He was amazing, but he had a lot of help, at least more than the last guy on this list. As Paul Flannery wrote this week, the ABA's mere presence helped push the NBA in a fateful direction toward style, panache and run-and-gun tactics by introducing the three and elevating the dunk to a respectable art form. Cowens was only 69 at the center position, but he was one of the most prolific rebounders of the era. Two rival leagues (the NBA and ABA) were . Successful Sports Betting Tips. George Gervin: The Ice Man could have been a second-team guard here, but he'll be back on the '80s team thanks to some great work in that decade so I don't feel too bad about elevating West and Tiny. Though the game was still primarily dominated by big men, the seventies saw a number of Hall of Fame wings, as well as exceptional guards. A friend mentioned he'd heard there was a player on the verge of surpassing Pete Maravich's NCAA record 3,667 career points, a mark that's stood since 1970. . Oh, the humanity. He was a key component to the success of the Celtics in the 1970s, helping them win two NBA titles. 15,159 Sets. He won two championships alongside Havlicek in 1974 and 1976, and was also extremely successful as an individual player. He made the All-Star Game in four of his first five seasons and in 1974 was named the All-Star Game MVP.Overall, he made seven All-Star teams during the decade, playing as one of the best centers of the era.He averaged over 22 points and 11 rebounds per game for the seventies, and also rejected over two shots per game. Their mantra was simple: Find the open man. The Knicks legend was All-NBA six times, All-Defence six times, a seven-time All-Star and helped New York win its only two NBA titles in 1970 and 1973. But it was in New York, and specifically in the World's Most Famous Arena, where the '70s made their strongest impression. One big on-court change was the three-pointer, arguably the most exciting part of the modern NBA. Sure Barry was an asshole, but he was also a prolific scorer who averaged 24+ points, 6+ rebounds, and 5+ assists per game during the 1970s across the NBA and ABA; during the decade, he was also a 9x All-Star and 7x All-ABA/NBA selection who took home Finals MVP in 1974-1975 while guiding the Golden State Warriors to the championship. Overall, he averaged 28.6 points per contest from 1969-70 through 1979-80. Overall, the NBA in the 60's was good, but I find it hard to say it was the best decade of NBA basketball. He is a member of the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team, and an inductee in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Find out what the legends have to say about sports this week. $2000 Risk Free $1000 + $100 in site credits, Must be 21+. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Jo Jo White: It's a bit criminal that Jo Jo is just now being inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Below is All-Decade 1970s All-Stars' 2K full team roster. All-Decade 1970s All-Stars on NBA 2K23. He wasn't just a pure shooter and scorer. He was also a double-double machine, averaging over 12 rebounds per game for the decade. Regardless of the cigar-chomping coachs recommendation, the league introduced the three-point shot in 1979 and never looked back. Once there, he would finish with an emphatic dunk, a foolproof strategy that helped ONeal lead the NBA in field-goal percentage 10 times in his career. Famously, he played center in place of the injured Abdul-Jabbar in the title-clinching game six of the 1980 NBA finals as a 20-year-old rookie. Do folks give Jerry credit for building future champions as a GM?). While his famously vanilla playing style and quiet demeanor kept him from having a cultural impact similar to the other greats, his four championships, 14 All-Star Games, and two NBA MVP awards are indisputable evidence of his fantastic ability. (All this said, it's pretty clear that Kobe eclipsed him as the second best Laker guard ever right around 2009 or 2010. The mans desire to be the best is legendary and propelled him to six championships, five MVP awards, All-Star appearances in every full season he played, and the status as possibly the best defender ever. 26,045 Sets. New technology was being used to make better sneakers for running, basketball, and skateboarding. While Kareem put up a whopping 38,387 points during his playing days, I cant look past the fact that he spent a good chunk of his career receiving passes from Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson, the two greatest point guards of all time. