Examining Pro Basketball's 30,000 Point Club
Pro basketball's 30,000 point club has admitted just eight members in 75 seasons (listed in current ranking order): Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (the regular season career scoring leader from 1984-present), LeBron James, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki, Wilt Chamberlain (the regular season career scoring leader from 1966-84), and Julius Erving. When Chamberlain retired after the 1973 season, he was the lone member of the 30,000 point club, and only a handful of players had scored at least 20,000 regular season points. It took a decade for Abdul-Jabbar to become the 30,000 point club's second member. In 1987, Erving became the third member--and the first "midsize" player to top the 30,000 point mark.
For more than a decade, Abdul-Jabbar, Chamberlain, and Erving remained the club's only members. After Michael Jordan's 1998 retirement, Karl Malone passed Jordan on the career scoring list and then became the 30,000 point club's fourth member. Jordan came out of retirement and joined the club during his brief time with the Washington Wizards. Bryant joined the 30,000 point club in 2012; he, Jordan, and Erving remain the only "midsize" players who have been brilliant enough and durable enough to score more than 30,000 points. How significant is that? If a player plays 80 games a year for 10 straight years while averaging 25 ppg he will "only" be 10,000 points short of the 30,000 point club!
In 2017, Nowitzki became the first 30,000 point scorer who was born outside of the United States, and in 2018 James set the record as the youngest player to score 30,000 regular season points.
Each 30,000 point club member grabbed at least 6500 rebounds, and Nowitzki
is the only 30,000 point club member who did not notch at least 4000
assists.
Chamberlain is the only 30,000 point club member who tallied at least 20,000 rebounds (his 23,924 career rebounds is a record that is unlikely to ever be broken). Abdul-Jabbar is the only other 30,000 point club member who also had at least 15,000 rebounds (17,440, fourth on pro basketball's all-time list behind Chamberlain, Bill Russell, and Moses Malone). Abdul-Jabbar, Malone, and Erving were the first three 30,000 point club members who had at least 10,000 rebounds and at least 5000 assists.
James recently became the first player with at least 30,000 regular season points, at least 10,000 regular season rebounds, and at least 10,000 regular season assists. The 30,000 point club member who ranks second in assists behind James is Bryant (6306), so while it is true that James is not a pass first player it is also true that he is a very gifted passer, particularly for someone whose primary skill set strength is scoring. James is not the first great scorer who was also a great passer but his combination of durability with consistent productivity in both departments is rare. The assist statistic is inherently subjective, but there is no doubt that James performs at an elite level as both a scorer and as a playmaker.
Abdul-Jabbar and Jordan lead the 30,000 point club with six championships each, followed by Bryant (five), James (four), Erving (three), Chamberlain (two), and Nowitzki (one). Malone is the lone 30,000 point club member who did not win a title.
Abdul-Jabbar won six regular season MVPs plus two Finals MVPs. Jordan won five regular season MVPs and six Finals MVPs. Chamberlain won four regular season MVPs and one Finals MVP (the Finals MVP was first handed out after the 10th of Chamberlain's 14 seasons). Erving won four regular season MVPs and two Finals MVPs. James won four regular season MVPs and four Finals MVPs. Malone won two regular season MVPs and no Finals MVPs. Bryant won one regular season MVP and two Finals MVPs. Nowitzki won one regular season MVP and one Finals MVP.
Who will join the 30,000 point club next? Only five active players other than James have scored at least 20,000 career regular season points: Carmelo Anthony (28,243), Kevin Durant (25,248), James Harden (23,305), Russell Westbrook (23,164), and Chris Paul (20,844). Anthony, who will turn 38 in May, would need two healthy seasons at his current scoring pace to join the 30,000 point club. Considering age and current productivity levels, Durant looks like the best candidate to be the next member of the 30,000 point club.
