From there, its just a short jump to comparing players from the past with present stars. . It didnt. Sure Barry was an asshole, but he was also a prolific scorer who averaged 24+ points, 6+ rebounds, and 5+ assists per game during the 1970s across the NBA and ABA; during the decade, he was also a 9x All-Star and 7x All-ABA/NBA selection who took home Finals MVP in 1974-1975 while guiding the Golden State Warriors to the championship. Dave Cowens Career Highlights THE RAVE! George Gervin 10. Notable stars of the decade: Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Bill Russell. Hes bigger than a good portion of the players in the NFL and yet he still moves as gracefully as the most nimble guards in basketball. Ja Morant suspended 2 games after flashing gun on Instagram following allegations, Luka and Kyrie make Mavs history with 40+ point efforts vs. Sixers, How ballscreen-centered sets can help unleash Jordan Pooles potency, LeBron James diagnosed with foot tendon injury, will be re-evaluated in three weeks, surgery not required, NBA Scores: Kevin Durants Suns debut was an easy W. The one time in his 14-year career that he was not an All-Star was in 1970, a season in which an injured Chamberlain was limited to just 12 regular-season games and yet he still managed to will his team to the NBA finals upon his return. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Though Barry had many of his best seasons in the ABA, he also found success on a team scale in the NBA. Body Size of NBA Basketball Players Body Size in Basketball Fitness testing for basketball Height records, including the tallest and shortest in sports. Overall, he averaged 26.6 points per game for the seventies, the third-most of any player. Sneaker Name: Nike Cortez Year: 1972 The Nike Cortez was created by Nike Co-Founder and Oregon Head Track and Field Coach Bill Bowerman. Olympic Games Anthropometry for other sports in 2012. He is one of only five players to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals, all in one season. Kevin McHale was part of one of the most historic big threes of all time, which included him, Robert Parish and Larry Bird. Im going to pressure you with three-quarters, half-court defense. The Celtics won a pair of titles and were often very good, but they were a distinct entity from the Russell/Red teams of the '60s. Legendary Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach suggestedperhaps tongue-in-cheekthat if points were added to reward especially deep shots, uncontested layups should only receive a single point. He never averaged fewer than 10 rebounds in the seventies, and also never dipped below two blocks per game.Although Hayes was only 69, he played the center position with more ferocity than nearly anyone else in the game, and was known as one of the toughest competitors in the league. During the 1970 tournament Jairzinho scored in each and every game, finishing with seven goals and a reputation as one of the world's best players. To woo top-tier college talent and lure elite players to jump leagues, ABA owners offered much higher salaries than their NBA counterparts. Learn more and register, Scores from any date in BAA/NBA or ABA history, Frequently Asked Questions about the NBA, WNBA and Basketball, Basketball-Reference.com Blog and Articles, Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREE. And, frankly, its sort of fun tweaking all the Chicagoans who are surprisingly defensive about their sporting accomplishments. Spalding issued women's basketball rules, edited by Senda Berenson, establishing 3 zones with 5-10 players per team; some teams used men's rules, some used Baer's rules, and some used Spalding's/Berenson's rules. Courtesy of Flickr. While the 1970's do not have as many classic silhouettes as the 80's or 90's, there are many sneakers that came out during this time thatwe still wear today. Kareem was the best pro basketball player of the '70s -- that's more or less beyond debate -- but hoops came out the other side fully enthralled with shooters and high-flyers. A high scorer and rebounder, the purveyor of the Sky Hook and a thoughtful off-court presence, it's really a shame KAJ isn't more beloved. It was a time when the great civil rights . Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 2. Not once. Famously, he played center in place of the injured Abdul-Jabbar in the title-clinching game six of the 1980 NBA finals as a 20-year-old rookie. Tall Tales and Short Shorts: Dr. J, Pistol Pete, and the Birth of the Modern NBA. Al Lankford, Lee Averaged a double-double through much of his career with the Generals, scoring more than 20 points per game as a senior.. In 1979, few players specialized as three-point marksmen. Goose Givens won National Player of the Year. Nash is one of the best, most productive point guards in the league, having won back-to-back season MVP trophies after reaching the age of 30. How to Win While Sports Betting? Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Saturday, March 4, 4:50AM. This decade served as the start of the second Sooner. ABA Commissioner George Mikan held a $1 million check he was to give Big Lew. Steve Downing (1970-73) - overshadowed by his high school teammate George McGinnis for a long time, Downing came into his own after McGinnis left for riches of professional basketball. Card Manufacturer: Topps. LeBron James overtook Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBAs leading scorer in February 2023.]. Mac remains one of the greatest athletes in Buffalo history, though, which is something. He was an All-NBA selection every year from 1970-1976, and he also won two championships with the Boston Celtics in the seventies, one in 1974 and again in 1976.. Impressive, right? The 1970s NBA. Top 10 NBA Players of the 1970s - The Grueling Truth Ranking the top 10 players of the 1970s TGT Tips! J Erving. But Maravich was so unbelievably '70s. Bernard King Bernard King was born in 1956 in New York. In fact, there has been no college basketball player in history as dominant as Pistol Pete. Clockwise from upper left: Issel, Lanier, Mount and Maravich (not pictured: Murphy). How Many Championships Does Steph Curry Have? Why did NBA players not shoot more three-pointers in the late seventies and early eighties? Top 9 Greatest World Series Upsets of All Time, Top 10 Pound for Pound Boxers of the 1980s, NBA Top 10 Power Rankings at the All-Star break: The Ten teams that can win it all, The Greatest College Basketball Team of All Time, Esteban de Jesus, Roberto Duran y AIDS (1972-89), Ranking the decade: Top ten NBA point guards of the 2010s. At the opposite end of the attractive play spectrum from Duncan is Shaquille ONeal. Other Links > Basketball > Visit Our Patreon Page to Create Your Own All-Time Fantasy Teams and See Other Bonus Material . Do folks give Jerry credit for building future champions as a GM?). When it comes to the 1970s, there was no greater basketball player than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.In fact, Abdul-Jabbars game has transcended eras, as he remains one of the greatest players to ever pick up a basketball. Frazier had a flair for style that had been sparsely seen in the league before his debut, but once he arrived, all eyes were glued on him. The Doctor averaged 26+ points, 10+ rebounds, and 4+ assists per game in the 1970s and was an 8x All-Star and 7x All-ABA/NBA selection. Bob Lanier 8. He was more than just a dunker, though, and when he moved on to the Philadelphia 76ers, his play was dominant. Who are the best basketball players of the '70s of all time? One of the most successful franchises in sports history, the Celtics won 11 of 13 National Basketball Association (NBA) championships from 1957 to 1969. Mel Daniels, drafted by both leagues out of New Mexico, signed with the ABAs Minnesota Muskies (great name, by the way) for $36,000triple what he was offered to play in the NBA. Abdul-Jabbar was a six-time NBA MVP, a 19-time All-Star, a 15-time All-NBA pick, and an 11-time NBA All-Defensive Team member. Easily the greatest ABA player ever, Julius Erving had no trouble making the transition to the NBA in 1976. When Bill Walton signed a huge contract with the San Diego (later Los Angeles) Clippers in 1979, his former team received two players and a first-round draft pick in return, essentially gutting Waltons new team. He might belong ahead of Hayes on the first team All-1970s. His pro career essentially spanned the entire decade, and he racked up five All-Star bids, two first team All-NBA nods and a scoring title. This was the period of time that reallyhelped build the foundation to sneakers as we know it today. Check out his website at https://www.adamcriblez.com/. Why did salaries increase so much during the decade? The three-pointer debuted in the NBA in late 1979, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson dominated the early years of the 1980s, Michael Jordan arrived a few years later and the rest is history. Earvin Magic Johnson, Jr. The curation of this content is at the discretion of the author, and not necessarily reflective of the views of Encyclopaedia Britannica or its editorial staff. Most importantly, he led a very weak team in the New Orleans Jazz. J Julius Erving and Skywalker David Thompson headlined the leagues first slam dunk contest in 1976, but their in-game dunks might have been even more impressive. This site is using Cloudflare and adheres to the Google Safe Browsing Program. Ranking Explanations . But it was in New York, and specifically in the World's Most Famous Arena, where the '70s made their strongest impression. 