Am I missing something?-lol That big overgrown gorilla is not a hall of famer. How the hell is he being inducted tonight with these 2 great players below???


Hakeem Olajuwon
Adrian Dantley

Are you serious? LOL. Ewing is definitely a hall of famer. I don't like the Knicks, and even I enjoyed those teams with him on 'em. He's a great, dominant player like Shaq, with a post presence.

Why do you feel he is not a hall of famer Solomon? And don't say because he never won a championship, because there are plenty of player who made the hall and never won a title.

Why do you feel he is not a hall of famer Solomon? And don't say because he never won a championship, because there are plenty of player who made the hall and never won a title.


Because he was a one-dimensonal center who relied on that dumb fade away jump shots for years. And I never saw him as a game changer, like HAKEEM

So? He was more then that. Jabbar had the hook shot, along with Magic, I guessed they relied on those shots for years too.

Because he was a one-dimensonal center who relied on that dumb fade away jump shots for years. And I never saw him as a game changer, like HAKEEM


He was a game changer and a team changer. He made the Knicks into perrenial contenders every year.

He was a game changer and a team changer. He made the Knicks into perrenial contenders every year.

I remember him being outplayed by

Shaq
Rick Smitts
Bill Cartwright
Brad Daugherty
Olajuwon


So i'm still confused

I don't even know who Rick Smitts is- so he mustn't of been that good to overpower Ewing.

Adrian Dantley never won a championship, either.

The hall of fame is just not about professional basketball. He was great in college and won 2 gold medals also. He was easily one of the top 50 greatest players ever. Very few players had more combined points and rebounds. His defense was also underrated with all the defensive rebounds and blocks.

Adrian Dantley never won a championship, either.

The hall of fame is just not about professional basketball. He was great in college and won 2 gold medals also. He was easily one of the top 50 greatest players ever. Very few players had more combined points and rebounds. His defense was also underrated with all the defensive rebounds and blocks.


Dantley won a championship with Detroit in 88-lol

He was a game changer

The Lakers won in 1988 4-3 vs. Detroit in the finals. Check your facts, lol.

And he was traded in 1989 before they won in the rematch vs. the Lakers.

The Lakers won in 1988 4-3 vs. Detroit in the finals. Check your facts, lol.

And he was traded in 1989 before they won in the rematch vs. the Lakers.


Yeah you are right, he was still a damm good player

Didn't the Pistons win back to back rings after he left? lol.

You have to give credit where credit is due, Ewing deserves to be in the Hall Of Fame, even though he didn't get a ring.

Didn't the Pistons win back to back rings after he left? lol.

I think they won in 89 and 90, or 90 and 91.

Dantley won a championship with Detroit in 88-lol

He was a game changer


Wrong. The Pistons didn't even win the title in 88... the Lakers did. You need to brush up on your NBA history.

The Pistons didn't win a title until 1989, after Dantley was traded to Dallas. He was not a part of either of the Pistons two championship teams.


Dantley was a 6 time all star.
Ewing was an 11 time all star.

Ewing was an all NBA Defensive player 3 times
Dantley never played defense

Ewing was all-NBA first team once, and all-NBA second team 6 times.
Dantely was all-NBA second team twice.
That's a huge edge for Ewing, as only one center is selected, vs. two forwards

I think both guys should be in, but to say Ewing shouldn't be there is absurd. It should be obvious that everyone who was named as a top-50 NBA player of all time should and eventually will be in the HOF.

Just because Ewing wasn't as good as Olajuson (and he wasn't), that doesn't mean he doesn't deserve to be in the HOF... If you limited the HOF only to centers that were better than Olajuwon, you'd only have about 5 or 6 guys in there.

Ewing would be first team all-NBA player if he were playing today... if our Olympic centers have trouble handling the Gasoft brothers, Ewing would dominate against them.

And the Bulls did not win those series over the Knicks because Bill Cartwright was better than Patrick Ewing. Nor did the Pacers beat the Knicks that one year because Smits (a one-time all star) was better than Ewing.

Wrong. The Pistons didn't even win the title in 88... the Lakers did. You need to brush up on your NBA history.

The Pistons didn't win a title until 1989, after Dantley was traded to Dallas. He was not a part of either of the Pistons two championship teams.


Dantley was a 6 time all star.
Ewing was an 11 time all star.

