20 Second Timeout

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Inducts 13 Member 2024 Class, Including Vince Carter and Jerry West

The 2024 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame ceremony was originally scheduled for the weekend of August 16-17, but was shifted to the weekend of October 12-13 on a one-time basis after a basketball-packed summer that included Team USA winning the gold medal at the 2024 Olympics. 

The Class of 2024 includes 13 inductees, eight of whom have strong NBA ties: players Dick Barnett, Chauncey Billups, Vince Carter, Michael Cooper, and Walter Davis, plus contributors Doug Collins, Herb Simon, and Jerry West. This year's other five inductees are Seimone Augustus, Harley Redin, Bo Ryan, Charles Smith (a Louisiana high school coach, not the former NBA player) and Michele Timms. 

As usual, this report will focus on the inductees who have NBA connections.

Billups led off the proceedings, and he was presented by Tina Thompson and his Detroit teammate Ben Wallace. His Detroit Coach Larry Brown was also supposed to present him, but Brown was unable to attend the ceremony. Billups noted that his grandmother had dreamed of someone in the family doing something that would establish the family name in a positive light. He said that his father Ray was his first coach/role model. 

It is obvious that playing for five different teams in his first six NBA seasons both stung and inspired Billups, who was the third overall pick in the 1997 NBA Draft. Billups played 51 games for the Boston Celtics as a rookie before they traded him to Toronto, and he lasted just 29 games in Toronto before landing in Denver. He played 58 games for Denver in parts of two seasons before being shipped to Minnesota. Billups credited Minnesota Coach Flip Saunders with being the first NBA coach who believed in him. Billups said that during his time in Minnesota he received point guard mentoring from Terrell Brandon and general mentoring from Sam Mitchell, who later became the 2007 NBA Coach of the Year and is currently a commentator on NBA TV and SiriusXM NBA Radio.

Billups enjoyed two solid seasons in Minnesota before signing with the Detroit Pistons as a free agent. That decision put Billups' career on a Hall of Fame arc, as he led the Pistons to six straight Eastern Conference Finals appearances (2003-08), two NBA Finals appearances (2004-05) and one NBA title (2004). Billups earned the 2004 NBA Finals MVP as his Pistons beat the favored but injury-riddled L.A. Lakers 4-1. Billups recalled that in those days the Pistons called themselves "The Best Five Alive" and they did not believe that any team could beat them. 

Billups said that his parents inspired him while laying a solid foundation in life for him and his siblings. Speaking directly to his three daughters--who all attended the event--Billups said, "Legacy is not something you leave for someone. It is something you leave in someone."

Ty Lue--who coached the Cleveland Cavaliers to the 2016 NBA title--encouraged Billups to become an NBA coach, telling Billups that the job is stressful but that he will love it even though he will gain weight and have bags under his eyes from watching so much game film/video. Billups acknowledged that everything Lue told him about coaching turned out to be true. Billups has a career 81-165 record in three seasons as Portland's coach, but he declared that he will be a winner as a coach just like he was a winner as a player. Billups thanked the coaches who helped him become a great player, and he mentioned that no coach pushed him harder than Larry Brown, who helmed Detroit's 2004 championship team. Billups concluded by thanking his grandmother for her prayers, and he said that her prayers came true in terms of him putting respect on the Billups name.

Herb Simon, who purchased the Indiana Pacers with his brother Melvin in 1983, is the longest serving NBA team owner. He was presented by Larry Bird, Tamika Catchings, and Reggie Miller. Simon, who looks, moves, and acts significantly younger than his age, declared that he is "excited as ever" for the start of the NBA season on October 23, which will be his 90th birthday. Simon's favorite part of owning the Pacers is how the team brings his family together, and he proudly noted that all eight of his children attended this ceremony.

Simon said that his three presenters represent almost the entire time span that he has owned the Pacers (and the WNBA's Indiana Fever). He said of Miller, "You epitomize everything it is to be a Pacer." Miller spent his entire 18 season NBA career with the Pacers. Simon noted that Catchings brought him his only championship when she led the Fever to the 2012 WNBA title. Simon declared to Bird, "You are a winner at everything you do."  During his tenure with the Pacers, Bird won the Coach of the Year award (1998) and the Executive of the Year award (2012). Bird also selected Kevin Pritchard as his successor to run the team, and Simon indicated that Pritchard's moves are a major reason that he is so excited about the upcoming NBA season. 

Returning to the family theme as he finished his speech, Simon pointed to his niece Cynthia A. Simon Skjodt in the crowd and said, "If ever an award deserved two names this one deserves it, so in closing I want to dedicate this recognition to the memory of my brother Mel." 

I had never heard of Charles Smith, a Louisiana high school coach, before he received this honor. What struck me most about his story and his speech is that he has lived a life dedicated to service. He had opportunities to pursue fame and glory by coaching college basketball, but he stayed grounded in his roots and taught his students not only the game of basketball but the game of life. To this day, he is still a math teacher and a school bus driver at Peabody High School.

Jerry West is the first three-time inductee, going in this time as a contributor after previously being honored as a player (1980) and as a member of Team USA's 1960 Olympics team (2010). West, who passed away on June 12, 2024 at the age of 86, was presented by Rick Welts, Bob McAdoo, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Pat Riley, Jamaal Wilkes, Vlade Divac, Del Harris, and Michael Cooper. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Pau Gasol, and Shaquille O'Neal were listed as presenters for West in the Hall of Fame's official press release, but they did not attend the ceremony.

Jerry West's son Jonnie spoke on his behalf. Jonnie noted that his father was obsessed with winning, and "The truth is, my dad would have struggled to accept all this recognition. He had a habit of tuning out all of the praise and hearing only criticism. But I'm here today to talk about how good he was at his job, whether he likes it or not, because Jerry Alan West was an overlooked kid from little Chelyan, West Virginia who is now a Hall of Famer for a historic third time."

Jonnie described a man who was so competitive that if he made a hole in one he would be upset about how the ball rolled into the hole. Everyone who is successful in life is competitive to some extent, but there is a difference between being competitive and being obsessed with competition, and there are a select few who are obsessed with competition. It is clear from Jonnie's descriptions and from all that is publicly known about his father that Jerry West--like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant--had an obsession with competition that few other people have.

Jerry had a tremendous eye for talent, and he had the courage of his convictions. He drafted Vlade Divac at a time when it had not yet become popular to draft European players--and Divac rewarded this faith by having a Hall of Fame career. Yet, when the opportunity arose to draft a promising 17 year old Kobe Bryant, West traded Divac to Charlotte for the necessary draft pick. Jonnie asserted, with pride but also justification, that Jerry West's nearly simultaneous acquisitions of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant may have been the most impactful back to back moves of any executive in sports history. 

