off one another. Maravich would push the rock and Hudson would smoothly work off the ball. The tandem fit together like hand and glove. They reached their apogee in 1973 and 1974 where they combined for 53 points a game both years. With Walt Bellamy anchoring the middle, these teams always made the playoffs in the early 1970s (except in ’74).

They were a good team, but not good enough in the East. The Celtics and Knicks ruled the roost and thwarted the Hawks. In 1973, Hudson scorched the postseason with a league-leading 30 points a game, but that would be the last time he appeared in the playoffs until 1978 with the Lakers. By then he was older and not quite as effective.

An elbow injury in 1974 led to his untimely demise at the age of 29. Without that unfortunate injury, Super Lou would have had a few more years of prime time 20+ PPG seasons. Nonetheless, his incredible game was rewarded with six straight all-star appearances from 1969 to 1974. He notched 57 points in a game. His jersey is one of just three retired by the Hawks.

He achieved all of this thanks to a jump shot that’d make even the sweetest of Georgia peaches taste like a bland Southern cracker.

Seasons Played: 1967 – 1979

Accolades

NBA -
All-NBA 2nd Team (1970)
6x All-Star (1969-’74)
All-Rookie 1st Team (1967)

Statistics

NBA - 890 Games
20.2 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 2.7 APG, 1.4 SPG, 48.9% FG, 79.7% FT
50th All-Time PPG

Dikembe Mutombo (itzyourzradio.com)

A usually gregarious and affable man, Dikembe Mutombo was as rude a host imaginable in the NBA. He was thoroughly unwelcoming to anyone who would attempt to come into his house. Penetrating guards, sky-walking forwards, and hulking centers were equally dismissed from his abode with disdain. After rejecting these unwelcomed overtures, Mutombo would surely wave a stern finger to make sure such foolishness wasn’t tried again.

Opponents never quite got the message though.

3,289 times Mutombo would officially reject wayward shots that dared enter his domain. Thousands more he intimidated. Four times he’d be recognized as the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year for his stingy block parties. An irascible few succeeded in storming Dikembe’s paint and, as they claimed, climbed Mount Mutombo. These successful few led the brash many to failure.

Mutombo left this trail of devastation across a path that went from Denver to Atlanta to Philly. From New Jersey to New York to Houston. It spanned 18 years and 1196 games.

The most endearing moment in Mutombo’s career came early on, though. It was during his third season, the 1993-94 season in Denver. His 8th-seed Nuggets upended the Seattle SuperSonics in a first-round upset. Mutombo averaged a gaudy 12.6 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 6.2 blocks a game. As the Nuggets toppled Seattle, Mount Mutombo crumbled to the floor in ecstasy. 

He’d later help Atlanta to become a perennial playoff team. He pushed the Sixers into the realm of title contenders in 2001. He proved a surprisingly effective stopgap for the Rockets late in his career when starter Yao Ming went down to injury. Sadly, Mutombo’s own career ended due to an in-game injury in the 2009 playoffs.

The moment was hard to watch because a man of such intense dignity and impassioned skill was hobbled by a bad knee he could no longer control. Still, no one moment, whether ecstasy in victory or agony of injury, can encapsulate and define a person. It’s the sheer body of work, the routine, that defines a person. Mutombo’s body of work, the routine, proved that his being was pure hall of famer.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUyqp3kSYIs]

Seasons Played: 1992 – 2009

Accolades

NBA -
4x Defensive Player of the Year (1995, 1997, 1998, 2001)
3x All-Defensive 1st Team (1997-’98, 2001)
3x All-Defensive 2nd Team (1995, 1999, 2002)
All-NBA 2nd Team (2001), 2x All-NBA 3rd Team (1998, 2002)
8x All-Star (1992, 1995-’98, 2000-’02)
All-Rookie 1st Team (1992)

Statistics

NBA - 1196 Games
9.8 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 2.8 BPG, 51.8% FG, 68.4% FT
3x BPG Leader (1994-’96), 2x RPG Leader (2000-’01)
2nd All-Time in Blocks, 7th All-Time in BPG
19th All-Time in Rebounds

(nba.com)

The outlet pass and Wes Unseld go together like peanut butter and jelly, like Peaches & Herb.

The moment Wes captured a rebound, wheeled his mammoth body around, instantly surveyed the court, and caught a teammate speeding down court, was the moment the opponent was practically doomed to ceding 2 points.