Ewing was an all NBA Defensive player 3 times
Dantley never played defense

Ewing was all-NBA first team once, and all-NBA second team 6 times.
Dantely was all-NBA second team twice.
That's a huge edge for Ewing, as only one center is selected, vs. two forwards

I think both guys should be in, but to say Ewing shouldn't be there is absurd. It should be obvious that everyone who was named as a top-50 NBA player of all time should and eventually will be in the HOF.

Just because Ewing wasn't as good as Olajuson (and he wasn't), that doesn't mean he doesn't deserve to be in the HOF... If you limited the HOF only to centers that were better than Olajuwon, you'd only have about 5 or 6 guys in there.

Ewing would be first team all-NBA player if he were playing today... if our Olympic centers have trouble handling the Gasoft brothers, Ewing would dominate against them.

And the Bulls did not win those series over the Knicks because Bill Cartwright was better than Patrick Ewing. Nor did the Pacers beat the Knicks that one year because Smits (a one-time all star) was better than Ewing.



Well I watched him for years and I just don' see him as a Game change or a threat on the offensive end.

Well I watched him for years and I just don' see him as a Game change or a threat on the offensive end.

Ewing wasn't the type of player who was gonna throw in 50 points on even an occasional basis. His career high was 51, and he had one other game of 50 points.

But when you look at his career scoring averages, it was obvious that he was very, very consistent...

1986: 20.0 - 50 games
1987: 21.5 - 63
1988: 20.2 - 82
1989: 22.7 - 80
1990: 28.6 - 82
1991: 26.6 - 81
1992: 24.0 - 82
1993: 24.2 - 81
1994: 24.5 - 79
1995: 23.9 - 79
1996: 22.5 - 76
1997: 22.4 - 78
1998: 20.8 - 26
1999: 17.3 - 38 (out of 50 games, strike season)
2000: 15.0 - 62
2001: 9.2 - 79
2002: 6.0 - 65


As you can see, he was a very consistent 20-25 ppg scorer, as well as being extremely durable (after his first couple of years).

He also averaged double figures in rebounds for 9 straight seasons, and averaged over 9 per game in 4 other seasons.

Although he was not a "dominant" rebounder, he also played along side Charles Oakley during his prime years in New York...those two guys took a lot of rebounds away from each other. Oakley played in New York from 1989-1998, and averaged double figures in rebounds himself 4 times, and never averaged fewer than 8 reb/game.

So there was no question that Ewing was going to be a first ballot HOFer.... I do think it took too long for Dantley to be inducted... Until Dantley was elected this year, he, Artis Gilmore and Dennis Johnson were probably the best and most accomplished NBA players who were eligible for the HOF but not in ... Gilmore and Johnson are still not in it, and they both should be.

Shoot, he had 28.6 points per game in one season? Did not know that. If his scoring averages are that good and consistent, no reason why he shouldn't be in the HOF. Plus he was a dominant guy and heavy rebounder.

Shoot, he had 28.6 points per game in one season? Did not know that. If his scoring averages are that good and consistent, no reason why he shouldn't be in the HOF. Plus he was a dominant guy and heavy rebounder.


If you go to:

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/e/ewingpa01.html

you can see his career year by year numbers, along with his awards and his league leading or near-league leading performances (i.e. how many times he finished in the top 10 in points, rebounds etc).

You can also click on his "game log" and it will give you his game-by-game performances for every game of his career after 1987 (the site is still building the box score database for years prior to 1987).

If you look at any year during his prime, he was amazingly consistent at putting 20+ points and 10+ rebounds up night after night after night.

Ewing had a great work ethic, taught to him by his high school coach as well as his college coach, the great John Thompson (the first).

While in high school, his coach did not play a zone defense, which most coaches would have done with a dominant big man like Ewing. Instead, he made his players play man-to-man defense at all times, which helped Ewing develop great agility and balance. Most coaches would have played a zone defense with him and allowed him to just stand under the basket and swat away any shots attempted in the lane. But Ewing had to follow his man all over the court, and that helped him immensely in the long run.

Stats don't impress me, i'm going by what I seen with my own eyes in the postseason and I just don't see him as a hall of famer. Watched that man for years and never was afraid of him on the offensive end and that's why I'm shocked that he is in the hall of fame.

