Top 100 NBA Players: #24 - Moses Malone

Moses Malone

Teams

Utah Stars (ABA) - 1974-75

Spirits of Saint Louis (ABA) - 1975-76

Buffalo Braves - 1976

Houston Rockets - 1976-82

Philadelphia 76ers - 1982-86, 1993-94

Washington Bullets - 1986-88

Atlanta Hawks - 1988-91

Milwaukee Bucks - 1991-93

San Antonio Spurs - 1994-95

Playoffs

Appearances - 13 (1975,1977,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1987,1988,1989,1991)

Conference Finals - 4 (1977,1981,1983,1985)

NBA Finals - 2 (1981,1983)

Championships - 1 (1983)

Awards and Honors

MVP - 3 (1979,1981,1982,1983)

Finals MVP - 1 (1983)

All-NBA First Team - 4 (1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1985)

All-NBA/ABA Second Team - 4 (1975,1980,1981,1984,1987)

Hall of Fame - 2001

*(actual in bold, deserved in italics)

All-Time Ranks

Total Rebounds - #3

Total Points - #9

Rebounds Per Game - #16

Total Blocks - #25

Points Per Game - #60

Total Steals - #97

League Leads

Rebounds Per Game (#1-1979,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985, #2-1978,1980, #3-1977, #4-1975,1986,1989)

Total Rebounds (#1-1979,1981,1982,1983,1985, #2-1977,1980, #3-1975,1984, #4-1989, #5-1986)

Points Per Game (#2-1981,1982, #5-1979,1980,1983)

Total Points (#2-1980,1981,1982, #3-1979)

Field Goal Percentage (#3-1975)

After leading Petersburg High School to consecutive undefeated seasons and back-to-back Virginia State Championships, Moses Malone had signed to play college basketball at Maryland, but when he was drafted in the 3rd round of the ABA Draft by the Utah Stars, he decided to turn pro instead.

Malone had a very good rookie season, averaging 18.8 points and 14.6 rebounds per game, being named to the All-Rookie First Team and leading the Stars to the playoffs. In the first round, he averaged 22.7 points and 17.5 rebounds, but it wasn't enough and the Stars lost to the Nuggets in 6 games.

The Stars folded at the beginning of the next season, and Malone was sold to Saint Louis, where he had a mediocre year as the ABA era was coming to an end. The Spirits were not invited to join the NBA in the merger that summer, and the New Orleans Jazz held Malone's NBA rights, but they gave them up in exchange for a first round draft pick, putting Malone in the ABA Dispersal Draft. He was the #5 overall pick in that draft by Portland, but they already had Maurice Lucas, so they traded Malone to Buffalo before the season.

In the first 2 games of the season, Buffalo only gave Malone 6 total minutes of playing time, and when he complained, they traded him to the Houston Rockets. He finally achieved some stability with the Rockets, playing with them for 6 years and achieving some of his best individual success.

In his first full season with Houston, Malone really started to blossom, averaging 19.4 points and 15 rebounds per game before missing the final third of the season with a stress fracture in his foot. When he was fully healed the next year, he had his first monster season, averaging 24.8 points and a career high 17.6 rebounds per game, which led the league and earned him his first MVP award, but the Rockets lost in the first round of the playoffs.

The next year, Malone was just as good, but came in #2 in rebounding and did not repeat as MVP. He did help Houston win a playoff series, with 37 points and 20 rebounds in the deciding game in the first round against San Antonio, but they were swept in the next round by Boston.

Malone had his best overall season the next year, averaging 27.8 points and 14.8 rebounds per game, finishing at the top of the league in rebounding and runner-up in scoring. The team barely made the playoffs with a 40-42 record, but Malone led them all the way to the NBA Finals, where the Celtics were too much for the Cinderella Rockets, beating them in 6 games.

Malone won his second MVP the next year, when he averaged 31.1 points a game to finish as the runner-up in the scoring race again, and led the league in rebounding for the third time with 14.7 per game. That season ended in disappointment, however, when the Rockets lost in the first round. After the season, the team was sold, and the new owners felt that Malone cost too much, so they traded him to the 76ers for Caldwell Jones and a first-round pick.

