Remembering Bob "Butterbean" Love, Stalwart Forward for the 1970s Chicago Bulls
In an era when the accomplishments of even some of the elite basketball players of the past are derided--if not forgotten--it is very important to pay tribute to players who helped build the NBA into the multi-billion dollar business that it is today. Long before Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA titles in an eight year span in the 1990s, Bob Love--who passed away yesterday at the age of 81--was the leading scorer for Chicago Bulls teams that put pro basketball on the map in the Windy City.
Bob Love and Chet Walker were the starting forwards for Chicago squads that made six straight playoff appearances, a run of excellence that began just three years after the franchise was founded. The Bulls reached the Western Conference Finals in 1974 and 1975 only to fall first to the powerful Milwaukee Bucks led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and then to the soon to be NBA champion Golden State Warriors led by Rick Barry. Prior to that, the Bulls lost in the playoffs three years in a row to an L.A. Lakers team featuring Pantheon members Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West. Dick Motta, who later guided the Washington Bullets to the 1978 NBA championship, coached the Bulls from 1968-76, and the backcourt was manned by Norm Van Lier and Jerry Sloan, a great rebounding guard and defensive player who became a Hall of Fame coach.
In a 2015 20 Second Timeout article, I selected Love as one of the four best players in the Bulls' franchise history: "Love was the best player for some strong Chicago teams in the early
1970s, a top notch scorer who was also an excellent defensive player. As
a Bull, Love made the All-NBA Second Team twice (1971, 1972) and the
All-Defensive Second Team three times (1972, 1974-75). Love holds the
franchise single season record for minutes played (3482) and he ranks
third on the franchise's career scoring list behind Jordan and Pippen."
Love was a workhouse who averaged at least 37 mpg for seven straight seasons while playing in all 82 games three times, playing in 81 games once, and playing in 79 game once. He averaged at least 43.3 mpg in seven of his eight playoff series, and he was productive during those postseason minutes (22.9 ppg, 7.5 rpg). Love ranks fourth in ABA-NBA history in playoff mpg (43.9). In that era, there was no "load management"; players just figured out how to manage the work load.
Love was raised by his grandmother Ella Hunter during a difficult childhood in Louisiana. He is one of several NBA All-Stars who developed his game at a historically Black college, a group that includes Earl Monroe, Willis Reed, Dick Barnett, and Bob Dandridge. Love played sparingly for two seasons with the Cincinnati Royals and then spent just 14 games with the Milwaukee Bucks before finding his NBA home in Chicago in 1968. He averaged at least 19.9 ppg in each of his first six seasons with the Bulls.
A back injury ended Love's playing career in 1977. He briefly fell on hard times after leaving the NBA, and he took a job cleaning tables and washing dishes at Nordstrom. While working at Nordstrom, Love, who was nicknamed "Butterbean" as a child because of his love for butter beans, overcame a serious stuttering problem that caused him to shun interviews during his NBA career. He not only became Nordstrom's manager for health and sanitation, but he became an accomplished public speaker. Last year during a podcast interview, Love described his life after playing pro basketball as "a story of overcoming, of never playing the victim."
Sam Smith, who covered the Chicago Bulls for the Chicago Tribune before becoming a writer for Bulls.com, knows as much about the Bulls as anyone, and he penned a must-read tribute to Love, focusing not only on Love's playing career but also on his inner strength and his determined resolve to better himself after retiring from the NBA: "He'd often reflect in later years if he was going to be a dishwasher,
he'd be an all-star dishwasher like he was in college and the NBA. John
Nordstrom noticed the hard working former NBA star and arranged for
speech therapy. Having failed in programs before, Bob was reluctant. But
with a nudge from Nordstrom, Bob found a patient partner, learned the
mechanics of speech, practiced, and tried to figure out how it all
happened. He said as a kid he used to mimic a relative who stuttered."
Love's perseverance and work ethic should always be remembered.