So you go by postseason? I would go by his stats, just how he was on the court AND then postseason, all meshed together. He is definitely a hall of famer.

Stats don't impress me, i'm going by what I seen with my own eyes in the postseason and I just don't see him as a hall of famer. Watched that man for years and never was afraid of him on the offensive end and that's why I'm shocked that he is in the hall of fame.

But your own eyes thought that Dantley won a title with the Pistons! :)

I think they won in 89 and 90, or 90 and 91.


They won it all in 89 and 90.

in 89 they beat the Lakers in 4 straight. The Lakers starting backcourt of Magic Johnson and Byron Scott were injured and ineffective when they did play in the finals, and they both missed most of the series.

The Lakers were going for a 3-peat... That Pistons team was at its peak, and would have been awfully hard to beat, even if the Lakers were healthy.

The Pistons also defeated Portland in the 1990 finals... they lost to the Bulls in the 1991 playoffs, and that was the beginning of the Bulls dynasty as well as being the end of the Pistons as we knew them.

You could see that Piston team coming for several years.... every year they'd creep a little closer to a title...

They lost a 7 game East Final to the Celtics in 87 (Bird's steal in game 5 turned the series).

Then they beat Boston in the 88 East Finals, before losing to the Lakers in 7 in the finals. The Pistons led the series 3-2 and had a 3 point lead with less than a minute to go in game 6, but the Lakers came back to win that game (Byron Scott jumper with 50 sec left and two Kareem free throws with 13 seconds left) to tie the series at 3 games apiece. The Lakers then took game 7 to become the first repeat champion since the 68-69 Celtics.

Yeah I knew they won it in back to back years, even without Dantley.

Yeah I knew they won it in back to back years, even without Dantley.


We defintely don't need your input on this subject since you were in diapers in 88

But your own eyes thought that Dantley won a title with the Pistons! :)


I told 5 people at my job Ewing was inducted into the Hall of Fame and they were in shock-lol

We defintely don't need your input on this subject since you were in diapers in 88

I definitely don't care, it's not my fault you old. Just because I was a baby around that time, doesn't mean I don't have tapes, seen footage and all that, when I have. The subject at hand is about Ewing anyway. So I should be like- I don't need your input on Wilt Chamberlain since you weren't a teen when he was around, if that subject comes up, right?

I told 5 people at my job Ewing was inducted into the Hall of Fame and they were in shock-lol


lol, I can see you're ALL in need of a refresher course in NBA history!

For the modest sum of $49,999.99 per student, I will conduct classes to teach you guys about each of the top 50 players in NBA history (that's less that $1,000 per player!!).

This 50 week course will focus on one Top-50 player each week.

By the time you finish the course, you'll be able to answer such questions as:

1) What other record did Wilt Chamberlain set during the afternoon of March 2, 1962, just hours before scoring 100 points in an NBA game? (Hint: It had nothing to do with women).


2) Why would the same man give away tickets to both Wilt's 100 point game AND Kobe Bryant's 81 point game, 44 years later? What could he possibly have to do that was more important than attending the two highest scoring individual performances in NBA history?

3) Why did Bill Russell like to throw up?


... and many more!

We defintely don't need your input on this subject since you were in diapers in 88


I don't think a person's age should be relevant when talking about sports history, especially when they show interest in a period prior to their being a fan of the game.

A lot of 15-20 year olds will automatically say Michael Jordan is the greatest player ever, even though he wasn't. They're not willing to acknowledge the existence of any great players prior to the time they started watching the game... and they also have no idea of how Nike literally purchased the "greatest player ever" "title" for Jordan from ESPN.

I know that Babe Ruth was an incredible baseball player for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that I can look at a baseball players record compared to his contemporaries and know whether he was a good player or not. I don't have to have seen him play, and it doesn't matter that he died before I was born.

Same with young fans and Patrick Ewing. You don't have to have seen him play basketball to know that he was a consistently outstanding player for many years in the NBA.

There are ways to piece together histories of players that we didn't personally see.... you can see how many times he made the all star team, how he did in the regular season, how he did in the playoffs, how his teams did. what teammates, opponents and coaches said about him... and put all that together to get at least SOME idea of how good someone was.

As much as today's NBA centers suck, I wish there were a few more Patrick Ewings out there. The NBA would be a much better league if there were.

