Boston Celtics Top Draft Picks, Year by Year

Year	#	Pick	School	WS
1947	3	Bulbs Ehlers	Purdue	3
1948	3	George Hauptfuhrer	Harvard U	N/A
1949	4	Tony Lavelli	Yale	4.7
1950	1	Chuck Share	Bowling Green	40.9
1951	7	Ernie Barrett	Kansas State	0.8
1952	6	Bob Stauffer	Missouri	N/A
1953	5	Frank Ramsey	Kentucky	49.2
1954	5	Togo Palazzi	Holy Cross	6.5
1955	3	Jim Loscutoff	Oregon	3.4
1956	T	Tom Heinsohn	Holy Cross	60
1957	8	Sam Jones	NC Central	92.3
1958	7	Bennie Swain	Texas Southern	1.9
1959	6	John Richter	NC State	0.4
1960	8	Tom Sanders	NYU	56.5
1961	9	Gary Phillips	Houston	2.3
1962	7	John Havlicek	Ohio State	131.7
1963	8	Bill Green	Colorado State	N/A
1964	7	Mel Counts	Oregon State	27.7
1965	8	Ollie Johnson	San Francisco	N/A
1966	8	Jim Barnett	Oregon	33.2
1967	11	Mal Graham	NYU	0.8
1968	12	Don Chaney	Houston	35.5
1969	9	Jo Jo White	Kansas	54
1970	4	Dave Cowens	Florida State	86.3
1971	10	Clarence Glover	Western Kentucky	0.3
1972	10	Paul Westphal	USC	67.7
1973	17	Steve Downing	Indiana	-0.2
1974	17	Glenn McDonald	Cal State Long Beach	1.1
1975	17	Tom Boswell	South Carolina	15.2
1976	16	Norm Cook	Kansas	-0.1
1977	12	Cedric Maxwell	UNC Charlotte	78.8
1978	6	Larry Bird	Indiana State U	145.8
1979	53	Wayne Kreklow	Drake U	-0.3
1980	3	Kevin McHale	Minnesota	113
1981	23	Charles Bradley	Wyoming	0.3
1982	23	Darren Tillis	Cleveland State U	0.9
1983	21	Greg Kite	BYU	5.6
1984	24	Michael Young	Houston	1.1
1985	20	Sam Vincent	Michigan State	10.9
1986	2	Len Bias	Maryland	N/A
1987	22	Reggie Lewis	Northeastern U	38.9
1988	24	Brian Shaw	UC Santa Barbara	23.8
1989	13	Michael Smith	BYU	1.4
1990	19	Dee Brown	Jacksonville U	33.4
1991	24	Rick Fox	UNC	44.7
1992	21	John Barry	Georgia Tech	37.2
1993	19	Acie Earl	Iowa	0.3
1994	9	Eric Montross	UNC	8.5
1995	14	Eric Williams	Providence	23.2
1996	6	Antoine Walker	Kentucky	38.1
1997	3	Chauncey Billups	Colorado	120.8
1998	10	Paul Pierce	Kansas	150
1999	55	Kris Clack	Texas	N/A
2000	11	Jerome Moiso	UCLA	2.1
2001	10	Joe Johnson	Arkansas	82.8
2002	50	Darius Songalia	Wake Forest	15.9
2003	16	Troy Bell	Boston C	-0.2
2004	15	Al Jefferson	High School	71
2005	18	Gerald Green	High School	18.4
2006	7	Randy Foye	Villanova	23.5
2007	5	Jeff Green	Georgetown	41.6
2008	30	J.R. Giddens	New Mexico	0.1
2009	58	Lester Hudson	U of Tennessee at Martin	0.2
2010	19	Avery Bradley	Texas	16.2
2011	25	MarShon Brooks	Providence	3.3
2012	21	Jared Sullinger	Ohio State	15.3
2013	16	Lucas Nogueira	Brazil	6
2014	6	Marcus Smart	Oklahoma State	20.3
2015	16	Terry Rozier	Louisville	12.9
2016	3	Jaylen Brown	California	13.5
2017	3	Jayson Tatum	Duke	18.3
2018	27	Robert Williams	Texas A&M	2.6
2019	14	Romeo Langford	Indiana	0.2

