Which Players Have Most Impacted the Game and the Evolution of the NBA?

A post by dbrown in another thread sparked an interesting question in my mind. Which players (all-time, and not including coaches for now) have been most important in establishing, preserving, and evolving the NBA and making it what it is today? My own choices would be Mikan, Cousy, Russell, Erving, Bird and Magic.

George Mikan was the driving force in giving the NBA a foothold as it transitioned from the old Basketball Association of America.

Bob Cousy was the single most responsible player in keeping the then-struggling league afloat by speeding up the game, by attracting and exciting fans through his creativity, and by planting the seed of player stability in founding the Players Association.

Bill Russell brought the league into artistic balance by establishing and solidifying the concept of two-way basketball and the role of athleticism and guile.

Julius Erving popularized the dimension of verticality in the game.

Larry Bird and Magic Johnson ushered the league into the remunerative electronic era through the attraction of high-level competition on two levels: individual excellence and an extended clashing of two differing team styles.

I would personally stop there. I think that Jordan, and Shaq and Kobe after him, contributed a lot of exciting basketball drama. But, in doing so, I believe they basically capitalized (and perhaps improved) upon conceptual blueprints that had been established before them. I can't think of any ways in which they contributed significant innovations or advances to the game or the league. Maybe someone could come up with an argument involving their impact upon the marketing of the league, but I'm talking about improvements. (A bit of cynicism there.)

Another dimension I haven't addressed is the international factor. To the extent that international players or competition are making inroads, I suspect the most dramatic impact is yet to come.

Sam

Sam,

No time today to elaborate, so I'll apologize for simply listing my choices and dashing.

Mikan
Cousy
Russell
Wilt
Baylor (by a whisker over Dr. J for establishing the vertical game + overall athleticism & shooting)
Jabbar
Bird/Magic (jointly for league rescue in an era of NBA decline)
Jordan

Honorable mention;

Erving (for making the ABA a marketable/"mergeable" product and making highlight reels a needed device!)

Regards

Sam

Would only add that I think Wilt needs to brought into the conversation, for as great as Russell was if there was no Goliath to slay it would not have meant as much. Those smoke filled arenas when these two gladiators met brought more to the game than either could have done alone without the other. In a sense it's not to different from Bird vs Magic.

beat

Connie Hawkins and Gus Johnson also revolutionized the Vertical Game!-Earl Monroe brought "Showtime" well before Magic and the Lakers!-MD!

Beat,

I thought about Wilt, but he was not the innovator. He basically latched onto Russell's coattails and provided the foil. One could also cite the MaGuire Brothers, Andy Phillip and Guy Rodgers, whose competition brought out the best in Cousy. For that matter, Cousy wasn't the first to go behind the back. Bob Davies was. I was trying to zoom in on the #1 in terms of lasting imprint in each case.

MD,

Same situation regarding Connie Hawkins and Gus Johnson. For that matter, Elgin Baylor played above the rim a lot of the time and could hang in the air longer than almost anyone I ever saw. Although it was not his preferred approach, I have plenty of video of Russell dunking the ball. Wilt too. But it was Dr. J. who popularized that aspect of the game.

Sam

Hakeem Olajuwon was the most athletic big man I have even seen.

He is the only center in history to have seasons with 200 blocks and 200 steals...and developed a whole new level of low post moves that players have tried to copy since.

mrkleen09 wrote:Hakeem Olajuwon was the most athletic big man I have even seen.

He is the only center in history to have seasons with 200 blocks and 200 steals...and developed a whole new level of low post moves that players have tried to copy since.

Including Kobe Bryant.

Just to clarify any misconceptions. This thread is not intended to be about how the greatness of a given player was or what records a player may have set. It's only about having enduring impact on some specific aspect(s) of the evolution of the league.

Nothing wrong with putting any player in the mix, but inordinate impact on the league's evolution should be the criterion.

Sam

Mikan (for creating the prototype big man and being the face of a brand-new, fledgling league). His play helped the NBA survive its rocky inception and become financially viable.

Cousy (for making the 24-second shot clock a necessity and creating the prototype point guard role). Imagine the NBA without the shot clock...

Russell (for showing that teamwork and filling a role is more important than individualism). Anybody who leads a team to 11 out of 13 championships has elevated the expectations players and fans have. The 1969 championship, by a bunch of tired, old warriors, was due to Russell's leadership and focus on teamwork.

Erving (for almost singlehandedly forcing the assimilation of another league which brought in veteran players and teams from cities the NBA didn't have and would have had trouble entering against an established fan base). No Erving, no Nets/Spurs/Nuggets/Pacers.