9 Noteworthy Bog Bodies (And What They Tell Us), 12 Novels Considered the Greatest Book Ever Written, Inventors and Inventions of the Industrial Revolution, https://www.britannica.com/list/the-10-greatest-basketball-players-of-all-time. Injuries hampered and eventually shortened his career, but Cowbns was a great player winning Rookie of the Year in 1970-1971 and MVP in 1972-1973; he was a 7x All-Star, 2x NBA champion, 3x All-NBA, and 3x All-Defensive during the decade while averaging 18+ points and 14+ rebounds per game. 44,845 Sets. There was no need to, Robertson later explained, because a layup counted the same as a dunk. Sucker punch in OVC tournament leads to 3 ejections. Julius Dr. National Basketball Association, book | 296 views, 8 likes, 1 loves, 0 comments, 0 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from ABC News Live: "The NBA is the most woke league because the players pushed it to. Russell was the ultimate winner in the history of the NBA. The 6-foot . I included ABA contributions as warranted. Elvin Hayes 4. For whatever reason, he kept it in his pocket and Alcindor signed with the Milwaukee Bucks for a $250,000 annual salary. Black and white basketball hustlers join forces to double their chances of winning money on the street courts and in a basketball tournament. New technology was being used to make better sneakers for running, basketball, and skateboarding. His only title as a player came in 1972; he darn near led the Lakers to one in 1970, as well. The anticipated plateau of salaries never arrived, and continues today. Lou Boudreau, Thornton, 1935. Gervin was famous for his finger roll and seemed to score at will against any opponent the Spurs played against. (Photo on right by: Ronald Martinez/ Getty Images) These days, when basketball players hit the court, there is so much swish-swashing of damn clothing going on, it's hard to focus on anything else. College basketball conference tournament predictions: Picks for every mens league. And he never dunked in an NBA game. 1970s Basketball Players Basketball 1970s vs. now. ABC News Live. Why take a 30-foot jump shot if making it counted for the same as a two-footer? document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. The 69 Johnson (making him the NBAs tallest point guard) not only posted the best assists-per-game mark in league history (11.2) but had a tremendous all-around game, as well. There were also great centers like Bob McAdoo, Artis Gilmore and Bill Walton. Michael Ray Richardson 8. For his unbelievable scoring and ball-handling ability, Maravich was a three-time SEC Player of the Year and Consensus First-Team All-American and was the National College Player of the Year in 1969 and 1970. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. He didn't play for really excellent teams until joining the Showtime Lakers in '80s, however, which hampers his legacy. Here's another argument: the '70s represented a battle for the soul of basketball. He was also a double-double machine, averaging over 12 rebounds per game for the decade. college basketball player." . (All this said, it's pretty clear that Kobe eclipsed him as the second best Laker guard ever right around 2009 or 2010. 1970s and the Chicago Bulls. More famously, when the New Orleans Jazz signed aging guard Gail Goodrich away from Los Angeles in 1976, the league awarded the Lakers three first-round draft picks (one of which became Earvin Magic Johnson). How 1970s NBA pioneers paved the way for today's game 1. Another, less easily explained difference, is that NBA players coming of age in the seventies grew up playing a game in which *every* shot counted for two points. Dont be fooled by his humble small-college provenance and the Hick from French Lick nicknameLarry Bird was one of the fiercest competitors and greatest smack-talkers in NBA history. [7] The following is the 196970 Academic All-America Men's Basketball Team as selected by CoSIDA: Members of the 1970 Consensus All-America first team. He really did help continue the legacy of Bob Cousy in some ways, and with Frazier helped set the table for the next generation of bombastic point guards. Terms at draftkings.com/sportsbook. Plus, he was hilarious in Airplane! The last remaining player from the 1970s in the NBA was Robert Parish. Julius Erving 3. (Russell Westbrook's head perks up.) $179.99. Before the seventies, many players spent their summers barnstorming (making a few hundred bucks for a week or two of work) or working a white-collar job selling insurance or cars. Arguably the greatest college basketball player of all time, Christian Laettner's success didn't translate well to the NBA. Best-known for his underhand free throw technique, Rick Barry was not someone to be taken lightly on the basketball court.He was a 12-time All-Star selection between the ABA and NBA, and also made a total of 10 All-League teams between the two leagues. Oscar Robertson versus Russell Westbrook? Artis was great and underappreciated, but Cowens was better. Something not often mentioned about West is his excellent defense. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Until researching my upcoming book, Tall Tales and Short Shorts: Dr. J, Pistol Pete, and the Birth of the Modern NBA, I didnt realize how many of these changes actually occurred during the 1970s, when the NBA arguably entered a modern age. Rookie Road may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. After helping . In 1970, the average player earned a $35,000 salary (equivalent to around $224,000 today). Fearing bankruptcy and finally willing to concede to player movement, the summer of 1976 witnessed the first crop of NBA free agents.
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