The 76ers already had Julius Erving and Maurice Cheeks on the roster, and the addition of Malone made them unstoppable. Malone won his second straight MVP, the only player to win back-to-back with different teams, with averages of 24.5 points and 15.3 rebounds, once again tops in the league in boards. Malone predicted that the 76ers would sweep through the playoffs in "fo, fo, fo", but he just missed on his prediction, as the team lost one game in the Conference Finals to Milwaukee. Malone was named the Finals MVP as well after averaging 25.8 points and 18 rebounds in the sweep of the Lakers.

Malone led the league in rebounding for the 4th straight time the next year, but the defending champs were shocked in the first round of the playoffs by the Nets. After adding Charles Barkley the next year, the Sixers bounced back with another strong season, reaching the Conference Finals while Malone led the league in rebounding for the 5th straight season and 6th overall. It would be the final time that Malone would win a playoff series. 

After one more season with the Sixers, Malone was traded to the Washington Bullets. He played two seasons for the Bullets, averaging at least 20 and 10 in each season. He then signed as a free agent with the Hawks, where he again averaged 20 and 10 in his first season with the team, making it 11 years in a row hitting those marks, and making him the first player in history to do it with 4 different teams.

In his third season with Atlanta, he was moved to the bench for the first time in his career, so he left as a free agent to sign with Milwaukee, where he started for one more year, averaging 15.6 and 9.1 rebounds per game. He injured his back in the preseason just before the next season started, and ended up playing only 11 games.

After that, Malone played two more seasons in a backup role, one back with the 76ers, followed by his final season backing up David Robinson in San Antonio. He finished his career with a 74-foot buzzer beater against the Hornets, only the 8th three-pointer he hit in his entire career.

Malone is the greatest offensive rebounder of all time, leading the league 9 times and setting the records for most in a season and in a game as well. He led the league in rebounding 6 times, and finished in the top 4 six other times, and is currently #3 on the all-time leaderboard, behind only Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell. He won 3 MVP awards, one of only 8 players to achieve that feat, and won a dominant Finals MVP in 1983, and he is definitely one of the greatest players of all time.

Top 100 NBA Players: #46 - Elvin Hayes

Elvin Hayes

Teams

San Diego/Houston Rockets - 1968-72, 1981-84

Baltimore/Capital/Washington Bullets - 1972-81

Playoffs

Appearances - 10 (1969,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1982)

Conference Finals - 3 (1975,1978,1979)

NBA Finals - 3 (1975,1978,1979)

Championships - 1 (1978)

Awards and Honors

Rookie of the Year - 1969

Finals MVP - 1978

All-NBA First Team - 3 (1969,1970,1971,1974,1975,1977,1979)

All-NBA Second Team - 3 (1973,1974,1975,1976,1978,1979)

Hall of Fame - 1990

*(actual in bold, deserved in italics)

All-Time Ranks

Total Rebounds - #6

Total Points - #13

Rebounds Per Game - #14

Blocks Per Game - #24

Total Blocks - #28

Points Per Game - #46

League Leads

Total Rebounds (#1-1970,1974, #2-1971, #3-1978, #4-1969,1977, #5-1975)

Total Points (#1-1969, #2-1971, #3-1970, #5-1972,1975,1977)

Total Blocks (#2-1977, #3-1976, #4-1975, #5-1974,1980)

Blocks Per Game (#3-1976,1977, #4-1975, #5-1974,1980)

Rebounds Per Game (#1-1970,1974, #3-1971, #4-1978)

Points Per Game (#1-1969, #3-1970,1971)

After leading the University of Houston to the Final Four in back to back seasons, where they lost to UCLA and the future Kareem Abdul-Jabbar both times, and averaging 36.8 points and 18.9 rebounds as a senior, Elvin Hayes was the #1 overall pick in both the NBA and ABA Drafts. He chose to join the San Diego Rockets of the NBA.

Hayes was unstoppable as a rookie, leading the entire league in scoring with 28.4 points per game while grabbing 17.1 rebounds per game, becoming the last rookie to date to lead the league in scoring. However, he lost the Rookie of the Year vote to Wes Unseld, who averaged 13.8 points and 18.2 rebounds. It wouldn't be the last time he lost an award he deserved to Unseld.

The next year he won the league rebounding title with 16.9 per game, becoming the first player besides Bill Russell or Wilt Chamberlain to lead the league in 13 years. The next year he averaged a career high with 28.7 points per game, but the team missed the playoffs for the second straight year, and the team was sold after the season and moved to Houston, where Hayes had played in college.

Hayes averaged 25.2 points and 14.6 rebounds per game in the team's first season in Houston, but he didn't like playing in new coach Tex Winter's system, and requested a trade after the season. He got his wish and was sent to the Baltimore Bullets.

