Tag Archives: 1990s

ProHoopsHistory HOF: Isiah Thomas

Posted on by
Isiah Thomas (Skiids)

Isiah Thomas (Skiids)

Before he generally managed several organizations into disarray, few men were as beloved as Isiah Thomas in the world of basketball. NBA fans voted Thomas a starter in 11 of his 12 All-Star games. His sheepish smile and relaxed demeanor off the court seduced the public. His electric passing and fiery play on the court enraptured them .

Thomas’ on-court play is still highly regarded and he has a strong case for the best little man of his generation. His 13.9 assists per game in the 1984-85 season not only led the league, but it was the highest amount recorded in NBA history up to that point. Since then only John Stockton (on two occasions) has been able to top it. Zeke’s passes were crisp, on the money, and often came after a spectacular dribbling exhibition to beguile defenders distracting them from Thomas’ open teammates.

What also made his passing so much of a threat was that his scoring was so much of a threat. You had to play Thomas for the pass and the shot. His three most famous scoring explosions are all the stuff of legend. In December 1983, his Detroit Pistons tangled with the Denver Nuggets in the highest scoring game in NBA history. Thomas finished with 47 points and 17 assists. In April of 1984, Thomas and Bernard King dueled in an overtime thriller to close out their first round playoff series. The Knicks won and King finished with a sturdy 44 points, while Thomas had 35 including 16 points in the final 94 seconds of regulation. Finally, in June of 1988, Thomas exploded for 25 points in the third quarter on a severely sprained ankle against the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 of the NBA Finals. The Herculean effort, the most points ever in a single Finals quarter, left Thomas with a total of 43 points, but Detroit lost the game by a point.

Detroit would also lose that series in the seventh game, but Motown struck back in 1989 sweeping the Lakers for the title. In 1990, the Pistons repeated as champions dispatching the Portland Trail Blazers in 5 games. These were the crowning years of Thomas’ Pistons. Through the 1980s, he had steadily pushed the traditionally woeful franchise to new heights with Bill Laimbeer, Chuck Daly, Dennis Rodman, Joe Dumars, Vinnie Johnson, and other allies. The rival Lakers, Chicago Bulls, and Boston Celtics created classic series that remain some of the most exhilarating basketball ever played.

Today Thomas is quietly slipping through the cracks when the great players of his era are discussed. The Bad Boy Pistons as a unit receive a curious blend of praise and scorn. Their physicality is simultaneously lauded for its toughness, but chided for introducing a brand of basketball that slowly strangled the offensive excitement of pro ball in the 1990s and early 2000s. That identity, along with Thomas’ post-playing career, is perhaps what’s strangling the widespread recognition of Thomas as player whose career was on par with the best of the best in NBA history.

Seasons Played: 1982 – 1994

Detroit Pistons 1980s 1990s

Accolades

NBA -
2x Champion (1989-’90)
Finals MVP (1990)
3x All-NBA 1st Team (1984-’86)
2x All-NBA 2nd Team (1983, 1987)
12x All-Star (1982-’93)
2x All-Star Game MVP (1984, 1986)

Statistics

NBA - 979 Games
19.2 PPG, 9.3 APG, 3.6 APG, 1.9 SPG, 45.2% FG, 75.9% FT
APG Leader (1985)
7th All-Time Assists, 14th All-Time Steals
5th All-Time APG, 16th All-Time SPG

ProHoopsHistory HOF: Michael Jordan

Posted on by

Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan determinedly emerging from the vice-like defense of the Bad Boys Detroit Pistons is the perfect photo to recapture the essence of his career. Emerging from the fiery trial of battling Detroit, Jordan captured six NBA titles. Before that emergence he was simply another in a long wave of surefire talents, but not necessarily among the handful of all-time legends.

From the vantage point of 2013 that seems absurd Jordan never was considered among the handful of all-time legends, but in 1990, Jordan’s career was incomplete and his true status unknown. In his first six seasons, Jordan had won four scoring titles, an MVP award, and a Defensive Player of the Year award. The Bulls as a team, though, had suffered three losing seasons and only one campaign over 50 wins.

