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18th June, 2008 - 11:54 pm
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| Current Features |
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SCOOP DU JOUR: Tinsley, J.O., NLCS, Leinart and NHL!
The Pacers could deal Jamaal Tinsley on Monday, Jermaine O’Neal continues to gel with Raptors, the Phils and Dodgers will battle, Matt Leinart is competitive, and the NHL season begins.
LOCKER TALK: Players Thrilled About Move To Oklahoma City
The Supersonics franchise is ecstatic about their impending move to Oklahoma City, and why shouldn’t they be? Buster Gunning, a Seattle native, recently took a trip through “The Big Friendly” (it is really called that) and can whole-heartedly agree with the players' excitement.
MOCK DRAFT: 2008 NBA Mock Draft, Version 13.0 (Draft Day Edition)
Weeks and months of waiting has finally come to an end, and Draft day is officially here.
PLAYER RANKINGS: Ranking The Best Players Of The 2008 Playoffs
Which players have played the best through the Conference Finals?
TEAM RANKINGS: The RealGM.com Final NBA Team Rankings For 2007-08
Which teams were statistically the best in 2007-08? Which teams improved the most from 2006-07? Some of the answers may surprise you.
CLASSICS: Hakeem Vs. Ewing: Who Was The Better Center?
Born within six months of each other in opposite corners of the world, two seven footers who are finalists for the Basketball Hall of Fame this fall are two of the best ever to play the center position.
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By Andrew Perna
Last week I ranked the top-ten careers of players picked eighth in the NBA Draft, so that means by default it’s time to discuss the best ballers that were taken with the seventh selection. Next week yet another player will qualify for this list, so let’s get down to business…
10. Luc Longley – No. 7 in 1991 (Minnesota)
Many players drafted with the seventh selection have had better individual careers, but Longley was at the right place at the right time and became a key contributor on a trio of historic Chicago teams in the mid-to-late 1990s. He averaged just 7.2 points and 4.9 rebounds per game over his ten-year career but took home three NBA Championship rings to show for it.
He is regarded as one of the greatest Australian players in his country’s history, having played more games than any other Aussie in league history. His best season came in 1997-98, when Chicago won the third and final title of their second three-peat of the decade. Longley put up 11.4 points and 5.9 rebounds that year, helping the Bulls cap off yet another tremendous run of domination in the league.
9. Mike Gminski – No. 7 in 1980 (New Jersey)
Gminski was taken with the seventh pick by the Nets in 1980, one of four teams he would play for during his fifteen-year career. He is one of the greatest players in Duke history, having had his #43 retired by the university and ranking among the top-ten in points, rebounds, and blocks in the storied school’s record books.
He scored 10,953 points and averaged 11.7 per game in his career despite playing sparingly towards the end of his run in the NBA. He averaged more than fifteen points on four occasions, including a career-high 17.2 for the 76ers in 1989. He contributed a double-double once, in a season spread between the 76ers and Nets, with 16.9 points and 10.0 rebounds in seventy-one games.
8. Quinn Buckner – No. 7 in 1976 (Milwaukee)
Buckner’s career was a modest one, but he is one of only three players to win titles at the high school, college, professional, and international level. He averaged just 8.2 points and 4.3 assists in his 719-game career but took home a title with the Boston Celtics in 1984.
He posted a career-high 13.3 points, 4.7 assists, and 3.6 rebounds per game during the 1980-81 season for the Bucks without-a-doubt his best statistical effort. He was named to a pair of All-NBA Defensive Second Teams in his career, often priding himself on his work on the less-glamorous end of the court. His athleticism was showcased early as he was selected in the NFL Draft by the Redskins in the same year the Bucks took him out of Indiana University.
7. Kirk Hinrich – No. 7 in 2003 (Chicago)
Chicago fans might disagree right now, but Hinrich has established himself as one of the best point guards in the league in just five quick seasons. He was named to the All-Rookie First Team in 2004, sharing the honor with the likes of LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh.
He was also named to the 2007 All-NBA Defensive Second Team since he averaged 1.3 steals per game to earn the honor alongside then-teammate Ben Wallace. Hinrich played briefly for the United States National Team, winning a bronze medal in 2006 at the World Championships (Japan). His career averages of 14.4 points, 6.4 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game lead many to believe that there is more above-average play to come.
6. Vinnie Johnson – No. 7 in 1979 (Seattle)
Johnson played a little more than two seasons with the Sonics before being traded to the Pistons midway through the 1982-83 campaign. There, he earned his nickname of ‘The Microwave’ often playing behind the likes of Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars. He started just 172 of his 984 NBA games, only once playing more than thirty minutes per game in a season. He was the Manu Ginobili of his generation.