That moment happened often in Unseld’s career. With an average of 14 rebounds per game, Unseld ruled the glass. He also ruled several other facets of the game. He stood only 6’7″ and his blocks per game are paltry, but Unseld was a stern defender on bigger centers who had trouble maneuvering around and moving the stout Wes.

With four assists dished out nightly, Unseld didn’t just throw a good outlet pass, he was great passing in the half court. Bruising opponents with picks was another Unseld claim to fame. In fact just bruising opponents in the course of natural events was Unseld’s way. The man just physically wore you out with his strength and being.

For the Bullets franchise (in all its various incarnations), though, Unseld is really the only bright moment in their long history.

Prior to Unseld (1962 – 1968): 205 – 358 (.364 win percentage)
With Unseld (1969 – 1981): 618 – 448 (.580 win percentage)
After Unseld (1982 – 2013): 1050 – 1526 (.408 win percentage)

The franchise had 10 winning seasons in Unseld’s 13 years and have had eight in the other 39 seasons. There’s a reason why the NBA went positively insane back in 1969 when Unseld lifted the moribund franchise to a league-best 57 wins. He was not only Rookie of the Year, but also MVP that season. The Bullets made the NBA Finals four times in his tenure and won the title in 1978.

He was one of the best leaders in NBA history and despite claims to his lack of talent and athleticism, the man was filled with plenty of both. His career stacks up favorably with just about any great center you can think of.

Seasons Played: 1969 – 1981

Accolades

NBA -
Champion (1978)
MVP (1969)
Finals MVP (1978)
All-NBA 1st Team (1969)
5x All-Star (1969, 1971-’73, 1975)
Rookie of the Year (1969), All-Rookie 1st Team (1969)

Statistics

NBA - 984 Games
10.8 PPG, 14.0 RPG, 3.9 APG, 1.1 SPG, 50.9% FG, 63.3% FT
FG% Leader (1976), RPG Leader (1975)
11th All-Time Rebounds, 6th All-Time RPG

(Seattle Times)

Lenny Wilkens was the first coach in NBA history to amass 1000 victories. The first of those many wins for coach Wilkens came on Halloween 1969. Wilkens was coaching the Seattle SuperSonics. His leading scorer and the player that led the club to victory that night was some guy by the name of Lenny Wilkens with 38 points.

Wilkens would spend most of the last half of his playing career in this dual role as player-coach.

But long before Wilkens called his own number, he excelled as one of the NBA’s best point guards. The first eight years of his career were spent in St. Louis with the Hawks. That ball club was dominated by a frontcourt heavy offense anchored by Cliff Hagan and Bob Pettit. Wilkens’ job was to feed them the ball early and often. As time wore on, and Hagan and Pettit aged, Lenny was able to carve out a larger role. By his final Hawks season, he was averaging 20 points and 8 assists per game, both career-highs at the time.

With a move to Atlanta, though, Wilkens encountered a rift with the new Hawks owners. Unable to find a rapprochement, the Hawks traded Wilkens to Seattle in 1968 where he continued his all-star ways and began to patrol the sidelines as coach. His actual on-court talent may have been the same, but totally free to run the show in Seattle, and then Portland and Cleveland, Wilkens had the numbers to match his always great game.

Wilkens with the Hawks (1961 – ’68): 35.2 MPG, 15.5 PPG, 5.5 APG, 4.9 RPG, 42.1% FG, 75.7% FT
Wilkens after the Hawks (1969 – ’75): 35.5 MPG, 17.6 PPG, 8.0 APG, 4.4 RPG, 44.3% FG, 79.0% FT

His playing style was one of quicksilver flair. He loved to penetrate into the teeth of a defense and finish with swirling, looping layups with either hand. The fact that Wilkens was a southpaw helped him confound defenses. Lenny, as you may notice by the assist averages, didn’t hesitate to drop a dime as well after knifing his way into a defense.

Amazingly, Wilkens playing, and therefore coaching, success almost never got off the ground. Chained to the bench his rookie season, Wilkens had a great practice and Hawks coach Paul Seymour inquired why he didn’t play like that in the games.

“I’m never in the game, so how would you know how I play?”, Wilkens shot back. Wilkens clarified the remarks, “When I make one mistake, you take me out. I’ll see some of the older guys make the same mistake 3 – 4 times and you leave them in.” The next game, Wilkens made a rookie mistake, but Seymour let him play out the game and the rest, as they say, is history.