But in 1990 they had pushed the Detroit Pistons to a decisive 7th game. In that do-or-die contest, Jordan rose to the occasion with 31 points, 9 assists, and 8 rebounds. But the Bulls were demolished by 19 points. That defeat marked the third straight year Chicago lost to Detroit. And Jordan’s 9 assists in that game were stunning given that his teammates shot a woeful 15-63.

And, yet, from the 2013 vantage point, this Herculean effort for naught is generally forgotten. Torching Portland, deceiving Phoenix, flummoxing Utah, searing Seattle, and steamrolling Los Angeles are what we now remember. What made this possible was Jordan’s own maturation from a man throwing down 37 points a game to a more measured offensive approach that buttressed his teammates. And teammates that were capable of reciprocating the effort. Without the talents of Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant, Dennis Rodman, Toni Kukoc, and others, Jordan could have been a frightening force but not the generation defining player he became.

It’s not just that Jordan ultimately won the number of championships, MVPs, and scoring titles he did. It’s how he did them. His gargantuan hands made him one of the strongest defenders and finishers at the rim basketball has ever seen. His agility, footwork, and flair permanently branded a bevvy of highlight plays into our collective memory and led players to proudly brag they’d never been humiliated by Jordan.

Unfairly, numerous NBA legends are labeled as failures for their inability to capture a title. Michael Jordan’s championship run of the 1990s safely rescued him from that ignominy. However, it’s not that far-fetched that year-after-year he could have had efforts like Game 7 in 1990 that made him personally look great for the moment, but sully his overall career. It takes not just the individual talent, but the team concept to fully unfurl and let fly the reign of Air Jordan.

Seasons Played:
1985 – 1993
1995 – 1998
2002 – 2003

Chicago Bulls

Chicago Bulls

Accolades

NBA -
6x Champion (1991-’93, 1996-’98)
6x Finals MVP (1991-’93, 1996-’98)
5x MVP (1988, 1991-’92, 1996, 1998)
Defensive Player of the Year (1988)
3x All-Star Game MVP (1988, 1996, 1998)
Rookie of the Year (1985)

10x All-NBA 1st Team (1987-’93, 1996-’98)
All-NBA 2nd Team (1985)
9x All-Defensive 1st Team (1988-’93, 1996-’98)
14x All-Star (1985-’93, 1996-’98, 2002-’03)
All-Rookie 1st Team (1985)

Statistics

NBA – 1072 Games
30.1 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 5.3 APG, 2.3 SPG, 0.8 BPG, 49.7% FG, 32.7% 3PT, 83.5% FT
10x PPG Leader (1987-’93, 1996-’98), 3x SPG Leader (1988, 1990, 1993)

3rd All-Time Points, 3rd All-Time Steals, 4th All-Time FGs Made
5th All-Time FTs Made  22nd All-Time Minutes Played, 37th All-Time Assists
1st All-Time PPG, 4th All-Time in SPG, 15th All-Time MPG

ProHoopsHistory HOF: Gary Payton

Posted on by
Gary Payton (Slam)

Gary Payton (Slam)

There’s four major points to know about Gary Payton’s NBA career. So, let’s take them one by one…

First, he was terrifying defender. At 6’4″, he had the size to defend either guard position. Nicknamed “The Glove”, Payton was a stellar on-ball defender and would pick your pocket in the process. He didn’t get those Allen Iverson type steals gambling on passing lanes. He’d straight up mug you for the ball. Nine straight times he was a member of the NBA’s All-Defensive 1st Team and each one was well-deserved.

It’s no accident Michael Jordan easily had his worst NBA Finals series  in 1996 as he was hounded by Payton.

Second, he had a telepathic connection with Shawn Kemp. Payton’s natural passing ability and Kemp’s natural leaping ability created one of the great one-two punches in NBA history. Time and again they connected on absolutely insane alley oops.

Third, he was a talented scorer. This portion of Payton’s skills didn’t truly become revealed until the late 90s and early 2000s. For the first part of his career, Payton played on a staked Sonics team with the likes of Kemp, Ricky Pierce, Sam Perkins, Detlef Schrempf, Hersey Hawkins, and Kendall Gill. That’s a lot of mouths to feed. However, as time went on, the Sonics slowly deteriorated in overall talent and Payton resorted to more and more of his quick off-the-dribble explosions and even more annoying for defenders his sturdy post-up moves. Remember that being 6’4″ made him taller than most point guards and caused matchup havoc.