Jonnie did not mention the contentious nature of his father's departure from a Lakers organization to which he contributed so much, but it must be said that the rift between Jerry West and the Lakers is not only sad but it reflects poorly on the Lakers--and it is likely not a coincidence that the Lakers were a lot more successful with Jerry West in the fold than with Jerry West in exile. Jonnie pointed out that after his father left the Lakers he helped build the Memphis Grizzlies into a 50 win squad after the team had previously never won more than 23 games in a season. Jerry West also made meaningful contributions to Golden State and to the L.A. Clippers, for whom he was working as a consultant at the time of his death. The Clippers issued a statement describing West as the "personification of basketball excellence."

Jonnie noted that despite his father's obsession with competition, he also maintained compassion and connection in his interactions with his co-workers. 

Just five years ago, Dick Barnett spoke powerfully at the Hall of Fame Induction ceremony about his Tennessee A&I squad that was the first team to win three straight collegiate championships, so it was poignant to see the wheelchair-bound Barnett unable to speak at his own induction. Barnett's teammate Bill Bradley described him as a two-way player who was an essential member of the Knicks' championship teams in 1970 and 1973. Barnett's signature move was his "Fall back, baby" jump shot, with that trademark phrase signifying that his team can fall back on defense because he was sure that he would make the shot.

Doug Collins earned four NBA All-Star selections, but he joins the Hall of Fame not as a player but as a contributor. Like West, Collins distinguished himself in multiple roles during a long basketball career, excelling as a player, coach, and broadcaster. His Philadelphia 76ers teammate Julius Erving said of Collins, "I never played with a guy whose feet and hands were so quick. That quickness was also a part of his mind, and his heart and his energy. He was one of the greatest players I ever had as a teammate." Grant Hill said, "Doug was the best coach I had in the NBA." Grant Hill, Billy Cunningham, and Jerry Reinsdorf served as presenters for Collins.

Collins brought a basketball on stage with him, and declared that everyone assembled should think about that basketball: "Eight pounds of air, and what it has done for all of our lives." During his speech, Collins described himself as a storyteller, and he told many stories in a speech that lasted for nearly 30 minutes. In theory, there is a time limit for each speech, but in practice it is rare for anyone to be given the hook, because these speeches are a chance for these inductees to frame how history will remember them. Collins was a member of the 1972 Team USA squad that was robbed of Olympic gold by what Collins rightly term "political" reasons, and he never won an NBA championship as a player or as a coach, so his time on stage clearly had great meaning for him as an opportunity to talk about what he learned and what he felt during his basketball journey. 

Collins, like West, is the ultimate basketball junkie/basketball purist, as anyone who followed his career knows very well. Collins declared, "I've never been afraid to fail," and he emphasized that young people should understand that failure is a way to grow. His passion for the game is obvious and contagious, from his description of playing for Coach Will Robinson at Illinois State through his recounting of the 1972 Olympics to his statement that the premature end of his NBA career due to injury "broke my heart." 

Collins transitioned from playing to broadcasting, and then Jerry Reinsdorf hired Collins to coach the Chicago Bulls after being struck by how well Collins analyzed the game on TV. Collins noted, "You're always being evaluated." Collins posted a 442-407 regular season record with the Bulls, the Detroit Pistons, the Washington Wizards, and the Philadelphia 76ers.

I enjoyed Collins' recollections of the players he played with and against, and the challenges he faced during his injury-riddled NBA career. Collins described seeing Erving for the first time, at the Maurice Stokes Benefit that used to be held annually at Kutsher's Country Club. Collins said that while he was warming up he heard a buzz in the crowd, and then he saw Erving walk on the court holding a basketball in each of his huge hands. Erving jumped up, dunked one basketball and then dunked the other basketball. Collins recalled thinking that he was playing the wrong sport!

There were some murmurs from the crowd as Collins' speech approached the 30 minute mark, and Collins hearkened back to Jimmy Valvano's legendary ESPYs speech when Valvano dismissed the blinking light that indicated that his time to speak was up. Collins closed by thanking his family members individually--including his grandchildren, children, and wife--and he stated that he had followed Coach Robinson's advice to never leave home without a basketball. That advice served him well, and carried Collins all the way to the Hall of Fame!

Bo Ryan spent his entire college coaching career in the state of Wisconsin. He was presented by Roy Williams. Jim Calhoun, who was supposed to be his other presenter, took ill and was not able to attend. Ryan spoke the line of the night: "The purpose of life is to discover your gift. The meaning of life is to give it away." He praised Williams and Calhoun for embodying that ideal.

Seimone Augustus is one of the greatest female basketball players ever. Her speech was noteworthy because she recited most of it in poetic form, and because she stated that she plans to be successful enough in her post-playing career to be inducted a second time. Harley Redin was inducted posthumously for his significant contributions to the women's game. Michele Timms is still one of my favorite female basketball players of all-time because of her high basketball IQ, her deft passing, and her grit; she is a pioneer of the modern women's professional game who did not post gaudy WNBA statistics but who had a major impact on team success both as a professional and as a member of the Australian national team.

Younger fans may not know about Walter Davis, but if you followed college and pro basketball in the 1970s and 1980s then you will never forget the smooth, graceful style of "The Greyhound." Julius Erving, who could be termed the poet laureate of the NBA because of his ability to succinctly and vividly describe the essence of a player's greatness, said of Davis, "A player who was not only skilled, but made other players better. He was poetry in motion." Davis was presented by David Thompson, Bob McAdoo, Jerry Colangelo, Roy Williams, Charlie Scott, and Bobby Jones. Davis' daughters attended the ceremony and provided brief recorded remarks but did not give a live speech.

Michael Cooper's career does not fit the traditional statistical profile for a Hall of Famer because he was not a high scorer nor was he a perennial All-Star; in fact, he never made the All-Star team, though he did earn the 1987 Defensive Player of the Year award plus eight straight selections to the All-Defensive Team (1981-88). However, Cooper was a very important player on five championship teams (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987-88) as a member of the L.A. Lakers before coaching the L.A. Sparks to two WNBA titles (2001-02). He was a versatile player who could play three positions--point guard, shooting guard, small forward--at both ends of the court.

Cooper's presenters were Magic Johnson, Pat Riley, and Lisa Leslie. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was not able to attend. During his speech, Cooper mentioned that he was raised by his grandmother and extended family members. His high school coach cut him twice, but taught him a lifelong lesson that passion for sports goes hand in hand with devotion to God. Cooper gave tribute to Jerry West, who drafted him for the Lakers: "He was a friend and a mentor. I owe him more than he could ever understand, and I miss him more than I can ever express." Cooper said that winning the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship award in 1986 meant a lot to him, and he pledged to use his platform to give back to the game and the world that has given so much to him.