Best NBA Draft Picks, Year by Year

Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1947		Harry Gallatin	Baltimore Bullets	78.4	0.182
1947		Andy Phillip	Chicago Stags	53.3	0.077
1947		Red Rocha	Toronto Huskies	47.9	0.109
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1948	4	Dolph Schayes	New York Knicks	142.4	0.192
1948		Harry Gallatin	New York Knicks	78.4	0.182
1948	10	Bobby Wanzer	Rochester Royals	63.9	0.156
1948		Jack Coleman	Providence Steamrollers	47.7	0.107
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1949		Ed Macauley	St. Louis Bombers	100.4	0.196
1949		Vern Mikkelsen	Minneapolis Lakers	83.4	0.17
1949	7	Dick McGuire	New York Knicks	50.9	0.115
1949		Jack Coleman	Rochester Royals	47.7	0.107
1949	2	Alex Groza	Indianapolis Olympians	35.9	?
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1950		Paul Arizin	Philadelphia Warriors	108.8	0.183
1950	3	Bob Cousy	Tri-Cities Blackhawks	91.1	0.139
1950		Bill Sharman	Washington Capitols	82.8	0.178
1950	5	Larry Foust	Chicago Stags	74.3	0.153
1950	7	George Yardley	Fort Wayne Pistons	58.5	0.178
1950	1	Chuck Share	Boston Celtics	40.9	0.151
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1951	2	Mel Hutchins	Tri-Cities Blackhawks	27.9	0.081
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1952	9	Clyde Lovellette	Minneapolis Lakers	70.6	0.178
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1953		Cliff Hagan	Boston Celtics	75.1	0.166
1953		Kenny Sears	Rochester Royals	55.8	0.179
1953	5	Frank Ramsey	Boston Celtics	49.2	0.154
1953	1	Ray Felix	Baltimore Bullets	39.6	0.125
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1954	2	Bob Pettit	Milwaukee Hawks	136	0.213
1954	17	Richie Guerin	New York Knicks	69.2	0.121
1954	12	Larry Costello	Philadelphia Warriors	62.7	0.142
1954	6	Red Kerr	Syracuse Nationals	61.8	0.107
1954	3	Gene Shue	Philadelphia Warriors	38.9	0.08
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1955	8	Jack Twyman	Rochester Royals	75	0.138
1955	4	Kenny Sears	New York Knicks	55.8	0.179
1955		Tom Gola	Philadelphia Warriors	53.2	0.113
1955		K.C. Jones	Minneapolis Lakers	38.6	0.106
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1956	2	Bill Russell	St. Louis Hawks	163.5	0.193
1956		Elgin Baylor	Minneapolis Lakers	104.2	0.148
1956		Sam Jones	Minneapolis Lakers	92.3	0.182
1956		Tom Heinsohn	Boston Celtics	60	0.15
1956		K.C. Jones	Boston Celtics	38.6	0.106
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1957	8	Sam Jones	Boston Celtics	92.3	0.182
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1958	1	Elgin Baylor	Minneapolis Lakers	104.2	0.148
1958	13	Hal Greer	Syracuse Nationals	102.7	0.124
1958	22	Wayne Embry	St. Louis Hawks	37.8	0.083
1958	6	Dave Gambee	St. Louis Hawks	35.1	0.115
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1959		Wilt Chamberlain	Philadelphia Warriors	247.3	0.248
1959	2	Bailey Howell	Detroit Pistons	114.8	0.18
1959	4	Dick Barnett	Syracuse Nationals	68.7	0.114
1959	1	Bob Boozer	Cincinnati Royals	64.2	0.121
1959	10	Rudy LaRusso	Minneapolis Lakers	61.4	0.12
1959	5	Johnny Green	New York Knicks	58	0.113
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1960	1	Oscar Robertson	Cincinnati Royals	189.2	0.207
1960	2	Jerry West	Los Angeles Lakers	162.6	0.213
1960	6	Lenny Wilkens	St. Louis Hawks	95.5	0.12
1960	8	Tom Sanders	Boston Celtics	56.5	0.122
1960	39	Al Attles	Philadelphia Warriors	36.5	0.098
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1961	1	Walt Bellamy	Chicago Packers	130	0.16
1961	32	Bill Bridges	Chicago Packers	59.9	0.093
1961	7	Tom Meschery	Philadelphia Warriors	43.6	0.089
1961	21	Don Kojis	Chicago Packers	35.8	0.089
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1962	7	John Havlicek	Boston Celtics	131.7	0.136
1962	12	Chet Walker	Syracuse Nationals	117.4	0.168
1962		Jerry Lucas	Cincinnati Royals	98.4	0.147
1962	17	Don Nelson	Chicago Zephyrs	74.6	0.165
1962		Dave DeBusschere	Detroit Pistons	60.8	0.093
1962	3	Zelmo Beaty	St. Louis Hawks	58.2	0.152
1962	8	Terry Dischinger	Chicago Zephyrs	56.3	0.152
1962	6	Leroy Ellis	Los Angeles Lakers	46.3	0.081
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1963	3	Nate Thurmond	San Francisco Warriors	78	0.104
1963	10	Gus Johnson	Baltimore Bullets	35.8	0.085
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1964	10	Paul Silas	St. Louis Hawks	79.9	0.11
1964	8	Willis Reed	New York Knicks	74.9	0.156
1964	33	Happy Hairston	Cincinnati Royals	70	0.138
1964	5	Jeff Mullins	St. Louis Hawks	62.8	0.123
1964	19	Jerry Sloan	Baltimore Bullets	49.5	0.092
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1965	2	Rick Barry	San Francisco Warriors	93.4	0.156
1965		Gail Goodrich	Los Angeles Lakers	76.3	0.109
1965	10	Dick Van Arsdale	New York Knicks	75.2	0.114
1965	5	Billy Cunningham	Philadelphia 76ers	63.2	0.135
1965	33	Bob Love	Cincinnati Royals	50.4	0.096
1965	4	Jerry Sloan	Baltimore Bullets	49.5	0.092
1965	24	Jon McGlocklin	Cincinnati Royals	47.1	0.108
1965	67	Jim Fox	Cincinnati Royals	41.8	0.116
1965	6	Jim Washington	St. Louis Hawks	39.3	0.083
1965		Bill Bradley	New York Knicks	38.8	0.082
1965	11	Tom Van Arsdale	Detroit Pistons	36.6	0.061
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1966	4	Lou Hudson	St. Louis Hawks	81	0.131
1966	2	Dave Bing	Detroit Pistons	68.8	0.101
1966	37	Archie Clark	Los Angeles Lakers	64.7	0.132
1966	5	Jack Marin	Baltimore Bullets	59.3	0.116
1966	14	Dick Snyder	St. Louis Hawks	58.3	0.109
1966	1	Cazzie Russell	New York Knicks	51.7	0.112
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1967	5	Walt Frazier	New York Knicks	113.5	0.176
1967	2	Earl Monroe	Baltimore Bullets	77.4	0.125
1967	1	Jimmy Walker	Detroit Pistons	42.9	0.087
1967	3	Clem Haskins	Chicago Bulls	35.8	0.097
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1968	1	Elvin Hayes	San Diego Rockets	120.8	0.116
1968	2	Wes Unseld	Baltimore Bullets	110.1	0.147
1968	4	Tom Boerwinkle	Chicago Bulls	38	0.127
1968	12	Don Chaney	Boston Celtics	35.5	0.098
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1969	1	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	Milwaukee Bucks	273.4	0.228
1969	45	Bob Dandridge	Milwaukee Bucks	80.3	0.131
1969	61	Steve Mix	Detroit Pistons	57.6	0.147
1969	9	Jo Jo White	Boston Celtics	54	0.087
1969	34	Norm Van Lier	Chicago Bulls	47.8	0.088
1969	3	Lucius Allen	Seattle SuperSonics	42	0.1
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1970	1	Bob Lanier	Detroit Pistons	117.1	0.175
1970	4	Dave Cowens	Boston Celtics	86.3	0.14
1970	18	Calvin Murphy	San Diego Rockets	84.1	0.132
1970	19	Tiny Archibald	Cincinnati Royals	83.4	0.128
1970	122	Dan Issel	Detroit Pistons	82.3	0.177
1970	2	Rudy Tomjanovich	San Diego Rockets	70.4	0.131
1970	205	Randy Smith	Detroit Pistons	60.1	0.092
1970	5	Sam Lacey	Cincinnati Royals	50.9	0.077
1970	3	Pete Maravich	Atlanta Hawks	46.7	0.092
1970	13	Jim McMillan	Los Angeles Lakers	46	0.109
1970	7	John Johnson	Cleveland Cavaliers	37.1	0.069
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1971	117	Artis Gilmore	Chicago Bulls	107.4	0.174
1971	6	Fred Brown	Seattle SuperSonics	63.2	0.124
1971	30	Spencer Haywood	Buffalo Braves	61.4	0.115
1971	104	Randy Smith	Buffalo Braves	60.1	0.092
1971	40	Clifford Ray	Chicago Bulls	56.7	0.136
1971	24	Mike Newlin	Houston Rockets	50.4	0.098
1971	2	Sidney Wicks	Portland Trail Blazers	42.4	0.079
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1972	12	Julius Erving	Milwaukee Bucks	106.2	0.178
1972	2	Bob McAdoo	Buffalo Braves	89.1	0.151
1972	10	Paul Westphal	Boston Celtics	67.7	0.155
1972	24	Steve Hawes	Cleveland Cavaliers	37.1	0.112
1972	39	Kevin Porter	Baltimore Bullets	36	0.09
1972	17	Chris Ford	Detroit Pistons	35.6	0.077
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1973	32	Caldwell Jones	Philadelphia 76ers	44.3	0.08
1973	1	Doug Collins	Philadelphia 76ers	38	0.131
1973	31	Jim Chones	Los Angeles Lakers	37.4	0.094
1973	16	Swen Nater	Milwaukee Bucks	36.9	0.128
1973	50	Larry Kenon	Detroit Pistons	36.5	0.113
1973	22	George McGinnis	Philadelphia 76ers	36.2	0.107
1973	5	Kermit Washington	Los Angeles Lakers	36	0.135
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1974	40	George Gervin	Phoenix Suns	88.1	0.159
1974	5	Bobby Jones	Houston Rockets	73.7	0.175
1974	11	Jamaal Wilkes	Golden State Warriors	71.3	0.125
1974	25	John Drew	Atlanta Hawks	68.9	0.152
1974	14	Maurice Lucas	Chicago Bulls	58.7	0.114
1974	56	Mickey Johnson	Portland Trail Blazers	58.6	0.113
1974	6	Scott Wedman	Kansas City-Omaha Kings	53.7	0.099
1974	22	Truck Robinson	Washington Bullets	52.7	0.101
1974	21	Billy Knight	Los Angeles Lakers	48.5	0.126
1974	29	Phil Smith	Golden State Warriors	41.1	0.103
1974	1	Bill Walton	Portland Trail Blazers	39.3	0.142
1974	12	Brian Winters	Los Angeles Lakers	38.6	0.093
1974	8	Campy Russell	Cleveland Cavaliers	35.8	0.103
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1975	4	Alvan Adams	Phoenix Suns	73.5	0.13
1975	20	Gus Williams	Golden State Warriors	67.9	0.127
1975	23	World B. Free	Philadelphia 76ers	67.7	0.121
1975	28	Dan Roundfield	Cleveland Cavaliers	65.2	0.134
1975	1	David Thompson	Atlanta Hawks	50.8	0.15
1975	5	Darryl Dawkins	Philadelphia 76ers	46.4	0.129
1975	8	Junior Bridgeman	Los Angeles Lakers	45	0.102
1975	7	Rich Kelley	New Orleans Jazz	42.5	0.115
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1976	8	Robert Parish	Golden State Warriors	147	0.154
1976	6	Adrian Dantley	Buffalo Braves	134.2	0.189
1976	23	Alex English	Milwaukee Bucks	100.7	0.127
1976	29	Dennis Johnson	Seattle SuperSonics	82.6	0.11
1976	1	John Lucas	Houston Rockets	53.7	0.101
1976	22	Johnny Davis	Portland Trail Blazers	38.5	0.087
1976	25	Lonnie Shelton	New York Knicks	37.5	0.097
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1977	8	Jack Sikma	Seattle SuperSonics	112.5	0.146
1977	3	Marques Johnson	Milwaukee Bucks	79.8	0.162
1977	12	Cedric Maxwell	Boston Celtics	78.5	0.159
1977	5	Walter Davis	Phoenix Suns	76.9	0.128
1977	7	Bernard King	New Jersey Nets	75.4	0.123
1977	14	Tree Rollins	Atlanta Hawks	63.9	0.128
1977	46	James Edwards	Los Angeles Lakers	59.7	0.101
1977	4	Greg Ballard	Washington Bullets	54	0.117
1977	15	Brad Davis	Los Angeles Lakers	53.6	0.115
1977	2	Otis Birdsong	Kansas City Kings	48.2	0.107
1977	22	Norm Nixon	Los Angeles Lakers	47.6	0.084
1977	16	Rickey Green	Golden State Warriors	47.2	0.097
1977	49	Eddie Johnson	Atlanta Hawks	41	0.098
1977	40	Robert Reid	Houston Rockets	40.3	0.077
1977	41	T.R. Dunn	Portland Trail Blazers	39.8	0.083
1977	10	Ray Williams	New York Knicks	37.1	0.096
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1978	6	Larry Bird	Boston Celtics	145.8	0.203
1978	36	Maurice Cheeks	Philadelphia 76ers	103.5	0.143
1978	9	Reggie Theus	Chicago Bulls	66.9	0.093
1978	1	Mychal Thompson	Portland Trail Blazers	59.1	0.102
1978	60	Michael Cooper	Los Angeles Lakers	52.5	0.107
1978	5	Purvis Short	Golden State Warriors	51.1	0.1
1978	15	Mike Mitchell	Cleveland Cavaliers	50.2	0.098
1978	23	Terry Tyler	Detroit Pistons	40.8	0.09
1978	18	Dave Corzine	Washington Bullets	37.3	0.086
1978	40	Wayne Cooper	Golden State Warriors	36.9	0.087
1978	4	Michael Ray Richardson	New York Knicks	35.2	0.091
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1979	1	Magic Johnson	Los Angeles Lakers	155.8	0.225
1979	65	Bill Laimbeer	Cleveland Cavaliers	105.6	0.149
1979	5	Sidney Moncrief	Milwaukee Bucks	90.3	0.187
1979	3	Bill Cartwright	New York Knicks	72.8	0.127
1979	73	James Donaldson	Seattle SuperSonics	62.3	0.114
1979	8	Calvin Natt	New Jersey Nets	57.2	0.146
1979	12	Jim Paxson	Portland Trail Blazers	53.7	0.121
1979	7	Vinnie Johnson	Seattle SuperSonics	50.8	0.1
1979	2	Dave Greenwood	Chicago Bulls	46.4	0.095
1979	107	Mark Eaton	Phoenix Suns	44.8	0.085
1979	22	Kyle Macy	Phoenix Suns	36	0.121
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1980	3	Kevin McHale	Boston Celtics	113	0.18
1980	11	Kiki Vandeweghe	Dallas Mavericks	75.6	0.148
1980	7	Mike Gminski	New Jersey Nets	55.9	0.111
1980	35	Rick Mahorn	Washington Bullets	51.7	0.096
1980	24	Larry Smith	Golden State Warriors	46	0.096
1980	58	Kurt Rambis	New York Knicks	38.3	0.113
1980	1	Joe Barry Carroll	Golden State Warriors	35.6	0.075
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1981	3	Buck Williams	New Jersey Nets	120.1	0.136
1981	20	Larry Nance	Phoenix Suns	109.6	0.171
1981	2	Isiah Thomas	Detroit Pistons	80.7	0.109
1981	8	Tom Chambers	San Diego Clippers	79	0.112
1981	9	Rolando Blackman	Dallas Mavericks	75.6	0.113
1981	31	Danny Ainge	Boston Celtics	71.5	0.124
1981	1	Mark Aguirre	Dallas Mavericks	67.8	0.117
1981	29	Eddie Johnson	Kansas City Kings	65.6	0.097
1981	6	Orlando Woolridge	Chicago Bulls	53	0.106
1981	13	Danny Schayes	Utah Jazz	48.8	0.107
1981	12	Kelly Tripucka	Detroit Pistons	44.4	0.102
1981	21	Alton Lister	Milwaukee Bucks	36.6	0.093
1981	14	Herb Williams	Indiana Pacers	36.1	0.061
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1982	3	Dominique Wilkins	Utah Jazz	117.5	0.148
1982	2	Terry Cummings	San Diego Clippers	91.1	0.129
1982	1	James Worthy	Los Angeles Lakers	81.2	0.13
1982	18	Ricky Pierce	Detroit Pistons	72.2	0.146
1982	11	Fat Lever	Portland Trail Blazers	61.2	0.123
1982	13	Sleepy Floyd	New Jersey Nets	50.6	0.092
1982	20	Paul Pressey	Milwaukee Bucks	49	0.12
1982	72	Mark Eaton	Utah Jazz	44.8	0.085
1982	9	Cliff Levingston	Detroit Pistons	44.2	0.125
1982	31	Rod Higgins	Chicago Bulls	37.8	0.106
1982	5	LaSalle Thompson	Kansas City Kings	35	0.079
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1983	14	Clyde Drexler	Portland Trail Blazers	135.6	0.173
1983	11	Derek Harper	Dallas Mavericks	86.8	0.11
1983	9	Dale Ellis	Dallas Mavericks	84.7	0.117
1983	4	Byron Scott	San Diego Clippers	75.2	0.12
1983	31	Doc Rivers	Atlanta Hawks	68.2	0.139
1983	3	Rodney McCray	Houston Rockets	56	0.108
1983	10	Jeff Malone	Washington Bullets	54.2	0.088
1983	139	Sedale Threatt	Philadelphia 76ers	48	0.103
1983	7	Thurl Bailey	Utah Jazz	45	0.087
1983	8	Antoine Carr	Detroit Pistons	42.1	0.102
1983	30	Mark West	Dallas Mavericks	41.9	0.1
1983	48	Craig Ehlo	Houston Rockets	41.2	0.094
1983	19	John Paxson	San Antonio Spurs	36.3	0.101
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1984	3	Michael Jordan	Chicago Bulls	214	0.25
1984	16	John Stockton	Utah Jazz	207.7	0.209
1984	5	Charles Barkley	Philadelphia 76ers	177.2	0.216
1984	1	Hakeem Olajuwon	Houston Rockets	162.8	0.177
1984	9	Otis Thorpe	Kansas City Kings	106.4	0.128
1984	4	Sam Perkins	Dallas Mavericks	105.4	0.138
1984	11	Kevin Willis	Atlanta Hawks	81.8	0.102
1984	14	Michael Cage	Los Angeles Clippers	74.4	0.12
1984	46	Jerome Kersey	Portland Trail Blazers	69.5	0.119
1984	7	Alvin Robertson	San Antonio Spurs	52.1	0.101
1984	18	Vern Fleming	Indiana Pacers	52	0.101
1984	13	Jay Humphries	Phoenix Suns	45	0.094
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1985	13	Karl Malone	Utah Jazz	234.6	0.205
1985	1	Patrick Ewing	New York Knicks	126.4	0.15
1985	24	Terry Porter	Portland Trail Blazers	110.4	0.15
1985	8	Detlef Schrempf	Dallas Mavericks	109.5	0.156
1985	23	A.C. Green	Los Angeles Lakers	99.5	0.131
1985	7	Chris Mullin	Golden State Warriors	93.1	0.139
1985	9	Charles Oakley	Cleveland Cavaliers	89.7	0.107
1985	18	Joe Dumars	Detroit Pistons	86.2	0.118
1985	45	Hot Rod Williams	Cleveland Cavaliers	70.5	0.129
1985	35	Tyrone Corbin	San Antonio Spurs	56.5	0.098
1985	160	Mario Elie	Milwaukee Bucks	48.9	0.126
1985	4	Xavier McDaniel	Seattle SuperSonics	47.8	0.091
1985	77	Arvydas Sabonis	Atlanta Hawks	47.3	0.2
1985	66	Michael Adams	Sacramento Kings	46.9	0.11
1985	2	Wayman Tisdale	Indiana Pacers	45.7	0.092
1985	10	Ed Pinckney	Phoenix Suns	42.7	0.13
1985	54	Sam Mitchell	Houston Rockets	41.7	0.09
1985	87	Spud Webb	Detroit Pistons	40.2	0.095
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1986	46	Jeff Hornacek	Phoenix Suns	108.9	0.154
1986	27	Dennis Rodman	Detroit Pistons	89.8	0.15
1986	25	Mark Price	Dallas Mavericks	71.1	0.158
1986	8	Ron Harper	Cleveland Cavaliers	65.8	0.101
1986	1	Brad Daugherty	Cleveland Cavaliers	65.2	0.156
1986	29	Johnny Newman	Cleveland Cavaliers	50.3	0.085
1986	30	Nate McMillan	Seattle SuperSonics	50.2	0.118
1986	24	Arvydas Sabonis	Portland Trail Blazers	47.3	0.2
1986	11	John Salley	Detroit Pistons	41.5	0.121
1986	15	Dell Curry	Utah Jazz	41.5	0.085
1986	4	Chuck Person	Indiana Pacers	38.9	0.065
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1987	1	David Robinson	San Antonio Spurs	178.7	0.25
1987	11	Reggie Miller	Indiana Pacers	174.4	0.176
1987	5	Scottie Pippen	Seattle SuperSonics	125.1	0.146
1987	10	Horace Grant	Chicago Bulls	118.2	0.147
1987	7	Kevin Johnson	Cleveland Cavaliers	92.8	0.178
1987	18	Mark Jackson	New York Knicks	91.8	0.113
1987	9	Derrick McKey	Seattle SuperSonics	61.8	0.109
1987	2	Armen Gilliam	Phoenix Suns	58.1	0.106
1987	12	Muggsy Bogues	Washington Bullets	54	0.102
1987	6	Kenny Smith	Sacramento Kings	46.8	0.101
1987	8	Olden Polynice	Chicago Bulls	46.8	0.09
1987	22	Reggie Lewis	Boston Celtics	38.9	0.127
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1988	6	Hersey Hawkins	Los Angeles Clippers	90.6	0.136
1988	53	Anthony Mason	Portland Trail Blazers	88.3	0.138
1988	19	Rod Strickland	New York Knicks	85.8	0.122
1988	5	Mitch Richmond	Golden State Warriors	79.3	0.111
1988	14	Dan Majerle	Phoenix Suns	78.5	0.125
1988	33	Grant Long	Miami Heat	60.1	0.101
1988	2	Rik Smits	Indiana Pacers	56.6	0.118
1988	1	Danny Manning	Los Angeles Clippers	55.1	0.109
1988	50	Steve Kerr	Phoenix Suns	47.2	0.14
1988	3	Charles Smith	Philadelphia 76ers	40.9	0.12
1988	29	Vinny Del Negro	Sacramento Kings	40.6	0.101
1988	4	Chris Morris	New Jersey Nets	37.4	0.096
1988	9	Rony Seikaly	Miami Heat	37.3	0.084
1988	12	Harvey Grant	Washington Bullets	36.4	0.085
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1989	26	Vlade Divac	Los Angeles Lakers	96.4	0.137
1989	36	Clifford Robinson	Portland Trail Blazers	89.7	0.101
1989	17	Shawn Kemp	Seattle SuperSonics	89.5	0.147
1989	4	Glen Rice	Miami Heat	88.7	0.122
1989	14	Tim Hardaway	Golden State Warriors	85	0.133
1989	12	Mookie Blaylock	New Jersey Nets	71.8	0.111
1989	3	Sean Elliott	San Antonio Spurs	55.7	0.109
1989	11	Nick Anderson	Orlando Magic	55.3	0.106
1989	16	Dana Barros	Seattle SuperSonics	49.6	0.122
1989	18	B.J. Armstrong	Chicago Bulls	45	0.121
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1990	2	Gary Payton	Seattle SuperSonics	145.5	0.148
1990	1	Derrick Coleman	New Jersey Nets	64.3	0.119
1990	27	Elden Campbell	Los Angeles Lakers	62.8	0.117
1990	29	Toni Kukoc	Chicago Bulls	59.6	0.129
1990	45	Antonio Davis	Indiana Pacers	59.6	0.11
1990	11	Tyrone Hill	Golden State Warriors	56.2	0.12
1990	5	Kendall Gill	Charlotte Hornets	47.8	0.078
1990	48	Cedric Ceballos	Phoenix Suns	40.4	0.132
1990	13	Loy Vaught	Los Angeles Clippers	35.8	0.101
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1991	4	Dikembe Mutombo	Denver Nuggets	117	0.153
1991	13	Dale Davis	Indiana Pacers	86.9	0.141
1991	5	Steve Smith	Miami Heat	83.7	0.139
1991	1	Larry Johnson	Charlotte Hornets	69.7	0.13
1991	11	Terrell Brandon	Cleveland Cavaliers	65.9	0.147
1991	2	Kenny Anderson	New Jersey Nets	62.5	0.116
1991	24	Rick Fox	Boston Celtics	44.7	0.09
1991	9	Stacey Augmon	Atlanta Hawks	43.8	0.097
1991	12	Greg Anthony	New York Knicks	35.9	0.109
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1992	1	Shaquille O’Neal	Orlando Magic	181.7	0.208
1992	29	P.J. Brown	New Jersey Nets	89.8	0.128
1992	2	Alonzo Mourning	Charlotte Hornets	89.7	0.166
1992	11	Robert Horry	Houston Rockets	66.3	0.118
1992	3	Christian Laettner	Minnesota Timberwolves	64.9	0.121
1992	9	Clarence Weatherspoon	Philadelphia 76ers	58.4	0.101
1992	24	Latrell Sprewell	Golden State Warriors	56.3	0.077
1992	17	Doug Christie	Seattle SuperSonics	55.7	0.102
1992	6	Tom Gugliotta	Washington Bullets	40.2	0.082
1992	21	Jon Barry	Boston Celtics	37.2	0.129
1992	4	Jim Jackson	Dallas Mavericks	35.8	0.059
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1993	24	Sam Cassell	Houston Rockets	87.5	0.141
1993	1	Chris Webber	Orlando Magic	84.7	0.132
1993	3	Penny Hardaway	Golden State Warriors	61.9	0.125
1993	37	Nick Van Exel	Los Angeles Lakers	55.9	0.093
1993	11	Allan Houston	Detroit Pistons	55.3	0.094
1993	45	Bryon Russell	Utah Jazz	47.4	0.115
1993	8	Vin Baker	Milwaukee Bucks	47	0.088
1993	4	Jamal Mashburn	Dallas Mavericks	43.7	0.092
1993	2	Shawn Bradley	Philadelphia 76ers	40.7	0.1
1993	9	Rodney Rogers	Denver Nuggets	38.8	0.085
1993	23	Ervin Johnson	Seattle SuperSonics	37.8	0.107
1993	22	Chris Mills	Cleveland Cavaliers	37.7	0.105
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1994	2	Jason Kidd	Dallas Mavericks	138.6	0.133
1994	10	Eddie Jones	Los Angeles Lakers	100.6	0.147
1994	3	Grant Hill	Detroit Pistons	99.9	0.138
1994	5	Juwan Howard	Washington Bullets	59.4	0.078
1994	4	Donvell Marshall	Minnesota Timberwolves	59	0.113
1994	8	Brian Grant	Sacramento Kings	54.5	0.122
1994	13	Jalen Rose	Denver Nuggets	47.2	0.081
1994	23	Wesley Person	Phoenix Suns	44	0.102
1994	17	Aaron McKie	Portland Trail Blazers	40	0.1
1994	1	Glenn Robinson	Milwaukee Bucks	39.8	0.075
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1995	5	Kevin Garnett	Minnesota Timberwolves	191.4	0.182
1995	4	Rasheed Wallace	Washington Bullets	105.1	0.139
1995	21	Michael Finley	Phoenix Suns	85.2	0.108
1995	15	Brent Barry	Denver Nuggets	70.5	0.143
1995	2	Antonio McDyess	Los Angeles Clippers	69.8	0.119
1995	10	Kurt Thomas	Miami Heat	64.2	0.114
1995	1	Joe Smith	Golden State Warriors	60.3	0.107
1995	7	Damon Stoudamire	Toronto Raptors	55.4	0.091
1995	3	Jerry Stackhouse	Philadelphia 76ers	52.4	0.083
1995	18	Theo Ratliff	Detroit Pistons	47.9	0.112
1995	43	Eric Snow	Milwaukee Bucks	43.4	0.09
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1996	13	Kobe Bryant	Charlotte Hornets	172.7	0.17
1996	5	Ray Allen	Minnesota Timberwolves	145.1	0.15
1996	15	Steve Nash	Phoenix Suns	129.7	0.164
1996	1	Allen Iverson	Philadelphia 76ers	99	0.126
1996	14	Peja Stojakovic	Sacramento Kings	82.6	0.147
1996	2	Marcus Camby	Toronto Raptors	81.6	0.137
1996	4	Stephnon Marbury	Milwaukee Bucks	77.5	0.117
1996	3	Shareef Abdur-Rahim	Vancouver Grizzlies	71.2	0.118
1996	20	Zydrunas Ilgauskas	Cleveland Cavaliers	66.3	0.139
1996	17	Jermaine O’Neal	Portland Trail Blazers	66	0.116
1996	24	Derek Fisher	Los Angeles Lakers	62.3	0.091
1996	10	Erick Dampier	Indiana Pacers	52.7	0.105
1996	8	Kerry Kittles	New Jersey Nets	48.8	0.127
1996	6	Antoine Walker	Boston Celtics	38.1	0.058
1996	26	Jerome Williams	Detroit Pistons	37.9	0.143
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1997	1	Tim Duncan	San Antonio Spurs	206.4	0.209
1997	3	Chauncey Billups	Boston Celtics	120.8	0.176
1997	9	Tracy McGrady	Toronto Raptors	97.3	0.152
1997	4	Antonio Daniels	Vancouver Grizzlies	47	0.115
1997	13	Derek Anderson	Cleveland Cavaliers	43.9	0.117
1997	2	Keith Van Horn	Philadelphia 76ers	41.7	0.11
1997	5	Tony Battie	Denver Nuggets	36.4	0.099
1997	42	Stephen Jackson	Phoenix Suns	36.1	0.063
1997	7	Tim Thomas	New Jersey Nets	35.2	0.079
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1998	9	Dirk Nowitzki	Milwaukee Bucks	206.3	0.193
1998	10	Paul Pierce	Boston Celtics	150	0.157
1998	5	Vince Carter	Golden State Warriors	125.3	0.13
1998	32	Rashard Lewis	Seattle SuperSonics	90.9	0.13
1998	4	Antawn Jamison	Toronto Raptors	87.8	0.112
1998	2	Mike Bibby	Vancouver Grizzlies	73.2	0.104
1998	41	Cuttino Mobley	Houston Rockets	52.2	0.091
1998	25	Al Harrington	Indiana Pacers	42.5	0.073
1998	15	Matt Harpring	Orlando Magic	41.9	0.114
1998	17	Rasho Nesterovic	Minnesota Timberwolves	39.9	0.107
1998	3	Raef LaFrentz	Denver Nuggets	39.4	0.13
1998	7	Jason Williams	Sacramento Kings	38.5	0.08
1998	31	Ruben Patterson	Los Angeles Lakers	35.1	0.106
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
1999	9	Shawn Marion	Phoenix Suns	124.9	0.15
1999	1	Elton Brand	Chicago Bulls	109.6	0.151
1999	57	Manu Ginobili	San Antonio Spurs	106.4	0.19
1999	10	Jason Terry	Atlanta Hawks	102	0.116
1999	8	Andre Miller	Cleveland Cavaliers	100.8	0.12
1999	4	Lamar Odom	Los Angeles Clippers	77	0.115
1999	24	Andrei Kirilenko	Utah Jazz	75.4	0.151
1999	3	Baron Davis	Charlotte Hornets	63.1	0.106
1999	7	Richard Hamilton	Washington Wizards	62.8	0.102
1999	13	Corey Maggette	Seattle SuperSonics	62.2	0.128
1999	16	Metta World Peace	Chicago Bulls	61.1	0.093
1999	2	Steve Francis	Vancouver Grizzlies	54.1	0.12
1999	6	Wally Szczerbiak	Minnesota Timberwolves	53.3	0.127
1999	18	James Posey	Denver Nuggets	51.6	0.107
1999	21	Jeff Foster	Golden State Warriors	47.5	0.145
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
2000	16	Hedo Turkoglu	Sacramento Kings	63.3	0.114
2000	5	Mike Miller	Orlando Magic	60.7	0.105
2000	8	Jamal Crawford	Cleveland Cavaliers	60.6	0.075
2000	43	Michael Redd	Milwaukee Bucks	55.9	0.134
2000	1	Kenyon Martin	New Jersey Nets	48	0.1
2000	21	Morris Peterson	Toronto Raptors	35.7	0.089
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
2001	3	Pau Gasol	Atlanta Hawks	144.1	0.169
2001	28	Tony Parker	San Antonio Spurs	111.3	0.14
2001	2	Tyson Chandler	Los Angeles Clippers	102.1	0.155
2001	13	Richard Jefferson	Houston Rockets	83	0.116
2001	10	Joe Johnson	Boston Celtics	82.8	0.09
2001	19	Zach Randolph	Portland Trail Blazers	81.1	0.112
2001	6	Shane Battier	Memphis Grizzlies	75.7	0.121
2001	25	Gerald Wallace	Sacramento Kings	59.7	0.116
2001	5	Jason Richardson	Golden State Warriors	59.1	0.097
2001	38	Mehmet Okur	Detroit Pistons	54.7	0.142
2001	26	Samuel Dalembert	Philadelphia 76ers	51.3	0.114
2001	31	Gilbert Arenas	Golden State Warriors	51.3	0.127
2001	14	Troy Murphy	Golden State Warriors	50.3	0.121
2001	20	Brendan Haywood	Cleveland Cavaliers	43.8	0.113
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
2002	9	Amar’e Stoudemire	Phoenix Suns	92.5	0.169
2002	35	Carlos Boozer	Cleveland Cavaliers	80.3	0.143
2002	7	Nene Hilario	New York Knicks	73.3	0.139
2002	1	Yao Ming	Houston Rockets	65.9	0.2
2002	23	Tayshaun Prince	Detroit Pistons	63.1	0.096
2002	3	Mike Dunleavy	Golden State Warriors	58.5	0.103
2002	10	Caron Butler	Miami Heat	50.9	0.086
2002	56	Luis Scola	San Antonio Spurs	45.7	0.115
2002	4	Drew Gooden	Memphis Grizzlies	43.9	0.105
2002	46	Matt Barnes	Memphis Grizzlies	42.8	0.093
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
2003	1	LeBron James	Cleveland Cavaliers	236.1	0.235
2003	5	Dwyane Wade	Miami Heat	120.7	0.162
2003	4	Chris Bosh	Toronto Raptors	106	0.159
2003	3	Carmelo Anthony	Denver Nuggets	102	0.123
2003	18	David West	New Orleans Hornets	85.9	0.141
2003	51	Kyle Korver	New Jersey Nets	73.1	0.113
2003	42	Zaza Pachulia	Orlando Magic	52.7	0.114
2003	7	Kirk Hinrich	Chicago Bulls	52.5	0.093
2003	21	Boris Diaw	Atlanta Hawks	51.6	0.086
2003	12	Nck Collison	Seattle SuperSonics	44.5	0.115
2003	47	Mo Williams	Utah Jazz	40	0.08
2003	45	Matt Bonner	Chicago Bulls	38.5	0.138
2003	29	Josh Howard	Dallas Mavericks	38	0.119
2003	28	Leandro Barbosa	San Antonio Spurs	37.4	0.098
2003	14	Luke Ridnour	Seattle SuperSonics	36	0.08
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
2004	1	Dwight Howard	Orlando Magic	133.9	0.173
2004	9	Andre Iguodala	Philadelphia 76ers	96.8	0.125
2004	7	Luol Deng	Phoenix Suns	74	0.115
2004	15	Al Jefferson	Boston Celtics	71	0.13
2004	43	Trevor Ariza	New York Knicks	62.6	0.095
2004	26	Kevin Martin	Sacramento Kings	61.3	0.137
2004	5	Devin Harris	Washington Wizards	54.9	0.11
2004	17	Josh Smith	Atlanta Hawks	51	0.084
2004	20	Jameer Nelson	Denver Nuggets	48.3	0.094
2004	18	J.R. Smith	New Orleans Hornets	46.4	0.085
2004	30	Anderson Varejao	Orlando Magic	46.4	0.148
2004	2	Emeka Okafor	Charlotte Hornets	45.3	0.114
2004	25	Tony Allen	Boston Celtics	38.7	0.103
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
2005	4	Chris Paul	New Orleans Hornets	179.5	0.244
2005	3	Deron Williams	Utah Jazz	77.3	0.129
2005	30	David Lee	New York Knicks	76	0.15
2005	2	Marvin Williams	Atlanta Hawks	64.8	0.104
2005	45	Lou Williams	Philadelphia 76ers	63.3	0.123
2005	57	Marcin Gortat	Phoenix Suns	61.3	0.142
2005	56	Amir Johnson	Detroit Pistons	55.3	0.145
2005	1	Andrew Bogut	Milwaukee Bucks	50.6	0.122
2005	17	Danny Granger	Indiana Pacers	48.5	0.126
2005	36	Ersan Ilyasova	Milwaukee Bucks	48.2	0.124
2005	33	Brandon Bass	New Orleans Hornets	42.8	0.125
2005	40	Monta Ellis	Golden State Warriors	41.9	0.069
2005	5	Raymond Felton	Charlotte Bobcats	40.2	0.067
2005	8	Channing Frye	New York Knicks	38.9	0.094
2005	10	Andrew Bynum	Los Angeles Lakers	37.4	0.168
2005	22	Jarrett Jack	Denver Nuggets	36.8	0.073
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
2006	2	LaMarcus Aldridge	Chicago Bulls	111.4	0.155
2006	24	Kyle Lowry	Memphis Grizzlies	93.5	0.157
2006	47	Paul Millsap	Utah Jazz	91.6	0.153
2006	11	J.J. Redick	Orlando Magic	62.6	0.13
2006	21	Rajon Rondo	Phoenix Suns	59.9	0.106
2006	8	Rudy Gay	Houston Rockets	56.4	0.087
2006	13	Thabo Sefolosha	Philadelphia 76ers	39.3	0.099
2006	6	Brandon Roy	Minnesota Timberwolves	37.4	0.155
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
2007	2	Kevin Durant	Seattle SuperSonics	141.7	0.217
2007	3	Al Horford	Atlanta Hawks	90.7	0.158
2007	48	Marc Gasol	Los Angeles Lakers	82.2	0.143
2007	4	Mike Conley	Memphis Grizzlies	73.5	0.131
2007	9	Joakim Noah	Chicago Bulls	61.8	0.16
2007	12	Thaddeus Young	Philadelphia 76ers	61.6	0.101
2007	22	Jared Dudley	Charlotte Bobcats	42.8	0.103
2007	5	Jeff Green	Boston Celtics	41.6	0.075
2007	31	Carl Landry	Seattle SuperSonics	35.9	0.149
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
2008	4	Russell Westbrook	Seattle SuperSonics	101.3	0.161
2008	35	DeAndre Jordan	Los Angeles Clippers	88.7	0.175
2008	5	Kevin Love	Memphis Grizzlies	82	0.173
2008	24	Serge Ibaka	Seattle SuperSonics	67.8	0.141
2008	26	George Hill	San Antonio Spurs	65	0.145
2008	10	Brook Lopez	New Jersey Nets	64.7	0.13
2008	6	Danilo Gallinari	New York Knicks	56.1	0.144
2008	25	Nicolas Batum	Houston Rockets	54.7	0.106
2008	45	Groan Dragic	San Antonio Spurs	54.1	0.114
2008	21	Ryan Anderson	New Jersey Nets	46.7	0.134
2008	15	Robin Lopez	Phoenix Suns	44.7	0.116
2008	9	D.J. Augustin	Charlotte Bobcats	44.5	0.103
2008	1	Derrick Rose	Chicago Bulls	39.7	0.098
2008	22	Courtney Lee	Orlando Magic	39.4	0.086
2008	18	JaVale McGee	Washington Wizards	36.4	0.145
2008	17	Roy Hibbert	Toronto Raptors	35.9	0.105
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
2009	3	James Harden	Oklahoma City Thunder	133.3	0.226
2009	7	Stephen Curry	Golden State Warriors	103.2	0.207
2009	1	Blake Griffin	Los Angeles Clippers	75.2	0.167
2009	9	DeMar DeRozan	Toronto Raptors	66.5	0.115
2009	26	Taj Gibson	Chicago Bulls	52.4	0.125
2009	19	Jeff Teague	Atlanta Hawks	50.8	0.115
2009	21	Darren Collison	New Orleans Hornets	49.9	0.115
2009	17	Jrue Holiday	Philadelphia 76ers	43	0.088
2009	46	Danny Green	Cleveland Cavaliers	42.7	0.118
2009	18	Ty Lawson	Minnesota Timberwolves	42.1	0.126
2009	5	Ricky Rubio	Minnesota Timberwolves	36.4	0.102
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
2010	10	Paul George	Indiana Pacers	69.1	0.153
2010	3	Derrick Favors	New Jersey Nets	53.3	0.147
2010	9	Gordon Hayward	Utah Jazz	52.9	0.13
2010	7	Greg Monroe	Detroit Pistons	49.7	0.136
2010	33	Hassan Whiteside	Sacramento Kings	44.9	0.199
2010	1	John Wall	Washington Wizards	44.3	0.104
2010	5	DeMarcus Cousins	Sacramento Kings	44.1	0.117
2010	18	Eric Bledsoe	Oklahoma City Thunder	42.3	0.117
2010	13	Ed Davis	Toronto Raptors	41.7	0.151
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
2011	30	Jimmy Butler	Chicago Bulls	74.6	0.188
2011	15	Kawhi Leonard	Indiana Pacers	73.4	0.22
2011	1	Kyrie Irving	Cleveland Cavaliers	61.3	0.165
2011	9	Kemba Walker	Charlotte Bobcats	54	0.117
2011	5	Jonas Valanciunas	Toronto Raptors	51.5	0.177
2011	16	Nikola Vucevic	Philadelphia 76ers	47.2	0.127
2011	11	Klay Thompson	Golden State Warriors	46.8	0.11
2011	60	Isaiah Thomas	Sacramento Kings	45.3	0.143
2011	19	Tobias Harris	Charlotte Bobcats	45	0.115
2011	3	Enes Kanter	Utah Jazz	43.4	0.151
2011	4	Tristan Thompson	Cleveland Cavaliers	43.1	0.119
2011	22	Kenneth Faried	Denver Nuggets	38.8	0.159
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
2012	1	Anthony Davis	New Orleans Hornets	82.3	0.219
2012	6	Damian Lillard	Portland Trail Blazers	79.9	0.174
2012	9	Andre Drummond	Detroit Pistons	60.6	0.157
2012	35	Draymond Green	Golden State Warriors	44.4	0.132
2012	3	Bradley Beal	Washington Wizards	41.5	0.106
2012	39	Khris Middleton	Detroit Pistons	38.3	0.114
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
2013	15	Giannis Antetokounmpo	Milwaukee Bucks	63.6	0.18
2013	27	Rudy Gobert	Denver Nuggets	62.9	0.219
2013	12	Steven Adams	Steven Adams	44.9	0.153
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
2014	41	Nikola Jokic	Denver Nuggets	48	0.213
2014	25	Clint Capela	Houston Rockets	36.4	0.201
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
2015	1	Karl-Anthony Towns	Minnesota Timberwolves	50.4	0.197
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
2016	1	Ben Simmons	Philadelphia 76ers	24.4	0.159
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
2017	14	Bam Adebayo	Miami Heat	19.2	0.167
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
2018	3	Luka Doncic	Atlanta Hawks	13	0.151
Year	#	Player	Team	WS	WS/48
2019	21	Brandon Clarke	Oklahoma City Thunder	4.4	0.192