Fourth, he did vagabond for a ring. The Sonics traded Payton to the Milwaukee Bucks midway through the 2003 season. In 2004 he signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in a blatant, and ultimately failed, attempt at riding coattails to a ring. In 2005 he arrived in Boston and again didn’t succeed. In 2006 he landed in Miami and finally tasted title glory. He certainly gave forth a good effort, but by that point he was nowhere near the offensive force, let alone the frightening defensive force, he was once was.

So maybe he didn’t “earn” that ring that particular season, but the Glove had undoubtedly put in the dues in over a decade of All-Star and All-Defensive effort. And that’s all there is to know about Gary Payton.

Well, there’s actually five things.

Fifth, even Oscar the Grouch would be offended by the amount of trash Gary Payton talked. Watch out for the Glove’s defense and the f-bombs.

Gary Payton buck you fuddy

Seasons Played: 1991 – 2007

Seattle SuperSonics

Seattle SuperSonics

Accolades

NBA -
Champion (2006)
Defensive Player of the Year (1996)
2x All-NBA 1st Team (1998, 2000)
5x All-NBA 2nd Team (1995-’97, 1999, 2002), 2x All-NBA 3rd Team (1994, 2001)
9x All-Defensive 1st Team (1994 – 2002)
9x All-Star (1994-’98, 2000-’03)
All-Rookie 2nd Team (1991)

Statistics

NBA – 1233 Games
16.3 PPG, 6.7 APG, 3.9 RPG, 1.8 SPG, 46.6% FG, 72.9% FT
SPG Leader (1996)
4th All-Time in Steals, 8th All-Time in Assists, 20th All-Time in FGs Made, 29th All-Time in Points
9th All-Time in Games, 9th All-Time in Minutes
21st All-Time in SPG, 32nd All-Time in APG

ProHoopsHistory HOF: Clyde Drexler

Posted on by
Clyde Drexler (Manny Millan/SI)

Clyde Drexler (Manny Millan/SI)

To pull out an old writing trick… Webster’s Dictionary defines “glide” as the following:

: to move smoothly, continuously, and effortlessly

: to go or pass imperceptibly

It’s a term that connotes ease, that signifies freedom from agitation. Clyde Drexler as a basketball player encapsulated these attitudes and mores. Despite being one of the more exciting players in the NBA during the 1980s and 1990s, it was quite often an understated excitement, if possible.

His dunks came about in such a gliding ease. He rose majestically and flowed seamlessly through the atmospheric fluid flushing home the jam. Seemingly lacking even less effort was the way Drexler could extend  and wind his way into gorgeous finger rolls and scooping layups that no man should ever have any business of taking, let alone making.

Well, after viewing Drexler’s highlight package, it’s kind of clear that not all of his dunks were done devoid of invigorating passion. The man could throw down a hammer on opponents.

There was so much more to Drexler’s game than the dunks and flashy layups though. He was an extraordinary passer from the big guard spot, was great on cleaning up the defensive glass and was magnificent at anticipating woeful passes to steal. Combining all of those traits with his flair for dunking and Drexler became perhaps the most feared player on the fastbreak during his era.

He possessed great handles for a man 6’7″ tall, even if he dribbled with his head down. The tunnel vision drive, though, just made the ultimate outcome of his forays even less in doubt. He was going to glide in stride and leave you embarrassed at the end of the occasion.

His assortment of abilities led him to play in the NBA Finals three different times (twice in Portland, once in Houston) and delivered a membership on the Dream Team in 1992. However, when it comes to naming great shooting guards in the NBA’s history, Drexler’s name can often glide by without notice.

Well, let this serve as a reminder to always remember the magnificent ride of Clyde the Glide.