^ I totally agree. And I have seen Ewing play, so it works anyway lol. Yeah, Babe Ruth is a classic example. He's the greatest baseball player ever and most people haven't even seen him play, weren't even close to birth by the time he was out of the league and deceased lol..

^ I totally agree. And I have seen Ewing play, so it works anyway lol. Yeah, Babe Ruth is a classic example. He's the greatest baseball player ever and most people haven't even seen him play, weren't even close to birth by the time he was out of the league and deceased lol..


You ain't see Ewing play nothing

How do you know? You don't know anything about me or what games I've seen. I've SEEN Ewing play, shut yo mouth lol.

Ewing was a solid player who is HOF material. He has the stats to back it up. To me, he was just not the clutch player that Olajuwan was. Not too many players out there are or were. If he was playing in todays league he could possibly be the best center in the league. He just played during a time when there was alot of great centers out there.

Ewing was a solid player who is HOF material. He has the stats to back it up. To me, he was just not the clutch player that Olajuwan was. Not too many players out there are or were. If he was playing in todays league he could possibly be the best center in the league. He just played during a time when there was alot of great centers out there.

Excellent, excellent point.

The centers in the NBA today are a total joke. Dwight Howard and Yao are probably the best centers in the NBA today. Most centers today are just role players. Ben Wallace has been a 2nd team all-NBA center, and his scoring range is about 1 to 2 feet from the hoop, if THAT.

Yao has good skills, and Howard is able to overpower most centers with sheer physical athleticism. Those two are really the only two NBA centers today who would even present Ewing with a challenge... Ewing would destroy just about every other center in the NBA (I'm calling Shaq over the hill here, in his prime Shaq was more dominant and could destroy Ewing).
For some reason, I feel like I'm leaving some current center out of the equation here... are there any other obviously great centers out there that I'm missing?

Ewing played against incredible competition, particularly since there was a generational overlap of all time great centers during the 1980s. Ewing played against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Moses Malone, who won 9 MVP awards between them, Artis Gilmore near the end of his career, Robert Parrish in the prime of his HOF career. He even had to go against Bill Walton during Walton's (basically) only healthy year in the NBA (1986).

In addition to those guys, Ewing had to then face all time greats Olajuwon, David Robinson, and Shaq, plus a slightly lower level of excellent centers such as Alonzo Mourning,Dikembe Mutombo and Brad Daugherty.

Ewing would have no trouble at all against guys like Pao Gasol and Fabricio Oberto.

Excellent, excellent point.

The centers in the NBA today are a total joke. Dwight Howard and Yao are probably the best centers in the NBA today. Most centers today are just role players. Ben Wallace has been a 2nd team all-NBA center, and his scoring range is about 1 to 2 feet from the hoop, if THAT.

Yao has good skills, and Howard is able to overpower most centers with sheer physical athleticism. Those two are really the only two NBA centers today who would even present Ewing with a challenge... Ewing would destroy just about every other center in the NBA (I'm calling Shaq over the hill here, in his prime Shaq was more dominant and could destroy Ewing).
For some reason, I feel like I'm leaving some current center out of the equation here... are there any other obviously great centers out there that I'm missing?

Ewing played against incredible competition, particularly since there was a generational overlap of all time great centers during the 1980s. Ewing played against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Moses Malone, who won 9 MVP awards between them, Artis Gilmore near the end of his career, Robert Parrish in the prime of his HOF career. He even had to go against Bill Walton during Walton's (basically) only healthy year in the NBA (1986).

In addition to those guys, Ewing had to then face all time greats Olajuwon, David Robinson, and Shaq, plus a slightly lower level of excellent centers such as Alonzo Mourning,Dikembe Mutombo and Brad Daugherty.

Ewing would have no trouble at all against guys like Pao Gasol and Fabricio Oberto.

Don't for get Abdul-Jabbar was still around putting up good numbers. Artis Gilmore was still playing in the early 80's. Even Bill Walton was around in the 80's. Even with his bad feet he was a lot better than most of the centers today. Chris Wahburn, Benjoit Benjamin, Mark Eaton, Stanley Roberts, Sam Bowie, Jack Sigma, Bill Lambier, Mose Malone. There was so much more size back then compared to now.