NBA #1 Draft Picks, Year by Year

Year	No. 1 pick	Team	School	WS
1947	Clifton McNeeley	Pittsburgh Ironmen	Texas-El Paso	N/A
1948	Andy Tonkovich	Providence Steamrollers	Marshall	-0.4
1949	Vern Mikkelsen	Minneapolis Lakers	Hamline	83.4
1950	Paul Arizin	Philadelphia Warriors	Villanova	108.8
1951	Whitey Skoog	Minneapolis Lakers	Minnesota	14.3
1952	Bill Mlkvy	Philadelphia Warriors	Temple	-1
1953	Walter Dukes	New York Knicks	Seton Hall	24
1954	Frank Selvy	Baltimore Bullets	Furman	17.9
1955	Dick Garmaker	Minneapolis Lakers	Minnesota	25.6
1956	Tom Heinsohn	Boston Celtics	Holy Cross	60
1957	Hot Rod Hundley	Cincinnati Royals	West Virginia	4.3
1958	Guy Rodgers	Philadelphia Warriors	Temple	33.3
1959	Wilt Chamberlain	Philadelphia Warriors	Kansas	247.3
1960	Oscar Robertson	Cincinnati Royals	Cincinnati	189.2
1961	Walt Bellamy	Chicago Packers	Indiana	130
1962	Jerry Lucas	Cincinnati Royals	Ohio State	98.4
1963	Tom Thacker	Cincinnati Royals	Cincinnati	-0.6
1964	George Wilson	Cincinnati Royals	Cincinnati	0.5
1965	Bill Buntin	Detroit Pistons	Michigan	0.9
1966	Cazzie Russell	New York Knicks	Michigan	51.7
1967	Jimmy Walker	Detroit Pistons	Providence	42.9
1968	Elvin Hayes	San Diego Rockets	Houston	120.8
1969	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	Milwaukee Bucks	UCLA	273.4
1970	Bob Lanier	Detroit Pistons	St. Bonaventure	117.1
1971	Austin Carr	Cleveland Cavaliers	Notre Dame	23.9
Year	No. 1 pick	Team	School	WS
1972	LaRue Martin	Portland Trail Blazers	Loyola Chicago	1.8
1973	Doug Collins	Philadelphia 76ers	Illinois State	38
1974	Bill Walton	Portland Trail Blazers	UCLA	39.3
1975	David Thompson	Atlanta Hawks	NC State	50.8
1976	John Lucas	Houston Rockets	Maryland	53.7
1977	Kent Benson	Milwaukee Bucks	Indiana	33.6
1978	Mychal Thompson	Portland Trail Blazers	Minnesota	59.1
1979	Magic Johnson	Los Angeles Lakers	Michigan State	155.8
1980	Joe Barry Carroll	Golden State Warriors	Purdue	35.6
1981	Mark Aguirre	Dallas Mavericks	DePaul	67.8
1982	James Worthy	Los Angeles Lakers	UNC	81.2
1983	Ralph Sampson	Houston Rockets	Virginia	20.1
1984	Hakeem Olajuwon	Houston Rockets	Houston	162.8
1985	Patrick Ewing	New York Knicks	Georgetown	126.4
1986	Brad Daugherty	Cleveland Cavaliers	UNC	65.2
1987	David Robinson	San Antonio Spurs	Naval Academy	178.7
1988	Danny Manning	Los Angeles Clippers	Kansas	55.1
1989	Pervis Ellison	Sacramento Kings	Louisville	21.8
1990	Derrick Coleman	New Jersey Nets	Syracuse	64.3
1991	Charlotte Hornets	Larry Johnson	UNLV	69.7
1992	Shaquille O’Neal	Orlando Magic	LSU	181.7
1993	Chris Webber	Orlando Magic	Michigan	84.7
1994	Glenn Robinson	Milwaukee Bucks	Purdue	39.8
1995	Joe Smith	Golden State Warriors	Maryland	60.3
1996	Allen Iverson	Philadelphia 76ers	Georgetown	99
Year	No. 1 pick	Team	School	WS
1997	Tim Duncan	San Antonio Spurs	Wake Forest	206.4
1998	Michael Olowokandi	Los Angeles Clippers	U of the Pacific	2.5
1999	Elton Brand	Chicago Bulls	Duke	109.6
2000	Kenyon Martin	New Jersey Nets	Cincinnati	48
2001	Kwame Brown	Washington Wizards	High School	20.8
2002	Yao Ming	Houston Rockets	High School	65.9
2003	LeBron James	Cleveland Cavaliers	High School	236.1
2004	Dwight Howard	Orlando Magic	High School	133.9
2005	Andrew Bogut	Milwaukee Bucks	Utah	50.6
2006	Andrea Bargani	Toronto Raptors	High School	18.9
2007	Greg Oden	Portland Trail Blazers	Ohio State	7.3
2008	Derrick Rose	Chicago Bulls	Memphis	39.7
2009	Blake Griffin	Los Angeles Clippers	Oklahoma	75.2
2010	John Wall	Washington Wizards	Kentucky	44.3
2011	Kyrie Irving	Cleveland Cavaliers	Duke	61.3
2012	Anthony Davis	New Orleans Hornets	Kentucky	82.3
2013	Anthony Bennett	Cleveland Cavaliers	UNLV	0.5
2014	Andrew Wiggins	Cleveland Cavaliers	Kansas	15
2015	Karl-Anthony Towns	Minnesota Timberwolves	Kentucky	50.4
2016	Ben Simmons	Philadelphia 76ers	LSU	24.4
2017	Markelle Fultz	Philadelphia 76ers	Washington	3.2
2018	Deandre Ayton	Phoenix Suns	Arizona	8.3
2019	Zion Williamson	New Orleans Pelicans	Duke	1.8

WS is short for win shares, in case you’re wondering.

Mack’s Hockey Stuff: The President’s Trophy Curse

The term “President’s Trophy Curse” refers to the trophy awarded to the NHL team that finishes the regular season with the best record. The curse idea comes from the fact that in recent decades, it’s been rare for the President’s Trophy winner to go on to win the Stanley Cup. In this table, the years in which the best regular season team won the Cup are in bold.