Baltimore was in transition when he arrived, getting ready for a move to Washington DC, moving to a temporary home just outside DC in 1973, then changing officially to the Washington Bullets in 1974. Hayes led the league in rebounds with 18.1 per game in the season the team was known as the Capital Bullets, the second time he had done that.

In their first season finally settled in Washington, the Bullets finished with a 60-22 record and were able to advance to the NBA Finals, the first time Hayes had even won a playoff series in his career. They were heavy favorites to win the championship after knocking off the defending champion Celtics in the Conference Finals, but were upset in a 4-game sweep by Rick Barry and the Warriors.

The Bullets were somewhat disappointing over the next couple of years, but Hayes was still playing well, though he was starting to show signs of age. He averaged 19.7 points in 1977-78, his career low at the time, and Washington barely made the playoffs, but Hayes and the Bullets suddenly came alive in the playoffs and advanced all the way to the NBA Finals, where they beat the Seattle SuperSonics in 7 games, with Unseld winning the Finals MVP with averages of 9.0 points and 11.7 rebounds, even though Hayes averaged 20.7 points and 11.9 rebounds in the same series.

After a resurgent season of 21.8 points and 12.1 rebounds per game from Hayes in 1978-79, the Washington Bullets were among the favorites to win the title once again, with the top record in the East, and they reached the NBA Finals just like the year before, and faced Seattle again, but this time the SuperSonics knocked out the Bullets in 5 games.

Hayes played two more seasons in Washington, and could tell that his skills were declining, so he requested a trade back to Houston, where he could finish his career closer to home. He played 3 final seasons with the Rockets, who were sinking toward the bottom of the standings, and Hayes retired in 1984 just as the Rockets were drafting Hakeem Olajuwon.

Hayes was a very durable player, missing only 9 games in his 16-year career, and when he retired he had played more minutes than any other player in history, with a total of exactly 50000. He won the scoring title as a rookie and scored at least 20 per game in 10 different seasons, and he is still #13 on the all-time scoring list. He's even higher on the rebounding list, sitting at #6 overall, and he owns 2 rebounding titles as well. Factor in the Rookie of the Year and Finals MVP that were stolen from him, and you are looking at one of the greatest players of all time.

Top 100 NBA Players: #87 - Gus Williams

Gus Williams

Teams

Golden State Warriors - 1975-77

Seattle SuperSonics - 1977-84

Washington Bullets - 1984-86

Atlanta Hawks - 1986-87

Playoffs

Appearances - 10 (1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986)

Conference Finals - 4 (1976,1978,1979,1980)

NBA Finals - 2 (1978,1979)

Championships - 1 (1979)

Awards and Honors

All-NBA First Team - 1 (1982)

All-NBA Second Team - 1 (1980,1983)

NBA Finals MVP - 0 (1979)

*(actual in bold, deserved in italics)

All-Time Ranks

Steals Per Game - #16

Total Steals - #29

Assists Per Game - #81

Total Assists - #86

League Leads

Total Steals (#3-1978,1984, #4-1980)

Steals Per Game (#2-1978, #3-1984, #4-1980)

Total Assists (#4-1983, #5-1984)

Three Pointers Made (#5-1985)

After a very strong senior season at USC, Gus Williams was a first-round pick by the Spirits of Saint Louis of the ABA and a second-round pick by the Golden State Warriors of the NBA, ultimately deciding to go with the Warriors, as the ABA was on its last legs and would merge with the NBA just a year later.

He spent 2 years with the Warriors, and was good, but not spectacular, being named to the All-Rookie Team in 1976 before being allowed to leave in free agency in 1977, when he signed with the Seattle SuperSonics, which was the best move he made in his career.

Williams' first three seasons in Seattle were great. He got better each season, reaching averages of 22.1 points, 4.8 assists, and 2.4 steals per game in 1980, which was the first time he was named to the All-NBA Team, and it was well-deserved. He also helped lead the Sonics on deep playoff runs in each of those seasons, reaching the Finals in 1978 and 1979, winning the title in 1979. Dennis Johnson was named the MVP of those Finals, but Johnson was the higher scorer in that series 29.0 to 22.6.