Labels: Dirk Nowitzki, Julius Erving, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain
posted by David Friedman @ 11:30 PM
Robert Parish Declares that Larry Bird "Earned" What He Received From Julius Erving in the Infamous Bird-Erving Fight
The NBA's biggest rivalry in the early to mid 1980s was Julius Erving versus Larry Bird:
Erving's Philadelphia 76ers played Bird's Celtics six times in each
regular season and faced off in four Eastern Conference Finals between
1980 and 1985. Erving and Bird frequently guarded each other, while
Magic and Bird played different positions and only guarded each other on
defensive switches.
The Erving-Bird rivalry captured the
public's imagination. In 1983, Electronic Arts produced Julius
Erving-Larry Bird One-on-One, the forerunner of NBA Live and all the
other sports video games; it would have been unimaginable to choose any
other matchup at that time. Erving and Bird actively participated in the
creation of the game and as a result the final product incorporated
real life aspects of each player’s style.
The two Hall of Fame superstars generally played cleanly against each other, but an infamous exception happened during a November 9, 1984 game. The soon to be 28 year old Bird--in the prime of his career and in the midst of the second of three straight MVP seasons--outscored the 34 year old Erving--in his 14th season, and less than three years away from retirement--42-6. When Erving ascended to the top of pro basketball in the early to mid 1970s, he never demeaned his opponents or showed them up in words or deeds, but during this early season encounter Bird reveled in his dominance over Erving, and--despite Bird's later denials--he engaged in trash talk that at least one of his Hall of Fame teammates found to be distasteful.
In a recent "Icons Club" podcast, Jackie MacMullan interviewed Robert Parish, who described his recollections of what Bird said to Erving prior to the Bird-Erving fight: "Larry started saying he was done, he was washed up, that he was a better player, that there was only one man who can guard me and that was God. He laid it on real thick. I'm surprised that the Doctor restrained himself for as long as he had, because I knew I would have thrown a punch and he wasn't even directing it at me." Parish felt so strongly that Bird was out of line that Parish--a martial arts practitioner who did not shy away from on court confrontations--did not intervene on Bird's behalf during the fight: "Larry earned that ass-whupping, Jackie. He earned it from his words. He earned it, no question about, and that is one of the reasons why I did not do anything about it, even though Moses (Malone) was holding Larry back. Because some things, Jackie, you just do not say to another person, (even) in the heat of the moment, and I felt like Larry crossed the line. Being that Moses did not throw a punch, that is why I did not intervene."
Bird engaged in several physical altercations--on and off the
court--during his NBA career, but Erving had never been in a fight
during his pro basketball career prior to November 9, 1984, and he was never in a
fight after the Bird fight.
Think about what that fight says about Bird, Erving, Parish, and the tremendous respect that even players from an archrival team felt for Erving. Erving's on court accomplishments, his off court accomplishments as an endorsement pioneer and successful businessman, and the level of respect that he earned are not now recognized to the extent that they should be.
MacMullan described Erving as "a redoubtable mentor for a litany of
players past and present." Bill Walton declared, "The way that you can
tell that Dr. J is the single most beloved, respected, and admired
player is that when we go to the Hall of Fame every year, Dr. J gets the
most presentations--by far," something that I have previously discussed.
MacMullan noted that there is no Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, or modern NBA without the foundation that Erving laid (though Erving, in his modest manner, would be quick to say that whatever he did was made possible because of the great players who came before him, including his all-time five of Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell, and Jerry West, with Connie Hawkins as the sixth man). MacMullan said that multiple generations of NBA legends--from Magic Johnson to Charles Barkley to Jason Kidd to Shaquille O'Neal to Allen Iverson to Kobe Bryant to Dwyane Wade--received direct mentoring from Erving, while countless others were influenced, inspired, and motivated by Erving.
When Erving is questioned about his all-time five, he states that the five players who inspired him as a youngster will always be his all-time five, regardless of the all-time fives selected by other people. The way that Erving feels about his heroes is the same way that I feel about him, and about his permanent place in pro basketball's Pantheon.