Labels: Bob Love, Chet Walker, Chicago Bulls, Dick Motta, Jerry Sloan, Norm Van Lier
posted by David Friedman @ 3:23 AM
Classless Chicago Fans Tarnish Bulls' Inaugural Ring of Honor Ceremony by Booing Jerry Krause
On Friday night, the Chicago Bulls held their inaugural Ring of Honor ceremony, inducting Artis Gilmore, Johnny "Red" Kerr, Dick Klein (the team's first owner and general manager), Bob "Butterbean" Love, Jerry Sloan, Chet "The Jet" Walker, Jerry Krause, Tex Winter, Phil Jackson, Toni Kukoc, Dennis Rodman, Scottie Pippen, and Michael Jordan. What should have been an event brimming with joyful nostalgia was tarnished when Chicago fans booed lustily after Krause's name was announced. Krause's widow Thelma, in attendance to accept the honor, cried at the disrespect, and was immediately comforted by other honorees and retired Bulls players.
There is a proper time and place to express displeasure regarding Krause's role in ending the Bulls' dynasty, but a ceremony honoring him for his significant contributions to building the Bulls' dynasty is not that time or place, particularly considering that Krause died several years ago and thus his widow felt the brunt of the fans' senseless hatred. I don't want to hear excuses about fans being too young to remember Krause, or fans booing without knowing why just because other fans booed. If other people jumped off of a cliff would you follow them, or would you assess the situation and draw conclusions? Of course, that question presumes that the people who booed have functioning brains, which is far from certain.
When your team honors the people who gave their blood, sweat, and tears to make your team great, you cheer. This is not complicated.
I have written about Krause many times. I am not his biggest fan, but I respect what he accomplished--and anyone who has any knowledge of basketball history respects what he accomplished. An objective, detached take on Krause's legacy is that he deserves a lot of credit for building the Bulls' dynasty, and a lot of blame for breaking up the Bulls' dynasty, as I explained in my obituary for Krause:
In 1998, I was furious at Krause for destroying something so beautifully artistic and so competitively fierce.
Nearly 20 years later, I am still puzzled and saddened by what Krause
did but I also appreciate what he accomplished--not just with the Bulls
but over the span of his life. Those who knew him well say that he was a
loyal friend with a good heart. Ultimately, that is how he should be
remembered--and, despite his gruff demeanor at times and despite his
mistake in breaking up the Bulls, there is no doubt that Krause belongs
in the Basketball Hall of Fame. It is a shame that if he ever is
inducted he will not be around to enjoy that most deserved honor.
After Krause was inducted posthumously in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017, I assessed his legacy:
I was as baffled and upset as anyone by Krause's haste and glee to
break up the Bulls so that he could try to build another championship
team from scratch but Krause deserves a lot of credit for hiring Phil
Jackson as coach and for acquiring key players Scottie Pippen, Horace
Grant, B.J. Armstrong, Bill Cartwright, Toni Kukoc, Ron Harper and
Dennis Rodman. An NBA executive's job is to win games and championships;
by that standard, Krause is one of the most accomplished executives in
pro basketball history.
"The Last Dance" told the story of the Chicago Bulls' dynasty from Michael Jordan's perspective, and to a large extent made Krause a villain for a generation of fans too young to remember the 1990s. Krause resigned from the Bulls in 2003 after his post-dynasty plan failed woefully, but it should never be diminished or forgotten that Krause's Chicago teams won six NBA titles (1991-93, 1996-98). Jordan did not win a playoff series as a player before Krause arrived in Chicago, and Jordan did not win a playoff series in his two years playing for the Washington Wizards; in 18 years as an owner/executive, Jordan's teams only made the playoffs three times, and did not win a single series. Jordan's 2011-12 Hornets went 7-59, setting the NBA record for worst single season winning percentage. Obviously, being a successful NBA executive is not quite as easy as Jordan thought when he mocked Krause during the Bulls' glory years. Krause's critics say that anyone could have built a championship team around Jordan, but Jordan himself proved for nearly two decades that he was neither capable of finding a great player nor capable of even putting together a team that consistently qualified for the playoffs.
The Bulls' classless fans should be ashamed of booing Krause and tarnishing what should have been a great moment.