After reaching the Conference Finals in 1980, the third straight season making it at least that far in the playoffs, Johnson sat out a full season in a contract dispute. Based on his career trajectory, that could have been his best season, but we'll never know. Still, when he returned after a year off, he had by far his best regular season, 23.4 points, 6.9 assists, and 2.2 steals per game, earning him his only All-NBA First Team berth.

Williams played 2 more seasons with Seattle, averaging at least 18 points and 8 assists per game each season, but failed to be named to the All-NBA Team (which he deserved in 1983) or make another deep playoff run. After the 1984 season, he was traded to the Washington Bullets, the team he had faced twice in the NBA Finals a few years earlier.

Williams had one more really good season for the Bullets before his numbers started to dip significantly, and after two seasons in Washington, he signed with the Atlanta Hawks for his farewell season. 

He didn't have a long career, with only 11 seasons on the court, and he missed a full season at his peak, but he was a very good player on both ends of the court for many years, especially during his time in Seattle. He was also a proven winner, putting up the best numbers of his career in the NBA Finals, but he was overlooked when it came to the Finals MVP and the Hall of Fame. He is not being overlooked here, he has earned this spot among the greatest players of all time.

Top 100 NBA Players: #89 - Wes Unseld

Wes Unseld

Teams

Baltimore/Capital/Washington Bullets - 1968-81

Playoffs

Appearances - 12 (1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980)

Conference Finals - 4 (1971,1975,1978,1979)

NBA Finals - 4 (1971,1975,1978,1979)

Championships - 1 (1978)

Awards and Honors

Rookie of the Year - 1969

MVP - 1969

Finals MVP - 1978

All-NBA First Team - 1 (1969)

Hall of Fame - 1988

*(actual in bold, deserved in italics)

All-Time Ranks

Rebounds Per Game - #7

Total Rebounds - #14

League Leads

Total Rebounds (#2-1969,1970, #3-1972,1975,1976,1980, #4-1973, #5-1971)

Rebounds Per Game (#1-1975, #2-1970,1971,1972, #3-1976,1980, #5-1969,1973)

Field Goal Percentage (#1-1976, #3-1979)

After averaging 20.6 points and 18.9 rebounds in his college career playing for his hometown Louisville Cardinals, Wes Unseld was drafted #2 overall by the Baltimore Bullets, rejecting an offer from the Kentucky Colonels of the ABA, who had also drafted the local hero. He never scored close to that level in the NBA, but the rebounding translated well.

His rookie season of 1968-69 was one for the ages. Unseld averaged 13.8 points and 18.2 rebounds per game, and led the Bullets to 57 wins, best in the league, just one season after they had finished last in the East. For his efforts he was named both Rookie of the Year and MVP, only the second player ever to achieve that double, following Wilt Chamberlain a decade earlier. 

The team played in Baltimore for Unseld's first 5 seasons, and he averaged at least 12 points and 15 rebounds per game in all 5 of those seasons, guiding them to the playoffs each season and all the way to the Finals in 1971, where they fell to Kareem and the Bucks in 4 games.

The team moved to the suburbs of Washington DC in 1973, where Unseld had his lone subpar season. He was in and out of the lineup, especially early in the season, with lingering injuries, and finished the season with averages of 5.9 points and 9.2 rebounds, the only time he would not finish in double figures in that category.

The team moved into downtown Washington the next season, and in 7 seasons in the nation's capital, Unseld was extremely steady, averaging between 7 and 11 points each year to go along with between 10 and 15 rebounds. He led the league in rebounding in their first season in Washington, and field goal percentage the next year.

They also made the playoffs in each of their first 6 seasons in Washington, extending Unseld's streak to 12 straight playoff appearances to open his career. He led the team back to the Finals in 1975, when they were swept again, this time by Rick Barry and the Warriors.

The team finally broke through in 1978, taking the NBA Championship in 7 games over the Seattle SuperSonics, with Unseld being named the Finals MVP. He averaged 9.0 points and 11.7 rebounds for the series, while Elvin Hayes averaged 20.7 points and 11.9 rebounds, and should have won the MVP in my opinion, though Unseld was always the franchise favorite, which helped him get the award.

The team returned to the Finals the next season, losing to the Sonics in a rematch 4-1, and two years later, after missing the playoffs for the first and only time in his career, Unseld announced his retirement. He remained with the organization for the next 22 years, serving first as vice president, then head coach, and later general manager before retiring for good.

