Billl wrote:Well, the celtics went from 29-53 to 61-21 when they drafted Bird. And then they won the title the next year.
Spurs when 20-62 up to 56-26 with Duncan.
That's the level of guy you would need though. Unless you are drafting NBA royalty, it takes a minute to build a contender.
The Spurs were 20-62 because David Robinson, who was still a top-tier NBA player at that stage of his career, had played only six games the season before. And a rookie performance akin to that of Duncan, who was First-Team All-NBA and Second-Team All-Defense in his rookie season, is extraordinarily rare. I can't speak to Boston's situation with Bird, though it's worth noting that they won the title in the same season in which they added both Parrish and McHale.
Anyway, I agree with your general gist. And unless I'm forgetting somebody, it's been a long time since a rookie came in and had such a gigantic impact. Duncan may have been the most recent.