Vince Carter is probably the 2024 inductee who is most familiar to younger fans, as Carter retired from the NBA in 2020 after playing for a record 22 seasons. He initially achieved fame for his spectacular dunks--and the signature moments of his career include winning the 2000 NBA Slam Dunk Contest and posterizing Frederic Weis during the 2000 Olympics--but Carter also won the 1999 Rookie of the Year award before earning eight straight All-Star selections (2000-07). After being traded to Orlando, Carter began the transition from star player to role player, a subject that I discussed with him after an Orlando-Indiana game in 2010.

Julius Erving and Carter's cousin Tracy McGrady presented Carter. Befitting a player who had the longest career in NBA history, Carter spoke for nearly 30 minutes, longer than any other inductee other than Collins. Carter began by paying tribute to his connection with McGrady, a bond formed when they found out that they were related not long before they became teammates in Toronto. Then, Carter talked about Erving: "We all have heroes, and I am thankful to have my hero up here." Carter lived out the dream held by most basketball fans in the 1970s and 1980s to not only meet Erving but to have a meaningful connection with him; interviewing Erving on the phone, meeting/interviewing him at the 2005 ABA Reunion, and speaking with him at other All-Star Weekends are highlights that will never be topped during my basketball journey.

Carter thanked various family members, friends, and teammates who helped and supported him. Carter talked about the enduring influence that his University of North Carolina experience had not just on his career but on his life, because he always considered himself a student-athlete as opposed to an athlete-student. He reviewed his NBA career in reverse chronological order, beginning at the end with the Atlanta Hawks and then concluding at the beginning with the Toronto Raptors. Although the Basketball Hall of Fame differs from some Halls of Fame that primarily identify each inductee with a specific team, Carter stated emphatically his preference to enter the Hall of Fame as a Raptor.

Erving appeared as a presenter for the first time since 2021. The official records for Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame presenters only go back to 2001 (which is an odd limitation for an organization that is supposed to be dedicated to preserving and honoring basketball history), but there is good reason to believe that no one has been a Hall of Fame presenter more often than Julius Erving. A person must be a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee to be a presenter. Erving was inducted in 1993.

Here is the list of each of the 18 times that I can confirm that Erving has been a Hall of Fame presenter:

Julius Erving as Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Presenter

1994: None
1995: Presented Cheryl Miller
1996: None
1997: Presented Alex English
1998-2000: None
2001: Presented Moses Malone
2002-2003: None
2004: Presented Clyde Drexler
2005: None
2006: Presented Dominique Wilkins
2007-2010: None
2011: Presented Artis Gilmore
2012: Presented Katrina McClain, Ralph Sampson and the All-American Red Heads
2013-2014: None
2015: Presented John Calipari
2016: Presented Allen Iverson and Shaquille O'Neal
2017: None
2018: Presented Maurice Cheeks and Charlie Scott
2019: Presented Chuck Cooper and Bobby Jones
2020: None
2021: Bill Russell
2022: None
2023: None
2024: Vince Carter

Articles About Recent Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies:

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's 2023 Class Includes Dirk Nowitzki, Dwyane Wade, and Gregg Popovich (Class of 2023)

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's 2022 Class Includes NBA Players Lou Hudson, Tim Hardaway, and Manu Ginobili (Class of 2022)  

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Welcomes 15 New Members and Honors Bill Russell a Second Time (Class of 2021)

Kobe Bryant Headlines the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (Class of 2020) 

The Basketball Hall of Fame Welcomes A Diverse Class of 12 Inductees (Class of 2019)

Thoughts and Observations About the 2018 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony (Class of 2018)

Labels: Basketball Hall of Fame, Bo Ryan, Chauncey Billups, Dick Barnett, Doug Collins, Harley Redin, Herb Simon, Jerry West, Julius Erving, Michael Cooper, Seimone Augustus, Vince Carter, Walter Davis

posted by David Friedman @ 2:03 PM

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Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's 2024 Class Includes Dick Barnett, Chauncey Billups, Vince Carter, Doug Collins, Michael Cooper, Walter Davis, Herb Simon, and Jerry West

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's 2024 class includes 13 inductees, eight of whom have strong NBA ties: players Dick Barnett, Chauncey Billups, Vince Carter, Michael Cooper, and Walter Davis, plus contributors Doug Collins, Herb Simon, and Jerry West. West joins Lenny Wilkens as the only three-time inductees, as West was previously inducted as a player and as a member of the 1960 Team USA Olympic team. This year's other five inductees are Seimone Augustus, Harley Redin, Bo Ryan, Charles Smith (a Louisiana high school coach, not the former NBA player) and Michele Timms. At 20 Second Timeout I focus on the NBA game, but I will note that Timms is one of my favorite female basketball players of all-time (along with Cynthia Cooper, who I interviewed during the 2006 NBA All-Star Weekend). Timms was a heady, scrappy player whose impact on winning was greater than her individual numbers might suggest.

The eight inductees who are connected with the NBA have impacted basketball from the 1950s through today.

During the 2019 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Barnett narrated a powerful tribute to his school--Tennessee A&I--and his college coach, John McClendon. Barnett led Teneessee A&I to three straight NAIA championships (1957-59) before enjoying a successful 14 season NBA career that included winning two NBA titles with the New York Knicks (1970, 1973) and earning one NBA All-Star selection (1968). Barnett averaged a career-high 23.1 ppg in the 1965-66 season, and he finished his career with 15,358 points (15.8 ppg).

Billups won the 2004 NBA Finals MVP as his Detroit Pistons defeated the L.A. Lakers, who had won three straight championships (2000-02) with the powerful Shaquille O'Neal-Kobe Bryant duo leading the way. He earned the nickname "Mr. Big Shot" because of how often he rose to the occasion in clutch situations. Billups ranks sixth in ABA/NBA history in free throw percentage (.897). Billups was not a dominant player or a perennial MVP candidate, but he earned five All-Star selections, three All-NBA selections, and two All-Defensive Team selections. Also, every NBA Finals MVP who is eligible for Hall of Fame induction has been inducted except for Cedric Maxwell.