Greg Odem is out there even though he hasn't played yet. Tyson Chandler for NO. Chris Kaman for the Clippers is a solid player. There just isn't that many good centers these days. Todays centers playing in the 80's and 90's would be bench players. Yao and Howard would be the exception. Howard, to me, would be another Mourning. Athletic and phyical but no real go to shot. Yao would be a bigger and better version of Ric Smits or even a young Ralph Sampson. But neither one would make NBA 1st or 2nd teams.

Good points by both of you. I think Dwight Howard is prob., at least the best all-around center nowadays. Chris Bosh aint bad either.

Good points by both of you. I think Dwight Howard is prob., at least the best all-around center nowadays. Chris Bosh aint bad either.

Ah, thank you! Bosh was the guy I was trying to remember but couldn't, when I said in my earlier post that there seemed to be someone I was leaving out of the discussion (of today's top centers).

I don't think Bosh would give Ewing a tremendous amount of trouble, I think Ewing could overpower him physically. Bosh was having a little trouble in the Olympics even just trying to guard the Gasol brothers.

But Bosh is a good, athletic center, with good defensive instincts. The fact that he's left handed and Ewing was right handed could help Bosh a little bit on the defensive end. But Ewing was very strong.

Oh yeah, I agree, Ewing would Shaq em lol. Bosh is a tall, thin guy who can't compete with the heavy set centers in the league lol. So he would be no match for Ewing at all, let alone guys like Hakeem, Shaq & T Dunc. Bosh is athletic, has strength, ability and a good shot. He rebounds well and is stable to be in the league at his position, just not fearce or scary enough :lol: to overpower a heavier guy that can just dunk on him all day.

Bosh is pretty flexible too.

Don't for get Abdul-Jabbar was still around putting up good numbers. Artis Gilmore was still playing in the early 80's. Even Bill Walton was around in the 80's. Even with his bad feet he was a lot better than most of the centers today. Chris Wahburn, Benjoit Benjamin, Mark Eaton, Stanley Roberts, Sam Bowie, Jack Sigma, Bill Lambier, Mose Malone. There was so much more size back then compared to now.


Greg Odem is out there even though he hasn't played yet. Tyson Chandler for NO. Chris Kaman for the Clippers is a solid player. There just isn't that many good centers these days. Todays centers playing in the 80's and 90's would be bench players. Yao and Howard would be the exception. Howard, to me, would be another Mourning. Athletic and phyical but no real go to shot. Yao would be a bigger and better version of Ric Smits or even a young Ralph Sampson. But neither one would make NBA 1st or 2nd teams.


Jabbar was my absolute favorite player during most of the 70s and 80s (especially after Wilt retired... I caught about the last 5 years or so of Wilt's career, about from the 68 season...I don't think i remember too much about the 76ers in 1967, when they ended the Celtics run of 8 straight titles).

Gilmore was a great player until the late 80s... Laimbeer was a great rebounder and defender, and a very, very smart player as well. Ralph Sampson and Sam Bowie had incredible potential...Sampson showed flashes of brilliance but Bowie was, unfortunately, injury plagued thoughout his career. He was never able to become the player he should have been because of those foot injuries. I always felt bad for him, because he did possess incredible skills.

Your comparisons of Howard to Mourning and Yao to Smits and Sampson are well founded. Yao and Smits both seem to be nice guys, and, with some exceptions, really don't seem to have a killer instinct out there... Yao has developed more of a killer instinct during the last year or so when he's been healthy... he'll need to keep that up.

I hope that Greg Oden can stay healthy. He has the potential to be a dominant player on both ends of the court, and with the lack of outstanding centers today, he can be a great low post offensive threat. Another thing he needs to do, besides staying healthy, is to build up his stamina... when he was in college, he got tired very easily, which is not unusual for a guy his age and his size. But I look forward to watching him develop his game...he's a hard worker and I think he could develop into an all time great as long as he stays healthy. He's got a great attitude.

That's cause Greg Oden is secretly 50 years of age :lol:. Just kidding, yeah he does def. need to improve on his stamina and speed a lil bit.

Good points by both of you. I think Dwight Howard is prob., at least the best all-around center nowadays. Chris Bosh aint bad either.


