ProHoopsHistory HOF: Bobby Jones

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(remembertheaba.com)

(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%

ProHoopsHistory HOF: Bob Lanier

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Bob Lanier

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

ProHoopsHistory HOF: Larry Kenon

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Larry Kenon

“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

ProHoopsHistory HOF: Mel Daniels

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Mel Daniels (nasljerseys)

Mel Daniels (nasljerseys)

Big and bad. Rough and tough. Mel Daniels doesn’t exactly fit the archetype of the ABA. It was a free-wheeling league where afros grew tall, dunkers flew high, and defense was negotiable, if played at all.  Daniels, despite not fitting any of those bills, deposited the most successful career of any person in the ABA’s brief history.

He was Rookie of the Year, a two-time MVP, and a three-time champion. At only 6’9″, Daniels nonetheless led the ABA in rebounds per game three times and is the league’s all-time leading rebounder. Rebounding was certainly Mel’s best quantifiable asset, but his scoring was also of import. He had decent range on his jumper and was a beast on getting cleanup buckets.

However, Mel’s best asset wasn’t quantifiable, it was pure qualitative. It was his imposing presence that solidified and anchored the Indiana Pacers as the most successful franchise in the ABA. The man was an imposing leader for the Pacers. If a scrum broke out, Daniels would be in the middle of it to make sure his Indiana mates wouldn’t be intimidated.

If his fists and granite-hard picks didn’t intimate enough intimidation, then Daniels’ game was certainly more than good enough to accomplish the task. On one spectacular occasion, he scored 37 points pulled down 26 rebounds in a single half. Those kinds of exciting performances though were always in the ABA for Mel. He had a 9-year career, but spent just a grand total of 11 forgettable games in the NBA.

What shouldn’t be forgettable are his triumphant days in the ABA. They were 628 games of unrequited triumph.

For more on Mel Daniels’ career, head over to Yahoo!’s Ball Don’t Lie

Seasons Played: 1968 – 1977

Indiana Pacers

Indiana Pacers

Accolades

ABA -
3x Champion (1970, 1972-’73)
2x MVP (1969, 1971)
4x All-ABA 1st Team (1968-’71), All-ABA 2nd Team (1973)
Rookie of the Year (1968), All-Rookie 1st Team (1968)
7x All-Star (1968-’74)

Statistics

ABA - 628 Games
18.7 PPG, 15.1 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.5 BPG, 46.8% FG, 65.8% FT
3x RPG Leader (1968-’69, 1971)

9th All-Time Games Played, 4th All-Time Minutes Played
4th All-Time Points, 4th All-Time FGs Made, 9th All-Time FTs Made
1st All-Time Rebounds, 1st All-Time Defensive Rebs, 1st All-Time Offensive Rebs
10th All-Time Blocks

2nd All-Time RPG, 10th All-Time BPG
14th All-Time MPG, 20th All-Time PPG

ProHoopsHistory HOF: Kevin Johnson

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(NBA Images)

(NBA Images)

Playing for the Phoenix Suns, Kevin Johnson’s career was appropriately explosive, fiery, and combustible. Acquired by the Arizona club via a trade midway through the 1987-88 season for Larry Nance, Johnson reinvigorated the moribund Suns. They finished the 1988 season 28-54. The next season the Suns rose to 55 wins and advanced all the way to the Western Conference Finals.

To be sure KJ wasn’t the only reason for this remarkable turn around. Tom Chambers and Eddie Johnson provided veteran mettle while Dan Majerle, Armen Gilliam, and Jeff Hornacek gave stellar doses of talent and potential. KJ was the engine though of this powerful machine. That season he became just the fifth player to average over 20 points and 10 assists in the same season. It’s a plateau he’d stay above over the next two seasons and flirt with for the rest of his career. Indeed, from 1989 to 1997, Johnson averaged 19.8 PPG and 10.0 APG.

