Ballot #1 - 00 ShaqShaq showed in 2000 why he has a case for the most dominant offensive force in NBA history. I'm sure some of you have been watching the games on NBA TV during shaq week, and it's a good reminder of how he really played. The notion that he was just bigger and stronger than everyone else is silly. His ability to create space and find the right angles on his array of post moves was exemplary. His decision making and physical quickness for his size was unmatched. This included passing out of the post when necessary.
It's noted by some that he didn't face the likes of hakeem, ewing, robinson, etc. on the way to his first championship. This is with the implication that he didn't hold his own in the past against those guys, which simply isn't true. Also, the lakers faced the 10th, 3rd, 5th and 13th ranked defenses on their way to the championship that season, so they were definitely tested.
Ballot #2 - 77 KareemI went back and forth between 71 and 77 for a while here. Part of me still wants to go with 71. However, my picking of 77 is 2 pronged:
- A player’s peak doesn’t necessarily have to come in a championship year
- 77 is post merger, which many feel increased the competition in the league
Using trex and bball ref’s per 100 #s, let’s look at 71 vs. 77:
71: 34.4 PPG, 16.9 RPG, 3.5 APG, +10.57% rTS
77: 32.7 PPG, 16.6 RPG, 4.8 APG, +9.7% rTS
On top of being incredible #s on their own, we see kareem performed about as well in 77 as he did in 71. This also included an excellent playoff performance with the following (keeping with per 100 here to be consistent):
37.8 PPG, 19.4 RPG, 4.5 APG, 1.9 SPG, 3.8 BPG,
64.6% TS, .332 WS/48His postseason would end in a sweep to the eventual champion blazers, who ranked 1st in SRS that season and 5th in defense. To say their front line of walton and lucas was solid would be a real understatement. They rounded out the roster with key guys like lionel hollins, bob gross and johnny davis. Outside of cazzie russell and lucius allen, the lakers roster was pretty bare. I’d say they performed to about as well as expected that season.
77 was his 5th MVP season, so it’s reasonable to say that kareem had reached his peak in terms of developing his game on both ends of the floor.
Some footage of kareem from 77Ballot #3 - 67 WiltSince the main knock on wilt over the course of his career was putting himself before the team and maybe caring too much about his stats, I have to go with 67 as his peak.
I do find it compelling that he ultimately became part of what's widely considered a top 10 team of all time, and quite possibly the best team ever. He still put up great #s in the reg season, which included incredible efficiency (~+15% rTS). He still performed well across the board in their championship run with an unheard of 9 APG.
His ability to fit in with that team pretty seamlessly and not fall short of their goal really impressed me.