Season	Cup Winner	Record	Best Record	Record
‘26-27	Ottawa Senators	30-10-4	Ottawa Senators	30-10-4
’27-28	New York Rangers	19-16-9	Montreal Canadiens	26-11-7
’28-29	Boston Bruins	23-13-5	Montreal Canadiens	22-7-15
’29-30	Montreal Canadiens	12-14-9	Boston Bruins	38-5-1
’30-31	Montreal Canadiens	26-10-8	Boston Bruins	28-10-6
’31-32	Toronto Maple Leafs	23-18-7	Montreal Canadiens	25-16-7
’32-33	New York Rangers	23-17-8	Boston/Detroit	25-15-8
’33-34	Chicago Blackhawks	20-17-11	Toronto Maple Leafs	26-13-9
’34-35	Montreal Maroons	24-19-5	Toronto Maple Leafs	30-14-4
’35-36	Detroit Red Wings	24-16-8	Detroit Red Wings	24-16-8
’36-37	Detroit Red Wings	25-14-9	Detroit Red Wings	25-14-9
’37-38	Chicago Blackhawks	14-25-9	Boston Bruins	30-11-7
’38-39	Boston Bruins	36-10-2	Boston Bruins	36-10-2
’39-40	New York Rangers	27-11-10	Boston Bruins	31-12-5
’40-41	Boston Bruins	27-8-13	Boston Bruins	27-8-13
’41-42	Toronto Maple Leafs	27-18-3	New York Rangers	29-17-2
’42-43	Detroit Red Wings	25-14-11	Detroit Red Wings	25-14-11
’43-44	Montreal Canadiens	38-5-7	Montreal Canadiens	38-5-7
’44-45	Toronto Maple Leafs	24-22-4	Montreal Canadiens	38-8-4
’45-46	Montreal Canadiens	28-17-5	Montreal Canadiens	28-17-5
’46-47	Toronto Maple Leafs	31-19-10	Montreal Canadiens	34-16-10
’47-48	Toronto Maple Leafs	32-15-13	Toronto Maple Leafs	32-15-13
’48-49	Toronto Maple Leafs	22-25-13	Detroit Red Wings	34-19-7
’49-50	Detroit Red Wings	37-19-14	Detroit Red Wings	37-19-14
’50-51	Toronto Maple Leafs	41-16-13	Detroit Red Wings	44-13-13
Season	Cup Winner	Record	Top Team	Record
’51-52	Detroit Red Wings	44-14-12	Detroit Red Wings	44-14-12
’52-53	Montreal Canadiens	28-23-19	Detroit Red Wings	36-16-18
’53-54	Detroit Red Wings	37-19-14	Detroit Red Wings	37-19-14
’54-55	Detroit Red Wings	42-17-15	Detroit Red Wings	42-17-15
’55-56	Montreal Canadiens	45-15-10	Montreal Canadiens	45-15-10
’56-57	Montreal Canadiens	35-23-12	Detroit Red Wings	38-20-12
’57-58	Montreal Canadiens	43-17-10	Montreal Canadiens	43-17-10
’58-59	Montreal Canadiens	39-18-13	Montreal Canadiens	39-18-13
’59-60	Montreal Canadiens	40-18-12	Montreal Canadiens	40-18-12
’60-61	Chicago Blackhawks	29-24-17	Montreal Canadiens	41-19-10
’61-62	Toronto Maple Leafs	37-22-11	Montreal Canadiens	42-14-14
’62-63	Toronto Maple Leafs	35-23-12	Toronto Maple Leafs	35-23-12
’63-64	Toronto Maple Leafs	33-25-12	Montreal Canadiens	36-21-13
’64-65	Montreal Canadiens	36-23-11	Detroit Red Wings	40-23-7
’65-66	Montreal Canadiens	41-21-8	Montreal Canadiens	41-21-8
’66-67	Toronto Maple Leafs	32-17-11	Chicago Blackhawks	41-17-12
’67-68	Montreal Canadiens	42-22-10	Montreal Canadiens	42-22-10
’68-69	Montreal Canadiens	46-19-11	Montreal Canadiens	46-19-11
’69-70	Boston Bruins	40-17-19	Boston/Chicago	40-17-99 / 45-22-9
’70-71	Montreal Canadiens	42-23-13	Boston Bruins	57-14-7
’71-72	Boston Bruins	54-13-11	Boston Bruins	54-13-11
’72-73	Montreal Canadiens	52-10-16	Montreal Canadiens	52-10-16
’73-74	Philadelphia Flyers	50-16-12	Boston Bruins	52-17-9
’74-75	Philadelphia Flyers	51-18-11	BUF/MON/PHI	49-16-15 / 47-14-19 / 51-18-11
’75-76	Montreal Canadiens	58-11-11	Montreal Canadiens	58-11-11
Season	Cup Winner	Record	Top Team	Record
’76-77	Montreal Canadiens	60-8-12	Montreal Canadiens	60-8-12
’77-78	Montreal Canadiens	59-10-11	Montreal Canadiens	59-10-11
’78-79	Montreal Canadiens	52-17-11	New York Islanders	51-15-14
’79-80	New York Islanders	39-28-13	Philadelphia Flyers	48-12-20
’80-81	New York Islanders	48-18-14	New York Islanders	48-18-14
’81-82	New York Islanders	54-16-10	New York Islanders	54-16-10
’82-83	New York Islanders	42-26-12	Boston Bruins	50-20-10
’83-84	Edmonton Oilers	57-18-5	Edmonton Oilers	57-18-5
’84-85	Edmonton Oilers	49-20-11	Philadelphia Flyers	53-20-7
’85-86	Montreal Canadiens	40-33-7	Edmonton Oilers	56-17-7
’86-87	Edmonton Oilers	50-24-6	Edmonton Oilers	50-24-6
’87-88	Edmonton Oilers	44-25-11	Calgary Flames	48-23-9
’88-89	Calgary Flames	54-17-9	Calgary Flames	54-17-9
’89-90	Edmonton Oilers	38-28-14	Boston Bruins	46-25-9
’90-91	Pittsburgh Penguins	41-33-6	Chicago Blackhawks	49-23-8
’91-92	Pittsburgh Penguins	39-32-9	New York Rangers	52-25-5
’92-93	Montreal Canadiens	48-30-6	Pittsburgh Penguins	56-21-7
’93-94	New York Rangers	52-24-8	New York Rangers	52-24-8
’94-95	New Jersey Devils	22-18-8	Detroit Red Wings	33-11-4
’95-96	Colorado Avalanche	47-25-10	Detroit Red Wings	62-13-7
’96-97	Detroit Red Wings	38-26-18	Colorado Avalanche	49-24-9
’97-98	Detroit Red Wings	44-23-15	Dallas Stars	49-22-11
’98-99	Dallas Stars	51-19-12	Dallas Stars	51-19-12
.99-00	New Jersey Devils	45-24-13	St. Louis Blues	51-19-12
’00-01	Colorado Avalanche	52-16-14	Colorado Avalanche	52-16-14
Season	Cup Winner	Record	Top Team	Record
’01-02	Detroit Red Wings	51-17-14	Detroit Red Wings	51-17-14
’02-03	New Jersey Devils	46-20-16	Dallas Stars	46-17-19
’03-04	Tampa Bay Lightning	46-22-14	Detroit Red Wings	48-21-13
’04-05	Cancelled
’05-06	Carolina Hurricanes	52-22-8	Detroit Red Wings	58-16-8
’06-07	Anaheim Ducks	48-20-14	Buffalo/Detroit	53-22-7
’07-08	Detroit Red Wings	54-21-7	Detroit Red Wings	54-21-7
’08-09	Pittsburgh Penguins	45-28-9	San Jose Sharks	53-18-11
’09-10	Chicago Blackhawks	52-22-8	Washington Capitals	54-15-13
’10-11	Boston Bruins	46-25-11	Vancouver Canucks	54-19-9
’11-12	Los Angeles Kings	40-17-1	Vancouver Canucks	51-22-9
’12-13	Chicago Blackhawks	36-7-5	Chicago Blackhawks	36-7-5
’13-14	Los Angeles Kings	46-28-8	Boston Bruins	54-19-9
’14-15	Chicago Blackhawks	48-28-6	New York Rangers	53-22-7
’15-16	Pittsburgh Penguins	48-26-8	Washington Capitals	56-18-8
’16-17	Pittsburgh Penguins	50-21-11	Washington Capitals	55-19-8
’17-18	Washington Capitals	49-26-7	Nashville Predators	53-18-11
’18-19	St. Louis Blues	45-28-9	Tampa Bay Lightning	62-16-4

The NHL was formed in 1917. Starting in 1926-27, the Stanley Cup became the sole property of the NHL. Previously, the champion of the NHL played the champion of the PCHA (Pacific Coast Hockey Association) or WHL (Western Hockey League) for the Cup. It was a bit like how the NFL and AFL champions played each other in the first four Super Bowls until the NFL absorbed the AFL in 1970. The difference is that instead of being absorbed by the NHL, the PCHA and WHL went out of business.

From 1926-27 to 1941-42, there were between seven and ten teams in the NHL. During this period, the team with the league’s best record won the Cup in five out of sixteen seasons, or 31.25 percent.

Starting in 1942-43, there were only six teams left in the NHL. Things stayed that way through the 1966-67 season. During those 25 seasons, the team with the best record won the Cup 14 times, or 56 percent.

In 1967-68, the league doubled in size to 12 teams, and has now grown to 31. Since the beginning of expansion, the team with the best record has won the cup 20 of 51 times, or about 39.22 percent.

Of the 92 Stanley Cups won since 1927, 39 of them went to the best regular season team, or 42.39 percent.

On average, there have been about 16.42 teams in the NHL in a given season since ‘26-27. In the 48 years with a below average number of teams, the team with the best record won the Cup 24 times, or 50 percent. Those 48 season were all consecutive, from 1927 to 1974. Since then, teams with the best record have won the Cup in 15 of 44 seasons, or 34.09 percent. The same applies to the average number of playoff teams, which is about 10.24.

The average percentage of the league’s teams that have made the playoffs is about 65.04. When a larger than average percentage of the league qualified for the playoffs, the team with the best record won the cup in 30 of 58 seasons, or 51.72 percent. When a smaller than average percentage qualified, the team with the best record won the Cup in 9 of 34 seasons, or about 26.47 percent. A larger than average percentage of teams qualified from 1932 to 1970 and 1975 to 1993. A smaller than average percentage qualified from 1927 to 1931, 1971 to 1974, and 1994 to present.

The most consecutive years of the best regular season team winning the Cup was four, from 1975 to 1978. The longest stretch of the best team not winning the Cup was eight seasons, from 1928 to 1935.

Revisiting NBA Finals MVPs, 1957-1969

The first NBA Finals MVP award went to Jerry West of the Los Angeles Lakers in 1969. West was a great player, one of the best of his generation and probably a top ten all time guard. He had a great series against the Celtics, putting up an absurd 37.9 points and 7.4 assists while shooting 49% from the field and 83.9% at the line. The thing is, his team lost the series in seven games. Since then, a player from the losing team has never won a Finals MVP. That made me wonder, if the award went to someone from the winning team, who would that be? I then wondered who might’ve won it all the years before there was a Finals MVP. After all, the Celtics had won ten titles before the first one was awarded. To determine who the winners should’ve been(in my opinion), I looked at every player who played for a championship team who averaged at least thirty minutes per game in the series and compared their stats. For that reason, I only looked at the Finals starting in 1957, because most earlier series didn’t have surviving statistics on minutes per game.

1957: Tom Heinsohn, age 22, power forward, Boston Celtics

1957 Finals	PTS	TRB	AST	FG%	FT%
Bob Cousy	20.7	6.7	9.1	31.8	83.1
Tom Heinsohn	24	12.6	2.1	40.4	70.8
Bill Russell	13.3	22.9	3.3	35.6	48.8
Bill Sharman	21.9	3.7	3	37.3	95.9

Tommy Heinsohn had a great year in 1956-57, winning Rookie of the Year, making the All Star game, and winning an NBA championship. Had he won Finals MVP, he probably would’ve been the only player in NBA history to do all four in one season. Magic Johnson won a title and Finals MVP as a rookie in 1980, but Rookie of the Year went to Larry Bird. I went with Tommy for ‘57 because he led the team in scoring on relatively good efficiency and put up impressive rebounding numbers. Russell was as usual way ahead of everybody in rebounding, but wasn’t lighting it up in other areas. Cousy’s points and assists are impressive, but his field goal percentage was downright bad.

1958: Bob Pettit, age 25, power forward, St. Louis Hawks

1958 Finals	PTS	TRB	AST	FG%	FT%
Cliff Hagan	25.2	9.7	3.5	44.2	86.8
Slater Martin	12.2	4.5	3.3	31.9	65.9
Jack McMahon	8.3	3.3	4.2	42	53.3
Bob Pettit	29.3	17	2.2	42.3	75.9

Big Bob Pettit was dominant in the only Finals victory in the history of the Hawks franchise, be it in St. Louis or elsewhere. His scoring and rebounding led the team, and his shooting wasn’t bad either by the standards of the day. Cliff Hagan was impressive as well, but only had Pettit decisively beat in free throw shooting, which I consider the least important category.

1959: Tom Heinsohn, age 24, power forward, Boston Celtics

1959 Finals	PTS	TRB	AST	FG%	FT%
Bob Cousy	16.8	8	12.8	30.8	61.3
Tom Heinsohn	24.3	8.8	3	47.5	80.8
Frank Ramsey	22.5	5.8	2.5	47.1	86.7
Bill Russell	9.3	29.5	5.3	31.6	44.8

I have Heinsohn again for 1959, as he led the Celtics in points and field goal percentage and averaged nearly nine rebounds. Frank Ramsey’s stats were close though, but he only has Tommy beat in free throw percentage.

1960: Bill Russell, age 26, center, Boston Celtics

1960 Finals	PTS	TRB	AST	FG%	FT%
Bob Cousy	14.4	3.7	10	31.1	82.6
Tom Heinsohn	22.4	9.7	2.1	42.3	61
Frank Ramsey	18.4	7.3	1	48	81.6
Bill Russell	16.7	24.9	3	47.1	68.5

1960 was a tough one, but I decided to go with Bill Russell for the first of six times. He was way ahead of everyone in rebounding, but also put up nearly 17 points on pretty good shooting and averaged more assists than Heinsohn or Ramsey. Russell’s free throw shooting still wasn’t great, but it was much improved compared to 1957 and ‘59. Heinsohn would probably just edge out Ramsey as my second choice, and both had a strong series.

1961: Bill Russell, age 27, center, Boston Celtics

1961 Finals	PTS	TRB	AST	FG%	FT%
Bob Cousy	19.8	5	10.6	36	81.4
Frank Ramsey	15.2	5	2	39.7	81.5
Bill Russell	17.6	28.8	4.4	42.9	44.9

I had to break my own rule a little to make this one more interesting. The Celtics only played two guys for an average of thirty or more minutes this series, those being Russell and Cousy, and Ramsey only played 29.6 minutes. I went with Russell again for this year due to his rebounding, having the best shooting of the three, and the fact that he only averaged 2.2 points less than Cousy, who would’ve been my second choice.

1962: Bill Russell, age 28, center, Boston Celtics

1962 Finals	PTS	TRB	AST	FG%	FT%
Bob Cousy	16.6	3.7	9.3	38.5	61.1
Tom Heinsohn	19.3	6.1	2.4	38.6	77.1
Sam Jones	22.1	6	3	50.7	73.1
Bill Russell	22.9	27	5.7	54.3	74.2
Tom Sanders	12.7	6.6	1.6	50.7	93.8

1962 was a real no-doubter for Russell, as he led the team in points, rebounds and shooting and was pretty good from the line as well. His nearly six assists were also impressive for a big man, especially in that era. Sam Jones was their second best player, but it wasn’t that close.

1963: Bill Russell, age 29, center, Boston Celtics

1963 Finals	PTS	TRB	AST	FG%	FT%
Bob Cousy	12.2	2.7	8.5	33.3	78.6
Tom Heinsohn	23.3	9.2	1.3	41.2	74.4
Sam Jones	24.7	7.3	3.2	45.2	87.2
Bill Russell	20	26	5.3	46.7	69.2
Tom Sanders	13.5	9.7	1.3	48.6	68.4

I gave Russell his fourth straight for ‘63, although you could make a case for Sam Jones, as well. Jones averaged 4.7 more points and was the much better free throw shooter, but Russell’s higher rebounding, assist, and field goal percentage numbers outweigh that for me.

1964: Sam Jones, age 30, shooting guard, Boston Celtics

1964 Finals	PTS	TRB	AST	FG%	FT%
Tom Heinsohn	15	8.8	2.2	35.4	77.3
K.C. Jones	6.4	2.6	6.6	34.3	57.1
Sam Jones	21.2	4.4	2.8	55.6	70.3
Bill Russell	11.2	25.2	5	38.6	48
Tom Sanders	10.2	6.2	0.2	38.8	72.2

This year I handed it over to the sometimes overlooked and underrated Sam Jones, who not only outscored Russell by ten points a game, but shot the ball extremely well from the field and was much better at the line. Russell is certainly my second choice, but Jones’ high and efficient scoring outweighs Russell’s rebounding and passing for me this time.

1965: Bill Russell, age 31, center, Boston Celtics

1965 Finals	PTS	TRB	AST	FG%	FT%
John Havlicek	18.2	5.6	2.2	39.1	86.4
K.C. Jones	11.4	2.6	6.6	46	78.6
Sam Jones	27.8	4.8	2.6	47	87.9
Bill Russell	17.8	25	5.8	70.2	57.5
Tom Sanders	13.8	8.8	2	39.1	68.2

This was another of Russell’s best finals, and his 70.2% from the field is an absolute outlier. His rebounding was superb as always, his scoring was up from the year before, and he averaged 0.8 assists less than the leader, K.C. Jones. Sam Jones would’ve been my second choice, and his 27.8 points is very impressive, as is his free throw shooting.

1966: Bill Russell, 32, center, Boston Celtics

1966 Finals	PTS	TRB	AST	FG%	FT%
John Havlicek	23	10	4	42.7	89.2
K.C. Jones	7.3	3.1	4.4	37.7	72.2
Sam Jones	22.9	6.4	3.3	40.6	88.9
Bill Russell	23.6	24.3	3.7	53.8	74
Tom Sanders	14.7	6.4	1.9	48.8	84

1966 might’ve been the best of all of Russell’s twelve Finals appearances. He put up basically 24, 24 and 4 on good shooting, both from the field and at the line. It was a strong showing for John Havlicek as well, but nobody was even close to eclipsing Russell’s impact in this one.

1967: Wilt Chamberlain, 30, center, Philadelphia 76ers

1967 Finals	PTS	TRB	AST	FG%	FT%
Wilt Chamberlain	17.7	28.5	6.8	56	30.6
Billy Cunningham	19.7	5.7	3	44.9	53.7
Hal Greer	26	8	6.2	39.9	82.6
Luke Jackson	9.2	12.5	1.8	36.8	61.9
Wali Jones	20.2	3.5	5.3	45.5	75
Chet Walker	23.3	8.8	3.3	45.1	77.4

This year was a change of pace, as finally a team besides the Celtics won it all. This is an easy choice, as Wilt led the team in rebounding, assists and field goal percentage, even if four of his teammates had more points. Wilt still scored plenty and very efficiently, and his teams always did better when he didn’t try to do everything. For my second choice, I’d probably go with Chet Walker.

1968: John Havlicek, 28, shooting guard, Boston Celtics

1968 Finals	PTS	TRB	AST	FG%	FT%
John Havlicek	27.3	8.7	6.7	42.1	88.5
Bailey Howell	21	7.5	1.2	56.7	72.7
Sam Jones	17.5	3.2	2.8	43.6	85
Bill Russell	17.3	21.8	5.7	43	60
Larry Siegfried	15.5	3	4	41.3	84.4

This was a tough choice, but I went with Havlicek. There’s a case to be made for Russell with his insane rebounding and strong passing and scoring, but I think Havlicek edges him out. He averaged ten more points, one more assist, shot much better at the line, had a nearly equal field goal percentage and rebounded better than anyone but Russell. Bailey Howell had a nice series as well.

1969: John Havlicek, 29, shooting guard, Boston Celtics

1969 Finals	PTS	TRB	AST	FG%	FT%
Em Bryant	11	5	2.7	40.3	88.2
John Havlicek	28.3	11	4.4	45.7	84.7
Sam Jones	18.7	3.6	2.3	47.1	82.6
Bill Russell	9.1	21.1	5.1	39.7	58.3

This was an easier decision in Havlicek’s favor. He was way ahead in points, not to mention the double digit rebounding, and he shot the ball pretty well, too. Russell’s rebounding was great as always, but his shooting and scoring were too low to consider giving him the award. Either Russell or Jones would be my second choice among the Celtics. So what about the real winner, Jerry West? Personally, I don’t have a huge problem with him getting it. It was the first ever Finals MVP, and the precedent hadn’t been set that it would always go to a player from the winning team, and statistically, West was the best player in that series. Still, it is slightly irritating to me that in any other year, one of the Celtics (probably John Havlicek) would’ve gotten the award and had it to add to their legacy.

A timeline of pro sports in Boston.

Still a work in progress.

The 1870s

April 22nd, 1876: The Boston Red Caps play their first game in the newly formed National League at South End Grounds. The team had played in the old National Association from 1871 to 1875, when they were known as the Boston Red Stockings.
September 29th, 1877: The Red Caps win the National League Championship.
September 30th, 1878: The Red Caps win the National League Championship.

The 1880s

May 1st, 1883: The Red Caps play their first game as the Beaneaters.
September 29th, 1883: The Beaneaters win the National League Championship.

The 1890s

April 23rd, 1890: Kid Nichols plays his first game for the Beaneaters.
April 8th, 1891: The Boston Reds play their first game in the American Association.
October 3rd, 1891: The Beaneaters win the National League Championship
October 5th, 1891: The Reds win the American Association Championship. The Reds fold following the season after the league goes out of business.
October 24th, 1892: The Beaneaters win the National League Championship vs. the Cleveland Spiders five games to none, with one game ending in a tie.
September 30th, 1893: The Beaneaters win the National League Championship.
October 17th, 1897: The Beaneaters win the National League Championship.
October 15th, 1898: The Beaneaters win the National League Championship.

The 1900s

March 19th, 1901: Cy Young signs with the Boston Americans.
April 26th, 1901: The Boston Americans play their first game in the new American League.
December 1901: The Beaneaters trade Kid Nichols to the Western League’s Kansas City team.
October 13th, 1903: The Americans win the World Series vs. the Pittsburgh Pirates, five games to three.
October 10th, 1904: The Americans win the American League Pennant. Had there been a World Series that year, They would’ve faced the New York Giants, but the team’s ownership refused to play as they still saw the American League as a minor league, and already considered themselves baseball’s champions.
April 12th, 1907: The Beaneaters play their first game as the Doves.
April 14th, 1908: The Americans play their first game as the Red Sox.
February 13th, 1909: The Red Sox trade Cy Young to the Cleveland Indians.
April 16th, 1909: Harry Hooper plays his first Major League game in a 3-2 road loss to the Washington Senators.