The thing is that Chris Bosh is a power forward. Not a center. He plays a semi-low post game but didn't the Raptors draft the guy out of Italy 2 years ago and he is there center? I can't think of his name but he's a seven footer and he shoots 3's like a guard. He was the 1st pick in the draft that year. It was a weak year for the draft.

Jabbar was my absolute favorite player during most of the 70s and 80s (especially after Wilt retired... I caught about the last 5 years or so of Wilt's career, about from the 68 season...I don't think i remember too much about the 76ers in 1967, when they ended the Celtics run of 8 straight titles).

Gilmore was a great player until the late 80s... Laimbeer was a great rebounder and defender, and a very, very smart player as well. Ralph Sampson and Sam Bowie had incredible potential...Sampson showed flashes of brilliance but Bowie was, unfortunately, injury plagued thoughout his career. He was never able to become the player he should have been because of those foot injuries. I always felt bad for him, because he did possess incredible skills.

Your comparisons of Howard to Mourning and Yao to Smits and Sampson are well founded. Yao and Smits both seem to be nice guys, and, with some exceptions, really don't seem to have a killer instinct out there... Yao has developed more of a killer instinct during the last year or so when he's been healthy... he'll need to keep that up.

I hope that Greg Oden can stay healthy. He has the potential to be a dominant player on both ends of the court, and with the lack of outstanding centers today, he can be a great low post offensive threat. Another thing he needs to do, besides staying healthy, is to build up his stamina... when he was in college, he got tired very easily, which is not unusual for a guy his age and his size. But I look forward to watching him develop his game...he's a hard worker and I think he could develop into an all time great as long as he stays healthy. He's got a great attitude.

Bowie had some pretty good years with New Jersey after he healed up. Not the type of years every one thought he would have.

The thing with Oden, as well as Howard, is that they rely on pure skill. Players like them never seem to develop a go to shot. Jabbar with the sky hook. Olajuwan with the Dream shake. Ewing would rely on his fad away jumper(too much in my opinion) David Robinson is a good example of what I mean. When he came into the league he took the league by storm because he wa so quick and athletic. He relied on that and never developed a shot that he would take when the time was needed. It was his atheletisim that Olajuwan was able to use against him in the 95 playoffs. Head to head with another great center, Olajuwan had a go to shot that Robinson couldn't stop. Head to head with another great center, Robinson tries to out quick them and alot of times it fails for him. It just seems that centers are not developed as much as they used to be. They seem to get it in their heads that they can just over power or jump over the defender. And the biggest center in the league, at 7' 6", is the one who fades away the most instead of powering over his defender. Yao is definately a joy to watch though. Seeing someone that big be able to shoot the way he does and actually be fairly graceful out on the court is fun to watch. It makes you forget Shawn Bradley!

You mean Bargnani for the Raptors? And I wasn't sure about Bosh- I thought he might be a center but thought he was too small for it.

Bowie had some pretty good years with New Jersey after he healed up. Not the type of years every one thought he would have.

The thing with Oden, as well as Howard, is that they rely on pure skill. Players like them never seem to develop a go to shot. Jabbar with the sky hook. Olajuwan with the Dream shake. Ewing would rely on his fad away jumper(too much in my opinion) David Robinson is a good example of what I mean. When he came into the league he took the league by storm because he wa so quick and athletic. He relied on that and never developed a shot that he would take when the time was needed. It was his atheletisim that Olajuwan was able to use against him in the 95 playoffs. Head to head with another great center, Olajuwan had a go to shot that Robinson couldn't stop. Head to head with another great center, Robinson tries to out quick them and alot of times it fails for him. It just seems that centers are not developed as much as they used to be. They seem to get it in their heads that they can just over power or jump over the defender. And the biggest center in the league, at 7' 6", is the one who fades away the most instead of powering over his defender. Yao is definately a joy to watch though. Seeing someone that big be able to shoot the way he does and actually be fairly graceful out on the court is fun to watch. It makes you forget Shawn Bradley!