Carter holds the record for most ABA/NBA seasons played (22), breaking the mark of 21 previously held by Moses Malone (19 NBA seasons, two ABA seasons), Robert Parish, Kevin Willis, and Dirk Nowitzki. After Carter retired, I analyzed his Hall of Fame candidacy:

Should Carter be selected as a Hall of Famer? The answer to that question depends on how you think about the Hall of Fame. If you think that the Hall of Fame should only welcome the absolute best of the best, then you would likely think that Carter is not worthy. Carter is not one of the 50 greatest players of all-time, and may in fact not be one of the top 100 greatest players of all-time. However, if you think that the Hall of Fame should welcome players who played at a high level for an extended period even if they never reached MVP level then Carter easily meets that standard. Carter was no worse than a top 20-25 player for an eight to 10 year period, which is excellent peak value. He then spent an even longer period as a solid rotation player; those final seasons lowered his career per game averages, but should Carter's Hall of Fame resume be downgraded because he had great longevity compared to his peers whose bodies failed them at a younger age, or who were not able to adjust to a lesser role in order to stay in the league? Carter proved that he was a coachable player who was willing to help younger players, and he proved that there was more to his game than just eye-popping leaping ability. Carter's role in elevating (pun intended) pro basketball in Toronto, and his iconic dunks (both in games and in the Slam Dunk Contest) are intangibles that bolster his Hall of Fame candidacy.

Cooper won the 1987 Defensive Player of the Year award, and he made the All-Defensive Team for eight straight seasons (1981-88), including five First Team selections (1982, 1984-85, 1987-88). He was a key member of all five Showtime Lakers championships teams (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987-88). Cooper was a prototype for what is now called a "3 and D" player; in addition to his defensive prowess he ranked in the top 10 in three point field goal percentage three times (1984, 1986-87), and he twice ranked second in the league in three point field goals made, albeit with numbers that do not look impressive in today's NBA (38 in 1984, 89 in 1987).

However, while Billups fits the Hall of Fame profile as a Finals MVP and multiple-time All-Star and Carter was a top 20-25 player for an extended time, Cooper's resume lacks such credentials. Thus, Cooper's induction raises more questions about what it means to be a Hall of Famer: it is one thing to determine that players such as Billups and Carter deserve Hall of Fame induction, but if Cooper--who never made the All-Star team, and never averaged more than 12 ppg, 6 apg or 4.5 rpg in a season--is a Hall of Famer then where is the line drawn? Should Robert Horry and Bruce Bowen be inducted as well? This is not meant to diminish the value that Cooper, Horry, and Bowen provided to multiple championship teams; the point is that at no time during their playing careers did any credible analyst seriously consider them to be Hall of Famers. With very few exceptions, Hall of Fame status meant, at a minimum, playing at an All-Star level for a sustained period. Cooper, Horry, and Bowen were tremendous role players who played alongside multiple players whose Hall of Fame credentials are beyond reproach, and those first ballot Hall of Famers likely could have won championships with other supporting casts, but one cannot picture Cooper, Horry, or Bowen being the first, second, or third best player on a championship contender.

I am not saying that Cooper should not be a Hall of Famer, and I am not trying to rain on his parade, but I am saying that the criteria for Hall of Fame induction should be clarified; the criteria seem to have evolved or shifted.

Davis was known as "The Greyhound" because of his graceful and smooth playing style. He won the 1978 Rookie of the Year award over Hall of Famer Bernard King, and Davis finished fifth in MVP voting that season as well. He earned two All-NBA Second Team selections (1978-79), and he was a six-time All-Star (1978-81, 1984, 1987). Prior to his NBA career, he was an excellent college player at North Carolina and an Olympic gold medalist in 1976.

Collins earned four All-Star selections in his injury-plagued eight season NBA career with the Philadelphia 76ers before compiling a 442-407 record as an NBA head coach with Chicago, Detroit, Washington, and Philadelphia. He also established himself as one of the premier color commentators on NBA and FIBA telecasts. 

Herb Simon has owned the Indiana Pacers longer than any other owner has owned a team in NBA history. He co-owned the team with his brother Melvin from 1983 until Melvin died of cancer in 2009. Under Simon's ownership, the Pacers have reached the Eastern Conference Finals eight times (1994-95, 1998-2000, 2004, 2013-14) and the NBA Finals once (2000).

West is a Pantheon-level player who also coached the L.A. Lakers for three seasons (1977-79) before enjoying one of the most accomplished front office careers in NBA history, building Lakers teams that won eight NBA titles (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987-88, 2000-02); although West left the Lakers after the 2000 season, it is fair to say that the Lakers would not have won their 2001 and 2002 championships had West not brought Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant to L.A. West won the Executive of the Year award twice (1995 with the Lakers, 2004 with the Memphis Grizzlies). The dust jacket to Roland Lazenby's Jerry West biography asserts that West is "a man who has done more to shape basketball than anyone on the planet."

Labels: Basketball Hall of Fame, Chauncey Billups, Dick Barnett, Doug Collins, Herb Simon, Jerry West, Michael Cooper, Vince Carter, Walter Davis

posted by David Friedman @ 8:44 PM

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Walter Davis: The Greyhound

When I think of Walter Davis--the six-time NBA All-Star who passed away on Thursday--the word that comes to mind is "smooth." Davis glided across the court with such grace and speed that he earned the nickname "The Greyhound." He had the perfect build for a versatile perimeter player--6-6, 195 pounds during his prime--much like Pantheon players Julius Erving, Michael Jordan, and Kobe Bryant. Davis was a very efficient and prolific scorer, averaging 18.9 ppg on .511 field goal shooting during his 15 season NBA career. He just missed joining the 20,000 point club, finishing with 19,521 points and ranking 18th on the NBA career scoring list/22nd on the ABA/NBA career scoring list when he retired in 1992.

Davis is one of the greatest players in the history of the prestigious North Carolina program, and he still ranks 10th in career Tar Heel scoring with 1863 points. Perhaps the most famous moment of Davis' college career happened during his freshman year in 1974, when he drained a 25 foot jump shot to cap off an eight point comeback in 17 seconds versus Duke and send the game to overtime, where the Tar Heels prevailed. Davis earned All-ACC honors twice, and he led North Carolina to the 1977 NCAA Championship, scoring a game-high 20 points in a 67-59 loss to Marquette. Davis is the uncle of current North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis, who averaged 8.2 ppg in a 12 season NBA career after a solid four years playing for North Carolina.