The 1910s

April 12th, 1911: The Doves play their first game as the Rustlers.
April 20th, 1912: The Red Sox play their first game at Fenway Park, beating the New York Highlanders (now Yankees) 7-6 in 11 innings.
October 16th, 1912: The Red Sox win the World Series win the World Series vs. the New York Giants four games to three, with one game ending in a tie.
July 11th, 1914: Babe Ruth plays his first Major League game, pitching seven innings for the Red Sox in a 4-3 win vs. the Cleveland Indians.
October 13th, 1914: The Braves win the World Series vs. the Philadelphia Athletics in five games.
October 13th, 1915: The Red Sox win the World Series vs. the Philadelphia Phillies in five games. The end of the series also marks Tris Speaker’s last game with the team.
October 12th, 1916: The Red Sox win the World Series vs. the Brooklyn Robins in five games.
September 11th, 1918: The Red Sox win the World Series vs. the Chicago Cubs in six games.
September 27th, 1919: Babe Ruth plays his last game for the Red Sox in a 4-1 loss to the Washington Senators.
December 26th, 1919: Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sells Babe Ruth’s contract to the New York Yankees for $100,000. Ruth goes onto win four World Series in New York on top of the three he won in Boston.

The 1920s

September 28th, 1920: Harry Hooper plays his last game for the Red Sox in a 7-6 home loss to the Washington Senators.
March 21st, 1921: Harry Hooper is traded to the Chicago White Sox.
December 1st, 1924: The Boston Bruins play their first game in the NHL, defeating the Montreal Maroons 1-0. The game is played at their first home, Boston Arena, now known as Matthews Arena.
November 16th, 1926: Eddie Shore makes his NHL debut in a 4-1 home win vs. the Montreal Canadiens.
April 13th, 1927: The Bruins lose the Stanley Cup to the Ottawa Senators two games to none, with two games ending in ties.
November 15th, 1927: Dit Clapper makes his NHL debut in a 1-1 tie at home vs. the Chicago Blackhawks.
November 15th, 1928: Tiny Thompson makes his NHL debut in a 1-0 road win vs. the Pittsburgh Pirates.
November 28th, 1928: The Bruins play their first game at the new Boston Garden, losing to the Montreal Canadiens, 1-0.
March 29th, 1929: The Bruins win the Stanley Cup vs. the New York Rangers four goals to one in a two game series.

The 1930s

April 3rd, 1930: The Bruins lose the Stanley Cup to the Montreal Canadiens, two games to none.
October 2nd, 1932: The Boston Braves play their first NFL game at Braves Field. They lose 14-0 to the Brooklyn Dodgers.
September 17th, 1933: The Braves (NFL) play their first game as the Redskins.
December 12th, 1933: The Red Sox acquire Lefty Grove in a trade with the Philadelphia Athletics.
April 15th, 1936: The Braves play their first game as the Bees.
December 13th, 1936: The Redskins lose the NFL Championship to the Green Bay Packers, 21-6. It turns out to be their last game as the Boston Redskins, and they re-locate to Washington, DC the following year.
April 20th, 1937: Bobby Doerr makes his Major Leauge debut in an 11-5 road win vs. the Philadelphia Athletics.
November 3rd, 1938: Frank Brimsek plays his first NHL game in a 3-2 road win vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs.
November 27th, 1938: Tiny Thompson plays his last game with the Bruins in an 8-2 home win vs. the New York Americans. He’s traded the following day to the Detroit Red Wings.
April 5th, 1939: The Bruins win the Stanley Cup vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs in five games.
April 20th, 1939: Ted Williams plays his first game for the Red Sox in a 2-0 road loss to the New York Yankees.
December 5th, 1939: Eddie Shore plays his last game as a Bruin in a 2-1 home win vs. the New York Americans. Shore is traded to the Americans on the following January 25th.

The 1940s

April 15th, 1941: The Bees play their first game after changing their name back to the Braves.
April 4th, 1941: The Bruins win the Stanley Cup vs. the Detroit Red Wings in four games.
April 19th, 1942: Warren Spahn plays his first Major League game for the Braves in a 5-2 home loss to the New York Giants. Spahn doesn’t play regularly for the Braves until 1946 due to his World War II military service.
September 28th, 1941: Ted Williams goes 2 for 3 in a 7-1 loss to the Philadelphia Athletics. Despite the loss, Williams ends the season with a batting average of .406. He’s the last hitter to finish the season with an average of over .400 to this day. The game was also Lefty Grove’s last in the Majors.
April 8th, 1943: The Bruins lose the Stanley Cup to the Detroit Red Wings in four games.
September 26th, 1944: The Boston Yanks play their first game in the NFL, losing 28-7 at home to the Philadelphia Eagles.
April 9th, 1946: The Bruins lose the Stanley Cup to the Montreal Canadiens in four games.
November 2nd, 1946: The Boston Celtics play their first game in the new BAA, losing 59-53 to the Providence Steamrollers.
October 15th, 1946: The Red Sox lose the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.
January 12th, 1947: Dit Clapper plays his last NHL game in a 5-1 road loss to the Detroit Red Wings.
October 4th, 1948: After tying for the best record in the American League with the Cleveland Indians, The Red Sox lose a one game playoff to Cleveland 8-3. Had the Red Sox won, they would’ve played a subway series against the Braves.
October 11th, 1948: The Braves lose the World Series to the Cleveland Indians in six games.
December 5th, 1948: The Yanks play their last game in Boston before re-locating to become the New York Bulldogs the following season.
March 30th, 1949: Frank Brimsek plays his last game as a Bruin in a 3-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs in game five of the Stanley Cup semifinals. He’s traded to the Chicago Blackhawks the following September 8th.
October 2nd, 1949: The Red Sox lose the last game of the season to the New York Yankees 5-3 on the road, clinching the AL Pennant for New York. Had the Red Sox won even one of the two games in that series, they would’ve gone to the World Series instead of the Yankees.

The 1950s

November 1st, 1950: Bob Cousy and Ed Macauley play their first Celtics game (which is Cousy’s first NBA game) in a 107-84 road loss to the Fort Wayne Pistons.
September 7th, 1951: Bobby Doerr plays his last Major League game in an 8-5 road win vs. the Philadelphia Athletics.
November 4th, 1951: Bill Sharman makes his Celtics debut in a 97-65 home win vs. the Indianapolis Olympians.
September 21st, 1952: The Braves play their last game at Braves Field, losing 8-2 to the Brooklyn Dodgers.
September 28th, 1952: The Braves play their last game before re-locating to Milwaukee the following season. They begin playing in their current home of Atlanta in 1966.
April 16th, 1953: The Bruins lose the Stanley Cup to the Montreal Canadiens in four games.
March 21st, 1956: Ed Macauley plays his last game with the Celtics as they’re eliminated from the first round of the playoffs by the Syracuse Nationals at home, 102-97.
December 22nd, 1956: Bill Russell plays his first game for the Celtics in a 95-93 home win vs. the St. Louis Hawks.
April 13th, 1957: The Celtics win the NBA Finals vs. the St. Louis Hawks in seven games.
April 16th, 1957: The Bruins lose the Stanley Cup to the Montreal Canadiens in five games.
September 29th, 1957: Ted Williams finishes the season with a .388 batting average at the age of 39.
October 12th, 1957: John Bucyk plays his first game with the Bruins in a 3-1 home win vs. the Chicago Blackhawks.
October 22nd, 1957: Sam Jones plays his first NBA game in a 115-90 win vs. the Atlanta Hawks.
April 12th, 1958: The Celtics lose the NBA Finals to the St. Louis Hawks in six games.
April 20th, 1958: The Bruins lose the Stanley Cup to the Montreal Canadiens in six games.
April 9th, 1959: The Celtics win the NBA Finals vs. the Minneapolis Lakers in five games.
July 21st, 1959: Pumpsie Green becomes the first black player to play for the Red Sox in a 2-1 road loss to the Chicago White Sox. The Red Sox are the last team in the majors to field a black player.

The 1960s

April 9th, 1960: The Celtics win the NBA Finals vs. the St. Louis Hawks in seven games.
September 9th, 1960: The Boston Patriots play their first game in the AFL, losing to the Denver Broncos 13-10 at home.
September 28th, 1960: Ted Williams plays his last Major League game in a 5-4 home win against the Baltimore Orioles. In his last at bat, Williams hits a solo home run.
April 11th, 1961: The Celtics win the NBA Finals vs. the St. Louis Hawks in five games. The deciding game is also Bill Sharman’s last in the NBA.
April 11th, 1961: Carl Yastrzemski plays his first Major League game in a 5-2 home loss to the Kansas City Athletics.
April 18th, 1962: The Celtics win the NBA Finals vs. the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games.
October 20th, 1962: John Havlicek plays his first NBA game in a 149-116 home win vs. the New York Knicks.
April 24th, 1963: The Celtics win the NBA Finals vs. the Los Angeles Lakers in six games. Game six is also Bob Cousy’s last as a Celtic and his last NBA game until briefly coming out of retirement for the Cincinnati Royals in 1969-70.
September 21st, 1963: Rico Petrocelli plays his first Major League game in a 13-4 home loss to the Minnesota Twins. He doesn’t begin playing for the Red Sox regularly until 1965.
January 5th, 1964: The Patriots lose the AFL Championship to the San Diego Chargers, 51-10.
April 26th 1964: The Celtics win the NBA Finals vs. the San Francisco Warriors in five games.
April 25th, 1965: The Celtics win the NBA Finals vs. the Los Angeles Lakers in five games.
October 31st, 1965: Don Nelson plays his first game with the Celtics in a 105-100 home win vs. the Baltimore Bullets.
April 28th, 1966: The Celtics win the NBA Finals vs. the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games.
October 19th, 1966: Bobby Orr plays his first NHL game in a 6-2 home win vs. the Detroit Red Wings.
October 11th, 1967: Phil Esposito plays his first game as a Bruin in a 4-4 tie at home vs. the Detroit Red Wings.
October 12th, 1967: The Red Sox lose the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.
May 2nd, 1968: The Celtics win the NBA Finals vs. the Los Angeles Lakers in six games.
May 5th, 1969: The Celtics win the NBA Finals vs. the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games. Bill Russell and Sam Jones retire following the series.
September 18th, 1969: Carlton Fisk plays his first Major League game in a 6-4 home loss to the Baltimore Orioles. He doesn’t begin playing for the Red Sox regularly though until 1972.

The 1970s

May 10th, 1970: The Bruins win the Stanley Cup vs. the St. Louis Blues in four games.
October 13th, 1970: Dave Cowens plays his first NBA game in a 114-107 road loss to the New York Knicks.
May 17th, 1971: Luis Tiant signs with the Red Sox.
September 19th, 1971: The Patriots play their first game as the New England Patriots. It’s also their first game at the new Foxboro Stadium, and they win 20-6 vs. the Oakland Raiders.
May 11th, 1972: The Bruins win the Stanley Cup vs. the New York Rangers in six games.
September 16th, 1972: Dwight Evans plays his first Major League game in a 10-0 home win vs. the Cleveland Indians.
May 19th, 1974: The Bruins lose the Stanley Cup to the Philadelphia Flyers in six games.
May 12th, 1974: The Celtics win the NBA Finals vs. the Milwaukee Bucks in seven games.
August 19th, 1974: Jim Rice makes his Major League debut in a 6-1 home win vs. the Chicago White Sox.
October 22nd, 1975: The Red Sox lose the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds in seven games
November 5th, 1975: Phil Esposito plays his last game with the Bruins in a 4-0 road loss to the Buffalo Sabres. Two days later, he’s traded to the New York Rangers.
November 26th, 1975: Bobby Orr plays his last game for the Bruins in a 6-4 road win vs. the New York Rangers. He’s sidelined with knee injuries for the remainder of the season.
June 6th, 1976: The Celtics win the NBA Finals vs. the Phoenix Suns in six games. The clincher is also Don Nelson’s last NBA game.
June 24th, 1976: Bobby Orr signs with the Chicago Blackhawks.
September 14th, 1976: Rico Petrocelli plays his last Major League game in a 3-2 road loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.
May 14th, 1977: The Bruins lose the Stanley Cup to the Montreal Canadiens in four games.
April 9th, 1978: John Bucyk plays his last NHL game in a 5-2 home loss to the New York Islanders.
April 9th, 1978: John Havlicek plays his last NBA game in a 131-114 win vs. the Buffalo Braves.
May 25th, 1978: The Bruins lose the Stanley Cup to the Montreal Canadiens in six games.
October 1st, 1978: Luis Tiant pitches his last game for the Red Sox in a 5-0 home win vs. the Toronto Blue Jays.
October 2nd, 1978: After the Red Sox and Yankees tie for the lead in the American League’s Eastern Division, they play a one game playoff to break the tie at Fenway Park. The Yankees win the game 5-4 and and go on to win the World Series.
November 8th, 1978: Bobby Orr, now with the Chicago Blackhawks, announces his retirement from hockey.
November 13th, 1978: Luis Tiant signs with the New York Yankees.
May 10th, 1979: The Bruins take a too many men penalty with two and a half minutes left in game seven of the semifinals vs. the Canadiens in Montreal. The Habs tie the game on the power play and win in overtime. Had the Bruins held the lead, they would’ve advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals.
October 11th, 1979: Ray Bourque makes his NHL debut in 4-0 home win vs. the Winnipeg Jets.
October 12th, 1979: Larry Bird plays his first NBA game in a 114-106 home win vs. the Houston Rockets.
December 23rd, 1979: During a Bruins-Rangers game in New York, a fan assaults Bruins player Stan Jonathan and takes a hockey stick from the Bruins bench. This leads to most of the team climbing into the stands to fight with the fans. Three Bruins are suspended between six and eight games.

The 1980s

April 27th, 1980: Dave Cowens plays his last game as a Celtic as they’re eliminated from the Conference Finals by the Philadelphia 76ers at home in game five, 105-94. Cowens would return to play one more season in ’82-83 for the Milwaukee Bucks.
October 5th, 1980: Carlton Fisk plays his last game for the Red Sox in a 4-1 road loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.
October 10th, 1980: Kevin McHale and Robert Parish play their first game with the Celtics (it’s McHale’s first in the NBA) in a 130-103 home win vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers.
March 18th, 1981: Carlton Fisk signs with the Chicago White Sox.
May 14th, 1981: The Celtics win the NBA Finals vs. the Houston Rockets in six games.
April 10th, 1982: Wade Boggs plays his first Major League game in a 5-3 road loss to the Baltimore Orioles.
October 2nd, 1983: Carl Yastrzemski plays his last game for the Red Sox in a 3-1 home win vs. the Cleveland Indians.
March 21st, 1984: NESN (the New England Sports Network) is launched.
May 15th, 1984: Roger Clemens plays in his first Major League game in a 7-5 road loss to the Cleveland Indians.
June 12th, 1984: The Celtics win the NBA Finals vs. the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games.
June 9th, 1985: The Celtics lose the NBA Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games.
January 26th, 1986: The Patriots lose the Super Bowl to the Chicago Bears, 46-10.
June 8th, 1986: The Celtics win the NBA Finals vs. the Houston Rockets in six games.
June 19th, 1986: Two days after he’s drafted second overall by the Boston Celtics, University of Maryland star Len Bias dies of a cocaine overdose at the age of 22.
October 25th, 1986: The Red Sox lose game six of the World Series to the Mets in New York, allowing them to tie the series. The Red Sox had taken a two run lead into the bottom of the tenth and had the Mets down to their last out when they started to rally.
October 27th, 1986: The Red Sox lose the World Series to the New York Mets in seven games
June 14th, 1987: The Celtics lose the NBA Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games.
May 26th, 1988: The Bruins lose the Stanley Cup to the Edmonton Oilers in four games.
August 3rd, 1989: Jim Rice plays in his final Major League game in a 4-2 home loss to the Cleveland Indians.

The 1990s

May 24th, 1990: The Bruins lose the Stanley Cup to the Edmonton Oilers in five games.
October 4th, 1992: Wade Boggs plays his last game for the Red Sox in an 8-2 home win vs. the New York Yankees.
October 10th, 1990: Dwight Evans plays his last game with the Red Sox as they lose game four of the ALCS to the Oakland Athletics 3-1 in Oakland. He plays for the Baltimore Orioles the next season before retiring.
May 17th, 1992: Larry Bird plays his last NBA game as the Celtics are eliminated three games to one by the Cavaliers in Cleveland, 122-104.
December 15th, 1992: Wade Boggs signs with the New York Yankees.
May 5th, 1993: Kevin McHale plays his last NBA game as the Celtics are eliminated from the first round of the playoffs three games to one by the Hornets in Charlotte, 104-103.
July 27th, 1993: Celtics star Reggie Lewis goes into cardiac arrest and dies due to a congenital heart defect at the age of 27.
April 24th, 1994: Robert Parish plays his last game as a Celtics in a 117-91 road loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. He signs with the Charlotte Hornets on August 4th.
May 5th, 1995: The Celtics play their last game at Boston Garden. They lose 95-92 to the Orlando Magic, eliminating them from the first round of the playoffs
May 14th, 1995: The Bruins play their last game at the Boston Garden, losing 3-2 to the eventual champion New Jersey Devils, eliminating them from the first round of the playoffs. It’s the last time a professional sporting even is hosted by the Garden.
October 7th, 1995: The Bruins play their first game at the new Fleet Center, tying the New York Islanders 4-4.
November 3rd, 1995: The Celtics play their first game at the Fleet Center, losing to the Milwaukee Bucks 101-100.
August 31st, 1996: Nomar Garciaparra plays his first Major League game in an 8-0 road loss to the Oakland Athletics.
September 28th, 1996: Roger Clemens pitches his last game for the Red Sox in a 4-2 home loss to the New York Yankees.
December 13th, 1996: Roger Clemens signs with the Toronto Blue Jays.
January 26th, 1997: The Patriots lose the Super Bowl to the Green Bay Packers, 35-21.
April 13th, 1997: The Bruins finish the season with just 61 points and fail to make the playoffs for the first time since 1967.
April 1st, 1998: Pedro Martinez makes his Red Sox debut in a 2-0 road win vs. the Oakland Athletics.
February 5th, 1999: Paul Pierce plays an NBA game in a 103-92 home loss to the Toronto Raptors.

