On April 18, 1962 Bill Russell scored 30 points and had 40 rebounds (yes 40) to lead the Celtics to a 7th game overtime win over the Lakers to win the NBA championship.
Just four days earlier Elgin Baylor had scored a playoff record 61 points for the Lakers.
This Day in the NBA
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WolverineSteve
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He's saying that if it happened before ESPN, it doesn't count. Dumbfuck's today have no respect for the history of sports.
"Gentlemen, it is better to have died as a small boy than to fumble this football."
-John Heisman
"Any street urchin can shout applause in victory, but it takes character to stand fast in defeat. One is noise --- the other, loyalty." Fielding Yost
Go Blue!
-John Heisman
"Any street urchin can shout applause in victory, but it takes character to stand fast in defeat. One is noise --- the other, loyalty." Fielding Yost
Go Blue!
Xs a billion gazillionNo dumbass, I actually have tons of respect for the history of the game. I consider myself a trivia buff. Just in that era, the stats were inflated due to lower fg percentages, the number of shots per game were up, thus it equals more rebounds. Plus, Bill didnt have to bang w/ 7 Footers all game. I would have Bill Russell on my all-time starting 5 and I consider him the best 4 of all-time, but 40 rebounds in one game is do more to the quality of play.WolverineSteve wrote:He's saying that if it happened before ESPN, it doesn't count. Dumbfuck's today have no respect for the history of sports.
Bill Simmons, ESPN
Little-known fact: NBA stats are completely screwed up from 1959 to '67. Teams were running and gunning at a breathtaking pace. For instance, the 1960 Celtics scored 124.5 points per game and averaged nearly 120 shots a game, but since the shooters weren't as good back then (the Celts only shot 41 percent that year, which also led the league), they also averaged a whopping 80.2 rebounds per game. To put that in perspective, Phoenix led the league with 111.9 points and 85 shots per game, but they only averaged 44.1 rebounds per game because everyone can make a jumper now and it's not run-and-gun.
Take Oscar's first five years compared with Magic's first five years. From 1961 to 1965, Oscar averaged 30.3 points, 10.4 assists and 10.6 rebounds ... but he was the 17th-best rebounder in the league over that time (in an eight-team league) and the third-best rebounder on his own team (behind Wayne Embry and Jerry Lucas). Magic averaged 18.2 points, 10.3 assists and 8.0 rebounds ... he was the 36th-best rebounder in the league over that stretch (in a 23-team league) and the second-best on his own team (behind that ninny Kareem). Oscar's team averaged 69 rebounds a game 1961-65; Magic's team averaged 45 a game.
Not to infringe on Hollinger's territory here ... but if you prorated Magic's stats to the run-and-gun 1961-65 era, they would look something like this: 21 points, 12 assists and 12 rebounds per game. Even if you transported the 1987-90 Fat Lever (18.9 points, 8.9 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 19th-ranked rebounder), he would have matched all of Oscar's numbers except for the scoring. But if you brought Oscar to the modern era? His rebounding per game would have dropped into the 7-8 range and the "Who was the only NBA player to average a triple-double?" trivia question wouldn't exist. It's true.
Random "comparing the players from different eras" comment: From 1979 to 1983, Moses Malone averaged 26.8 points and 15.4 rebounds a game. Transport him back to the '60s and he would have averaged something like 30 and 25 every night. To put this in perspective, Wilt Chamberlain averaged 41.7 points and 25.3 rebounds a game from 1960 to 1964, Bill Russell averaged 15.5 and 24.0, and Elgin Baylor averaged a 32-16. Yet, you never hear Moses mentioned in the "greatest centers ever" discussion. I find this interesting.