Seasons Played: 1984 – 1998

Accolades

NBA -
Champion (1995)
All-NBA 1st Team (1992)
2x All-NBA 2nd Team (1988, 1991)
2x All-NBA 3rd Team (1990, 1995)
10x All-Star (1986, 1988-’94, 1996-’97)

Statistics

NBA – 1086 Games
20.4 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 5.6 APG, 2.0 SPG, 0.7 BPG, 47.2% FG, 78.8% FT
7th All-Time in Steals, 10th All-Time in SPG
27th All-Time in Assists, 28th All-Time in Points
26th All-Time in FGs Made, 37th All-Time in FTs Made

ProHoopsHistory HOF: Penny Hardaway

Posted on by
Penny Hardaway

Penny Hardaway

During the last half of the 1990s, Penny Hardaway was on top of the basketball world.  Playing on a fresh new franchise and arriving just after the retirements of Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan, Hardaway promised to escalate the NBA’s popularity with a style that melded many of the talents of the aforementioned legends. His raw athleticism trumped Bird’s, his scoring outbursts surpassed those of Magic, and his passing was more deceptive than MJ could ever consistently hope for.

Playing alongside Shaquille O’Neal, Hardaway’s Magic quickly ascended the NBA ladder and made the NBA Finals in 1995, just his second season. In 1996 the Magic were defeated in the Eastern Conference Finals by the now-returned MJ’s 72-win Chicago Bulls. (Hardaway, by the way, finished 3rd in MVP voting that year). Despite the disheartening defeats, the future looked bright. Instead of perennial contender, though, the Magic ultimately floundered because Shaq left for the Los Angeles Lakers and Hardaway experienced his first of many knee injuries.

However, it would be remiss to say that Penny Hardaway’s career ended when Shaq left Orlando, or when his knee first betrayed him. In the 1996-97 season without O’Neal, Penny guided the Magic to a 45-win season. He shifted from over-sized point guard to scoring machine who had the threat of passing to keep defenders totally off-balance. The apogee of this version of Penny was Games 3 and 4 of the 1st Round that year. He played every minute of both games and delivered back-to-back 40-point games while shooting well over 50%. It was a blistering performance that the Miami Heat barely survived winning the series 3-games-to-2.

In 1999, Penny returned from his first serious knee injury and led Orlando to the best record in the Eastern Conference in the lockout-shortened season. The next year he was traded to the Phoenix Suns where he again spearheaded a regular season success. Teaming with Jason Kidd, Penny and the Suns won 53-games in the regular season. However, Penny was by himself when it came to upsetting the defending champion Spurs in the first round as Kidd missed three of the four games. Hardaway’s triple-double (17 points, 13 assists, 12 rebounds and 4 steals) in Game 3 proved the turning point to clinching the series.

In the next round Penny faced off against the Los Angeles Lakers and his old ally, Shaquille O’Neal. Over the first four games of the series, Hardaway worked over the Lakers with 25 points, 6.5 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals a game while shooting 54% from the field. These heroics couldn’t stop the better team from winning this time as the Lakers dispatched the Suns 4-games-to-1 and went to win the NBA title.

Dreaded microfracture surgery cost him all but four games the next season (2000-01). Thereafter, Hardaway’s career finally succumbed to nagging knee injuries. The career splits are unmistakable and this is the moment he became the shell of himself:

1994 – 2000: 18.7 PPG, 6.2 APG, 4.9 RPG, 1.9 SPG, 47.3% FG, 76.9% FT
2001 – 2008: 9.6 PPG, 3.2 APG, 3.8 RPG, 1.1 SPG, 42.1% FG, 79.7% FT

But Penny at his finest was one of the greatest players to ever set foot in the NBA. Trying to write the story of the NBA in the last half of the 1990s is impossible without including him. And when you can say that about a player, I don’t care how long his career lasted, the impact is enough to warrant Hall of Fame inclusion.

Seasons Played: 1994 – 2008

Orlando Magic

Orlando Magic

Accolades

NBA -
2x All-NBA 1st Team (1995-’96)
All-NBA 3rd Team (1997)
4x All-Star (1995-’98)
All-Rookie 1st Team (1994)

Statistics

NBA - 704 Games
15.2 PPG, 5.0 APG, 4.5 RPG, 1.6 SPG, 45.8% FG, 77.4% FT

ProHoopsHistory HOF: Reggie Miller

Posted on by
Reggie Miller (Indianapolis Star)

Reggie Miller (Indianapolis Star)

Reggie Miller possessed one of those Hall of Fame careers predicated more on longevity than overwhelming dominance. He made a respectable five All-Star Games in his 18-year career. He also garnered a decent three selections to the All-NBA 3rd Team.