The 2000s

March 4th, 2000: Ray Bourque plays his last game with the Bruins in a 3-0 home loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. Two days later, he’s traded to the Colorado Avalanche so he’d have a chance at winning a Stanley Cup.
September 3rd, 2000: Bill Belichick coaches his first game with the Patriots in a 21-16 home loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
November 23rd, 2000: Tom Brady plays his first NFL game in a 34-9 road loss to the Detroit Lions. Brady doesn’t play regularly until the 2001 season.
June 9th, 2001: Ray Bourque wins the Stanley Cup in his Final NHL game as a member of the Colorado Avalanche. They win the series in seven games vs. the New Jersey Devils.
January 19th, 2002: The Patriots play their last game at Foxboro Stadium, beating the Oakland Raiders 16-13 in the Divisional playoffs.
February 3rd, 2002: The Patriots win the Super Bowl vs. the St. Louis Rams, 20-17.
September 9th, 2002: The Patriots play their first game at the new Gillette Stadium, beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-14.
October 19th, 2002: Tim Thomas plays his first NHL game in a 4-3 road win vs. the Edmonton Oilers.
April 1st, 2003: David Ortiz plays his first game with the Red Sox in a 9-8 road win vs. the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
October 8th, 2003: Patrice Bergeron plays his first NHL game as the Bruins tie the New Jersey Devils 3-3 at home.
October 16th, 2003: The Red Sox lose game seven of the ALCS to the New York Yankees 6-5 in 11 innings. The Red Sox took a 5-2 lead into the bottom of the 8th, but the Yankees tied it after manager Grady Little agreed to leave Pedro Martinez in the game.
February 1st, 2004: The Patriots win the Super Bowl vs. the Carolina Panthers, 32-29.
July 28th, 2004: Nomar Garciaparra plays his last game with the Red Sox in a 4-1 road loss to the Baltimore Orioles. On the 31st, Garciaparra is traded to the Chicago Cubs as part of a four team deal.
October 20th, 2004: The Red Sox win the ALCS vs. the New York Yankees in seven games after being down three games to none. They become the first Major League team to overcome a 3-0 deficit in a playoff series. The Red Sox win 10-3 in New York in game seven.
October 26th, 2004: Pedro Martinez pitches his last game with the Red Sox as they take game three of the World Series from the Cardinals in St. Louis by a score of 4-1. He signs with the New York Mets on December 17th.
October 27th, 2004: The Red Sox win the World Series vs. the St. Louis Cardinals in four games. It’s their first championship since 1918.
February 6th, 2005: The Patriots win the Super Bowl vs. the Philadelphia Eagles, 24-21.
July 1st, 2005: The Fleet Center is re-named the TD Banknorth Garden.
August 22nd, 2006: Dustin Pedroia makes his Major League debut in a 4-3 road loss to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
October 6th, 2006: Zdeno Chara plays his first game with the Bruins in an 8-3 road loss to the Florida Panthers.
October 28th, 2007: The Red Sox win the World Series vs. the Colorado Rockies in four games.
November 20th, 2007: Tuukka Rask plays his first NHL game in a 4-2 road win vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs. He doesn’t play regularly for the Bruins until 2009-10.
February 3rd, 2008: The Patriots lose the Super Bowl to the New York Giants, 17-14.
June 17th, 2008: The Celtics win the NBA Finals vs. the Los Angeles Lakers in six games.
July 2009: The TD Banknorth Garden is re-named simply TD Garden.

The 2010s

June 17th, 2010: The Celtics lose the NBA Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games.
June 15th, 2011: The Bruins win the Stanley Cup vs. the Vancouver Canucks in seven games.
February 5th, 2012: The Patriots lose the Super Bowl to the New York Giants, 21-17.
April 25th, 2012: Tim Thomas plays his last game with the Bruins as they lose game seven of the first round of the playoffs 2-1 to the Capitals in Washington. He sits out the following season and is traded to the New York Islanders on February 7th, 2013.
May 3rd, 2013: Paul Pierce plays his final game with the Celtics as they lose the sixth game of the first round of the playoffs to the New York Knicks, 88-80.
June 24th, 2013: The Bruins lose the Stanley Cup to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games.
October 30th, 2013: The Red Sox win the World Series vs. the St. Louis Cardinals in six games.
Mookie Betts plays in his first Major League game in an 8-5 road win vs. the New York Yankees.
February 1st, 2015: The Patriots win the Super Bowl vs. the Seattle Seahawks, 28-24.
October 10th, 2016: David Ortiz plays his last Major League game as the Red Sox are eliminated from the first round of the playoffs by the Cleveland Indians, who win the game 4-3.
February 5th, 2017: The Patriots win the Super Bowl vs. the Atlanta Falcons, 34-28.
February 4th, 2018: The Patriots lose the Super Bowl to the Philadelphia Eagles, 41-33.
October 28th, 2018: The Red Sox win the World Series vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games.
February 3rd, 2019: The Patriots win the Super Bowl vs. the Los Angeles Rams, 13-3.
June 12th, 2019: The Bruins lose the Stanley Cup to the St. Louis Blues in seven games.

Boston Celtics Championship teams ranked

This is a simple list ordered by each team’s total winning percentage. I made it to give myself some context about how great these teams were relative to each other, who the best players were on those teams, who coached them, who they had to beat to get that banner, and how good their opposition was.

#17: 1968-69
Regular Season: 48-34 (.585)
Playoffs: 12-6 (.667)
Total: 60-40 (.600)
Longest streak: 7 games
Coach: Bill Russell

Award Winners;
John Havlicek: 2^nd Team All-NBA, 2^nd Team All-Defense, All Star
Bill Russell: 1^st Team All-Defense, All Star
Tom Sanders: 2^nd Team All-Defense

Leaders;
Points: John Havlicek (21.6), Bailey Howell (19.7), Sam Jones (16.3)
Rebounds: Bill Russell (19.3), Bailey Howell (8.8), John Havlicek (7)
Assists: John Havlicek (5.4), Bill Russell (4.9), Larry Siegfried (4.7)
Win shares: Bailey Howell (11.3), Bill Russell (10.9), Don Nelson (7.5)

Playoff opponents;
Philadelphia 76ers: 55-27 (4-1)
New York Knicks: 54-28 (4-2)
Los Angeles Lakers: 55-27 (4-3)

#16: 1956-57
Regular season: 44-28 (.611)
Playoffs: 7-3 (.700)
Total: 51-31 (.622)
Longest streak: 10 games
Coach: Red Auerbach

Award winners;
Bob Cousy: League MVP, 1^st Team All-NBA, All Star, All Star MVP
Tom Heinsohn: Rookie of the Year, All Star
Bill Sharman: 1^st Team All-NBA, All Star
Red Auerbach: All Star head coach

Leaders;
Points: Bill Sharman (21.1), Bob Cousy (20.6), Tom Heinsohn (16.2)
Rebounds: Bill Russell (19.6), Jim Loscutoff (10.4), Tom Heinsohn (9.8)
Assists: Bob Cousy (7.5), Bill Sharman (3.5), Andy Phillip (2.5)
Win shares: Bill Sharman (10.4), Bob Cousy (8.8), Tom Heinsohn (7.1)

Playoff opponents;
Syracuse Nationals: 38-34 (3-0)
St. Louis Hawks: 34-38 (4-3)

#15: 1967-68
Regular season: 54-28 (.675)
Playoffs: 12-7 (.632)
Total: 66-35 (.653)
Longest streak: 7 games
Coach: Bill Russell

Award winners;
John Havlicek: 2^nd Team All-NBA, All Star
Sam Jones: All Star
Bill Russell: 2^nd Team All-NBA, All Star

Leaders:
Points: Sam Jones (21.3), John Havlicek (20.7), Bailey Howell (19.8)
Rebounds: Bill Russell (18.6), Bailey Howell (9.8), John Havlicek (6.7)
Assists: John Havlicek (4.7), Larry Siegfried (4.7), Bill Russell (4.6)
Win Shares: Bailey Howell (10.1), Bill Russell (8.2), Sam Jones (7.7)

Playoff opponents;
Detroit Pistons: 40-42 (4-2)
Philadelphia 76ers: 62-20 (4-3)
Los Angeles Lakers: 52-30 (4-2)

#14: 1975-76
Regular Season: 54-28 (.659)
Playoffs: 12-6 (.667)
Total: 66-34 (.660)
Longest streak: 9 games
Coach: Tom Heinsohn

Award winners;
Dave Cowens: 2^nd Team All-NBA, 1^st Team All-Defense, All Star
John Havlicek: 2^nd Team All-NBA, 1^st Team All-Defense, All Star
Paul Silas: 1^st Team All-Defense
Jo Jo White: Finals MVP, All Star

Leaders;
Points: Dave Cowens (19), Jo Jo White (18.9), Charlie Scott (17.6)
Rebounds: Dave Cowens (16), Paul Silas (12.7), Charlie Scott (4.4)
Assists: Jo Jo White (5.4), Dave Cowens (4.2), Charlie Scott (4.2)
Steals: Jo Jo White (1.3), Charlie Scott (1.3), John Havlicek (1.3)
Blocks: Dave Cowens (0.9), John Havlicek (0.4), Paul Silas (0.4)
Win Shares: Dave Cowens (10.7), Jo Jo White (7.4), John Havlicek (7.4)

Playoff opponents;
Buffalo Braves: 46-36 (4-2)
Cleveland Cavaliers: 49-33 (4-2)
Phoenix Suns: 42-40 (4-2)

#13: 1965-66
Regular season: 54-26 (.675)
Playoffs: 11-6 (.647)
Total: 65-32 (.670)
Longest streak: 6 games
Coach: Red Auerbach

Award winners;
John Havlicek: 2^nd Team All-NBA, All Star
Sam Jones: 2^nd Team All-NBA, All Star
Bill Russell: 2^nd Team All-NBA, All Star
Red Auerbach: All Star head coach

Leaders;
Points: Sam Jones (23.5), John Havlicek (18.8), Larry Siegfried (13.7)
Rebounds: Bill Russell (22.8), Tom Sanders (7.1), Mel Counts (6.4)
Assists: K.C. Jones (6.3), Bill Russell (4.8), Sam Jones (3.2)
Win Shares: Bill Russell (11.7), Sam Jones (10), K.C. Jones (6.6)

Playoff opponents:
Cincinnati Royals: 45-35 (3-2)
Philadelphia 76ers: 55-25 (4-1)
Los Angeles Lakers: 45-35 (4-3)

#12: 1973-74
Regular season: 56-26 (.683)
Playoffs: 12-6 (.667)
Total: 68-32 (.680)
Longest streak: 12 games
Coach: Tom Heinsohn

Award winners;
Don Chaney: 1^st Team All-Defense
Dave Cowens: All Star
John Havlicek: Finals MVP, 1^st Team All-NBA, 1st Team All-Defense, All Star
Jo Jo White: All Star
Tom Heinsohn: All Star head coach

Leaders;
Points: John Havlicek (22.6), Dave Cowens (19), Jo Jo White (18.1)
Rebounds: Dave Cowens (15.7), Paul Silas (11.2), John Havlicek (6.4)
Assists: John Havlicek (5.9), Jo Jo White (5.5), Dave Cowens (4.4)
Steals: John Havlicek (1.3), Jo Jo White (1.3), Dave Cowens (1.2)
Blocks: Dave Cowens (1.3), Don Chaney (0.8), John Havlicek (0.4)
Win Shares: John Havlicek (9.7), Dave Cowens (9.3), Paul Silas (7.3)

Playoff opponents;
Buffalo Braves: 42-40 (4-2)
New York Knicks: 49-33 (4-1)
Milwaukee Bucks: 59-23 (4-3)

#11: 1962-63
Regular season: 58-22 (.725)
Playoffs: 8-5 (.615)
Total: 66-27 (.710)
Longest streak: 6 games
Coach: Red Auerbach

Award winners;
Bob Cousy: 2^nd Team All-NBA, All Star
John Havlicek: 1^st Team All-Rookie
Tom Heinsohn: 2^nd Team All-NBA, All Star
Bill Russell: League MVP, 1^st Team All-NBA, All Star, All Star MVP
Red Auerbach: All Star head coach

Leaders;
Points: Sam Jones (19.7), Tom Heinsohn (18.9), Bill Russell (16.8)
Rebounds: Bill Russell (23.6), Tom Heinsohn (7.5), Tom Sanders (7.2)
Assists: Bob Cousy (6.8), Bill Russell (4.5), K.C. Jones (4)
Win Shares: Bill Russell (13.5), Sam Jones (9.6), Tom Sanders (6.8)

Playoff opponents;
Cincinnati Royals: 42-38 (4-3)
Los Angeles Lakers: 53-27 (4-2)

#10: 1958-59
Regular season: 52-20 (.722)
Playoffs: 8-3 (.727)
Total: 60-23 (.723)
Longest streak: 11 games
Coach: Red Auerbach

Award winners;
Bob Cousy: 1^st Team All-NBA, All Star
Bill Russell: 1^st Team All-NBA, All Star
Bill Sharman: 1^st Team All-NBA, All Star
Red Auerbach: All Star head coach

Leaders;
Points: Bill Sharman (20.4), Bob Cousy (20), Tom Heinsohn (18.8)
Rebounds: Bill Russell (23), Tom Heinsohn (9.7), Jim Loscutoff (7)
Assists: Bob Cousy (8.6), Bill Russell (3.2), Tom Heinsohn (2.5)
Win Shares: Bill Russell (12.9), Bob Cousy (8.7), Bill Sharman (7.6)

Playoff opponents;
Syracuse Nationals: 35-37 (4-3)
Minneapolis Lakers: 33-39 (4-0)

#9: 1961-62
Regular season: 60-20 (.750)
Playoffs: 8-6 (.571)
Total: 68-26 (.723)
Longest streak: 9 games
Coach: Red Auerbach

Award winners;
Bob Cousy: 2^nd Team All-NBA, All Star
Tom Heinsohn: 2^nd Team All-NBA, All Star
Sam Jones: All Star
Bill Russell: League MVP, 2^nd Team All-NBA, All Star
Red Auerbach: All Star head coach

Leaders;
Points: Tom Heinsohn (22.1), Bill Russell (18.9), Sam Jones (18.4)
Rebounds: Bill Russell (23.6), Tom Heinsohn (9.5), Tom Sanders (9.5)
Assists: Bob Cousy (7.8), Bill Russell (4.5), K.C. Jones (4.3)
Win Shares: Bill Russell (15.5), Sam Jones (9.6), Tom Heinsohn (9.3)

Playoff opponents;
Philadelphia Warriors: 49-31 (4-3)
Los Angeles Lakers: 54-26 (4-3)

#8: 1960-61
Regular season: 57-22 (.722)
Playoffs: 8-2 (.800)
Total: 65-24 (.730)
Longest streak: 9 games
Coach: Red Auerbach

Award winners;
Bob Cousy: 1^st Team All-NBA, All Star
Tom Heinsohn: 2^nd Team All-NBA, All Star
Bill Russell: League MVP, 2^nd Team All-NBA, All Star
Red Auerbach: All Star

Leaders;
Points: Tom Heinsohn (21.3), Bob Cousy (18.1), Bill Russell (16.9)
Rebounds: Bill Russell (23.9), Tom Heinsohn (9.9), Gene Conley (7.3)
Assists: Bob Cousy (7.7), Bill Russell (3.4), K.C. Jones (3.2)
Win Shares: Bill Russell (13), Sam Jones (8.1), Bob Cousy (7.2)

Playoff opponents;
Syracuse Nationals: 34-41 (4-1)
St. Louis Hawks: 51-28 (4-1)

#7: 1983-84
Regular season: 62-20 (.756)
Playoffs: 15-8 (.652)
Total: 77-28 (.733)
Longest streak: 9 games
Coach: K.C. Jones

Award winners;
Larry Bird: League MVP, Finals MVP, 1^st Team All-NBA, 2^nd Team All-Defense, All Star
Dennis Johnson: 2^nd Team All-Defense
Kevin McHale: 6^th Man of the Year, All Star
Robert Parish: All Star
K.C. Jones: All Star head coach

Leaders;
Points: Larry Bird (24.2), Robert Parish (19), Kevin McHale (18.4)
Rebounds: Robert Parish (10.7), Larry Bird (10.1), Kevin McHale (7.4)
Assists: Larry Bird (6.6), Dennis Johnson (4.2), Gerald Henderson (3.8)
Steals: Larry Bird (1.8), Gerald Henderson (1.5), Dennis Johnson (1.2)
Blocks: Robert Parish (1.5), Kevin McHale (1.5), Larry Bird (0.9)
Win Shares: Larry Bird (13.6), Robert Parish (10.5), Kevin McHale (10.5)

Playoff opponents;
Washington Bullets: 35-47 (3-1)
New York Knicks: 47-35 (4-3)
Milwaukee Bucks: 50-32 (4-1)
Los Angeles Lakers: 54-28 (4-3)

#6: 1963-64
Regular season: 59-21 (.738)
Playoffs: 8-2 (.800)
Total: 67-23 (.744)
Longest streak: 8 games
Coach: Red Auerbach

Award winners;
John Havlicek: 2^nd Team All-NBA
Tom Heinsohn: 2^nd Team All-NBA, All Star
Sam Jones: All Star
Bill Russell: 2^nd Team All-NBA, All Star
Red Auerbach: All Star head coach

Leaders;
Points: John Havlicek (19.9), Sam Jones (19.4), Tom Heinsohn (16.5)
Rebounds: Bill Russell (24.7), Tom Sanders (8.3), Tom Heinsohn (6.1)
Assists: K.C. Jones (5.1), Bill Russell (4.7), John Havlicek (3)
Win Shares: Bill Russell (17.3), Sam Jones (8.9), John Havlicek (7.7)

Playoff opponents;
Cincinnati Royals: 55-25 (4-1)
San Francisco Warriors: 48-32 (4-1)

#5: 1980-81
Regular season: 62-20 (.756)
Playoffs: 12-5 (.706)
Total: 74-25 (.747)
Longest streak: 13 games
Coach: Bill Fitch

Award winners;
Tiny Archibald: 2^nd Team All-NBA, All Star, All Star MVP
Larry Bird: 1^st Team All-NBA, All Star
Cedric Maxwell: Finals MVP
Kevin McHale: 1^st Team All-Rookie
Robert Parish: All Star

Leaders;
Points: Larry Bird (21.2), Robert Parish (18.9), Cedric Maxwell (15.2)
Rebounds: Larry Bird (10.9), Robert Parish (9.5), Cedric Maxwell (6.5)
Assists: Tiny Archibald (7.7), Larry Bird (5.5), Chris Ford (3.6)
Steals: Larry Bird (2), Chris Ford (1.2), Cedric Maxwell (1)
Blocks: Robert Parish (2.6), Kevin McHale (1.8), Larry Bird (0.8)
Win Shares: Cedric Maxwell (11), Robert Parish (10.9), Larry Bird (10.8)

Playoff opponents;
Chicago Bulls: 45-37 (4-0)
Philadelphia 76ers: 62-20 (4-3)
Houston Rockets: 40-42 (4-2)

#4: 2007-08
Regular season: 66-16 (.805)
Playoffs: 16-10 (.615)
Total: 82-26 (.759)
Longest streak: 10 games
Coach: Doc Rivers

Award winners;
Ray Allen: All Star
Kevin Garnett: Defensive Player of the Year, 1^st Team All-NBA, 1^st Team All-Defense
Paul Pierce: Finals MVP, 3^rd Team All-NBA, All Star

Leaders;
Points: Paul Pierce (19.6), Kevin Garnett (18.8), Ray Allen (17.4)
Rebounds: Kevin Garnett (9.2), Kendrick Perkins (6.1), Paul Pierce (5.1)
Assists: Rajon Rondo (5.1), Paul Pierce (4.5), Kevin Garnett (3.4)
Steals: Rajon Rondo (1.7), Kevin Garnett (1.4), Paul Pierce (1.3)
Blocks: Kendrick Perkins (1.5), Kevin Garnett (1.3), Paul Pierce (1.5)
Win Shares: Kevin Garnett (12.9), Paul Pierce (12.4), Ray Allen (9.7)

Playoff opponents;
Atlanta Hawks: 37-45 (4-3)
Cleveland Cavaliers: 45-37 (4-3)
Detroit Pistons: 59-23 (4-2)
Los Angeles Lakers: 57-25 (4-2)

#3: 1964-65
Regular season: 62-18 (.775)
Playoffs: 8-4 (.667)
Total: 70-22 (.761)
Longest streak: 16 games
Coach: Red Auerbach

Award winners;
Sam Jones: 2^nd Team All-NBA, All Star
Bill Russell: League MVP, 1^st Team All-NBA, All Star
Red Auerbach: Coach of the Year, All Star head coach