This duality of scoring and passing made Johnson beloved by his teammates, but a terror for defenders. His explosive first step would leave any hopeful defenseman in ruins. Actually, it could leave an entire defense in ruins by the time KJ was finished. The lightning step was but the beginning. He could let defenses off the hook with a pull-up jumper, but the worst terror awaited any center by the basket. Johnson was fearless and possessed extraodinary leaping ability. Combined with his speed this made a posterized fool out of many big men who did their duty to the protect rim.

The Johnson Suns were a perennial Western force. After the initial WCF run in 1989, they repeated the effort in 1990. A first round exit in 1991 to the 54-win Jazz followed and in 1992 the Suns bowed out in the semi-finals. Their win tallies for these seasons were 55, 54, 55, and 53.  These KJ-led Phoenix squads are largely forgotten because prior to the 1992-93 season Phoenix dealt for Charles Barkley. The 1993 squad made the finals and thus obscured the prior success of the late 80s and early 90s clubs without Barkley.

Further shadowing those moments was Kevin Johnson’s string of hobbling injuries. His hamstrings proved most troublesome but ankle and knee woes also cropped up. So, just as the Suns as a team were thir most successful, Johnson was beginning to lose his own personal effectiveness. Despite his growing troubles staying on the court, Johnson was still a force. In the 1994 playoffs he had back-to-back games of 38 points and 12 assists. In 1995 he uncorked a Herculean 46-point, 10-assist effort in a losing Game 7 to the Houston Rockets.

Those leg injuries took their toll, however, and Johnson ultimately retired after the 1998 season.

Although his career didn’t last particularly long, Kevin Johnson was particularly amazing. His lightning fire attack produced four appearances on the All-NBA 2nd Team and left him 6th all-time in assists per game. Unfortunately, the second half of his career was marred by injuries, so there can be a bit of misapprehension concerning Johnson’s true greatness. Let thy mind go to ease, though. When KJ was healthy and on the court, he was a simply one of the best.

Seasons Played: 1988 – 1998

Phoenix Suns

Phoenix Suns

Accolades

NBA -
4x All-NBA 2nd Team (1989-’91, 1994)
All-NBA 3rd Team (1992)
Most Improved Player (1989)
3x All-Star (1990-’91, 1994)

Statistics

NBA - 735 Games
17.9 PPG, 9.1 APG, 3.3 RPG, 1.5 SPG, 49.3% FG, 84.1% FT
18th All-Time Assists
6th All-Time APG

ProHoopsHistory HOF: Larry Nance

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Larry Nance

For God Shammgod’s sake, let that picture wash over you!

Larry Nance was a ferocious, dynamic, and unstoppable finisher at the rim. You’d have to be brave, insane, or both, to try and stop his forays to the basket. On the fast break he’d catch Mark Price’s lobs or dimes and finish them off right with swooping one-handed sledgehammers and two-handed pile drivers. It’s as if a whirlwind of fury was released on the hardwood of the NBA.

And that fury applied on the defensive end as well. In fact, maybe even more so. Nance prided himself on brazenly protecting the rim. He allowed few shots to go up undetected and undisturbed. He toiled on the Phoenix Suns for most of the 1980s, which likely prejudiced voters against him, so Nance made only three All-Defensive teams. All of those selections came after he joined a winning ball club in Cleveland. His defense there was just as nasty as it was in the Arizona desert, though.

To emphasis the point on Nance’s remarkable durability and consistency, here are the numbers in his first year as a starter (1983 with Phoenix) and his last year as a starter (1993 with Cleveland):

First Year as Starter: 35.5 MPG, 16.7 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 2.6 BPG, 1.2 SPG, 55% FG, 67% FT
Last Year as Starter: 35.8 MPG, 16.5 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 2.6 BPG, 0.7 SPG, 55% FG, 82% FT

In between Nance certainly had some higher averages than these, but not by much. The big difference, though, is that Nance over the years improved his shot. He developed a dependable jumper and his free throw shooting went from liability to tremendous asset.