His career-high in PPG came in his third season (24.6) and on only one other occasion did Miller surpass the 22-point per game plateau. He averaged a mere 3 rebounds and 3 assists per game. He only grabbed one steal per game.

However, Miller was remarkably consistent. Sure, he never had breathtaking scoring averages, but from 1990 to 2001, he never fell below 18 PPG. That consistent scoring did come on breathtaking percentages. He routinely led the NBA in FT%, or came very close. That tends to happen when you shoot 88.8% from the line for your career.

Most famously, his three-point shooting was absolutely prodigious. Bounding off of screens and picks galore, Miller could curl, catch and shoot faster than just about any player in NBA history. To make matters worse for defenders, Miller had a habit of extending his leg while shooting to catch the opponent and draw a foul. So even if he didn’t knock down the shot, he was going to receive two free throws that he was assuredly going to make.

Miller also chose the best times to unleash torrential scoring when it comes to remembering outstanding performances. 25-point quarters in Madison Square Garden tend to sear memories. As do 8 points in 9 seconds. Or whirling three-point shots that miraculously bank in. And shoving Michael Jordan to break free for a three.

Reggie lived for the stage of the postseason and thanks to his dramatic performances, he’ll be long remembered as one of the premier players of his, or any, era.

Seasons Played: 1988 – 2005

Indiana Pacers

Indiana Pacers

Accolades

NBA -
3x All-NBA 3rd Team (1995-’96, 1998)
5x All-Star (1990, 1995-’96, 1998, 2000)

Statistics

NBA - 1389 Games
18.2 PPG, 3.0 APG, 3.0 RPG, 1.1 SPG, 47.1% FG, 39.5% 3PT, 88.8% FT
5x FT% Leader (1991, 1999, 2001-’02, 2005)
2nd All-Time 3PT FGs Made, 13th All-Time in FTs Made
9th All-Time in FT%, 14th All-Time in Points
7th All-Time in Games Played, 8th All-Time in Minutes Played

ProHoopsHistory HOF: Tim Hardaway

Posted on by
Tim Hardaway (Hoops Vibe)

Tim Hardaway (Hoops Vibe)

Yes! Yes!…. YES! In your face!

That’s the kind of bravado that defined the career of Tim Hardaway. Hard as it is to believe, his game did speak louder than his words. The brash pinball whirled and barreled his way into a decade-long all-star sojourn in the NBA despite a treacherous ACL tear that robbed him of his most brazen athleticism midway through his career.

Never fear, though. The least brazen of Hardaway’s athleticism was still pretty brazen.

The 6’0″ (on a good day with thick socks on) guard was an electrifying sensation when he burst into the NBA with the Golden State Warriors in the 1989-90 season. Hardaway completed the fabled triptych with Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin that formed Run-TMC. Don Nelson drove those players to push the ball at insane speeds and to score at any given opportunity.

Hardaway loved the philosophy. He revved up the pace and left defenses in ruin with his patented crossover move, the UTEP Two Step. From 1991 to 1993, Hardaway was absolutely on fire averaging 22.7 points and 10 assists a game.

Hardaway’s career was put in jeopardy after he tore his ACL prior to the 1993-94 season. Fortunately, the injury didn’t derail his career, but it did force Hardaway to alter his game. The lightning fast crossover no longer fired as quick, so Hardaway resorted more and more to his knuckleball jump shot.

A trade to the Miami Heat midway through the 1995-96 season totally reanimated Hardaway’s career. The move to Miami put Hardaway under the tutelage of Pat Riley who exhorted an exacting defensive style that slowed the pace and slogged the opponent into submission. With Alonzo Mourning manning the middle, this style tapped Hardaway’s nasty streak and the guard landed on the All-NBA 1st Team for the only time in his career in 1997 as the Heat finished with the Eastern Conference’s 2nd-best record.