Leaders;
Points: Sam Jones (25.9), John Havlicek (18.3), Bill Russell (14.1)
Rebounds: Bill Russell (24.1), Tom Sanders (8.3), Tom Heinsohn (6)
Assists: K.C. Jones (5.6), Bill Russell (5.3), Sam Jones (2.8)
Win Shares: Bill Russell (16.9), Sam Jones (12.8), Tom Sanders (7.5)

Playoff opponents;
Philadelphia 76ers: 40-40 (4-3)
Los Angeles Lakers: 49-31 (4-1)

#2: 1959-60
Regular season: 59-16 (.787)
Playoffs: 8-5 (.613)
Total: 67-21 (.761)
Longest streak: 17 games
Coach: Red Auerbach

Award winners;
Bob Cousy: 1^st Team All-NBA, All Star
Bill Russell: 2^nd Team All-NBA, All Star
Bill Sharman: 2^nd Team All-NBA, All Star
Red Auerbach: All Star head coach

Leaders;
Points: Tom Heinsohn (21.7), Bob Cousy (19.4), Bill Sharman (19.3)
Rebounds: Bill Russell (24), Tom Heinsohn (10.6), Gene Conley (8.3)
Assists: Bob Cousy (9.5), Bill Russell (3.7), K.C. Jones (2.6)
Win Shares: Bill Russell (13.8), Bill Sharman (7.9), Bob Cousy (7.8)

Playoff opponents;
Philadelphia Warriors: 49-26 (4-2)
St. Louis Hawks: 46-29 (4-3)

#1: 1985-86
Regular season: 67-15 (.817)
Playoffs: 15-3 (.833)
Total: 82-18 (.820)
Longest streak: 14 games
Coach: K.C. Jones

Award winners;
Larry Bird: League MVP, Finals MVP, 1^st Team All-NBA, All Star
Dennis Johnson: 2^nd Team All-Defense
Kevin McHale: 1^st Team All-Defense, All Star
Robert Parish: All Star
Bill Walton: 6^th Man of the Year
K.C. Jones: All Star head coach

Leaders;
Points: Larry Bird (25.8), Kevin McHale (21.3), Robert Parish (16.1)
Rebounds: Larry Bird (9.8), Robert Parish (9.5), Kevin McHale (8.1)
Assists: Larry Bird (6.8), Dennis Johnson (5.8), Danny Ainge (5.1)
Steals: Larry Bird (2), Dennis Johnson (1.4), Danny Ainge (1.2)
Blocks: Kevin McHale (2), Robert Parish (1.4), Bill Walton (1.3)
Win Shares: Larry Bird (15.8), Kevin McHale (11), Robert Parish (9.2)

Playoff opponents
Chicago Bulls: 30-52 (3-0)
Atlanta Hawks: 50-32 (4-1)
Milwaukee Bucks: 57-25 (4-0)
Houston Rockets: 51-31 (4-2)

The Eternal Debate: Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James

When comparing two basketball players, how do you determine who’s better? There’s many factors; per game stats, advanced stats, individual accolades, championships, finals appearances, etc. There are players who had very good, very long careers, and others who were in the NBA for shorter spans but were spectacular while they were there. These days, the debate over who’s the greatest ever mostly comes down to Michael Jordan and LeBron James, although there’s a few others, like Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, that I think should be in the conversation, but there’s too much recency bias for that it seems. Some people have Kobe Bryant at number one, which I think is a bit ridiculous and I’m guessing most of them are just deranged Laker fans.

For full disclosure, it’s my opinion that Michael Jordan is the greatest NBA player ever. I think there’s a case to be made for LeBron James, but I happen to think Michael’s case is stronger. Since LeBron’s career is ongoing, it’s more difficult to compare them than it is to compare MJ to Kareem for example, but I’ll try anyway.

So what is Michael Jordan’s case vs. LeBron?

He won twice as many championships.

Championships aren’t everything, but they are the ultimate goal NBA players strive for, and Michael Jordan has, so far, twice as many of them. Some say that championships don’t matter because they’re a team accomplishment. To me that makes no sense, because Jordan was the number one reason his team was able to accomplish winning six of them. People are often inconsistent with this and will use LeBron’s victory over Golden State in 2016 or his nine finals appearances to ague that he’s better than Jordan. If winning a championship is just a team accomplishment, shouldn’t you say the same thing about a Finals appearance?

He never lost in the Finals.

Jordan never failed once he reached basketball’s biggest stage, and his teams beat some of the best teams to ever lose the Finals in the ’93 Suns, ’96 SuperSonics, and ’97 and ’98 Jazz. He was the MVP in all six of those Finals, and he average over 30 points in five of them. He also never had a Finals where he played flat out poorly by his standards, like LeBron did in 2011. Unlike LeBron, he never needed to go seven games to win a Finals, and usually closed them out in six, and on one occasion, five.

He played in a tougher Eastern Conference.

In five of Jordan’s 15 seasons, the East had more 50+ win teams than the West (’85, ’86, ’87, ’89, ’97). There were five other years where there were equal numbers of 50 win teams in each conference (’88, ’92, ’95, ’96, 98). The Big Three Celtics, Bad Boy Pistons, Cavaliers of the late ’80s-early ’90s and Patrick Ewing’s Knicks all come to mind when thinking of the East in his era. In the 15 years LeBron spent in the Eastern Conference, there was only one season where there were more 50 win teams in the East, that being 2018 (for 2012 I extrapolated based on win%). There was an equal number of 50 win teams just once also, in 2006. In total, that’s eight more seasons in Jordan’s era that the East was as tough or tougher than the West.

He actually played good teams in the first round.

Much is made of the fact that in their first three trips to the playoffs, Jordan’s Bulls were eliminated in the first round and had a record of one win and nine losses in those three series. Those who harp on about that never say how good their opponents were or how weak the Bulls were outside of Jordan. In 1985, they faced the Milwaukee Bucks, a 59 win team and one of the best defensive teams in the league, who were coached by Don Nelson and led by Sidney Moncrief, Terry Cummings and Paul Pressey The Bulls lost to Milwaukee three games to one. In 1986, they faced one of the greatest teams of all time in the 67 win Boston Celtics, featuring Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish and Dennis Johnson. Jordan had an incredible series, averaging almost 44 points a game, and set a new playoff record with 63 points in game two, but Boston was unstoppable. In ’87 he met another Celtics team, this one with 59 wins. Boston’s bench wasn’t what it was the year before, but their starting five was still there, and it was another sweep. Jordan’s Bulls later beat two 50+ win teams in the first round, those being the 57 win Cavaliers in 1989 and the 50 win Hornets in ’95. They played fewer weak teams in the first round compared to LeBron’s teams. Jordan’s Bulls played only two teams with a record of .500 or less, while LeBron’s teams have played seven .500 or less teams in the first round and even one in the second (the ’07 Nets). The best opponent that a LeBron team has faced in round one was the 48 win Pacers in 2018, who pushed his Cavs to seven games.

He had slightly tougher playoff competition but was still slightly more successful.

Collectively, Jordan’s playoff opponents had an average winning percentage of .653 (about equal to a 54-28 record). For LeBron’s teams, the average opponent’s win% is a bit lower at .632 (about equal to 51-31). Despite that, Jordan’s Bulls won 80.1% of their playoff series, as opposed to LeBron’s 77.8%. Not a huge difference, but it’s there.

He never left to form a super team.

It’s hard to define exactly what a super team is, but however you define it, Michael Jordan certainly never joined one. Some might argue that the Bulls of ’96 to ’98 were a super team. Personally I don’t think so, but even if they were, that team was created around Jordan; he didn’t create it himself. LeBron James left Cleveland in 2010 after losing to the big three Celtics for the second time in three seasons. I’m not sure what I think of LeBron’s ‘decision,’ other than it might’ve been better received if not for the terrible TV special he used to announce it. It’s true he didn’t have much help in Cleveland the first time around and Boston looked like it might dominate the East for years to come, but it’s hard to imagine Jordan, after losing to the Bad Boy Pistons for the third time, bailing on Chicago to join up with Charles Barkley or Patrick Ewing. What bugs me is LeBron saying that he doesn’t think he’s ever played on a super team, when Dwyane Wade was one of the best players in the league besides James himself in 2010, and Chris Bosh was an All Star every year from 2006 until he retired in 2016. I’d like to know what he considers a super team if that doesn’t qualify. Even LeBron’s team in Cleveland from ’15 through ’17 with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love could possibly be considered super team territory.

He played fewer seasons, games and minutes than LeBron has but accomplished more.

It’s true LeBron has only played one more season than Jordan did (16 vs. 15), but that doesn’t tell the whole story. Jordan only played 18 games in ’85-86 because of a broken foot, and only averaged 23 minutes a game due to minute restrictions when he returned. In ’94-95, he only played the last 17 games after coming back from minor league baseball, and wasn’t really in basketball shape until the next season. He played his last two seasons in ’02 and ’03 for the Wizards at ages 38-40 after being retired for three full years. Most of what he accomplished, including all six championships, took place in just eleven seasons he played in Chicago when he wasn’t either coming back from an injury or from playing a different sport. LeBron did miss 27 games due to injury this past year, but that was the first time he was sidelined for a significant chunk of a season. Some of this I got from Dom2k’s awesome Youtube video on the subject, so if you’re a basketball junkie like me and you haven’t looked at his stuff yet, I strongly recommend you check him out.

He won 25 out of 26 playoff series between 1991 and 1998.

MJ took all of ’93-94 off, but I still think it’s crazy that he only lost one playoff series in the seven seasons he played between 1991 and ’98. He and the Bulls took on 26 teams, and only one, the ’95 Magic, were able to bump them off, and that was when MJ was still in baseball shape and adjusting to the NBA. It also showed the importance that Horace Grant and Dennis Rodman had for the Bulls, as that was the year after Grant’s departure and before Rodman’s arrival. Grant was now playing for Orlando, and played a big role in beating his old team.

He didn’t miss the playoffs as many times.

Not a huge difference here, but Jordan only missed the playoffs twice, and that was when he was in his late 30s and early 40s playing for the Wizards. LeBron’s Cavs missed the post-season his first two years in the league and his Lakers missed out this year. Of course in the ’04 and ’05 seasons LeBron ranged in age from 18 to 20, and this past year, LBJ only played 55 games due to injury.

He didn’t have much help winning his first three rings besides Pippen.

From the ’91 to ’93 seasons, Jordan and Pippen weren’t exactly surrounded by talent. Horace Grant was a damn good rebounder and defensive player, but was only an All Star once, in 1994, when Jordan was playing baseball. Center Bill Cartwright did make an All Star game. While playing for the Knicks. In 1980. John Paxson was a solid PG, but only twice did he average over ten points per game. I don’t mean to disrespect anyone who played for those teams, but if you compare their rosters to the Celtics, Lakers, and Pistons of a few years earlier, they clearly don’t have the same kind of depth. And yet, for three straight years, they were winning between 57 and 67 games and bringing home a banner.

He had more points per game on a higher FG% excluding the Wizards years

Michael Jordan is the NBA’s all time leader in points per game with 30.1, just ahead of Wilt Chamberlain. If you exclude his Wizards years, his average rises to 31.5 ppg. LeBron James so far has averaged a still elite 27.2 ppg. Jordan’s fg% as a Bull was 50.5%, although including the Wizards years lowers it to 49.7%. LeBron James so far has averaged 50.4%. When comparing the two, I think it makes sense to exclude Jordan’s Washington stats, as LeBron is still only 34, much younger than Jordan was at that stage. Jordan also led the league in scoring a record ten times, something LeBron has done once.

He was a much better free throw shooter.

Jordan averaged 83.5% at the line for his career, while LeBron so far is at 73.6%. Jordan ranged from 85.7% in ’87 to 78.4% in ’98. LeBron’s best mark so far was 78% in ’09 and his worst was 66.5% this past season. Not to crap on LBJ, but it’s a bit surprising that Jordan’s worst ft% (including when he was a Wizard) is still better LeBron’s best.

He was likely a better defensive player.

Jordan is usually considered the better defensive player, although LeBron’s size allows him to guard more positions than Jordan usually did. Jordan was Defensive Player of the Year in 1988, which is an award LeBron’s yet to win. Jordan averaged 2.3 steals per game, 2.5 during the Bulls years, and led the league in steals three times (’88, ’90 and ’93), something LeBron has never done. LBJ has averaged 1.6 steals during his career. Despite the height difference in LeBron’s favor, Jordan averaged just as many blocks per game (0.8), and as a Bull averaged slightly more at 0.9. LeBron has been accused of slacking off on defense recently, something that, as far as I know, MJ was never criticized for.

He averaged more offensive rebounds.

As mentioned earlier, LeBron has the obvious size advantage, so this isn’t one you’d necessarily expect. In LBJ’s defense though, offensive rebounding was a bigger part of the game in Jordan’s day and he still has more rebounds overall.

He has a higher PER, BPM and WS/48.

He has the advantage in these three advanced stats and also has nearly as many win shares as LeBron despite playing 126 fewer games.

LeBron’s per game averages will almost certainly drop before he retires.

LeBron benefits in some ways in this debate from still being an active player. His statistics will likely decline the longer he plays, which could lower his career averages the way Jordan’s years in Washington did. Jordan also hurt his averages by retiring for nearly two full seasons in his prime to play baseball.

LeBron’s case

He’s had more finals appearances

Nine finals appearances really is insane, and eight in a row is even crazier. LeBron is tied at fourth all time in appearances with Magic Johnson, Jerry West and Tom Heinsohn. Only Bill Russell, Sam Jones and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have been there more. Although he’s won twice as many rings, Jordan is tied for 18th in appearances with thirteen other players. I didn’t have time to look this up, but I’m quite sure no one else has played in eight straight Finals since the Celtics dynasty of the ’50s and ’60s.

He’s faced slightly better finals opponents.

On average, LeBron’s Finals opponents have been slightly better regular season teams with an average winning percentage of .756, compared to .746 for Jordan’s opponents. Not a big difference (basically a 62 win team vs. a 61 win team), and it’s largely due to the outliers that were the 2016 Warriors, but it’s worth noting. The 2017 Warriors were also one of the best teams ever though, and they and the ’18 Warriors were very much stacked with talent.

He’s never lost in the first round.

Although he’s missed the playoffs three times, LeBron’s teams have never lost in the first round in their 13 trips there, which is what happened to Jordan in his first three NBA seasons. As noted before though, Jordan faced considerably tougher competition in the first round than LeBron has. Still, making to at least the second round 13 out of 13 times is a big accomplishment.

He’s already played more than MJ and has been extremely durable.

LeBron has already played in 126 more games and 5,224 more minutes than Jordan did, not even counting playoffs, and has been more durable than him or just about any player ever. Jordan was one of the greatest athletes of all time, but he did have a fondness for whiskey, cigars, staying up all night playing cards and spending a huge amount of time golfing rather than resting. LeBron, by contrast, has spent millions of dollars staying in the best condition possible, and his endurance brings to mind past greats like Wilt, Malone, Kareem, and Robert Parish. That’s not to say that Jordan wasn’t durable as well, and he really only had one major injury, but he was also aided by not playing pro basketball from June of ’93 until March of ’95. It’s possible MJ could’ve had an even greater career though if he’d taken better care of himself.

He led two very underwhelming teams to the NBA finals in 2007 and 2018.

The 2007 Cavs, who won 50 games, had no All Stars besides a 22 year old LeBron. Their second leading scorer was Larry Hughes who averaged less than 15 points a game. Personally I think this accomplishment is a bit overblown. In the first two rounds the Cavs faced two 41 win teams, the Wizards and Nets, before facing the Pistons in the Conference Finals. With 53 wins, Detroit was the only other team in the East with over 50. Detroit did win a championship in ’04 and made the Finals in ’05, but that was when they had Ben Wallace, one of the best defensive players of the decade, who by ’07 was playing for Chicago. Still, LeBron was unstoppable in game five with 48 points, giving his team a two point win. Cleveland was swept by the Spurs in the Finals. Still, he’d made it that far in his fourth year at age 22, while Jordan first didn’t make the Finals until his seventh year at age 28.

In 2018 the Cavs had another 50 win season and their second best player was All Star power forward Kevin Love, but they weren’t a deep team, and Kyrie Irving had split for Boston the year before. They were pushed to seven games by the 48 win Pacers in the first round before sweeping the 59 win Raptors in the second. My Celtics almost had them in the Eastern Finals even without two All Stars in Kyrie and Gordon Hayward, but the Cavs gutted out a game seven win in Boston, as the Celtics bricked three after three, before getting swept by Golden State. Although some of his competition wasn’t top notch, leading a team to the Finals without much help is an impressive feat that even the best players rarely achieve.

He’s averaged more assists.

LeBron’s put up almost two more assists a game than Jordan, with 7.2 to MJ’s 5.3. He’s considered a better passer and playmaker and a less selfish player. Of course one of the things that makes the two hard to compare is that Jordan was a two guard who’s main job was to score, while LeBron is a forward who often plays more like a point guard.

He’s a better rebounder, particularly defensively.

LBJ’s averaged 7.4 rebounds, while Jordan grabbed 6.2 per game. Although Jordan had the advantage in offensive rebounds, LeBron has had 6.2 defensive rebounds to Jordan’s 4.7, giving him the edge overall.

He leads Jordan in some advanced stats.

LeBron has the highest VORP (value over replacement player) ever, and slightly more win shares. Because VORP and win shares are cumulative stats, he’ll always have MJ beat in those categories.

He’s a better three point shooter.

LeBron’s 3P% is somewhat higher than Jordan’s at 34.3% compared to 32.7%. Thanks to this and his more frequent three point attempts, LeBron also has a higher effective field goal percentage (eFG%). LeBron benefits from this era in that the three point shot is a much bigger part of the game than it was in Jordan’s day. Jordan was a very bad three point shooter during his first four seasons but improved greatly after that.

He’s had considerably better stats in the playoffs compared to the regular season.

Although Jordan had better stats in many areas in the playoffs as well, that’s even more the case with LeBron. His numbers are better in the post-season when it comes to points, free throw percentage, rebounds (offensive, defensive and total), steals, blocks, defensive rating, net rating, PER, WS/48 and BPM.

Conclusions

Based on everything they’ve done so far, I think Michael Jordan is a better player, but it’s conceivable that could change depending on what happens in the remainder of LeBron James’ career. Whoever’s better, they’re both great players that basketball fans have been lucky to watch. Hardcore fans of both players try to tear the other down with misleading and often false arguments. I know I might be a bit biased in Jordan’s favor as someone who grew up the ’90s when MJ was the baddest man on the planet, but I don’t think I said anything about LeBron in this little article that was unfair or incorrect.

Bill Russell vs. Wilt Chamberlain: What Really Happened?

There’s two narratives I always hear about the eight times Bill Russell’s Celtics faced one of Wilt Chamberlain’s teams in the playoffs in the 1960s. Many people say that Russell, one of the greatest defensive players of all time, absolutely shut Wilt down and basically wiped the floor with him. Others claim that the first notion is all wrong, that Russell barely slowed Wilt down at all, and the only reason Chamberlain usually lost to the Celtics was that they were the better team. As you’ll see though, there were three occasions when the Celtics had a worse record that Wilt’s team but won anyway (1966, ’68 and ’69).

Bill Russell joined the Celtics in 1956 at age 22 and Wilt Chamberlain joined the Warriors in 1959 at age 23. Wilt reached the NBA at a relatively late age because he missed a year of school as a child due to health problems, and thus didn’t start college until age 19. Russell attended the University of San Francisco and won two NCAA Championships there in 1955 and ’56 and won a gold medal with Team USA at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. Wilt went to the University of Kansas and led the Jayhawks to the National Championship game in 1957, but lost to the University of North Carolina. He decided not to return to school in ’58-59 for his senior year, instead playing for the Harlem Globetrotters before he was drafted by Philadelphia.