And he developed into one of the best floor leaders in the NBA. His years in Phoenix ultimately proved disappointing, but they gave the experience, wherewithal, and veteran command to lift the Cavaliers when he joined their squad in 1988. His mid-season acquisition sparked a mediocre Cavs team to a 12-4 finish and a playoff berth. Through 1993, the Cavaliers twice finished with a 57-25 record and another season of 54 wins. Unfortunately, they fell victim to a) the Chicago Bulls, b) an awful trade for Danny Ferry, and c) injuries to Mark Price and Brad Daugherty.

Still, those Cavalier teams were wonders to behold, and it was the High Ayatollah of Slamola that kick-started this period of magnificent Cavaliers basketball.

Seasons Played: 1982 – 1994

Accolades

NBA -
All-Defensive 1st Team (1989)
2x All-Defensive 2nd Team (1992-’93)
3x All-Star (1985, 1989, 1993)

Statistics

NBA - 950 Games
17.1 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 2.6 APG, 2.2 BPG, 0.9 SPG, 54.6% FG, 75.5% FT
17th All-Time Blocks, 16th All-Time FG%
17th All-Time BPG

ProHoopsHistory HOF: Magic Johnson

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Magic Johnson

Magic Johnson (ESPN)

Easily one of the greatest point guard in NBA history, Magic Johnson is also a prime candidate for weirdest point guard ever.

Standing 6’8″ tall, Magic certainly leaves an impression at first sight. Other players that tall had proven capable of being good passers and handling the ball, but they weren’t the point guard. Magic’s size and height would have been meaningless without the requisite tools to command from the point guard spot, though. His court-vision was second to none. That natural gift of sight was amplified by his height as he towered over opponents. He could find angles and discern paths that others simply never have the opportunity to discover.

When the path was laid out, Magic whizzed remarkable passes to through their trail. Johnson would realize teammates were open before they themselves realized it. His passes came via a variety of methods: wrap-around, behind-the-back, off-the-dribble, no-look, one-handed, bounced-between-the-leg, and over-the-head just to name a few.

Perhaps most integral to Magic’s eventual success was that he was allowed to maturate on a team of stars. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar manned the middle. Forwards Jamaal Wilkes and Michael Cooper flanked the wings to ease the offensive burden. Norm Nixon was an all-star point guard already on the roster furthering easing pressure on Johnson. By the mid-and-late 1980s, Johnson assumed further and eventual complete control of the Lakers working his way to 3x-MVP status.

Johnson had become not just a sensational passer, but a dangerous scorer. His size allowed him to post up smaller players. He had that famous baby hook shot. By the end of his career he became an automatic free throw shooter and also possessed a competent set-shot three-pointer.

It’s a testament to his ability that Magic played in the NBA Finals 10 times in his 12 full seasons. Another testament is that in 1982, he averaged 18.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 9.5 assists per game. The best testament though is how he raised the effectiveness of his teammates:

Player:  FG% w/ Magic – FG% w/o Magic

Kurt Rambis 0.553 0.511
Byron Scott 0.5 0.444
James Worthy 0.546 0.435
Jamaal Wilkes 0.525 0.468

That kind of impact is the hallmark of a damn good point guard.

Seasons Played: 1980 – 1991, 1996

Los Angeles Lakers

Los Angeles Lakers

Accolades

NBA -
5x Champion (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987-’88)
3x Finals MVP (1980, 1982, 1987)
3x MVP (1987, 1989-’90)
9x All-NBA 1st Team (1983-’91)
All-NBA 2nd Team (1982)
All-Rookie 1st Team (1980)
12x All-Star (1980, 1982-’92)
2x All-Star Game MVP (1990, 1992)

Statistics

NBA - 906 Games
19.5 PPG, 11.2 APG, 7.2 RPG, 1.9 SPG, 0.4 BPG, 52.0% FG, 30.3% 3PT, 84.8% FT
4x APG Leader (1983-’84, 1986-’87)
2x SPG Leader (1981-’82), FT% Leader (1989)

1st All-Time APG, 15th All-Time SPG
5th All-Time Assists, 17th All-Time Steals, 31st All-Time FTs