Walter Davis spent his first 11 NBA seasons with the Phoenix Suns, earning all of his six All-Star selections and both of his All-NBA Second Team selections (1978, 1979) during that time. Curry Kirkpatrick profiled rookie forwards Walter Davis, Marques Johnson, and Bernard King in the February 20, 1978 issue of Sports Illustrated. Kirkpatrick declared, "Walter Davis, Bernard King, and Marques Johnson may be the best athletes ever to come into the same professional sport at the same time at the same position." Johnson offered this assessment of how he and King stacked up versus Davis: "My game is inside and on the board, Bernard's is around the lanes, but Walter Davis' game is everywhere." During that historic 1977-78 season, future Hall of Famer (and 1985 scoring champion) Bernard King averaged 24.2 ppg (10th in the league), Johnson averaged 19.5 ppg, and Davis won the Rookie of the Year award after averaging 24.2 ppg (ninth in the league, just a few percentage points ahead of King) on .526 field goal shooting (10th in the league) as the Suns improved from 34-48 to 49-33. Davis finished fifth in regular season MVP voting. Johnson's Milwaukee Bucks--a Western Conference team at that time--beat Davis' Suns 2-0 in a first round mini-series during which Johnson averaged 28.5 ppg and 14.0 rpg while Davis averaged 25.0 ppg and 8.5 rpg.

Davis' scoring declined slightly in his second season (23.6 ppg, 10th in the league) but he increased his field goal percentage to .561 (seventh in the league), and he averaged 22.1 ppg on .520 field goal shooting in the playoffs as the Suns lost 4-3 to the eventual NBA champion Seattle Supersonics in the Western Conference Finals.

From 1978-80 Davis and Paul Westphal formed a tremendous Phoenix duo. Davis and Westphal each made the All-Star team in all three seasons. Davis made the All-NBA Second Team in 1978 and 1979, while Westphal earned All-NBA First Team honors in 1979 and 1980 and All-NBA Second Team honors in 1978. The Suns posted a 154-92 regular season record but did not advance past the Western Conference Finals. In 1980, the Suns traded Westphal to Seattle for Dennis Johnson, the 1979 NBA Finals MVP.

Davis made the All-Star team in 1981, but his numbers steadily declined in the early 1980s, and he did not make the All-Star team in 1982 or 1983. On February 25, 1983, Davis set an obscure but impressive NBA record by scoring his first 34 points without missing a shot from the field or the free throw line. Davis bounced back to average 20.0 ppg and make the All-Star team in 1984. He averaged 24.9 ppg on .535 field goal shooting during the 1984 playoffs, leading the Suns to the 1984 Western Conference Finals. Davis and the Lakers' Kareem Abdul-Jabbar tied for top scoring honors (23.8 ppg) in the Western Conference Finals, but the powerful Lakers won, 4-2. 

Davis voluntarily entered drug rehabilitation in December 1985 to treat his cocaine addiction. He averaged 21.8 ppg in 1985-86 but was not selected as an All-Star. Davis averaged 23.6 ppg (11th in the league) in 1986-87, earning his final All-Star selection. He signed with Denver as a free agent in 1988, and he remained a solid double figure scorer coming off of the bench for the next three seasons. Denver traded Davis to Portland in January 1991, and he averaged 6.1 ppg in 32 games for Portland. Davis signed with Denver as a free agent in November 1991, and he averaged 9.9 ppg in 46 games in his final NBA season.

At his peak, Davis could both slash to the hoop and dissect defenses with his deadly midrange jump shot that earned him the nickname "The Man With the Velvet Touch." His Phoenix teammate Alvan Adams once told NBA.com, "I don't remember a sweeter shot. Ray Allen's got a great shot. The Splash Brothers (Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson), too. He (Davis) was a feared shooter. The other team knew it, too. Walter was one of the great shooters in NBA history." Davis was an outstanding player in his era, and he would have been even more productive in today's game that emphasizes offense in general, and perimeter play in particular. Davis did not shoot many three pointers--few players did during those days--but there is no doubt that he could have extended his range to fit in with today's three point shooting explosion.

Davis began his career as a small forward, but then shifted over to guard because of his ballhandling, passing, and midrange shooting. Davis played in at least 75 games in six of his first seven seasons, and he played in at least 70 games in 10 of his 15 seasons. He is the Suns' all-time leading scorer with 15,666 points. The Suns retired his number 6 in 1994, and they also inducted him in the franchise's Ring of Honor. It is a shame that Davis' name is probably largely forgotten outside of North Carolina and Phoenix, because he was a productive and efficient player who was fun to watch and who made significant contributions to winning teams.

Labels: Bernard King, Marques Johnson, NBA Rookie of the Year, Phoenix Suns, Walter Davis

posted by David Friedman @ 1:32 AM

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Paul Westphal: Celtic Sub Shined Brightly as a Sun

Paul Westphal spent three seasons as a reserve for the Boston Celtics before they traded him to Phoenix for All-Star Charlie Scott in 1975. Westphal quickly emerged as one of the NBA's top guards, making the All-Star team for five straight seasons and earning a spot on the All-NBA team four times. That deal helped both teams make it to the 1976 NBA Finals, where the Celtics triumphed in six games to capture their second title of the post-Bill Russell era. Westphal's quick thinking almost helped the Suns to win the pivotal game five; the Suns seemed to be in a hopeless situation near the end of the second overtime, down one point with one second left and no timeouts but Westphal suggested to Coach John MacLeod that they call a timeout anyway. Under the rules at that time, the Celtics would be awarded one technical free throw but the Suns could then advance the ball to midcourt, giving them a better chance to hit a shot--which is exactly what happened. That story has been recounted many times, including in my profile of MacLeod, but I always wondered how Westphal had the poise and awareness to think of that tactic during such a pressure-packed situation. I asked him that exact question and you can learn the answer--and the complete story of his great career--by reading my article about him (10/4/15 edit: the link to HoopsHype.com no longer works, so I have posted the original article below, along with some bonus material that did not appear in the original article):

Paul Westphal averaged 16.3 ppg in 1970-71 for a USC team that finished 24-2. "I remember the first game that we played against UCLA that year," Westphal says. "We were 16-0 and they had just lost at Notre Dame and Austin Carr (who scored 48 points for the Fighting Irish in an 89-82 victory). That was their only loss of the season. It was No. 1 versus No. 2 not only in L.A. but in the country, on national TV. Unfortunately for us, they won that game and then beat us again later in the year. We felt that we had--we couldn't say that we had the best team in the country because we lost to them twice-- clearly the second best team but we were all dressed up with nowhere to go. We knew the rules going in and if we wanted to play in the NCAA Tournament we should have won one more game." USC was not eligible for the NCAA Tournament because each conference could only send one team (after a great Maryland team was similarly excluded in 1974 this rule was finally changed).