Unseld was well-known for his masterful full-court passes, and he averaged 3.9 assists per game for his career, above average for a center. He was never much of a scorer in the NBA, with a career average of just 10.8, but he was one of the best rebounders throughout his career, even though he was only 6'7", one of the shortest centers in history. He is proof that a player can be one of the best of all time without being a volume scorer and focusing more on defense, and he deserves to be remembered for it.

Top 100 NBA Players: #27 - Moses Malone

Moses Malone

Moses Malone is the greatest offensive rebounder in the history of the NBA, and was a trailblazer for many of today's players, becoming the first player to successfully jump directly from high school to the pros. He also had an incredibly long career, playing 19 NBA seasons and 21 professional seasons overall.

As I stated above, Malone was easily the best offensive rebounder to ever set foot on a basketball court. He has the three highest single season totals of all time, and is also the owner of 6 of the top 10 offensive rebounding seasons. He led the league in offensive rebounds in each of his first 7 seasons, and in total rebounding six times in his career. In 1978-79, he averaged 7.2 offensive rebounds per game, and 17.6 overall. He was truly a monster on the boards.

Malone was among the top 5 players in the league for five straight seasons early in his career, from 1978-1983. During that stretch, he was awarded the MVP three times, but he may not have been the best player during those seasons. I'm going to break down the best players from four of those seasons and show my pick for each season's MVP

Gervin (1979) - 29.6 pts, 5.0 reb, 2.7 ast, 1.7 stl, 1.1 blk, .541 FG%, .826 FT%, .585 Win%
Malone (1979) - 24.8 pts, 17.6 reb, 1.8 ast, 1.0 stl, 1.5 blk, .540 FG%, .739 FT%, .573 Win%

Gervin led the league in scoring, while Malone led the league in rebounding. Gervin was the better shooter, despite being the smaller player, and his team finished ahead of Malone's in the overall standings. They also advanced farther in the playoffs than the Rockets, all of which make a strong case for Gervin deserving that season's MVP.

Erving (1981) - 24.6 pts, 8.0 reb, 4.4 ast, 2.1 stl, 1.8 blk, .521 FG%, .787 FT%, .756 Win%
Malone (1981) - 27.8 pts, 14.8 reb, 1.8 ast, 1.0 stl, 1.9 blk, .522 FG%, .757 FT%, .488 Win%

Statistically, Malone was a much better player, but Erving had the advantage of playing for the team with the best record, which is probably why he won the MVP, but in retrospect, the 76ers fell in the Eastern Conference Finals, while Malone led the Rockets all the way to the NBA Finals, where they fell to Boston in 6 games. This one's not completely clear-cut, but I believe Malone was the better player that season.

Johnson (1982) - 18.6 pts, 9.6 reb, 9.5 ast, 2.7 stl, 0.4 blk, .537 FG%, .760 FT%, .695 Win%
Malone (1982) - 31.1 pts, 14.7 reb, 1.8 ast, 0.9 stl, 1.5 blk, .519 FG%, .762 FT%, .561 Win%

Malone had an amazing season, leading the league in rebounding again while averaging over 30 points for the only time in his career, but Magic came closer to a triple-double average than anybody since Oscar Robertson and led Los Angeles to the best record in the West and eventually an NBA Championship, while Houston lost in the first round. This should have been Johnson's first MVP.

Johnson (1983) - 16.8 pts, 8.6 reb, 10.5 ast, 2.2 stl, 0.6 blk, .548 FG%, .800 FT%, .707 Win%
Malone (1983) - 24.5 pts, 15.3 reb, 1.3 ast, 1.1 stl, 2.0 blk, .501 FG%, .761 FT%, .793 Win%

Johnson nearly matched everything he had done the year before, even upping the Lakers' winning percentage and shooting much better than big man Malone, while Moses saw a huge dip in his scoring numbers, which he made up for by winning more games with his new team, the 76ers. The two teams met in the Finals, with Malone's Rockets winning in 4 games, but I still think Magic was slightly better overall, because he could pass the ball and take it away from the other team.

It was during that championship run of 1983 when Moses famously predicted that Philly would sweep through the playoffs in "fo, fo, fo," which they came within one game of accomplishing, losing just once in the second round. Moses ran away with the Finals MVP award and took home his only championship during that season.

Most experts have Malone ranked a bit higher all-time, but there are several reasons to rank him a bit lower. The first is that he really didn't have that much playoff success. He had the one magical and dominant season in 1983, and he took his team to the Finals in 1981, but other than that, he only saw the Conference Finals two other times in 19 seasons. That equals 15 seasons of losing in the first round or missing the playoffs altogether.