Yup, exactly right.... Robinson never did develop a go-to move... and another guy in that category was Ralph Sampson. Here was a guy, at 7'4 or 7'5, who literally did have the ball handling skills of a guard. But his head got so filled up with all the great things people were saying about his skills that he never developed his go-to move either. He was a pure finese player as well, and he had the agility the footwork to have picked up right where Kareem left off on the skyhook... He could have had a Jabbar-like presence on the court if he would have been willing to work at it. Instead, he's out there trying to impress people that he could shoot jumpers from 12-15 feet out... well, Jabbar could do that to, but why bother when you have the skyhook? Sampson could never make up his mind what he wanted to do out there...and he wasted what could have been a brilliant career. He was an all star game MVP one year, and I remember him talking about wanting to take that and build on it and become a consistenly great player... but it seemed as if, almost as soon as he said that, he forgot all about it and went right back into his comfort zone, dazzling people with his skills, but never developing as a player.


And I gotta tell ya, I was not sold on Yao when he first came over... but he has worked VERY hard, and has improved his game each year since he entered the league. I hope he can stay healthy, because he's a classic NBA center. Yeah, he's got a nice touch from outside, but he's developing a great low post game too. I enjoy watching him play, especially knowing how totally raw he was when he first came over here. Again, I just hope for his sake that he can stay healthy.

And let's hope that Oden learns the lessons of guys like Ralph Sampson. He seems like he'll be a classic low post type of center, which is exactly what he should be.

Shawn Bradley!! lol! That poor guy, I just got the feeling that he never really wanted to play basketball...but was kind of forced into it because of his height. I understand that he is involved now with some kind of school that deals with at-risk kids, and that he's doing very well there, which is great.

__________________________________

Also, here's a fun bit of trivia fyi about Ralph Sampson... he was very close to being a Laker when he came out of college.

Going into the 1982 Draft, the Lakers and Clippers would flip the coin to determine who would draft first... James Worthy had already indicated that he would leave North Carolina early and enter the draft. (The Lakers had just won the NBA title, but had the top two pick as a result of a trade made a few years earlier)

Ralph Sampson had just finished his junior year at Virginia and was deciding whether or not to enter the draft. He had sort of indicated that he would not leave early unless he could be guaranteed that he would be drafted by the Lakers... he liked the Lakers and he liked Kareem, but he wanted to be certain that he would end up with the Lakers.

Jerry Buss, the Laker's owner, went over to Donald Sterling (owner of the Clippers) house for a poker game one night. They were friends and would get together all the time. Buss made Sterling an offer he thought the Clippers owner couldn't refuse.

"Let's flip a coin now" said Buss... "if I win, I can guarantee Sampson a spot with the Lakers and he'll skip his final season in college...if that happens, you get to draft James Worthy. If we don't flip the coin now, Sampson will probably stay in school, since I can't guarantee him a spot on the Lakers, in which case you only have a 50% chance of getting Worthy. "

In other words, if Sterling agreed to an early flip, he'd get Worthy, no matter what.

Buss even offered to set up a program for Sterling which would guarantee $1 million in ticket sales over and above what the Clippers normally would do.

Sterling wasn't convinced that Sampson had his heart set on playing for the Lakers, so he declined Buss' offer.

There would be no early flip... and sure enough Sampson, not willing to take a 50% chance of winding up with the Clippers, stayed in school.

The Lakers won the official coin flip and selected Worthy. The Clippers took Terry Cummings of Depaul (a great player). Sterling said that the Clippers would have taken Cummings even if they drafted first...but they later traded Cummings anyway.

But Sampson was just that close to playing with Kareem and Magic.

Yup, exactly right.... Robinson never did develop a go-to move... and another guy in that category was Ralph Sampson. Here was a guy, at 7'4 or 7'5, who literally did have the ball handling skills of a guard. But his head got so filled up with all the great things people were saying about his skills that he never developed his go-to move either. He was a pure finese player as well, and he had the agility the footwork to have picked up right where Kareem left off on the skyhook... He could have had a Jabbar-like presence on the court if he would have been willing to work at it. Instead, he's out there trying to impress people that he could shoot jumpers from 12-15 feet out... well, Jabbar could do that to, but why bother when you have the skyhook? Sampson could never make up his mind what he wanted to do out there...and he wasted what could have been a brilliant career. He was an all star game MVP one year, and I remember him talking about wanting to take that and build on it and become a consistenly great player... but it seemed as if, almost as soon as he said that, he forgot all about it and went right back into his comfort zone, dazzling people with his skills, but never developing as a player.