Labels: Artis Gilmore, Bob Love, Chet Walker, Chicago Bulls, Dennis Rodman, Dick Klein, Jerry Krause, Jerry Sloan, Johnny "Red" Kerr, Michael Jordan, Phil Jackson, Scottie Pippen, Tex Winter, Toni Kukoc
posted by David Friedman @ 11:17 PM
Running a One Man Fast Break: Pro Basketball's Greatest Rebounding Guards
A slightly different version of this article was originally published in the December 2002 issue of Basketball Digest.
Last season Jason Kidd provided an eloquent demonstration of the value of a guard who is an excellent rebounder. He frequently grabbed defensive rebounds and pushed the ball full bore up court, creating open shots for his teammates. His ability to be a one man fast break placed tremendous pressure on opposing defenses and played a large part in transforming the New Jersey Nets from a hapless team into the Eastern Conference Champions.
Kidd is one of 11 guards in pro basketball history who averaged at least 6 rpg in five or more seasons (minimum of 60 games played or 350 rebounds each year). Bob Cousy was the first guard to do this, averaging a career-high 6.9 rpg as a Boston Celtics' rookie in 1950-51, and following that with 6-plus rpg averages in four of the next five years. During this period the fast breaking Celtics were consistently the leading scoring team in the league, but their lack of defensive presence in the paint always proved to be fatal in the playoffs.
Not surprisingly, the end of Cousy's run of 6-plus rpg seasons coincided with the arrival of Bill Russell, who became the second leading rebounder in the history of pro basketball. Cousy never averaged more than 5.5 rpg in a season after Russell joined the Celtics, but Boston won championships in six of the seven years that the two were teammates en route to an unprecedented 11 titles in 13 years. Cousy finished his career with 4786 rebounds (5.2 rpg), an impressive total for a 6-1, 175 pound point guard.
Tom Gola played forward in college and is still the NCAA Division I career leader in total rebounds (2201). In the NBA the versatile Gola switched primarily to the backcourt and averaged at least 6 rpg in eight seasons (1956; 1958-64). In 1958-59 he averaged a career-high 11.1 rpg and narrowly missed becoming the first guard to rank in the top ten in the NBA in rebounding. The 6-6 Gola played in five All-Star games and was a member of the 1956 NBA Champion Philadelphia Warriors. His career average of 8.0 rpg is the best ever by a guard.
Richie Guerin averaged 6 or more rpg for five straight years (1958-62), starting in his second season. In 1960-61 he posted a career high 7.9 rpg. Next season the 6-4 Guerin averaged career bests in points (29.5 ppg) and assists (6.9 apg) in addition to posting his final 6-plus rpg season (6.4 rpg). His rebounding dropped dramatically after that year and he finished his career with a 5.0 rpg average.
In 1961-62 Oscar Robertson became the only player to average a triple double for a season (30.8 ppg, 12.5 rpg and 11.4 apg). He ranked first in the NBA in assists, third in scoring and eighth in rebounding, the only guard to ever crack the top ten in that category; his 12.5 rpg average that season is easily the best ever by a guard. Robertson narrowly missed averaging a triple double in several other seasons and actually averaged a triple double for the first five years of his career (30.3 ppg, 10.6 apg and 10.4 rpg). He averaged 6-plus rpg in each of his ten seasons (1961-70) with the Cincinnati Royals before finishing his career with the Milwaukee Bucks, teaming with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to win the only championship of Robertson's career in 1970-71. Robertson's 7804 rebounds are the most ever by a guard and his 7.5 rpg career average trails only Gola, who had a significantly shorter career. At 6-5, 220 pounds, Robertson combined the size and strength of a forward with the quickness and ball handling of a guard.
Jerry West entered the NBA with Robertson in 1960-61 and averaged at least 6 rpg in each of his first six seasons. Like Robertson, he posted his best rpg average in 1961-62 (7.9 rpg) and he also matched Robertson's 30.8 ppg average that season (West played four fewer games than Robertson and ranked fifth in scoring, which at that time was determined by total points, not average). The 6-2, 185 pound West was significantly smaller than Gola, Guerin and Robertson, the other top rebounding guards of his era, but he finished his career with 5376 rebounds (5.8 rpg).
