RealGM 2023 Top 100 Project - #95 (Gus Williams)

[ShaqAttac]

mma go

LUKA

Best player here easy tbh. should have an mvp

TATUM

Good impact number and leads teams to cfs and finals

Gonna nom

JAMES WORTHY

won a bunch of rings and as oldschool says he was winning games without magic too

GASOL

won a chip anchoring great d and led good teams ig

[Samurai]

Vote for #95: Cliff Hagan. I think Doncic is the best player here but since the rules don't allow us to include this season, he's only played in 330 RS games. As great as he is now, that's just too much missing longevity to make up for. Next year when we can include the 24 season, I would definitely vote for him over Hagan. Never saw Hagan play live but he was a 6-time all star, led the league in OWS once, and was consistently in the top 20 in points, rebounds, and assists per game.

Alternate vote: Gus Williams. Was a fan of The Wizard his first two years when he played for the Dubs and was disappointed when he left. Reached greater heights with the Sonics. Was first team All NBA once and second team once. Lack of height hurt him on defense, but he compensated for that with speed and athleticism. I'd vote for him over Hagan if he just had a little more longevity.

Nomination: Jerry Lucas. No I don't expect Luke to get much support as he didn't make the top 100 the last time either. But he's been a personal favorite of mine since I went to his summer camp so this is a personal bias vote for me. Outstanding shooter who shot for a very high percentage in his era, especially notable since he typically shot from farther out than most anyone else at that time. Twice led the league in TS% with eight total finishes in the top 20. A poor defender on the wing due to his lack of foot speed, he was a solid low post defender due to his strength and positioning, although at only 6-8 he could not stop taller elites like Wilt or Kareem. Seven finishes in the top 20 in DWS and eight times for OWS, he was named All NBA five times (3 first teams and 2 second teams). An elite rebounder, although he was a noted stat padder, he spent hours in the gym studying flight patterns and angles of shots to determine where a potential rebound is most likely to fall and used this uncanny positioning and strength to offset his lack of hops. Also a very good passer for a big in that era.

Alternate nomination: Walt Bellamy. While I was never a big fan of his, I also admit that I only saw him play in the latter (post-prime) half of his career. Had the impression that he was kind of an 'empty stats' guy who put up big numbers that didn't necessarily translate into big impact. His WOWY isn't too impressive and he didn't seem to raise his game in the playoffs, although he didn't have any playoff appearances during his peak years. But he was a strong scorer who shot a high percentage for his era, finishing in the top 10 in TS% nine times. Was a good (but not elite) rebounder with seven top 10 finishes in reb/game. Excellent WS numbers with seven different seasons of 10+ WS (more than any of our current nominees), including a 16 WS rookie year.

[falcolombardi]

Vote-luka doncic

Probably the best prime level of play here by a margin even without considering era of play. His longevity is obviously not great but he is still in aeguably his five mvp level (or close to it) season which is almost as long as many of these players primes anyway

Alt vote
Gus williams, best player on a team that won a ring and made 2 finals, looks like a playoff riser too. Close profil3 in som3 aspects to isiah thomas who made this project like 40 picks ago

Nomination- marc gasol
Kinda see him as a better al horford thanks to dpoy defense. The kind of player who can help elevate a team a ton as long as he is not tasked to be the main star of a contender

[OldSchoolNoBull]

Induction Vote #1: Gus Williams
Induction Vote #2: Cliff Hagan

Gus is the only championship #1/1B of the post-merger era not to be inducted yet, he was an excellent playoff performer, and he showed positive impact everywhere he went. He is deserving of a spot.

Hagan and Davies are also championship #1/1Bs, but Hagan looks more statistically impressive to me.

Nomination Vote #1: James Worthy
Nomination Vote #2: Bob McAdoo

Worthy's got traction, and he's one of the guys I've been supporting, so he gets my vote. Perhaps the greatest NBA playoff performer yet to be nominated.

A number of guys I could go with for my #2, for now I'll take the opportunity to support McAdoo, one of only two NBA MVPs yet to be nominated(the other being Derrick Rose, who did not peak as high and did not have as valuable a post-prime).

[penbeast0]

I'll be blessed, someone actually is supporting McAdoo. I stopped short because he felt like a bit of a selfish cancer in both New York and in Boston before having a bit of a revival as a reserve in LA.

As for MVPs, since NBA counts ABA awards and stats, Daniels was a 2 time MVP, Connie Hawkins was the most dominant, and Spencer Haywood and George McGinnis (tie) are still not on our list either.

[OldSchoolNoBull]

I'll be blessed, someone actually is supporting McAdoo. I stopped short because he felt like a bit of a selfish cancer in both New York and in Boston before having a bit of a revival as a reserve in LA.

As for MVPs, since NBA counts ABA awards and stats, Daniels was a 2 time MVP, Connie Hawkins was the most dominant, and Spencer Haywood and George McGinnis (tie) are still not on our list either.

I mean, he was probably the major reason the Knicks made the playoffs and won a series in 1978 after losing Frazier and Holzman. I think that actually adds some value for him.

And yes, that's why I specifically said "NBA MVP" rather than just "MVP". But FWIW, I think McAdoo peaked higher than any of them except maybe for Hawk. JMO.

[penbeast0]

I would agree, just putting it out there for those who value awards as I could see Connie making it if Walton made it plus Daniels and McAdoo as candidates, even Haywood and McGinnis though, like McAdoo, there are questions about their attitude and impact beyond their stats.

[Doctor MJ]

Personal Votes:

Induction 1: Bob Davies
Induction 2: Cliff Hagan

Continuing to support these two guys who I think were considerably more accomplished in their era than the other candidates were.

Nomination 1: James Worthy
Nomination 2: Chris Bosh

Continuing to side with these two guys, though I don't honestly feel that strongly about them. I respect both and could have voted for both earlier but there are other great choices too.

[Doctor MJ]

Tallies:

Gus - 4 (AEnigma, Clyde, trelos, OSNB)
Luka - 5 (beast, Ohayo, f4p, ShaqA, falco)
Nique - 1 (trex)
Davies - 2 (eminence, Doc)
Hagan - 1 (Samurai)

Runoff between Luka & Gus:

Gus - 2 (eminence, Samurai)
Luka - 0 (none)
neither - 2 (trex, Doc)

Gus Williams 6, Luka Doncic 5
Gus Williams is Inducted at #95.

Nomination 1:

Worthy - 4 (AEnigma, ShaqA, OSNB, Doc)
Daniels - 1 (beast)
Gasol - 2 (Ohayo, falco)
Melo - 1 (Clyde)
Bosh - 2 (trex, eminence)
Porter - 1 (trelos)
Lucas - 1 (Samurai)
none - 1 (f4p)

Continuing between Worthy, Bosh & Gasol:

Worthy - 1 (Clyde)
Gasol - 0 (none)
Bosh - 0 (none)
none - 4 (beast, f4p, trelos, Samurai)

James Worthy 5, Marc Gasol 2, Chris Bosh 2
James Worthy is added to Nominee list.