Labels: Boston Celtics, Jackie MacMullan, Julius Erving, Larry Bird, Philadelphia 76ers, Robert Parish
posted by David Friedman @ 11:14 PM
Julius Erving Still Holds the Nets' Franchise Single Game Scoring Record
It is bad enough that in general the NBA pretends that ABA statistics do not exist even though ABA Numbers Should Also Count, but it is even worse when teams founded in the ABA disrespect the accomplishments of their great ABA players by being complicit in the rewriting of their franchise histories. Kyrie Irving's 60 point game versus the Orlando Magic last Tuesday was impressive, but--despite many media accounts to the contrary--it did not set the Nets' franchise single game scoring record.
A "franchise record," by definition, spans the entire history of a franchise, regardless of relocations, league mergers, or any other circumstances. The Nets franchise was founded in 1967-68, when the team was in the ABA and was known as the New Jersey Americans. The Nets were known as the New York Nets from 1968-1977, including the last eight seasons of the ABA plus the first season after the ABA-NBA merger. The Nets were known as the New Jersey Nets from 1977 until 2012, when the franchise moved to Brooklyn and became the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets have played in two leagues and several different arenas while being known by four different names, but they have been the same franchise throughout their history.
The Nets' franchise single game scoring record is 63 points, set by Julius Erving in a four overtime game on February 14, 1975. The Nets lost 176-166 to the San Diego Conquistadors in that contest. Erving scored 45 points in regulation and 16 points in the first two overtimes. Erving was limited by a sprained ankle during the final three overtimes,
but he played in 66 out of a possible 68 minutes, which may be
incomprehensible to fans who have grown accustomed to "load management"
and to players missing games for minor injuries. Erving shot 25-51 from the field, including 0-5 from three point range. Erving's 25 field goals made tied the ABA single game record, his 46 two point field goal attempts set an ABA record, and he fell just four points short of matching Larry Miller's ABA single game scoring record of 67 points. Erving grabbed a game-high 23 rebounds, and he dished for a game-high eight assists.
Erving's three point misfires during his 63 point game were an aberration, as he
shot 29-87 (.333) from three point range that season, ranking sixth in
the league in three point field goal percentage; it is important to
remember that three pointers were not attempted nearly as frequently
even in the freewheeling ABA as they are in today's analytics-driven
NBA: Erving ranked 11th in the ABA in three point field goals made in
1974-75, and in 1975-76 he ranked fifth in three point field goals made
(34) and sixth in three point field goal percentage (.330).
After his 63 point game, Erving said, "I've never been in a game like this one, and I hope I'm never in one like this again--unless we win, that is. It's just so disheartening to lose when you put so much into it."
Erving had many other spectacular games that the NBA pretends never happened, including a 53 point playoff game as a rookie in 1972, tying the ABA's playoff single game record held by Roger Brown. Erving's 53 point playoff game matched Wilt Chamberlain's professional rookie single game playoff
scoring record, and set the mark for the most points ever scored by a
rookie in his first road playoff game. Erving averaged 33.3 ppg, 20.4 rpg and 6.5 apg during the 1972 playoffs while shooting
.518 from the field and .835 from the free throw line. He averaged 45.8 mpg during the 1972 playoffs while leading the ABA in playoff scoring average and playoff rebounding average,
and ranking second in both minutes per game and assists per game. The
only other player in ABA/NBA history who averaged at least 30 ppg and
at least 20 rpg in the same postseason is Wilt Chamberlain (1960-62,
64); the only other players who led the NBA or ABA in playoff scoring
average and playoff rebounding average during the same postseason are
George Mikan (1952 NBA), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1977 NBA), Hakeem
Olajuwon (1988 NBA) and Shaquille O'Neal (2000 NBA). None of those four
players came close to matching Erving's 6.5 apg average.
The incredible numbers posted by Julius Erving, Roger Brown, Rick Barry, and other ABA players are no less real and no less significant than the numbers posted by Joe Namath and other AFL players who are recognized in the NFL's official record book.
The NBA, its teams, and its media partners must do better, because the longstanding practice of pretending that the ABA did not exist is disgraceful and inexcusable.
Labels: Brooklyn Nets, Julius Erving, Kyrie Irving, New York Nets
posted by David Friedman @ 1:14 AM