Miami reached the Conference Finals where they lost to the Chicago Bulls. The 5-game defeat was the closest Hardaway got to the NBA Finals. Over the next 3 seasons the Heat lost to the New York Knicks every postseason. By the end of these heartbreaks, Hardaway was in his mid-30s and nowhere near the spark plug of his 1990 breakout or of his 1997 comeback.

His NBA breakthrough was the stuff of legend, though. Only Oscar Robertson reached 5,000 points and 2,500 assists faster than Hardaway did on the breakneck Warriors. That comeback campaign with the Heat was just as impressive as a sage Hardaway gamely mustered 20 points and 8.5 assists on one of the slowest paced offenses the NBA has ever seen.

Whatever the pace, you could always count on Tim Hardaway to be in your face.

Seasons Played: 1990 – 2003

Accolades

NBA -
All-NBA 1st Team (1997)
3x All-NBA 2nd Team (1992, 1998-’99)
All-NBA 3rd Team (1993)
5x All-Star (1991-’93, 1997-’98)
All-Rookie 1st Team (1990)

Statistics

NBA - 867 Games
17.7 PPG, 8.2 APG, 3.3 RPG, 1.7 SPG, 43.1% FG, 78.2% FT
12th All-Time in 3PT FGs, 14th All-Time in Assists
12th All-Time in APG

ProHoopsHistory HOF: Shaquille O’Neal

Posted on by
Shaquille O'Neal

Shaquille O’Neal

Young basketball fans can certainly identify Shaquille O’Neal. He’s the boisterous member of TNT’s in-studio NBA coverage. Or he’s that old slow mammoth center who barely played in Boston. Perhaps the big man who slogged through a year in Cleveland. Or maybe most charmingly the All-Star dancing machine.

Young Shaquille O’Neal was certainly a dancing machine and boisterous, but he was also a devastating force on the court. The 7’1″, 300-lbs leviathan was all-consuming. A box score of 24 points, 28 rebounds, and 15 blocked shots wasn’t out of the question with O’Neal. His dynamism, along with that of Penny Hardaway, lifted the nascent Orlando Magic franchise from perennial lottery club to title contender in two short years.

In 1995, the Magic lost to the Houston Rockets in the NBA Finals, while in 1996 they lost in the Eastern Conference Finals to the 72-win Chicago Bulls. The team was clearly on the road of greatness, but Shaq deviated and set his sights on Southern California.

Joining the Los Angeles Lakers in the summer of 1996, Shaq would go on to lead the Lakers to 3-straight NBA titles from 2000 to 2002. No doubt, the presence of Kobe Bryant, particularly in 2002, was instrumental in bringing the Lakers these championships, but Shaq was in full Galactus mode.

Overall in these postseasons, Shaq averaged 30 points, 14.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks. In the Finals, he upped the devastation. Just let the following averages wash over you:

36 points, 15 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 3 blocks, 60% FG

Seriously, when you nearly throw up a quadruple-double in a Finals game, you know you’re on to something special.

Sadly, O’Neal and Bryant couldn’t see eye-to-eye and keep the Laker dynasty going. O’Neal was traded to the Miami Heat in 2004 where he would capture one final title alongside Dwyane Wade. However, from that point on, Shaq’s abysmal training began to catch up with him. Always injury-prone, Shaq would manage only two campaigns of over 60 games over the final six seasons of his career.

The Diesel sputtered, stalled, and finally stopped in 2011.

What he gave on the court, interestingly, remains under-appreciated. His deft passing hardly consumes our thoughts. His fleet feet give way to his monstrous strength in our minds. The way he could brutally gain position with his upper body masked what nimble footwork was aiding the process.

Even after obtaining 3 Finals MVPs, a regular season MVP, and an absurd 15 all-star selections, Shaq’s career still seemed unfulfilled. The only time Shaq seemed completely, totally, and all-out dedicated to being in peek basketball form was in 2000. And that’s a scary thing to consider that a man whose career was so awesome, didn’t even play to his maximum abilities.

I guess what Shaq should have done shouldn’t actually overshadow what he did.