And I gotta tell ya, I was not sold on Yao when he first came over... but he has worked VERY hard, and has improved his game each year since he entered the league. I hope he can stay healthy, because he's a classic NBA center. Yeah, he's got a nice touch from outside, but he's developing a great low post game too. I enjoy watching him play, especially knowing how totally raw he was when he first came over here. Again, I just hope for his sake that he can stay healthy.

And let's hope that Oden learns the lessons of guys like Ralph Sampson. He seems like he'll be a classic low post type of center, which is exactly what he should be.

Shawn Bradley!! lol! That poor guy, I just got the feeling that he never really wanted to play basketball...but was kind of forced into it because of his height. I understand that he is involved now with some kind of school that deals with at-risk kids, and that he's doing very well there, which is great.


You're right about Sampson. He always wanted to be a guard. I remember that AllStar game he got MVP. At one time they had Olajuwan, Sampson and Jabbar on the floor at the same time. Talk about an imposing front line!! A 7ft Olajuwan at small forward!! He was athelic enough to do it. Sampson started going down hill after he took that fall in Boston. He seemed a little "gun shy" after that. Then, I think, it was Bill Cartwright who rolled into his knee and that started the list of knee problems for him. And once Karl Malone saw any weakness in him he just destroyed Sampson in the low post.

I was skeptical of Yao at first also. I thought that Houston should have traded away the pick. Good thing I'm not a GM. He just comes from a place where they teach fundementals instead of just relying on God given talent. Alot of the euros are like that too. That's why it's been so hard for us to win on the international stage of late(not counting this year).

As for Shawn Bradley, he was supposed to be the second coming of Jabbar. Jabbar even worked with Bradley up until the draft. He said alot of possitive things about him. Potential has gotten alot of scouts and GM's fired over the years.

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Also, here's a fun bit of trivia fyi about Ralph Sampson... he was very close to being a Laker when he came out of college.

Going into the 1982 Draft, the Lakers and Clippers would flip the coin to determine who would draft first... James Worthy had already indicated that he would leave North Carolina early and enter the draft. (The Lakers had just won the NBA title, but had the top two pick as a result of a trade made a few years earlier)

Ralph Sampson had just finished his junior year at Virginia and was deciding whether or not to enter the draft. He had sort of indicated that he would not leave early unless he could be guaranteed that he would be drafted by the Lakers... he liked the Lakers and he liked Kareem, but he wanted to be certain that he would end up with the Lakers.

Jerry Buss, the Laker's owner, went over to Donald Sterling (owner of the Clippers) house for a poker game one night. They were friends and would get together all the time. Buss made Sterling an offer he thought the Clippers owner couldn't refuse.

"Let's flip a coin now" said Buss... "if I win, I can guarantee Sampson a spot with the Lakers and he'll skip his final season in college...if that happens, you get to draft James Worthy. If we don't flip the coin now, Sampson will probably stay in school, since I can't guarantee him a spot on the Lakers, in which case you only have a 50% chance of getting Worthy. "

In other words, if Sterling agreed to an early flip, he'd get Worthy, no matter what.

Buss even offered to set up a program for Sterling which would guarantee $1 million in ticket sales over and above what the Clippers normally would do.

Sterling wasn't convinced that Sampson had his heart set on playing for the Lakers, so he declined Buss' offer.

There would be no early flip... and sure enough Sampson, not willing to take a 50% chance of winding up with the Clippers, stayed in school.

The Lakers won the official coin flip and selected Worthy. The Clippers took Terry Cummings of Depaul (a great player). Sterling said that the Clippers would have taken Cummings even if they drafted first...but they later traded Cummings anyway.

But Sampson was just that close to playing with Kareem and Magic.

I didn't know that about the draft and Sampson. Thanks for that info. Did you know that in 84, Portland was wanting to trade the #2 pick and Clyde Drexler for Sampson? Houston could have had Olajuwan, Jordan and Drexler on the same team. Talk about a dynasty!! Houston should of had Drexler on there team anyway if they would have taken him with the 3rd pick of the 83 draft instead of taking Rodney McCrae. Also, when Houston had Sampson on the trading block there were rumors that Utah was wanting to deal Karl Malone and a young and unproven John Stockton to Houston for Sampson. There was also a Drexler and Steve Johnson deal out there. So what does Houston do? Sleepy Floyd and Joe Barry Carrol. Talk about a missed opportunity!