The Boston Celtics selected Westphal with the 10th overall pick in the 1972 draft. He joined a powerful team that would go on to win 68 games that season and may very well have won the championship if not for a shoulder injury suffered by John Havlicek during the playoffs. Jo Jo White and Don Chaney received most of the backcourt minutes, which did not leave much time for Westphal, who averaged 4.1 ppg in 8.0 mpg. In 1973-74, the Celtics enjoyed less regular season success--winning 56 games--but won their first championship of the post-Bill Russell era. Westphal scored 7.2 ppg in 14.2 mpg. He was one of just seven Celtics who played in all 18 of the team's playoff games but he logged the fewest minutes by far of those players.

Westphal increased his regular season averages to 9.8 ppg in 19.3 mpg in 1974-75 as the Celtics won 60 games before losing to the Washington Bullets in the Eastern Conference finals. Perhaps he would have eventually become an All-Star in Boston but fate intervened when the Celtics sent Westphal (and a couple draft picks) to the Suns in exchange for All-Star Charlie Scott, a proven veteran who won the 1972 ABA scoring title before jumping to the NBA.

Scott averaged 17.6 ppg for the Celtics, who won 54 games in 1975-76 and made it to the NBA Finals for the second time in three years--but Phoenix also profited from the deal because Westphal averaged a team-high 20.5 ppg as The Little Team That Could (to borrow the title of Joe Gilmartin's book about the 1976 Suns) went 42-40 but made an improbable run to the Finals, defeating the 1975 champion Golden State Warriors along the way--a story that I previously told in The Man Behind the Suns' Rise. "It was really special to go back into the Boston Garden and play against my old teammates," Westphal says. "It was something that I will never forget...I probably was not as intimidated as I would have been going into the Boston Garden in the playoffs for the first time (as an opponent); having been there on the other side I knew a little bit more what to expect."

The veteran Celtics eventually prevailed in six games. The lasting memory from that series is the epic Game Five, a 128-126 triple overtime victory for Boston. Westphal famously helped Phoenix extend the game by taking advantage of a loophole in the rules. In the second overtime, Phoenix trailed 111-110 with just one second left and no timeouts. Westphal suggested to coach John MacLeod that the Suns call a timeout anyway; the Celtics would be awarded one technical foul free throw but Phoenix could advance the ball to midcourt instead of inbounding from the far baseline. White sank the free throw but Gar Heard made a jumper at the buzzer to send the game into a third extra session. "Really, I just stole that from John McKay and USC football," Westphal explains. "They used to call timeouts when they didn't have any because it was only a five yard penalty and they could stop the clock when they were trying to come back at the end of games. To me, it was just something that translated to another sport. It was what people did when the situation was desperate."

Anyone who watched Game Five will never forget Westphal's unique 360 degree layup, a move that he executed successfully more than once in crucial situations. The 6-4 Westphal had an uncanny ability to improvise ways to get off a shot in a crowd. "I just played around with all kinds of trick shots in my backyard." Westphal says. "It wasn't something that I ever planned on using but if that was the only way to get the shot off and the clock was running down then I would pull something out from deep in my past. It wasn't really something that was planned. I think that experimentation is probably good. You never plan on going in and doing something like a 360 but the more body control you can have, if it comes out at the right time it might bail you out sometime. Dirk Nowitzki does that all the time; he practices wrong-footed shots and off balance shots. Pete Maravich used the same principle with all his ballhandling drills--all kinds of things that you would never do in a game but they do give you more confidence and can pull you out of a jam once in a while."

Westphal emerged not only as an All-Star but also as a First Team All-NBA player in 1976-77, averaging 21.3 ppg (17th in the NBA) and 5.7 apg (ninth in the NBA). He made the All-Star team each of the next four seasons and earned three more All-NBA selections (Second Team in 1977-78, First Team in 1978-79 and 1979-80). The one-time seventh man of the Celtics was now one of the very best players in the entire league. He and 1978 Rookie of the Year Walter Davis formed one of the top duos in the NBA in the late 1970s. "Walter Davis was one of the greatest shooters of all-time," Westphal says. "His shot was perfect. Whenever Walter hit the rim or missed, usually Coach MacLeod would take him out because he figured he must be tired."

In 1978, Westphal ranked sixth in the NBA in scoring (25.2 ppg) and tenth in assists (5.5 apg), while Davis finished ninth in scoring (24.2 ppg). They were the second highest scoring tandem in the league, finishing just behind Pete Maravich (27.0 ppg) and his New Orleans Jazz teammate Truck Robinson (22.7 ppg)--but what Westphal and Davis accomplished is more impressive when you consider three things: they played in 80 and 81 games respectively (Maravich missed 32 games due to injury, which provided more scoring opportunities for Robinson), they shot .516 and .526 from the field respectively (Maravich and Robinson each shot .444 from the field) and they only averaged about 31 mpg each while Maravich and Robinson each averaged more than 40 mpg. On a per minute basis, Westphal outscored George Gervin, who won the first of his four scoring titles.

Westphal does not lament the lost opportunity to possibly duel Gervin for the scoring crown. "I could do the math and realize that it was pretty unusual to score that many points in so few minutes," Westphal says. "My whole career I was never motivated by trying to see how many points I could score. The whole thing was to try to do whatever you could to help your team win. A record that is achieved for the sake of setting a record doesn't mean that much anyway. So to just rack up points or play in the last minutes when the game is decided doesn’t have that much meaning, really. I certainly wouldn't have minded playing more and I think that Walter felt the same way but the coach decided that he was going to parcel out the minutes that way, to have the bench play a third of the game and the starters play two thirds of the game."

The Suns were a perennial contender during those years but they never made it back to the NBA Finals. "One reason would be Bill Walton and another reason would be Kareem Abdul-Jabbar/Magic Johnson," Westphal says. "The other teams got better. I think that the present is always where it's at in the NBA. We had a good young team and we were knocking on the door those other years but sometimes it's an injury, sometimes another team gets loaded up, sometimes you just don't perform as well. Whatever it is, you can never take success for granted." In 1979 and 1980 the Suns lost in the playoffs to the eventual NBA champions.

After the 1979-80 season, the Suns traded Westphal to Seattle for Dennis Johnson, the 1979 Finals MVP and one of the top defensive guards in the NBA. Westphal got off to a good start in Seattle, earning his fifth (and final) All-Star selection before a broken foot ended his season. In 1982, he signed with the New York Knicks as a veteran free agent. Westphal won the Comeback Player of the Year award after the 1982-83 season, but he never completely regained his old form. Westphal spent the final season of his career, 1983-84, as a reserve for the Suns. While his glory days as a Phoenix player were long gone, he would again become the toast of the town just a few years later. "I always wanted to coach," Westphal says. "I went to college and figured that after I graduated I'd be a high school coach someplace. Since I was able to keep playing, I just postponed that but I always wanted to coach."