Seasons Played: 1993 – 2011

Accolades

NBA -
MVP (2000)
4x Champion (2000-’02, 2006), 3x Finals MVP (2000-’02)
8x All-NBA 1st Team (1998, 2000-’06)
2x All-NBA 2nd Team (1995, 1999), 4x All-NBA 3rd Team (1994, 1996-’97, 2009)
3x All-Defensive 2nd Team (2000-’01, 2003)
Rookie of the Year (1993), All-Rookie 1st Team (1993)
15x All-Star (1993-’98, 2000-’07, 2009)

Statistics

NBA - 1207Games
23.7 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 2.5 APG, 2.3 BPG, 58.2% FG, 52.7% FT
2x PPG Leader (1995, 2000), 10x FG% Leader (1994, 1998 – 2002, 2004-’06, 2009)

3rd All-Time in FG%, 5th All-Time in Field Goals Made, 6th All-Time in Points, 7th All-Time in Blocks
14th All-Time in Rebounds, 19th All-Time in Minutes Played, 19th All-Time in Free Throws Made
14th All-Time in BPG, 20th All-Time in PPG, 27th All-Time in RPG

ProHoopsHistory HOF: Charles Barkley

Posted on by
Charles Barkley

Charles Barkley

Gregarious, opinionated, and larger-than-life, Charles Barkley has been one of the NBA’s most dominant media personalities since he retired from playing in 2000.  This isn’t surprising given that during his playing days, Sir Charles was also one of the NBA’s most dominant personalities.

Oh, and he was a hell of a basketball player too.

Generously listed at 6’6″, the rotund Barkley in actuality barely edged 6’4″ in height. What he lacked in vertical stature, he made up with boundless energy and strength. He’s the shortest player to ever lead the NBA in rebounds per game for a season. He could sky high for spectacular blocked shots. His tremendous power in the post allowed him to mercilessly back-down defenders. The dexterous Barkley was also a remarkable passer able to whip wrap-around and behind-the-back passes with ease.

Most excitingly, Barkley was an  absolute freight train on the break. Not a soul alive would plant their feet firmly in the paint to take a charge from the Barkley locomotive.

Best known for his days in Phoenix where captured the 1993 MVP award and led the Suns to the NBA Finals, but Barkley’s beginning was in Philadelphia. He broke into the league alongside sage veterans like Andrew Toney, Bobby Jones, Maurice Cheeks, Julius Erving, and most importantly for Barkley, Moses Malone. A ferocious rebounder himself, Moses helped show Barkley the ropes of being a big man in the NBA.

Unfortunately for Charles, he caught these sage vets toward the end of their careers. Erving and Jones retired soon after his arrival. Toney succumbed to injuries. Moses was prematurely traded to the Washington Bullets. Philly went from the Eastern Conference Finals in 1985 (Barkley’s rookie year) to the Eastern Semis in ’86 to the 1st Round in ’87 to out of the playoffs in ’88.

The slide reversed in 1989 as Charles loaded the Sixers on his back and carried them to three-straight postseasons, but ultimately the effort proved fruitless. By 1992, Charles successfully demanded a trade from Philly to Phoenix.

While in the Valley of the Sun, Charles submitted some truly amazing games. Just in the 1993 postseason, he tortured San Antonio with a 28-point, 21-rebound effort including a series-winning jumper in Game 6. Against the Seattle SuperSonics, he had a 43/15/10 performance in Game 5 and 44 points and 24 rebounds in the decisive Game 7 to send Phoenix to the Finals. The next year, Barkley eviscerated the Golden State Warriors with 56 points in Game 3 of their opening round series.

However, the good times in Phoenix slowly crumbled too. In back-to-back seasons the Suns lost tough 7-game series against the Houston Rockets in the Western Semis. After a trade to the Rockets, Barkley again enjoyed immediate team success, a trip to the Western Conference Finals in 1997. Thereafter, the Rockets slowly succumbed to age and injury as Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Clyde Drexler trudged to the end of their careers.

Unlike Olajuwon and Drexler, Barkley may never have won a title, but his 16-year career was still a tremendous success by any reasonable measure. 11 times an all-star, an MVP, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, and a never-ending stream of monstrous rebounding and scoring games.