He won back-to-back titles with the Pistons beginning in 1989, cementing his place in team history. Detroit retired his #15 in 1994, just two years after he hung up his jumpshot following sixty games with the Spurs in 1992. He never took home any substantial individual awards but was a tremendous player and cemented the team’s second-straight title in 1990 with a fourteen-foot jumper at the end of Game Five.
5. Richard Hamilton – No. 7 in 1999 (Washington)
It didn’t take long for Hamilton, a legend at UCONN, to transfer his success to the next level. Rip played well for the Wizards in his first three seasons, averaging 15.6 points per game in the District of Columbia, but was traded to Detroit during the summer of 2002, where he brought his game to the next level.
He has made three All-Star teams as a member of the Pistons (2006-08) and won himself a title in 2004 when Detroit defeated the star-studded Lakers. He has a career scoring average of 17.9 points per game, including two seasons over twenty. He has always been underrated in other aspects, notching 3.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists a game over his career.
4. Chris Mullin – No. 7 in 1985 (Golden State)
Mullin is one of the most prolific scorers in NBA history, tallying 17,911 points in his career on an 18.2 per game average. He spent his first twelve seasons with the Warriors, playing more than forty minutes a contest on a pair of occasions. He put up more than twenty-five points per game in five-straight seasons (1988-93) before his body began to break down, ultimately leading to his trade to the Pacers.
He contributed nicely in his first two seasons in Indiana but was relegated to a reserve role when the Pacers battled the Lakers in the Finals in 2000 (just 5.1 points in 12.4 minutes per game that season). Mullin then signed with the Warriors as a free agent, where he eventually retired. Chris was a member of the original ‘Dream Team’ in 1992, taking home his second Olympic gold medal (he won one in 1984, as well). He is also a five-time All-Star and was named to four All-NBA teams.
3. Bernard King – No. 7 in 1977 (New Jersey)
King was one of the best scorers of his generation, tallying 19,655 points in just 874 career games. He was also a good rebounder (5.8 boards per game) for a rather slim 6-foot-7 small forward. He bounced around, playing for five teams over six different tenures (two with the Nets that book-ended his career) but made lasting impressions at each one of his stops.
He scored an astounding 24.2 points a game in his rookie season but set a career-mark in 1985 when he led the league with 32.9 points in fifty-five games. His high-scoring was hardly a fluke as he notched more than fifty points eight times and once put up sixty for the Knicks on Christmas Day. He averaged 22.5 for his career and would probably rank among the league’s best in terms of total scoring he had not suffered a knee injury in 1985. The injury caused him to miss the end of his prolific 1984-85 season and the entire 1985-86 campaign.
2. Kevin Johnson – No. 7 in 1987 (Cleveland)
The Cavaliers drafted Johnson with the seventh pick in the 1987 NBA Draft but dealt him to the Suns when Mark Price kept a firm hold on the starting point guard spot. K.J. immediately excelled, winning the Rookie of the Month in April of 1988. He averaged 20.4 points and 12.2 assists per game in his second season, and first full campaign in Phoenix, taking home the league’s Most Improved Player award.
He averaged more than 20 points and 10 assists in three-consecutive seasons (1988-91) and narrowly missed out on a fourth-straight year when he posted 19.7 points and 10.7 dimes per contest in 1991-92. He retired (in 1998, then finally again in 2000) as one of only three players in league history to post more than twenty points and twelve assists in a season (Isiah Thomas and Magic Johnson being the others).
1. John Havlicek– No. 7 in 1962 (Boston)
Quite simply, Havlicek is one of the greatest basketball players ever to take the court. Thankfully, he opted to place his focus on basketball after being drafted by both the Celtics and the NFL’s Browns in 1962. He is a thirteen-time All-Star, an eight-time NBA Champion, and was named to the league’s 50 Greatest Players list in 1997.
His #17 was lifted into the rafters by the Celtics soon after he retired in 1978, after scoring 26,395 points, dishing 6,114 assists, and grabbing 8,007 rebounds. He rose to the occasion in 1974, taking home the Finals MVP award as he helped lead Boston to yet another title. He posted his best statistical season in 1970-71 when ‘Hondo’ averaged 28.9 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 7.5 assists over eighty-one games while playing more than forty-five minutes per game.
Andrew Perna is a Senior Writer for RealGM.com and would love to hear what you think about this list. Feel free to e-mail him at Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com |