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Basketball. Nicknamed Big Red for his ginger hair, Dave Cowens was the anchor for many great Boston Celtics teams during the seventies. The consensus 1970 College Basketball All-American team, as determined by aggregating the results of four major All-American teams. Its uniform reflects the ever-changing trends and times. Wagers only accepted in CO. For full terms and conditions, click here. But now they dont do that. When the Boston Athletic Association, the pre-cursor to the NBA, awarded prize money to the winning team . Pistol Pete was one of the best scorers of the 70's. He led the NBA in scoring in the 1976-'77 season. Until others called the 80s and 90s the same. The Women's Professional Basketball League was the first attempt to launch a nationwide professional basketball league for women. And he never dunked in an NBA game. Dr. J isn't just symbolically important as a harbinger of the style that would arrive in the '80s: he was a two-time ABA champion and won the last three MVPs of the ABA. Adam Augustyn is Managing Editor, Reference Content at Encyclopdia Britannica. Teams: Atlanta Hawks (1970-74), New Orleans/Utah Jazz (1974-80), Boston Celtics (1980 . Here's another argument: the '70s represented a battle for the soul of basketball. He didn't play for really excellent teams until joining the Showtime Lakers in '80s, however, which hampers his legacy. Product: Set. College basketball conference tournament predictions: Picks for every mens league. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. He finished his career eighth all-time in both points and steals as a player who truly had a complete game.His ability to dominate as a wing was something the NBA had not seen much of before, and his mark on the game will always be remembered. I know I risk getting run out of my beloved Chicago on a rail for daring to suggest His Airness isnt the best player ever but, well, I just dont think he is. In addition to his unprecedented prowess at putting up points, Chamberlain was also the only person to grab more rebounds per game than Bill Russell (22.9), all while averaging more minutes played per game than any player in league history (45.8). In 1975, he led the San Francisco Warriors to an NBA championship, and he was named Finals MVP that year as well. A member of the NBAs 75th Anniversary Team, Elvin Hayes was one of the most recognizable faces of the NBA in the 1970s. When Bill Walton signed a huge contract with the San Diego (later Los Angeles) Clippers in 1979, his former team received two players and a first-round draft pick in return, essentially gutting Waltons new team. Most obsessively competitive to the detriment of ever having normal human relations with anybody? Years with Cavaliers: 1973-1979 Playing a key role for the Cavs for much of the 70's, Brewer was a strong defender and rebounder. What sneakers do you like from the 70's? Kareem won five of the 10 MVPs awarded in the '70s, made the All-Star team every year but '78 and only missed All-NBA first team three times in the decade. [1] To earn "consensus" status, a player must win honors from a majority of the following teams: the Associated Press, the USBWA, The United Press International and the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Walton was so damn good that it's impossible to imagine a world where he stayed healthy and reached his potential. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Change). Join our linker program. During the decade, Gervin was a 6x All-Star and 5x All-NBA/ABA selection which put up 24+ points, 6+ rebounds, and 2+ assists per game, including two straight scoring titles to close out the decade. So whether or not you believe the Rolls-Royce Backcourt could defuse the Splash Brothers or that Dr. J could take LeBron to school, theres no denying the league as we know it todayfull of three-pointers, highlight-reel dunks, and multi-millionaire free agentswas born in the 1970s. The 70s was, as novelist Tom Wolfe once famously wrote, the me decade. Bob McAdoo 5. Atlanta General Manager Stan. hydroxyclorquin quineprox kratom chloroquine who produces hydroxychloroquine win, side effects tadalafil tadalafil brands tadalafil tablets 60mg, is tadalafil and cialis the same thing what is tadalafil tadalafil research powder, tadalafil citrate cialis online tadalafil cost walmart. Calvin Murphy San Diego/Houston Rockets 1970-79 Calvin Murphy was a scoring machine at Niagara and San Diego rolled the dice on the 5-foot-9 guard in the second round of the 1970 NBA Draft.. Yeah. Yes, the NBA consisted of just 8 to 14 teams during this period, so capturing championships was a statistically easier feat for a single franchise, but even that fact doesnt minimize Russells historic accomplishments. The five players represented by LA Tech during the 1980s all played a huge part in the success of these Bulldog teams. Dunk Darnell Hillman) and the fans love of the dunk only grew, peaking in the eighties with the powerful dunks of Dominique Wilkins and the tongue-wagging exploits of Michael Air Jordan. 