John MacLeod set a good example for Westphal to follow. "I think that John Macleod was an excellent NBA coach," Westphal says. "He had longevity in Phoenix especially and he coached a few other stops as well, mainly because of his professionalism. He loved the game and he loved to see the game played right. I think that more than anything John's consistency and his professionalism are things that anybody should try to emulate."

Westphal spent three seasons as an assistant coach at the collegiate level and four seasons as a Suns' assistant before being hired as the team’s head coach prior to the 1992-93 season. That was the year that the Suns acquired Charles Barkley in a blockbuster trade with Philadelphia. Barkley stormed to the 1993 MVP while leading the Suns to the best record in the league, 62-20. The Suns made it to the Finals for the first time since Westphal and company lost to the Celtics in 1976 but they fell in six games to the Michael Jordan-Scottie Pippen Chicago Bulls. Westphal guided the Suns to the conference semifinals in 1994 and 1995 but was replaced in 1996 after the Suns dropped to fifth place in the Pacific Division.

Westphal later became the coach of another of his former teams, Seattle. He led the Sonics to a 25-25 record in the lockout-shortened 1999 season and to a playoff appearance in 2000 before being replaced early in the 2000-01 season. After that, he spent four seasons as the head coach at Pepperdine, compiling a 69-52 record. Prior to this season, Westphal joined Avery Johnson's Dallas Mavericks coaching staff.

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Here are a couple bonus quotes from the Suns' All-NBA guard:

***"My favorite player was Elgin Baylor. A lot of people thought that it was Jerry West because I grew up in L.A. watching those guys. I loved Jerry West, too, and I look more like Jerry West but I tried to play like Elgin Baylor. I wish they had better film that they could show from back then. He had amazing body control. He really learned the art of what Chick Hearn called 'hanging in the air.' He could go up and contort his body and change the arc of his shot, change the release point, and really make some spectacular plays."

***"I think that John Havlicek probably was the best two way player that I recall from my era. I played against Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain at the end of their careers and I played against Michael Jordan (in a scrimmage between NBA stars and the 1984 Olympic team) at the beginning of his career--and I played against Oscar Robertson--but the guy who was in his prime who I thought was the best all around player was John Havlicek. I thought that Norm Van Lier was the toughest guy who ever guarded me. There were a lot of players who were tough for me to guard but I think that because of his quickness I had the least chance to have any success at all against Nate Archibald."

Labels: Boston Celtics, Charlie Scott, Dallas Mavericks, Dennis Johnson, John MacLeod, New York Knicks, Paul Westphal, Phoenix Suns, Walter Davis

posted by David Friedman @ 2:37 PM

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The Man Behind the Suns' Rise

John MacLeod lifted the Suns from expansion team status all the way to the 1976 NBA Finals. Although he never made it back to the Finals, his tenure in Phoenix consisted of much more than that one playoff run; he helped build the Suns into perennial Western Conference contenders. Later, he coached the Dallas Mavericks to the Western Conference Finals, that team's best playoff performance until Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas to the 2006 NBA Finals. MacLeod coached several All-NBA and All-Star performers but you may be surprised to learn who he says "had the softest shot of anybody I've ever seen." You can read all about his career in my newest article for HoopsHype.com (10/4/15 edit: the link to HoopsHype.com no longer works, so I have posted the original article below):

When John MacLeod became the Phoenix Suns' coach in 1973, the team had just finished its fifth season and he had no NBA experience. MacLeod had spent the previous six years leading Oklahoma to a 90-69 record and two NIT appearances--a very good run at a school that has always been known primarily for its football program. MacLeod's success caught the eye of Phoenix general manager Jerry Colangelo, who had gone through five different coaches--including two interim stints himself--in the team's brief NBA existence.

The Suns showed little improvement in MacLeod's first two years, but everything came together in 1975-76. The 1976 Suns were led by guard Paul Westphal (20.5 ppg) and center Alvan Adams (19.0 ppg), who won Rookie of the Year honors and was the first rookie to play in the All-Star Game since Sidney Wicks in 1972. The Suns started the season 14-9 but went through a 4-18 stretch that put their playoff chances in serious jeopardy. Phoenix then traded forward John Shumate to Buffalo for forward Garfield Heard. Shumate had been a productive player but things just clicked for the Suns after Heard joined the team; they went 24-13 the rest of the way, finishing with a 42-40 record and beating out the Lakers for the last playoff spot by just two games.

Phoenix advanced to the Western Conference Finals, where they faced the defending champion Golden State Warriors, owners of the league's best record, 59-23. Rick Barry, the 1975 Finals MVP, scored 38 points in game one as the Warriors destroyed the Suns 128-103 but Phoenix grabbed home-court advantage with a 108-101 game two victory despite Barry's 44 points. After that, the teams traded wins, with Golden State enjoying home-court advantage for game seven--but Barry inexplicably scored just six points in the last 34 minutes of the game and Phoenix won 94-86 to advance to the Finals for the first time in franchise history.

In the Finals, the upstart Suns faced the heavily favored Boston Celtics, the 1974 champions. Powered by Dave Cowens' triple double (25 points, 21 rebounds, 10 assists), Boston captured Game One 98-87. The Celtics led by as many as 28 in game two before settling for a 105-90 win. When the series shifted to Phoenix, the Suns won two close games, setting the stage for what would later be called "The Greatest Game Ever Played." Thanks to ESPN Classic and NBA TV, just about every basketball fan has seen Game Five of the 1976 NBA Finals and heard Brent Musburger's enthusiastic descriptions of the triple overtime contest that contained so many dramatic moments. "I remember walking out on to the floor of the Boston Garden at 9 pm on a Friday night," says MacLeod. "There was no air conditioning, it was hot and there was already a lot of Boston spirit in there because instead of going home (from work) people went right to the taverns and had a couple beers and then came to watch the game."

Phoenix trailed 32-12 in the first quarter and 42-20 in the second quarter but the Suns battled back to get within 94-89 with 56 seconds left in regulation. Ex-Celtic Westphal scored five straight points in the next 17 seconds and each team added one more free throw to send the game into overtime knotted at 95-95. The first overtime ended in a 101-101 tie and then the teams battled through a tightly contested second overtime until Phoenix forward Curtis Perry hit a jumper with five seconds left to put the Suns up 110-109. John Havlicek, despite being hobbled by a plantar fascia injury, countered with a runner to give Boston a 111-110 lead. Initially the clock ran out after Havlicek's shot but the referees determined that there should still be one second left. The Suns were out of timeouts but Westphal cagily reminded MacLeod that if the Suns called a timeout anyway that Boston would shoot one technical free throw and Phoenix would then be permitted to advance the ball to the frontcourt for the inbounds pass (that rule was later changed as a result of this game). After Jo Jo White made the free throw the Suns inbounded the ball to Heard, whose jumper beat the clock and sent the game into a third overtime.