Another problem with Malone is that he was traded often during the prime of his career. Usually when one of the best players in the league is traded, it's because there is some sort of problem with the player, and Malone was traded not just once, but 5 times during the best years of his career. In fact, more than half of my top 20 players played for only one team during their prime years. One mark of a truly great player is that he is untradeable.

Moses was also not a great shooter, especially for a big man. His career average was under 50%, which is unacceptable for a center, and he only shot over 50% five times in his 19 seasons. His longevity, durability, and dominance in one category for a long period of time certainly help him out here, but he is not one of history's top 25.

Top 100 NBA Players: #31 - Elvin Hayes

Elvin Hayes

You don't often hear Elvin Hayes' name mentioned among the all-time greats of the game, but when you look at his all-time ranks, you realize that he was a great player, although he did have one big weakness that may be the reason he is often overlooked.

When Hayes came into the league, it was as the #1 pick in the draft and as the defending AP National Player of the year, and his rookie season was no disappointment. The more popular Wes Unseld won both the MVP and Rookie of the Year that season, but probably deserved neither. The best overall player that season was Wilt Chamberlain, and the best rookie was definitely Hayes. Here are their stats for the 1968-69 season:

Chamberlain - 20.5 pts, 21.1 reb, 4.5 ast, .583 FG%, .446 FT%
Hayes - 28.4 pts, 17.1 reb, 1.4 ast, .447 FG%, .626 FT%
Unseld - 13.8 pts, 18.2 reb, 2.6 ast, .476 FG%, .605 FT%

Chamberlain led the league in field goal percentage and rebounds, while Hayes led all players in scoring as a rookie. None of the three was a good free throw shooter, but it was clear that Hayes was better than Unseld, especially considering that he averaged twice as many points per game. There's also no competition between Wilt and Unseld for the MVP, but that's for a later article.

After a few seasons with the Rockets at the beginning of his career, the team was tired of the lack of playoff success and the selfishness of Hayes, so he was traded to the Bullets for a lesser player. While playing in Washington, Hayes' teams made three trips to the NBA Finals, winning a championship in 1978. He was the best player on each of those teams, but that doesn't mean that he was the reason for their success.

Hayes was infamous for disappearing during the fourth quarter, especially in important games. In game 7 of the 1978 Finals, Hayes ended up with only 12 points, and fouled out with ten minutes to play, after which the rest of the Bullets took over and led Washington to the title. Of the 145 points he scored in the Finals that year, only 19 came during the fourth quarter, certainly not the mark of a champion.

One thing Hayes had going for him was that he was very durable. In 16 seasons he never missed more than 2 games in a season. He is #5 all-time in minutes played, with exactly 50,000, #4 in all-time rebounds, and #9 in all-time points scored. His overall career numbers cannot be ignored, despite his shortcomings.

Top 100 NBA Players: #91 - Bob Dandridge

Bob Dandridge

Bill Simmons refers to Bob Dandridge as his "favorite lost great from the seventies." The reason that Dandridge is "lost" is that he was a great player but never the best on a good team. He spent the entire decade of the 70's as one of the league's best players, but he always had better or more famous teammates overshadowing him. 

In Milwaukee, where he started his career, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson took the spotlight. In Washington, where he had his career peak, people still paid more attention to Elvin Hayes and Wes Unseld. The two seasons in which he took over as the best player on the Bucks turned out to be the two least successful seasons of his career, which says to me that he was better as a second banana.

Dandridge played in 4 NBA Finals during his career, winning the NBA championship twice. In each of those Finals appearances he raised his scoring average over the previous appearance, which is impressive since he was 23 the first time he reached the Finals and 31 the last time. Here are the playoff numbers from those seasons:

1971 - 19.2 pts, #3 player on champ
1974 - 19.3 pts, #3 player on runner-up
1978 - 21.2 pts, #2 player on champ
1979 - 23.1 pts, #2 player on runner-up

Not only did he play a major role on all 4 of those Finals teams, he actually scored the winning dunk in Game 7 of the 1978 NBA Finals, which is not a small feat. Even with that accomplishment, he has been forgotten by the majority of NBA fans, and he has also been left out of the Hall of Fame by voters for decades, who obviously have failed to recognize how big a contributor he was to some of the best teams of the 1970's. The least I can do is give him a little recognition today as one of the top 100 players of all time.