12. Top 13 Cincinnati Reds Starting Pitchers of all time. The history of basketball uniforms shows more coordination among players between 1920 and 1940 as they began wearing mid-length shorts and jerseys made of wool. Packs. The most notable of his scoring feats came on March 2, 1962, when he put up an astounding 100 points in a game, an NBA record that will likely never be broken. List of all the NBA and ABA Players Born in 1970 | Basketball-Reference.com We've added Women's stats dating back to 2009-10 on College Basketball Reference!. Easily the greatest ABA player ever, Julius Erving had no trouble making the transition to the NBA in 1976. . It's hard to understand why this is a debate, as great as West was. Nevertheless, he was an awesome force who dominated the sport for two decades and perfected the sky hook, one of the most gorgeous shots the game has ever seen. A brutal sucker punch in the OVC tournament stopped the game in its tracks. (Russell Westbrook's head perks up.) A great post scorer, McHale was a huge spark off the Celtics bench, as he is even regarded as one of the best 6th man in all of basketball history. Notice the striped tubed socks and short shorts in almost every picture. Abdul-Jabbar was dominant in all aspects of the game, but he was particularly unstoppable on offense. For the most accurate and up-to-date information, consult individual encyclopedia entries about the topics. Boston Celtics, American professional basketball team based in Boston, Massachusetts. (Editors Note: For a brief excerpt of the book, click here; for author reflections, click here.) Erving was one of the defining figures of the game during the decade, combining exceptional athleticism and finesse in a style that has remained popular all these years later. But let's face it: the old-school center has been going out of style for a long, long time, all thanks to the chaos and rebirth in the '70s. From baggy street clothes to signature form-fitting apparel and back to baggy, basketball uniforms have undergone transition until what has settled today is both comfortable and functional, and invokes a sense of nostalgic pride among players and fans alike. Rick Barry Career Highlights UNDERRATED! When it comes to the 1970s, there was no greater basketball player than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.In fact, Abdul-Jabbars game has transcended eras, as he remains one of the greatest players to ever pick up a basketball. His ability to rebound as just a 64 guard was tremendous, averaging six boards per game for his 13-year run in the league. Adam Criblez is an Assistant Professor of History at Southeast Missouri State University and the author of the new book Tall Tales and Short Shorts: Dr. J, Pistol Pete, and the Birth of the Modern NBA. Sucker punch in OVC tournament leads to 3 ejections. Now players could subsist without off-season work and, for the first time in league history, make life-changing money playing pro basketball. Dan Issel, Calvin Murphy, Gail Goodrich, Spencer Haywood, Lou Hudson, Paul Silas, Dave Cowens, Bill Walton*, * Bill Walton should have challenged Kareem for decade supremacy but his feet betrayed him at the moment when he was ready to take over. When it all clicked, the Knicks flowed like the deadline poetry that was emanating from the press box. How Many Championships Does Michael Jordan Have? He absolutely dominated the seventies, leading the NBA in points scored and blocks for the decade, as well as recording the second-most rebounds.Abdul-Jabbar was a force on the offensive end, armed with a skyhook shot that was seemingly unstoppable. In the 1970s Barry claimed six NBA All-Star bids, three ABA All-Star bids and three All-NBA first team nods. Top 5 Ranked Mens Basketball Players Of All Time, Top 6 Best NBA Power Forwards of All Time, Top 6 Best NBA Shooting Guards of All Time, Top 6 Best NBA Small Forwards of All Time, Top 6 Best Womens Basketball Players Of All Time. How Many Championships Does Steph Curry Have? What are boosted odds in sports betting strategies? You can't just change your wiring on stuff like that. Our apologies, George Mikan, K.C. George Gervin 10. [1] Curious as to what these terms mean? We adapted Google's Privacy Guidelines to keep your data safe at all times. The hair, the nickname, the style of carefree, irresponsible play he exhibited: if Dr. J presented what basketball would become, Pistol Pete showed us what basketball could be at its most fun. Russell was the ultimate winner in the history of the NBA. He racked up three championship rings and 12 All-Star appearances in his injury-shortened 13-year career. Director: Ron Shelton | Stars: Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson, Rosie Perez, Tyra Ferrell Votes: 89,504 | Gross: $76.25M 66 (4) Blu-ray 8. They appreciated the game on its merits, and embraced the athletes as individuals and fellow entertainers. Absolutely. Oh, and the 12-time All-Star also helped initiate true free agency into the NBA through a landmark antitrust suit, an accomplishment just as impressive as his jaw-dropping on-court exploits.