Fatigue and foul trouble had taken their toll on both teams' starters by this point and little used reserve Glenn McDonald proved to be the Celtics' hero, scoring six points in a little over a minute late in the third overtime to give the Celtics just enough of a cushion to escape with a 128-126 victory. "It was a fantastic game with great shots, great defense. Just a game that people who attended will never forget and a game that people who watched on TV will always remember where they were when everything took place," MacLeod says.

Game Six, played less than 36 hours after game five ended, proved to be an anti-climactic matchup of two mentally and physically drained teams. Boston prevailed 87-80, which at that time tied for the second fewest points scored in a Finals game since the introduction of the 24-second shot clock. "We weren't expected to be there; we came out of a situation where we had a lot of players injured early in the year but all of a sudden we perked up," MacLeod says of that magical season. "It was a great run--something I’ll never forget."

Injuries caused the Suns to drop to 34-48 and miss the 1977 playoffs but the team bounced back to post a 49-33 record in 1977-78. Westphal averaged 25.2 ppg and he received a lot of help from 1978 Rookie of the Year Walter Davis (24.2 ppg); both players made the All-NBA Second Team as the Suns emerged as one of the highest scoring teams in the NBA (112.3 ppg, fifth out of 22 teams). The Milwaukee Bucks defeated them 2-0 in the first round of the playoffs.

"Walter Davis was a special, special player," MacLeod says. "He was one of the most unbelievable pressure players that I've ever been around. He loved to practice and he loved to play. When we had a late game situation it was going to be either Walter or Paul, but for the most part it was going to be Walter because he was uncanny. Pressure did not bother him. He never got rattled. He made a ton of game-winning shots for us. He had great speed. He could go from the top of the key at one end of the floor to the top of the key at the other end of the floor full bore and then pull up and the end result would be a soft, feathery jump shot. He was a great shooter."

The Suns ranked second in the league in scoring (115.4 ppg) and went 50-32 in 1978-79 as Westphal (24.0 ppg) made the All-NBA First Team and Davis (23.6 ppg) made the All-NBA Second Team. Phoenix beat Portland 2-1 in the first round and then smashed the Kansas City Kings 4-1 to reach the Western Conference Finals, where they faced Seattle, the defending conference champions. The Suns lost the first two games in Seattle but rallied to take the next three contests. Seattle escaped with a 106-105 game six victory in Phoenix and then rode outstanding performances by Jack Sikma (33 points, 11 rebounds), Gus Williams (29 points) and Dennis Johnson (28 points) to a 114-110 game seven win.

Phoenix improved to 55-27 in 1979-80 but dropped to third in the Pacific Division standings behind Seattle and the resurgent Lakers, who paired rookie Magic Johnson with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Phoenix beat Kansas City 2-1 in the first round but lost 4-1 to the Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals. That series was actually a little closer than the final margin suggests, as the first two games in L.A. each went to overtime before the Lakers prevailed. After that, a close road win gave L.A. a 3-0 lead.

Prior to the 1980-81 season, the Suns traded Westphal to Seattle for defensive stopper (and 1979 Finals MVP) Dennis Johnson. The Suns still scored a lot (110.0 ppg) but the addition of Johnson helped them improve to third in points allowed (104.5 ppg). Phoenix set a franchise record for wins for the fourth straight season, going 57-25 to win the Pacific Division with the best record in the Western Conference. Magic Johnson missed more than half the season with a knee injury and his Lakers were bounced out in the first round but the Suns failed to take advantage of this, falling behind 3-1 in the conference semifinals against the 40-42 Kansas City Kings. The Suns forced a game seven in Phoenix but the Kings prevailed 95-88 behind 23 points each from Ernie Grunfeld and Reggie King.

Magic Johnson returned to health in 1981-82 and Walter Davis missed 27 games due to injuries, so the Suns fell back to third in the Pacific (46-36). They beat Denver 2-1 in the first round before being swept 4-0 by the Lakers.

In 1982-83 the Suns went 53-29 but Denver knocked them off 2-1 in the first round. The Suns dropped to 41-41 in 1983-84 but defeated Portland and Utah to advance to the Western Conference Finals. There they faced the powerful Lakers, who promptly took a 2-0 lead before eliminating the Suns in six games. Injuries decimated the Suns in the next couple seasons and Davis spent a couple stints in drug rehabilitation programs. MacLeod was fired during the 1986-87 season when the Suns were 22-34.

Next season he became Dallas' head coach, leading the Mavericks to 53 wins in 1987-88. Dallas beat Houston 3-1 in the first round, a series capped off in game four when Mavericks forward Mark Aguirre scored 27 points in one quarter. "Mark Aguirre was undersized for a 'four' but we played him at the 'three' a lot," MacLeod explains. "He had the softest shot of anybody I've ever seen and that was how he got it off over taller defenders. He'd get the ball on the rim and instead of bouncing out it would kind of roll around like it was massaging the rim and then it would go in. Mark was a tremendous offensive player. He had a complete offensive game. He was a passer. He was a power player inside who could play against bigger people and he also had the ability to drive the ball to the basket."

The Mavericks defeated Denver 4-2 to advance to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history, where they faced MacLeod's old nemesis from his Phoenix days: the L.A. Lakers. Dallas battled very gamely against the defending champion Lakers but the home team won every game in the series, with the Lakers wrapping up matters with a 117-102 game seven victory. Dallas started 9-3 in 1988-89 but injuries and Roy Tarpley's indefinite suspension from the NBA for drug use sent the team reeling. Dallas traded Aguirre to Detroit for Adrian Dantley midway through the season; Aguirre helped the Pistons to win their first championship, while Dantley initially refused to report to Dallas. Not surprisingly, Dallas’ record plummeted and MacLeod was fired early in the 1989-90 season.

MacLeod had a brief run as the New York Knicks' coach, leading the team to the 1991 playoffs, before being replaced by Pat Riley. He coached at Notre Dame from 1991-99, winning Big East Coach of the Year honors for the 1996-97 season. Since then, he has been an assistant coach in Phoenix, Denver and most recently in Golden State, where he served under Mike Montgomery before Don Nelson took over as head coach.

Labels: Dallas Mavericks, John MacLeod, Mark Aguirre, Paul Westphal, Phoenix Suns, Walter Davis

posted by David Friedman @ 6:56 PM

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