Bird/Magic (for resurrecting the NBA). Can't have one without the other.

Jordan (for turning on an entire new generation of hoop junkies).

I'm sure I'm missing someone, but that's my list of truly "transformational" players. Pretty short list for a 62 year old league.

bob

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mrkleen09 wrote:Hakeem Olajuwon was the most athletic big man I have even seen.

He is the only center in history to have seasons with 200 blocks and 200 steals...and developed a whole new level of low post moves that players have tried to copy since.

Don't forget steals and blocks were NOT stats that were kept prior to the 70's. Would not be surprised Russell and even Wilt and others eclipsed that mark multiple times.

beat

Dbrown,

Keeping people from underestimating or under-crediting the accomplishments of the Russell Years is pretty much my reason for existing on a message board. I participate in a lot of stuff, but that's one mistake I never allow anyone to make without being called on it. Never. Not one solitary time!

As for building championship teams, it would be interesting if you wanted to start a thread on that topic. I wouldn't be shocked if there are several models within which all the great championship teams could be divided. Why don't you start such a thread. I bet you'd get some pretty interesting responses.

Sam

How about impacted the game in a reverse sense?

Yinka Dare for the NJ Nets was the only player in NBA history to play more than 100 career games and have less then 5 career assists.

In that the game of basketball is to score and you must score something to win, throughout the early 50's teams rarely scored more than 7000 pts in a season. In Russ's rookie year 6 of 8 achieved that mark and the following year all 8 teams reached 7000 with 1 having 8000+.
In 1960, Wilts rookie year, 7 teams had over 9000 points with only the knicks below that level (by 21 total points)
In 1962 Wilts team had ovew 10,000 team points! and it would be 20 more years before a team scored that many again.
(Denver in 82 and 84)
Wilt brought by his shear size and strength a dimension to the offensive end of the floor perhaps as much as Russell did to the defensive end.

beat

tjmakz wrote:How about impacted the game in a reverse sense?

Yinka Dare for the NJ Nets was the only player in NBA history to play more than 100 career games and have less then 5 career assists.

TJ,

If you can point out how Yinka Dare's paucity of assists transformed the league into the ME-ball style we have today, I'm with ya.

bob

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bobheckler wrote:

tjmakz wrote:How about impacted the game in a reverse sense?

Yinka Dare for the NJ Nets was the only player in NBA history to play more than 100 career games and have less then 5 career assists.

TJ,

If you can point out how Yinka Dare's paucity of assists transformed the league into the ME-ball style we have today, I'm with ya.

bob

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I guess Yinka didn't comprehend the nuances of Isolation bb...

tjmakz wrote:

bobheckler wrote:

tjmakz wrote:How about impacted the game in a reverse sense?

Yinka Dare for the NJ Nets was the only player in NBA history to play more than 100 career games and have less then 5 career assists.

TJ,

If you can point out how Yinka Dare's paucity of assists transformed the league into the ME-ball style we have today, I'm with ya.

bob

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I guess Yinka didn't comprehend the nuances of Isolation bb...

TJ,

Actually, I think Yinka didn't comprehend the nuances of team sports, ergo the 5 assists...

If we're looking for this type of player, how about Kermit Washington? Very good player and, in fact, a really nice guy who just lost it one time in a game and all-but-ended Rudy T's career. Did that change things for the worse? Did it change how refs called physical play?

How about Ron Artest and his foray into the stands in the Indiana-Detroit melee? Did THAT change how the league punished inappropriate behavior?

How about Latrell Sprewell choking PJ Carlesimo?

bob

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bob,

This iis an interesting discussion, how and why the NBA purposely changed, not just evolved like many players listed earlier.
The league changed the hand-check rules largely in part to the Knicks and Pistons of the 90's.

Following the players here is another interesting aspect.....follow the Money

NBA NETWORK TELEVISION CONTRACTS
Seasons Station Contracts Amount
1953-54 DUMONT $39,000/13 games
1954-55 to 1961-62 NBC N/A
1962-63 to 1972-73 ABC N/A
1973-74 to 1975-76 CBS $27 million/3 years
1976-77 to 1977-78 CBS $21 million/2 years
1978-79 to 1981-82 CBS $74 million/4 years
1982-83 to 1985-86 CBS $91.9 million/4 years
1986-87 to 1989-90 CBS $173 million/4 years
1990-91 to 1993-94 NBC $601 million/4 years
1994-95 to 1997-98 NBC $892 million/4 years
1998-99 to 2001-02 NBC $1.616 billion/4 years
2002-03 to 2007-08 ABC/ESPN $2.4 billion/6 years

beat

Anybody else ever here of this?

http://litwc.com/2006/08/01/the-tv-deal-the-nba-wishes-it-had-not-made/

beat

Beat,

You may want to rethink your stats concerning Wilt. First of all, points per season don't matter as much as PPG because the number of games in a season changed from 72 to 75 the year Wilt entered the league and were up to 80 just two years later.