Seasons Played: 1961 – 1975

Accolades

NBA -
All-Star Game MVP (1971)
9x All-Star (1963-’65, 1967-’71, 1973)

Statistics

NBA - 1077 Games
16.5 PPG, 6.7 APG, 4.7 RPG, 1.3 SPG, 43.2% FG, 77.4% FT
APG Leader (1970)
12th All-Time Assists, 22nd All-Time FTs Made, 36th All-Time Minutes Played
34th All-Time APG

(Photo by Dick Raphael/NBAE via Getty Images)

For someone who accomplished so much for so long, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar can rightfully make the claim to being the best player to ever lace up a pair of sneakers. Personally, I’m not in the business of trying to suss out such arguments, but if someone picked Kareem how could you doubt them?

His career ran a remarkable 20 years, which only a handful of players have approached. It took Kareem until his 39th year on this earth, his 18th in the NBA, to finally dip below 20 PPG. The only time he shot below 50% from the field was in his final season. At age 37 he spearheaded the Los Angeles Lakers to the title and captured a Finals MVP in the process.

In his younger days, he teamed with Oscar Robertson and Bob Dandridge to deliver the Milwaukee Bucks a title in 1971. During his six seasons in Wisconsin, Kareem averaged an astounding 30 points, 15 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3.5 blocks a game on his way to three MVP awards.

Even after a trade to the Los Angeles Lakers, which left the Lakers gutted, Kareem kept up the assault. The Lakers “stumbled” to a 40-42 record during this first season (1976), but Jabbar was a one man wrecking crew with 28 points, 17 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 blocks per game that season on his way to yet another MVP. These 1970s years were Kareem at his absolute finest but given the lack of exposure the NBA had in general they aren’t as easily relived on SportsCenter highlight clips.

What clips we do receive are of his days in the 1980s with Showtime. Magic Johnson receives rightful credit for igniting Showtime, but when that fastbreak attack wasn’t humming, Kareem was the go-to safety valve. He wasn’t quite the force he was in the 1970s, but Kareem’s second act in his mid-and-late 30s was better than most men ever dream of in their youthful 20s.

The sheer weight and volume of his numbers have such gravity that we’re reduced to chuckles at its absurdity: 6 MVPs, 19 All-Star Games, 15 All-NBA Teams, the all-time leading scorer in NBA history… He battled Wilt Chamberlain, Wes Unseld, Willis Reed, Dave Cowens, Bill Walton, Bob McAdoo, Bob Lanier, Jack Sikma, Hakeem Olajuwon, Artis Gilmore, Moses Malone, Elvin Hayes, Patrick Ewing, and got the best of all of them at one time or another.

So, if someone indeed comes around arguing for Kareem as the greatest of all-time, the argument is about as dependable and solid as Jabbar’s skyhook.

Seasons Played: 1970 – 1989

Accolades

NBA -
6x Champion (1971, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987-’88)
2x Finals MVP (1971, 1985)
6x MVP (1971-’72, 1974, 1976-’77, 1980)
10x All-NBA 1st Team (1971-’74, 1976-’77, 1980-’81, 1984, 1986)
5x All-NBA 2nd Team (1970, 1978-’79, 1983, 1985)
4x All-Defensive 1st Team (1974-’75, 1979-’81)
6x All-Defensive 2nd Team (1970-’71, 1976-’78, 1984)
Rookie of the Year (1970), All-Rookie 1st Team (1970)
19x All-Time All-Star (1970-’77, 1979-’89)

Statistics

NBA - 1560 Games
24.6 PPG, 11.2 RPG, 3.6 APG, 2.6 BPG, 0.9 SPG, 55.9% FG, 72.1% FT
4x BPG Leader (1975-’76, 1979-’80), 2x PPG Leader (1971-’72)
FG% Leader (1977), RPG Leader (1976)

1st All-Time Minutes Played, 2nd All-Time Games Played
1st All-Time Points, 3rd All-Time Blocks
1st All-Time FGs Made, 8th All-Time FTs Made
3rd All-Time Rebounds, 7th All-Time Defensive Rebs, 26th All-Time Offensive Rebs
11th All-Time FG%, 36th All-Time Assists

8th All-Time BPG, 16th All-Time PPG
23rd All-Time RPG, 32nd All-Time MPG

(remembertheaba.com)

Few defenders have ever come as tough and agile as Bobby Jones. He played a physical, cerebral defensive style predicated on fundamentals and not grabbing, clutching, or cheap-shotting opponents. His results would be nasty for opponents, but at least they had the honor of being shut down by a gentleman like Bobby Jones.