Utah Jazz Coach Jerry Sloan did not receive much playing time as a Baltimore Bullets' rookie in 1965-66. The Chicago Bulls acquired him in the expansion draft prior to 1966-67 and Sloan averaged at least 6 rpg for the next nine years, along the way earning a reputation as one of the best defensive guards ever. His 7.4 rpg career average ranks behind only Gola and Robertson among guards. Sloan (6-5, 200 pounds) averaged a career best 9.1 rpg in 1966-67 and he averaged over 8 rpg two other times.
Like Sloan, Walt Frazier played sparingly as a rookie before having a breakout second season. Frazier averaged 4.2 rpg in 1967-68 as a New York Knicks' rookie before averaging at least 6 rpg during his next eight seasons with the team. He peaked at 7.3 rpg in the 1973 championship season. Frazier slumped to 3.9 rpg in 1976-77, his last season with the Knicks, and played three subpar seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers before retiring. The 6-4, 205 pound Frazier totaled 4830 rebounds (5.9 rpg) in his career.
Magic Johnson made a run at averaging a triple double for a season in 1981-82, his third year in the league. Magic scored 18.6 ppg, ranked second in the league with 9.5 apg and grabbed a career high 9.6 rpg. In the first 12 years of his career he averaged at least 6 rpg 10 times; in 1980-81 he averaged 8.6 rpg but only played in 37 games and in 1985-86 he averaged 5.9 rpg. Magic averaged 5.7 rpg in his brief 32 game comeback in 1995-96 and finished his career with 6559 rebounds, the third highest total for a guard, and a 7.2 rpg average, trailing only Gola, Robertson and Sloan.
Clyde Drexler is the all-time leader for 6-plus rpg seasons among guards, accomplishing this feat 11 times in his 15 year career. The only seasons that he missed the mark were his rookie year (2.9 rpg in 1983-84), his third year (5.6 rpg) and his last year (4.9 rpg); he failed to qualify in 1992-93, when he averaged 6.3 rpg but only played in 49 games due to injuries. Drexler's best average was 7.9 rpg (1988-89) and he only had one other season above 7 rpg but he consistently stayed above 6 rpg for the bulk of his career. Drexler totaled 6687 rebounds (6.1 rpg).
Michael Jordan entered the NBA one year after Drexler and posted similar career rebounding numbers--6175 rebounds (6.2 rpg), including his 2001-02 totals as a swingman for the Washington Wizards. Jordan has averaged 6-plus rpg seven times. His career best average is 8.0 rpg in 1988-89, a year in which he also averaged a career high 8.0 assists and won his third scoring title with a 32.5 ppg average. Injuries limited him to 18 games in his second season and two retirements further restricted his opportunities to add to his total of 6-plus rpg campaigns. In his last two seasons with the Bulls he averaged 5.9 rpg and 5.8 rpg respectively. In his first season with the Wizards, Jordan averaged 5.7 rpg.
Kidd has averaged 6-plus rpg in six of his first eight seasons, including a career high 7.3 rpg in 2001-02. His career average stands at 6.4 rpg entering the 2002-03 season, so it does not seem likely that he will overtake Gola, Robertson, Sloan or Magic in that category. His ability to amass triple doubles makes him the closest player in today's game to Robertson and Magic, although both of those players scored more and shot much better than Kidd does.
Several other outstanding rebounders deserve mention. The best rebounding guard in ABA history was undoubtedly Warren Jabali (formerly Armstrong). Jabali, powerfully built and an exceptional leaper, posted three seasons of 6-plus rpg, including a career-high 10.4 rpg in 1969-70 for the Washington Capitols, a season in which he also averaged 22.8 ppg and 4.3 apg. Coach Al Bianchi used him extensively at forward that season, but a 6-2, 200 pound guard averaging over 10 rpg as a forward simply has to be included on any list of great rebounding guards. Jabali averaged 6.7 rpg in his seven year career.
Lafayette "Fat" Lever of the Denver Nuggets averaged 6-plus rpg for four straight seasons (1987-90) despite being only 6-3, 180 pounds. Amazingly, he exceeded 8.0 rpg in each of those years, including a career-high 9.3 rpg in 1989-90 (plus 18.3 ppg and 6.5 apg ). The next season he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks, blew out his knee after only four games and was never the same. He finished his career with a 6.0 rpg average.