But, for the record, the Celtics scored 7,305 points in 72 games in 1955, the year they instituted the 24-second rule. Their PPG rose by 13.8 to 101.5 in that single season, and they never again scored fewer than 7,000 points in a season.

In Wilt's first season (1959-60), his team scored 121.0 PPG, but it was no big deal, as the Celtics scored 124.5 PPG that season (9,337 points over 75 games).

In Wilt's sophomore season (1960-61), Wilt's team scored 121.0 PPG and the Celtics scored 119.7 PPG.

In his third season, Wilt's team scored 125.3 PPG and the Celtics scored 121.1 PPG. A difference, but not a significant one...and the Celtics had basically matched the Philly total a couple of years earlier. More important, the Celtics were winning games by an average margin of 9.2 points, compared to 2.6 for Wilt's team.

I really don't see anything in these figures that suggests Wilt was a trailblazer in anything other than perhaps claiming stats that otherwise might have been recorded by teammates in a game that had increased in speed and number of possessions. And these stats suggest that he was the innovator of nothing when it came to team scoring totals.

My intention in starting this thread was to limit the list to true catalysts for change in the game. I don't think Wilt qualifies, because he didn't create the concept of scoring a lot of points.

Sam

I agree with Sam's list, with a clarification and a couple of additions.

For Magic, there's the aspect of Bird and him resurrecting the league, but there's also the aspect of a 6-9 point guard with consummate ballhandling and passing skills that could dominate other guards and the game because of his size. Before him, tall guards were the exception. Since him, small guards have been the exception.

Like others, I'd add Jordan to list, but for different reasons. I think his biggest impact was how he was marketed and how that changed the league. Since Jordan, the league has been star-oriented instead of team-oriented, in everything from rules and offenses in addition to marketing. Jordan's rise coincided with Stern's star-oriented global marketing push. The league is not better for it, in my opinion, but Jordan is emblematic of a significant shift in the evolution of the league.

The other person that comes to mind is Havlicek and the introduction of the sixth man as more than just a guy who wasn't good enough to be a starter. There may be someone earlier who is also representative of that, but Havlicek has always been that guy in my mind.

Outside

tjmakz wrote:bob,

This iis an interesting discussion, how and why the NBA purposely changed, not just evolved like many players listed earlier.
The league changed the hand-check rules largely in part to the Knicks and Pistons of the 90's.

TJ,

Good one about the handchecking calls changing in response to the Knicks and Pistons. Good catch.

bob

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You guys have brought up some great names and a discussions to go along with it. There are a few other players who while I don't think are quite in the discussion I do feel they deserve an honorable mention. One would be Rick Barry, who was kind of a (sans rebounding) pre Larry bird. Baylor was probably the first great small forward, even though the term didn't really exist then, Barry took the position to another level with his outside shooting and his almost point guard like passing ability. He was also the first true superstar still in his prime to jump leagues, that gave the ABA instant credibility. And to a lesser extent he was the first to wear the wristbands, which was to his era what the arm sleeve is to today's.
The next player to get an honorable mention nod is Pistol Pete. One reason is because after Cousy retired the guard as an EFFECTIVE showman had pretty much ceased to exist. Pete brought that back to the game and it opened the game up to some of the dazzling ball wizardry we've come to expect from players today. Another thing about Pete, with the exception of maybe Bill Bradley, no "average sized" player's pro arrival was more anticipated than his. His exploits at LSU had the whole country salivating to see him. That had happened previously with Wilt and Lew Alcindor but the 7ft factor was as much responsible for that as their talent was. Finally there is one more player who should be considered (remember the title of the thread), Spencer Haywood! 19 year old junior college kid leading the 1968 olympic team to a gold medal, (gotta give a little celtic love to JoJo and Charlie also), the court case to allow him to turn pro, thus leading to the old "hardship" rule and showing that a kid could compete with the grown ups at the professional level. These players may not fit the "letter" of the thread, but I think they fit the "spirit" of it.