Jones’ regal defense began in the ABA, a league more known for its offensive fireworks than defensive showstoppers. As a member of the Denver Nuggets, Jones was instantly named a member of the All-Defensive 1st Team in his rookie season. In his second season he repeated that accomplishment and with Dan Issel and David Thompson propelled the Nuggets to the ABA’s best record. They also got a Finals showdown with the New York Nets and Julius Erving.

Dr. J was the ABA’s premier player and even the best defenders sometimes become helpless. Erving lit up Jones for the series averaging 37.7 points and the Nets won the title. As fate would have it, the two small forwards would soon team up and form the nucleus of an NBA titan.

With the ABA folding after the 1976 season, Jones tranferred to the NBA with the Nuggets, but was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in 1978. The Sixers had already pilfered Erving from the Nets and thus made the fateful decision to make Jones their sixth man backing up the Doctor.

With no complaints, Jones packed in all of his defensive (and offensive) punch into the truncated time and proved the difference maker numerous times for the Sixers. For you see, just because Jones didn’t start the game didn’t mean he wasn’t on the court in crunch time. Over and over again he’d deliver timely blocks, steals, rebounds, and hustle plays to thwart opponents and save the Sixers.

The NBA recognized Jones for the amazing defender he was with eight straight All-Defensive 1st Team appearances, bringing his career total to 10. All the while his offense was an understated asset. He was never prone to racking up huge scoring games, but what shots he did take he hit. (He also had some hops and could throw down unexpected jams). Three times he led the NBA  and ABA in FG% and never shot less than 52% for a season. When it comes to forwards all-time (with a minimum 200 games), Jones is 6th in FG%. And the five guys ahead of him combined have scored just 790 more points than Jones did.

A savvy offensive player. A 10x All-Defensive Team member. The first ever Sixth Man of the Year back in 1983. An NBA champion that same year. Bobby Jones has a lot going for himself and proved that hustle isn’t a substitute for talent, it is indeed a talent all unto itself.

Seasons Played: 1975 – 1986

Accolades

ABA -
2x All-Defensive 1st Team (1975-’76)
All-ABA 2nd Team (1976)
All-Star (1976)
All-Rookie 1st Team (1975)
NBA -
Champion (1983)
Sixth Man of the Year (1983)
8x All-Defensive 1st Team (1977-’84)
All-Defensive 2nd Team (1985)
4x All-Star (1977-’78, 1981-’82)

Statistics

ABA - 167 Games
14.9 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 3.8 APG, 2.0 SPG, 2.0 BPG, 59.2% FG, 69.7% FT
2x FG% Leader (1975-’76)
1st All-Time FG%, 11th All-Time Blocks, 16th All-Time Steals

NBA - 654 Games
11.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1.4 SPG, 1.3 BPG, 55.0% FG, 78.0% FT
FG% Leader (1978)
14th All-Time FG%

A stout 6’11″ and 250 lbs., Bob Lanier was among the NBA’s best centers for over a decade. However, his excellence eludes the masses. Most of his career was spent with the Detroit Pistons where there was some modest success, but more often frustration. A late career move to Milwaukee gave Lanier his best and most sustained taste of success, but small market Milwaukee is hardly given its proper due for being a 1980s powerhouse.

Lanier himself is denied the recognition of being a powerhouse in the pivot.

From 1972 to 1979, the sterling left-handed center delivered 24 points, 12.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2 blocks a night on 51% shooting from the field and 78% shooting from the line. Although the Pistons possessed a winning record during just three of Lanier’s nine full seasons there, his stats weren’t of the empty variety. Every single one of his rolling dreadnought hook shots was necessary to keep the Pistons at least mediocre. He controlled the boards with a single-minded ferocity. His defense was so determined that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar complained about it in the comedy classic Airplane!