Other guards who had at least three 6-plus rpg seasons include Michael Ray Richardson, T.R. Dunn, Darrell Walker and Alvin Robertson. George Gervin had two 6-plus rpg seasons as a small forward and one after shifting to shooting guard. Among active guards, other than Kidd and Jordan only Steve Francis and Tracy McGrady have achieved 6-plus rpg more than once. Both posted career highs in 2001-02: 7.0 rpg for Francis and 7.9 rpg for McGrady. Kobe Bryant averaged a career-high 6.3 rpg in 1999-00 but his averages have dropped the past two seasons (5.9 rpg and 5.5 rpg respectively).
Pro Basketball's Greatest Rebounding Guards | Player | 6 rpg | Best season | Career | Career | Career |
| seasons | rpg average | reb. | gms | rpg
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Clyde Drexler | 11 | 7.9 rpg/1989 | 6687 | 1086 | 6.1 |
| Magic Johnson | 10 | 9.6 rpg/1982 | 6559 | 906 | 7.2 |
| Oscar Robertson | 10 | 12.5 rpg/1962 | 7804 | 1040 | 7.5 |
| Jerry Sloan | 9 | 9.1 rpg/1967 | 5615 | 755 | 7.4 |
| Tom Gola | 8 | 11.1 rpg/1959 | 5617 | 698 | 8.0 |
| Walt Frazier | 8 | 7.3 rpg/1973 | 4830 | 825 | 5.9 |
| Michael Jordan | 7 | 8.0 rpg/1989 | 6175 | 990 | 6.2 |
| Jerry West | 6 | 7.9 rpg/1962 | 5376 | 932 | 5.8 |
| Jason Kidd | 6 | 7.3 rpg/2002 | 3653 | 573 | 6.4 |
| Bob Cousy | 5 | 6.9 rpg/1951 | 4786 | 924 | 5.2 |
| Richie Guerin | 5 | 7.9 rpg/1961 | 4278 | 848 | 5.0 |
Notes: This chart lists all NBA/ABA guards who averaged at least 6 rpg in at least five seasons (minimum 60 games or 350 rebounds in each season).
Labels: Bob Cousy, Clyde Drexler, Fat Lever, Jason Kidd, Jerry Sloan, Jerry West, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Oscar Robertson, Richie Guerin, Tom Gola, Walt Frazier, Warren Jabali
posted by David Friedman @ 4:21 PM
Michael Jordan Views Hall of Fame Induction as Sign of Mortality
It is said that an athlete dies twice. Rarely has there been a more poignant--and somewhat surreal--illustration of that concept than Michael Jordan's Basketball Hall of Fame press conference. Many athletes have been moved to tears upon being selected as Hall of Famers--and many deserving athletes who are on the outside looking in at the Hall of Fame want nothing more than to receive that fateful call announcing that they have joined the immortals of their sport. Jordan, who heads this year's class of David Robinson, Jerry Sloan, C. Vivian Stringer and John Stockton, had a decidedly different take on being chosen:
This is not fun for me. I don't like being up here for the Hall of Fame because at that time your basketball career is completely over. I was hoping this day would be 20 more years, or actually go in when I'm dead and gone. Because now, all along...you always [could] put shorts on and go out and play. Now, when you get into the Hall of Fame, what else is there to do? This is kind of a love-hate thing for me--great accomplishment, great respect that everybody's paying, but for me, I always want to be able to have you thinking that I can always go back and play the game of basketball, put my shorts on. As long as you have that thought, you never know what can happen...Am I? No. But I'd like for you to think that way. Hall of Fame, to me, is like, 'OK, it's over and done with, it's pretty much done, you can't ever put a uniform back on.' It's totally the end of your basketball career. But it's a great accomplishment. I don't walk away from it. But I never envisioned myself really wanting to be up here so quickly. I wanted it to be when I'm 70 years old, 80 years old. I'm 45 and I still think I can play. You guys don't know if I can or can't but at least I've got you thinking that way.Jordan sounded and looked more than wistful; it seemed like he really wanted to rip off his suit, put on a jersey and challenge Kobe Bryant or LeBron James to a game of one on one