Both players had immediate success; Russell won his first of eleven NBA titles as a rookie in 1957 and won the first of five League MVPs in ’58. Wilt was MVP, Rookie of the Year and All Star MVP in 1960. He would win three more MVPs, but didn’t win his first championship until 1967. The two all time greats became good friends once Wilt joined the league, and Russ was very supportive of the younger star. They sometimes spent holidays together, and some thought the ultra-competitive Russell was actually buttering Wilt up so he’d take it easier on his Celtics. When asked if he saw Wilt as his greatest rival, Russell stated that he saw him as his greatest competitor, as he saw Wilt as his friend and not his rival.

The two had a falling out after the 1969 NBA Finals and Russell’s subsequent retirement. Chamberlain, now on the Lakers, sat on the bench during the closing minutes of game seven, and Russell publicly questioned why Wilt hadn’t been in the game, which the Celtics won by just two points. Bill may not have known it at the time, but Wilt went off the floor after hurting his foot, and later requested to be put back in. Lakers’ coach Butch van Breda Kolff refused, saying the team was playing better without him. Luckily the two reconciled years before Wilt’s death in 1999 at age 63.

1960

Boston Celtics: 59-16
Philadelphia Warriors: 49-26
The Celtics beat The Warriors 4-2 in the Eastern Division Finals

Russell’s regular season vs. Divsion Finals

G	MP	FG	FG%	FT	FT%	TRB	AST	PF	PTS
74	42.5	7.5	46.7	3.2	61.2	24	3.7	2.8	18.2
6	42.8	9	44.6	2.7	76.2	27	2.8	4.3	20.7

Wilt’s regular season vs. Division Finals

G	MP	FG	FG%	FT	FT%	TRB	AST	PF	PTS
72	46.4	14.8	46.1	8	58.2	27	2.3	2.1	37.6
6	45.5	12.3	50	5.8	49.3	27.5	2	2.2	30.5

As you can see, Wilt put up big numbers in the series against the Celtics, but his points were down by 7.1 a game, which represents an 18.9% decrease. Meanwhile, Russell’s scoring went up a bit.

1962

Boston Celtics: 60-20
Philadelphia Warriors: 49-31
The Celtics beat the Warriors 4-3 in the Eastern Division Finals

Russell’s regular season vs. Division Finals

G	MP	FG	FG%	FT	FT%	TRB	AST	PF	PTS
76	45.2	7.6	45.7	3.8	59.5	23.6	4.5	2.7	18.9
7	47.7	8.4	39.9	5.1	70.6	25.9	4.3	4	22

Wilt’s regular season vs. Division Finals

G	MP	FG	FG%	FT	FT%	TRB	AST	PF	PTS
80	48.5	20	50.6	10.4	61.3	25.7	2.4	1.5	50.4
7	48	12.6	46.8	8.4	64.8	26.9	2.9	2.3	33.6

Wilt’s 50.4 points a game in ’61-62 is a single season record that still stands, and there’s no shame in only averaging 33 points a game in a playoff series, but the drop of almost seventeen points a game represented a full third of his production.

1964

Boston Celtics: 59-21
San Francisco Warriors: 48-23
The Celtics beat the Warriors 4-1 in the NBA Finals

Russell’s regular season vs. NBA Finals

G	MP	FG	FG%	FT	FT%	TRB	AST	PF	PTS
78	44.6	6	43.3	3	55	24.7	4.7	2.4	15
5	42.8	4.4	38.6	2.4	48	25.2	5	4	11.2

Wilt’s regular season vs. NBA Finals

G	MP	FG	FG%	FT	FT%	TRB	AST	PF	PTS
80	46.1	15.1	52.4	6.8	53.1	22.3	5	2.3	36.9
5	46	12.4	51.7	4.4	41.5	27.5	2.4	2.4	29.2

Although this series was pretty one-sided in favor of the Celtics, neither player really excelled. Russell averaged just over 11 points on low efficiency and Wilt saw about a 20% drop in scoring and only improved in terms of rebounding.

1965

Boston Celtics: 62-18
Philadelphia 76ers: 40-40
The Celtics beat the 76ers 4-3 in the Eastern Division Finals
Note: Wilt was traded to the 76ers from the Warriors mid-season and only played 35 games for Philadelphia that year.

Russell’s regular season vs. Division Finals

G	MP	FG	FG%	FT	FT%	TRB	AST	PF	PTS
78	44.4	5.5	43.8	3.1	57.3	24.1	5.3	2.6	14.1
7	48.6	6.6	44.7	2.4	47.2	25.3	6.7	4.1	15.6

Wilt’s regular season vs. Division Finals

G	MP	FG	FG%	FT	FT%	TRB	AST	PF	PTS
73	45.2	14.6	51	5.6	46.4	22.9	3.4	2	34.7
7	48.7	11.6	55.5	7	57.6	31.4	3.3	2.9	30.1

A very good series for Wilt, but once again we see his points dropping while Russell’s increase slightly. His rebounding took a big jump, however.

1966

Boston Celtics: 54-26
Philadelphia 76ers: 55-25
The Celtics beat the 76ers 4-1 in the Eastern Division Finals

Russell’s regular season vs. Division Finals

G	MP	FG	FG%	FT	FT%	TRB	AST	PF	PTS
78	43.4	5	41.5	2.9	55.1	22.8	4.8	2.8	12.9
5	N/A	5	42.4	4	57.1	26.2	5.6	3.2	14

Wilt’s regular season vs. Division Finals

G	MP	FG	FG%	FT	FT%	TRB	AST	PF	PTS
79	47.3	13.6	54	6.3	51.3	24.6	5.2	2.2	33.5
5	N/A	11.2	50.9	5.6	41.2	30.2	3	2	28

This was another series where Wilt declined in most categories besides rebounding, while Russell increased his impact in most areas.

1967

Boston Celtics: 60-21
Philadelphia 76ers: 68-13
The 76ers beat the Celtics 4-1 in the Eastern Division Finals

Russell’s regular season vs. Division Finals

G	MP	FG	FG%	FT	FT%	TRB	AST	PF	PTS
81	40.7	4.9	45.4	3.5	61	21	5.8	3.2	13.3
5	45.6	3.8	35.8	3.8	67.9	23.4	6	3.6	11.4

Wilt’s regular season vs. Division Finals

G	MP	FG	FG%	FT	FT%	TRB	AST	PF	PTS
81	45.5	9.7	68.3	4.8	44.1	24.2	7.8	1.8	24.1
5	47.8	8	55.6	5.6	51.9	32	10	2.8	21.6

This was the year Wilt and the Sixers finally got the best of Russell and the Celtics, who were trying for their ninth straight championship. Wilt had a great series, averaging a triple double, but his points were down and his field goal percentage took a big hit. Russell had good rebounding and assist numbers, but he only scored 11.4 points on poor efficiency.

1968

Boston Celtics: 54-28
Philadelphia 76ers: 62-20
The Celtics beat the 76ers 4-3 in the Eastern Division Finals

Russell’s regular season vs. Division Finals

G	MP	FG	FG%	FT	FT%	TRB	AST	PF	PTS
78	37.9	4.7	42.5	3.2	53.7	18.6	4.6	3.1	12.5
7	46	5.3	44	3.1	59.5	23.9	4.1	3.9	13.7

Wilt’s regular season vs. Division Finals

G	MP	FG	FG%	FT	FT%	TRB	AST	PF	PTS
82	46.8	10	59.5	4.3	38	23.8	8.6	2	24.3
7	47.9	8.3	48.7	5.6	42.4	25.1	6.7	2	22.1

Not a big drop in points for Wilt in this one, but his field goal percentage took a big hit and his assists were down as well. As for Russell, his numbers were all up other than assists.

1969

Boston Celtics: 48-34
Los Angeles Lakers: 55-27
The Celtics beat the Lakers 4-3 in the NBA Finals

Russell’s regular season vs. NBA Finals

G	MP	FG	FG%	FT	FT%	TRB	AST	PF	PTS
77	42.7	3.6	43.3	2.6	52.6	19.3	4.9	3	9.9
7	48	3.6	39.7	2	58.3	21.1	5.1	4.1	9.1

Wilt’s regular season vs. NBA Finals

G	MP	FG	FG%	FT	FT%	TRB	AST	PF	PTS
81	45.3	7.9	58.3	4.7	44.6	21.1	4.5	1.8	20.5
7	47.3	4.1	50	3.4	37.5	25	3	3	11.7

Wilt had such a drop off in points in the Finals that I suspect that it had more to do with a change in strategy for LA or an injury than Boston’s defense, but I’m really not sure.

Stats don’t always tell the whole story, but my conclusion from these numbers is that by normal human standards, Wilt played amazing basketball in most of these series. By Wilt’s standards though, it’s clear that the Celtics’ defense, anchored by Russell, made a real impact on his ability to score, which with the exception of ’67, always gave the Celts a chance to win.

A Timeline of Expansion, Contraction, Re-Location and Name Changes in the NBA

1946-47: 11 teams

The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was founded in 1946. The new league started out with eleven franchises;

Boston Celtics
Chicago Stags
Cleveland Rebels
Detroit Falcons
New York Knicks
Philadelphia Warriors
Pittsburgh Ironmen
Providence Steamrollers
St. Louis Bombers
Toronto Huskies
Washington Capitols

Of the original eleven, only the Celtics and Knicks didn’t later fold or re-locate.

1947-48: 8 teams

The following teams folded after the ’46-47 season;

Cleveland Rebels
Detroit Falcons
Pittsburgh Ironmen
Toronto Huskies

The league brought in one new team, the Baltimore Bullets. The Washington Wizards were once known as the Baltimore Bullets, but this was a different franchise with the same name.

1948-49: 12 teams

The league added four new teams;

Fort Wayne Pistons
Indianapolis Jets
Minneapolis Lakers
Rochester Royals

1949-50: 17 teams

Before this season, the BAA merged with the NBL (National Basketball League) to from the NBA, and seven new teams joined the leauge;

Anderson Packers
Denver Nuggets (different from the current Nuggets)
Indianapolis Olympians
Sheboygan Red Skins
Syracuse Nationals
Tri-Cities Blackhawks
Waterloo Hawks

Most of the NBL’s teams were located in relatively small Midwestern cities. Two teams also folded; the Indianapolis Jets and Providence Steamrollers.

1950-51: 11 teams

The following teams folded after the ’49-50 season;

Anderson Packers
Chicago Stags
Denver Nuggets
St. Louis Bombers
Sheboygan Red Skins
Waterloo Hawks

1951-52: 10 teams

The Washington Capitols folded.

The Tri-Cities Blackhawks left Moline, Illinois for Milwaukee and became the Milwaukee Hawks, and were the first NBA team to re-locate.

1953-54: 9 teams

The Indianapolis Olympians folded.

1954-55: 8 teams

The Baltimore Bullets folded early in the ’54-55 season. The Bullets won the 1948 BAA Championship, and are the only team that won a BAA/NBA Championship to later cease operations. They were the last NBA team to fold.

1955-56: 8 teams

The Milwaukee Hawks re-located to St. Louis.

1957-58: 8 teams

The Fort Wayne Pistons re-located to Detroit and the Rochester Royals re-located to Cincinnati.

1960-61: 8 teams

The Minneapolis Lakers re-located to Los Angeles.

1961-62: 9 teams

The Chicago Packers joined the league.

1962-63: 9 teams

The Philadelphia Warriors re-located to San Francisco and the Chicago Packers changed their name to the Zephyrs.

1963-64: 9 teams

The Chicago Zephyrs re-located to become the Baltimore Bullets and the Syracuse Nationals re-located to become the Philadelphia 76ers.

1966-67: 10 teams

The Chicago Bulls joined the league.

1967-68: 12 teams

The San Diego Rockets and Seattle SuperSonics joined the leauge.

1968-69: 14 teams

The Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns joined the league and the St. Louis Hawks re-located to Atlanta.

1970-71: 17 teams

The Buffalo Braves, Cleveland Cavaliers and Portland Trail Blazers joined the league.

1971-72: 17 teams

The San Diego Rockets re-located to Houston. The San Francisco Warriors were re-named the Golden State Warriors, although this could also be considered a re-location as they moved across the bay from San Francisco to Oakland.

1972-73: 17 teams

The Cincinnati Royals re-located to become the Kansas City–Omaha Kings.

1973-74: 17 teams

The Baltimore Bullets re-located to suburban Washington, DC and were re-named the Capital Bullets.

1974-75: 18 teams

The New Orleans Jazz joined the league and the Capital Bullets were re-named the Washington Bullets.

1975-76: 18 teams

The Kansas City-Omaha Kings became the Kansas City Kings.

1976-77: 22 teams

This was the year the NBA merged with the ABA (American Basketball Association) and four new teams joined the league;

Denver Nuggets
Indiana Pacers
New York Nets
San Antonio Spurs

1977-78: 22 teams

The New York Nets re-located to New Jersey.

1978-79: 22 teams

The Buffalo Braves re-located to become the San Diego Clippers.

1979-80: 22 teams

The New Orleans Jazz re-located to Utah.

1980-81: 23 teams

The Dallas Mavericks joined the league.

1984-85: 23 teams

The San Diego Clippers re-located to Los Angeles.

1985-86: 23 teams

The Kansas City Kings re-located to Sacramento.

1988-89: 25 teams

The Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat joined the league.

1989-90: 27 teams

The Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic joined the leauge.

1995-96: 29 teams

The Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies joined the league, expanding the NBA into Canada for the first time since 1947, when it was still the BAA.

1997-98: 29 teams

The Washington Bullets were re-named the Wizards.

2001-02: 29 teams

The Vancouver Grizzlies re-located to Memphis.

2002-03: 29 teams

The Charlotte Hornets re-located to New Orleans.

2004-05: 30 teams

The Charlotte Bobcats joined the league.

2008-09: 30 teams

The Seattle SuperSonics re-located to become the Oklahoma City Thunder.

2012-13: 30 teams

The New Jersey Nets re-located to Brooklyn.

2013: 30 teams

The New Orleans Hornets were re-named the Pelicans.

2014-15: 30 teams

The Charlotte Bobcats were re-named the Hornets. All records of the original Charlotte Hornets (1988-2002) were transferred to the new Hornets, and the Bobcats and current Hornets are considered a continuation of the original Hornets. The history of the Pelicans now officially begins with the re-location of the original Hornets to New Orleans in 2002.

1957: Tom Heinsohn, age 22, power forward, Boston Celtics

1958: Bob Pettit, age 25, power forward, St. Louis Hawks

1959: Tom Heinsohn, age 24, power forward, Boston Celtics

1960: Bill Russell, age 26, center, Boston Celtics

1961: Bill Russell, age 27, center, Boston Celtics

1962: Bill Russell, age 28, center, Boston Celtics

1963: Bill Russell, age 29, center, Boston Celtics

1964: Sam Jones, age 30, shooting guard, Boston Celtics

1965: Bill Russell, age 31, center, Boston Celtics

1966: Bill Russell, 32, center, Boston Celtics

1967: Wilt Chamberlain, 30, center, Philadelphia 76ers

1968: John Havlicek, 28, shooting guard, Boston Celtics

1969: John Havlicek, 29, shooting guard, Boston Celtics

The 1870s

The 1880s

The 1890s

The 1900s

The 1910s

The 1920s

The 1930s

The 1940s

The 1950s

The 1960s

The 1970s

The 1980s

The 1990s

The 2000s

The 2010s

So what is Michael Jordan’s case vs. LeBron?

He won twice as many championships.

He never lost in the Finals.

He played in a tougher Eastern Conference.

He actually played good teams in the first round.

He had slightly tougher playoff competition but was still slightly more successful.

He never left to form a super team.

He played fewer seasons, games and minutes than LeBron has but accomplished more.

He won 25 out of 26 playoff series between 1991 and 1998.

He didn’t miss the playoffs as many times.

He didn’t have much help winning his first three rings besides Pippen.

He had more points per game on a higher FG% excluding the Wizards years

He was a much better free throw shooter.

He was likely a better defensive player.

He averaged more offensive rebounds.

He has a higher PER, BPM and WS/48.

LeBron’s per game averages will almost certainly drop before he retires.

LeBron’s case

He’s had more finals appearances

He’s faced slightly better finals opponents.

He’s never lost in the first round.

He’s already played more than MJ and has been extremely durable.

He led two very underwhelming teams to the NBA finals in 2007 and 2018.

He’s averaged more assists.

He’s a better rebounder, particularly defensively.

He leads Jordan in some advanced stats.

He’s a better three point shooter.

He’s had considerably better stats in the playoffs compared to the regular season.

Conclusions

1960

Boston Celtics: 59-16Philadelphia Warriors: 49-26The Celtics beat The Warriors 4-2 in the Eastern Division Finals

1962

Boston Celtics: 60-20Philadelphia Warriors: 49-31The Celtics beat the Warriors 4-3 in the Eastern Division Finals

1964

Boston Celtics: 59-21San Francisco Warriors: 48-23The Celtics beat the Warriors 4-1 in the NBA Finals

1965

Boston Celtics: 62-18Philadelphia 76ers: 40-40The Celtics beat the 76ers 4-3 in the Eastern Division FinalsNote: Wilt was traded to the 76ers from the Warriors mid-season and only played 35 games for Philadelphia that year.

1966

Boston Celtics: 54-26Philadelphia 76ers: 55-25The Celtics beat the 76ers 4-1 in the Eastern Division Finals

1967

Boston Celtics: 60-21Philadelphia 76ers: 68-13The 76ers beat the Celtics 4-1 in the Eastern Division Finals

1968

Boston Celtics: 54-28Philadelphia 76ers: 62-20The Celtics beat the 76ers 4-3 in the Eastern Division Finals

1969

Boston Celtics: 48-34Los Angeles Lakers: 55-27The Celtics beat the Lakers 4-3 in the NBA Finals

1946-47: 11 teams

1947-48: 8 teams

1948-49: 12 teams

1949-50: 17 teams

1950-51: 11 teams

1951-52: 10 teams

1953-54: 9 teams

Boston Celtics: 59-16
Philadelphia Warriors: 49-26
The Celtics beat The Warriors 4-2 in the Eastern Division Finals

Boston Celtics: 60-20
Philadelphia Warriors: 49-31
The Celtics beat the Warriors 4-3 in the Eastern Division Finals

Boston Celtics: 59-21
San Francisco Warriors: 48-23
The Celtics beat the Warriors 4-1 in the NBA Finals

Boston Celtics: 62-18
Philadelphia 76ers: 40-40
The Celtics beat the 76ers 4-3 in the Eastern Division Finals
Note: Wilt was traded to the 76ers from the Warriors mid-season and only played 35 games for Philadelphia that year.

Boston Celtics: 54-26
Philadelphia 76ers: 55-25
The Celtics beat the 76ers 4-1 in the Eastern Division Finals

Boston Celtics: 60-21
Philadelphia 76ers: 68-13
The 76ers beat the Celtics 4-1 in the Eastern Division Finals

Boston Celtics: 54-28
Philadelphia 76ers: 62-20
The Celtics beat the 76ers 4-3 in the Eastern Division Finals

Boston Celtics: 48-34
Los Angeles Lakers: 55-27
The Celtics beat the Lakers 4-3 in the NBA Finals