If Jabbar was tired of carrying Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes, Lanier by 1980 was tired of carrying the moribund Pistons 82 games a year. His blockbuster trade to the Bucks cemented the fortunes of a burgeoning title-contender. These Bucks squads consistently won over 50 games every year, captured the Central Division title every year, and reached the Eastern Conference Finals twice by the time Lanier retired in 1984.

Bob’s career was one of the best but remained slightly unfulfilled due to his tendency to accrue nagging injuries. Over the first half of his career, Lanier played in over 70 games  five times. Over the last half, he managed only two seasons over 70 games. Even more unfulfilling is the stark realization that Lanier for all his offensive abilities and defensive terror never made an All-NBA or All-Defensive team. Nonetheless, his eight all-star appearances serve as a reminder that he was indeed the cream of the crop.

Seasons Played: 1971 – 1984

Accolades

NBA -
All-Star Game MVP (1974)
8x All-Star (1972-’75, 1977-’79, 1982)
All-Rookie 1st Team (1971)

Statistics

NBA - 959 Games
20.1 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 3.1 APG, 1.5 BPG, 1.1 SPG, 51.4% FG, 76.7% FT
35th All-Time Rebounds, 37th All-Time FGs Made, 45th All-Time Points
64th All-Time FG%, 54th All-Time PPG, 39th All-Time RPG, 42nd All-Time BPG

“I’m the best all-round forward in the game,” he says. “If anyone takes the trouble to look, they’ll see that I’m the one who makes our team go. I’m the most important guy out there. I love to rebound and run the ball right up the court. I was the first forward to do that. Now others are imitating me. I make cross-court passes that no one else dares, and then I follow the ball like I got it tied to a string. I play good defense, though I don’t get a lot of credit for that. Look, I’m not out for an argument. I say that I’m the best. Anybody else has the right to say that about himself.”

Don’t ever say that Larry Kenon was bashful. But also don’t discount his exuberant words.

From 1974 to 1980, the 6’9″ Kenon was indeed one of basketball’s best forwards. During this period he was 5th among all forwards in the NBA and ABA in points scored and steals nabbed, while also placing 3rd in rebounds grabbed. His averages during this period were pretty noteworthy: 20 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 1.5 SPG, 49% FG, and 80% FT.

He burst into the ABA in the 1973-74 season with the New York Nets and his brash offensive skills made “Special K” an instrumental piece in the Nets’ title run that season. He was never shy about carving out  a piece of the offensive pie with mainstay Julius Erving leading the club. In both the regular season and postseason, he led the club in rebounding as well.

After the 1975 season, Kenon was traded to the San Antonio Spurs. Overshadowed by the more gossamer George Gervin, Kenon was nonetheless every bit of the Ice Man’s equal during this period. Indeed, he’d clear the glass and spark San Antonio’s powerful offensive assault with Gervin and James Silas. The Spurs were always in the playoffs with this core and reached the Eastern, yes Eastern, Conference Finals in 1979 where they lost in 7 games to the Washington Bullets.

That was the highwater mark for Kenon’s run with the Spurs. He continuously ran into contract troubles with the Spurs and by 1980 Kenon bolted for the Chicago Bulls in free agency. The move was a career death sentence. He averaged a career-low 14.1 points in 1981. Then a new career low in 1982 with 7 points. And then another new career low in 1983 with 6 points. His career petered out after that as he was waived by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The surprisingly quick end of his career is unfortunate. In his final game with the Spurs, Kenon nailed 51 points on the Detroit Pistons. He still holds the record for most steals in an NBA game with 11 back in 1976. He was everything he bragged about himself being: a good defender, a transcendent dunker and scorer, a key indispensable cog on the Spurs and Nets of the 1970s.

However, the aura of Julius Erving and George Gervin still outshine the career and accomplishments of Larry Kenon. Special K is just one of those splendid players who gets lost in the shuffle of the long and winding history of professional basketball.

Seasons Played: 1974 – 1983

Accolades

ABA -
Champion (1974)
3x All-Star (1974-’76)
All-Rookie 1st Team (1974)

NBA -
2x All-Star (1978-’79)

Statistics

ABA - 249 Games
17.7 PPG, 11.1 RPG, 1.5 APG, 1.1 SPG, 48.5% FG, 75.5% FT
11th All-Time MPG, 11th All-Time RPG
28th All-Time FG%

NBA - 503 Games
17.0 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.3 SPG, 48.9% FG, 79.8% FT