Simply put, Charles Barkley has always been and always will be irrepressible.

Seasons Played: 1985 – 2000

Accolades

NBA -
MVP (1993)
5x All-NBA 1st Team (1988-’91, 1993)
5x All-NBA 2nd Team (1986-’87, 1992, 1994-’95)
All-NBA 3rd Team (1996)
All-Rookie 1st Team (1983)
11x All-Star (1987-’97), All-Star Game MVP (1991)

Statistics

NBA - 1073 Games
22.1 PPG, 11.7 RPG, 3.9 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.8 BPG, 54.1% FG, 73.5% FT
RPG Leader (1987)
12th All-Time in Free Throws Made, 18th All-Time in Rebounds, 21st All-Time in Steals, 23rd All-Time in Points
19th All-Time in RPG, 21st All-Time in FG%, 26th All-Time in PPG

ProHoopsHistory HOF: Allen Iverson

Posted on by
Allen Iverson (JERRY LODRIGUSS/Philly.com)

Allen Iverson (JERRY LODRIGUSS/Philly.com)

Few photographs could ever sum up Allen Iverson’s career better than the one of him stepping over, and looking down upon, Tyronn Lue.

Iverson had crumbled Lue with a reverse between the legs dribble and hit a tough jump shot fading away in the corner. The basket was part of Iverson’s larger assault upon the Los Angeles Lakers in Game1 of the 2001 NBA Finals. The Answer scored a remarkable 48 points on an even more remarkable 41 shots. The Sixers triumphed, handing the Lakers their only loss of that postseason.

Of course, if the Lakers only had one loss that postseason, Iverson’s Sixers surely didn’t win the Finals and they would be buried by L.A. over the course of the next four games.

Still, that season and that game was the high-water mark of Allen Iverson. He was a cultural force in the turn-of-the-century NBA  with his clothing, hairstyle, and bravado symbolizing the post-Jordan era. For better or worse, fans loved him. He was voted an all-star starter for 11 straight seasons, even during his lackluster final days in Detroit and his brief Philadelphia return.

For most of those years, though, the fan votes were well cast since Iverson had a stable of showcase moves.

And the Philadelphia 76ers were hitched to his pyrotechnical offensive assaults, for better or worse. Four times Iverson led the NBA in points per game. He was Rookie of the Year in 1997 and MVP by 2001. His blinding quickness led to three steals per game titles, if not technically sound defense. Few players his size have ever attacked the basket with such reckless abandon. Only Jerry West can claim a similar record of foolhardy forays into the lane. He left it all out on the court, which is easy to do when you’re one of just four players in league history to log 40+ minutes per game for your career.

But it was that brazen attitude which a generation of basketball fans latched onto, and it’s what Iverson latched onto as well. In his later years, he never could learn how to dial back. He couldn’t accept that less of him, meaning the Answer in moderate appropriate doses, was better for a team. Other players capable of scoring on their own accord didn’t seem to fit too well, or too long, alongside Iverson who ceaselessly dominated the ball.

In the end, this aversion to moderation spelled the ignominious end to Iverson’s career. But aversion to moderation is what made him such a wonder to watch all those years ago.

Seasons Played: 1997 – 2011

Philadelphia 76ers

Philadelphia 76ers

Accolades

NBA -
MVP (2001)
3x All-NBA 1st Team (1999, 2001, 2005)
3x All-NBA 2nd Team (2000, 2002-’03), All-NBA 3rd Team (2006)
11x All-Star (2000-’10), 2x All-Star Game MVP (2001, 2005)
Rookie of the Year (1997), All-Rookie 1st Team (1997)

Statistics

NBA - 914 Games
26.7 PPG, 6.2 APG, 3.7 RPG, 2.2 SPG, 42.5% FG, 78.0% FT
4x PPG Leader (1999, 2001-’02, 2005), 3x SPG Leader (2001-’03), 7x MPG Leader (1999, 2002-’04, 2006-’08)
4th All-Time in MPG, 8th All-Time in SPG, 6th All-Time in PPG
12th All-Time in Steals, 19th All-Time in Points, 11th All-Time in Free Throws Made, 24th All-Time in Field Goals Made,