Bob McAdoo
Teams
Buffalo Braves - 1972-76
New York Knicks - 1976-79
Boston Celtics - 1979
Detroit Pistons - 1979-81
New Jersey Nets - 1981
Los Angeles Lakers - 1981-85
Philadelphia 76ers - 1986
Playoffs
Appearances - 9 (1974,1975,1976,1978,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986)
Conference Finals - 4 (1982,1983,1984,1985)
NBA Finals - (1982,1983,1984,1985)
Championships - 2 (1982,1985)
Awards and Honors
Rookie of the Year - 1973
MVP - 1 (1975)
All-NBA First Team - 1 (1974,1975,1976,1978)
All-NBA Second Team - 1 (1974,1977)
Hall of Fame - 2000
All-Time Ranks
Points Per Game - #36
Total Blocks - #68
Total Points - #70
Blocks Per Game - #70
Total Rebounds - #81
Rebounds Per Game - #82
League Leads
Points Per Game (#1-1974,1975,1976, #3-1978, #4-1979, #5-1977)
Total Points (#1-1974,1975,1976, #3-1978)
Rebounds Per Game (#3-1974, #4-1975, #5-1977)
Total Rebounds (#1-1975, #4-1974)
Total Blocks (#4-1974, #5-1975)
Field Goal Percentage (#1-1974, #5-1975)
Blocks Per Game (#3-1974)
After playing two seasons in junior college, Bob McAdoo transferred to North Carolina, where he averaged 19.5 points and 10.1 rebounds and helped guide the team to the Final Four. After that great junior season, he entered the draft, where he was the #1 overall pick in the ABA Draft by the Virginia Squires, and the #2 overall pick in the NBA Draft by the Buffalo Braves, where he decided to sign.
McAdoo averaged 18.0 points and 9.1 rebounds as a rookie, easily winning the Rookie of the Year award, but his team was terrible. The next year, he became a superstar overnight, leading the league with 30.6 points per game and a .547 field goal percentage, and grabbed 15.1 rebounds per game while blocking 3.3 shots per game, yet was somehow only named to the All-NBA Second Team. It is the last time so far that a player has averaged 30 points and 15 rebounds for a full season.
In his third season, he led the league in scoring again, with a career-high of 34.5 per game, to go with 14.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks, and was named the MVP of the league, earning his one and only All-NBA First Team honor as well. He averaged 37.4 points in the playoffs, but his team lost in 7 games in the first round.
He finished the 1976 season leading the league in scoring for the third straight season, notching 31.1 per game to go along with 12.1 rebounds, but was left off the All-NBA teams completely. He did, however, lead the Braves to a playoff series win for the first time in his career, though they would fall in the second round.
20 games into the next season, McAdoo was only scoring 23.7 per game, and the Braves decided to ship him across the state to the Knicks. In his first full season with the Knicks, he averaged 26.5 points and 12.8 rebounds, but the Knicks fell in the second round of the playoffs, which was the furthest McAdoo would ever advance during his superstar years.
He was playing just as well the next season when the Knicks decided to trade him to the Boston Celtics, who were in a rebuilding year and had a crowded frontcourt, making it hard to find enough playing time to keep McAdoo happy. After the season he was traded again, this time to the Detroit Pistons.
He averaged 21.1 points in his first season in Detroit, but after playing just 6 games in 1980-81, he was injured, missing several months. When he told the coach that he was healthy and wanted to play again, the coach disagreed, and McAdoo left the team and was waived within the month. He signed with the Nets to finish the season, but was given very little playing time.
The Nets did not play him at all through the first 2 months of the next season, and he was finally mercifully traded to the Lakers, where he took on a reserve role on one of the most talented teams in history. He averaged only 9.6 points during the regular season, but increased that to 16.7 per game in the playoffs on the way to his first championship.
His role with the team increased over the next couple of years, with scoring averages of 15.0 and 13.1 points in those 2 seasons, but both ended with losses in the NBA Finals. In 1984-85, after averaging 10.5 in the regular season, he scored 11.4 in the playoffs while winning another title, though this time in a much smaller role than before.
The Lakers did not offer him a contract after that season, but he was able to catch on with the 76ers for the end of the following season for his final NBA action. He played another 7 years of professional basketball in Italy, winning multiple championships before hanging it up for good in 1992 at age 41.
McAdoo had a very quick rise, but his decline happened almost as quickly. He won a well-deserved MVP and 3 impressive scoring titles early in his career, but was never able to translate it into postseason success. Once he caught on with the right team late in his career, he was able to finally contribute to a couple of championships, though in a reduced role. But no matter how you look at it, McAdoo is definitely one of the greatest to ever play the game.
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