right now. It does not surprise me that Jordan feels this way and I suspect that a few other Hall of Fame inductees had similar thoughts pass through their minds but I've never heard anyone explicitly say such things so strongly--Jordan seemed to be dead serious when he said that he would rather not be put in the Hall of Fame until he is either old or even dead. As I watched him utter those words, I had decidedly mixed feelings. On the one hand, I appreciate how extraordinarily competitive he is; nothing will ever be as fulfilling or meaningful to him as those moments when he was at the peak of his powers and simply killing anyone who stood in his way. When Jordan retired for the first time and said that he was going to spend more time with his family that statement was plainly absurd, because Jordan is as single-mindedly devoted to what he does best as any other genius is single-mindedly devoted to his passion; a PBS special about Albert Einstein noted that the great physicist wrote out a series of demands that his wife had to follow in order to stay married to him, including to only speak to him when spoken to first by him and to deliver him his food precisely when he wanted it so that he could eat in solitude while he pondered the mysteries of the universe: geniuses--whether in sports, physics or any other field--often place greater value on their work than they do on relationships with other people. When ESPN aired those "SportsCentury" documentaries a decade ago, it struck me that Jack Nicklaus was about the only person who could claim to be the greatest at what he did who appeared to have a somewhat "normal" family life and relationships with other people.
At the same time that I very clearly understand exactly how Jordan feels and why he said what he said, I could not help but think of
The ABA's Unsung Heroes, players like
Roger Brown, Mel Daniels and
Artis Gilmore: induction in the Hall of Fame would mean so much to them, to their families and to everyone who was affiliated with the ABA. Sadly, they will likely never receive the recognition that they deserve, while Jordan--who knew that he would be a first ballot selection--trivialized the highest honor in the sport. I'm sure that Jordan did not mean for his comments to be taken that way--if nothing else, he is way too focused on his own thoughts and feelings to even consider how what he said could be interpreted regarding larger issues--but in some ways what he said was a slap in the face to everyone who has been inducted in the Hall of Fame as well as to people who should have received that honor long ago but have been snubbed. Jordan is not concerned with being a sports immortal because he considers such status to be a given in his case but most people treasure being chosen as a Hall of Famer.
Jordan's bold defiance of the natural order--the aging process that cruelly robs all of us of our youth, our talents and ultimately our very existence--is at once inspiring and sad; it is what made him so great but it could also end up making him a very miserable old man if he does not find an outlet for his competitive juices or a way to channel all of that energy into other endeavors. If Jordan never discovers anything else that provides meaning or value to him then the next few decades of his life could prove to be very empty. When he is 75 years old is he going to be limping on to the court before game one of the Finals and still proclaiming that he wants everyone to think that he can still play? When Jordan says that at age 45, for at least a second you think that maybe he really could still compete, at least for a few minutes in a half court set--but not too long from now, such declarations are going to seem more delusional or pathetic than proud or defiant. Hopefully, Jordan can emulate the path of Jerry West and Joe Dumars and be satisfied to sublimate his personal competitive urges to the task of building a championship team but somehow I doubt that even winning a championship as an executive would mean a fraction as much to Jordan as the chance to play just one more NBA game as a dominant player.
Andrea Jaeger is an elite athlete (the second ranked tennis player in the world in 1981) who has devoted her post-tennis life to
helping ease the suffering of ill children; Jaeger is obviously an exceptional example but perhaps Jordan would be more at peace--and could help make the world a better place--if he uses the profile he has acquired and the resources at his disposal to help people who are less fortunate than he is.
Garry Kasparov--arguably the greatest chess champion of all-time--is the same age as Jordan and has been retired from competitive chess nearly as long as Jordan has been retired from the NBA but Kasparov has created a second life for himself as a political activist, author and
strong supporter of chess as a positive activity for young people.Labels: Basketball Hall of Fame, C. Vivian Stringer, David Robinson, Jerry Sloan, John Stockton, Michael Jordan
posted by David Friedman @ 4:44 PM
