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7th July, 2008 - 5:39 pm
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| Current Features |
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SCOOP DU JOUR: Wade, MJ, Dye, Draft And Burke!
The Heat aren’t worried about losing Dwyane Wade, Knicks almost landed Michael Jordan, the Sox and Reds discuss Jermaine Dye, the Packers are enjoying the Jets’ success, and Brian Burke is turning the Leafs around.
TEAM RANKINGS: The RealGM Team Rankings For The Week Of December 1st
How do the Cavaliers respond to the flood of 2010 talk? They keep winning and winning in dominant fashion, climbing to first in our rankings.
PLAYER RANKINGS: The NBA Player Rankings For The Week Of November 25th
The current top-five players in the NBA according to RealGM's FIC, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh, were all on Team USA's 2008 Gold Medal team. How does the rest of the NBA rank?
LOCKER TALK: Monta: I Was Racing Baron And Elton
Monta Ellis is still at least a full month away from his return to the court for the Warriors, but he recently called RealGM with the full story behind his ankle injury.
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.
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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A few weeks ago I ranked the top-ten careers of players picked seventh in the NBA Draft, so it’s time to discuss the best ballers that were taken with the sixth selection. You might wonder if Danilo Gallinari will qualify for this list in the future, but most New York fans would probably laugh at such an idea.
10. Brandon Roy – No. 6 in 2006 (Minnesota)
Brandon has played just two seasons in the NBA but is already among the best in the game. He has averaged 18.1 points, 5.0 assists, and 4.6 rebounds per game as a member of the Blazers, having been traded on draft night for the rights to Randy Foye. Roy has started all but two of the games he has played in his career, cementing his status as a force in the league.
He was named to the NBA’s 2007 All-Rookie Team while also taking home the Rookie of the Year award that same season. He also began what could be a long string of All-Star appearances this past year, representing the Western Conference as a reserve after a terrific start to the 2007-08 season.
9. Shane Battier – No. 6 in 2001 (Vancouver)
After an outstanding college career at Duke, the former College Player of the Year and MOP of the Final Four found himself with the Grizzlies alongside Rookie of the Year Pau Gasol (taken with the third pick by the Hawks and dealt to Vancouver). In seven NBA seasons, he has averaged 10.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.
He won a bronze medal as a member of the United States National Team in 2006, while being named to the 2002 NBA All-Rookie First Team four years earlier. He is widely regarded as one of the best teammates in the NBA, playing within himself and making the game easier for others. He was named to the All-Defensive Second Team in 2008, and in all likelihood, will be a mainstay on the team.
8. Fred Brown – No. 6 in 1971 (Seattle)
“Downtown Freddie” spent his entire NBA career with the Sonics, scoring more than 14,000 points while providing a huge punch off the bench for the team. He was the captain of the team’s 1978-79 championship squad, averaging 14.0 points and 3.4 assists per game.
He retired in 1984 as Seattle’s all-time leader in games, points, field goals, and free throws and still ranks among the best in those categories. He led the league in three-point shooting percentage in 1980, the first year the shot was introduced into the game, making 44.3% of his attempts. The Sonics retired his number (32) in 1986.
7. Hersey Hawkins – No. 6 in 1988 (Clippers)
Los Angeles drafted him with the sixth pick in the 1988 draft, but they immediately dealt him to the 76ers for the rights to Charles Smith. He was named to the NBA’s All-Rookie First Team in 1989, having averaged 15.1 points, 3.0 assists, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game for Philadelphia.
He was named to the All-Star team in 1991, as he averaged 22.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game during the 1990-91 campaign. He played for four different teams during his career as stints with the Hornets, Sonics, and Bulls followed his five years in Philadelphia.
6. Antoine Walker – No. 6 in 1996 (Boston)
Walker has been a laughable character in some NBA circles, but his offensive fire power cannot be questioned. He has more than 15,000 points in the first twelve seasons of his career, including a number of twenty-plus point averages as a member of the Celtics at the turn of the century.
He is a three-time All-Star, all with Boston, and was voted in as a starter for the 2002 contest. He led the league in three-point attempts for three-straight years from 2000-2003, while playing more minutes than any player in the NBA during the 2001-02 season. He has also been incredibly durable, missing more than five games just twice in his career. One of those years, this past season, had more to do with his poor standing with the Timberwolves than injury.
5. Kenny Smith – No .6 in 1987 (Sacramento)
Smith was a terrific shooter and nice option for each of his six NBA teams as a second or third scorer. He averaged 12.8 points and 5.5 assists over the life of his career and owns the franchise mark for career three-point percentage of the Rockets (.407). Twice he put up more than seventeen points per game during his ten-season career.
He won a gold medal at the World Championship in Spain for the United States while playing his college days at North Carolina. Smith was named to the 1988 All-Rookie Team and won two NBA titles with Houston in 1994 and 1995. He was a starter on both of the Rockets' championship teams.
4. Orlando Woolridge – No. 6 in 1981 (Chicago)
Woolridge is well-known for his brushes with the league, having been suspended during the 1987-88 season for violating the NBA’s substance abuse policy. However, he did average 16.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per game over his thirteen seasons. Prior to being suspended by the league, he had a string of very good years averaging more than twenty points per game in three-straight seasons (1984-87).
He landed with the Lakers after his troubles with drug abuse, becoming a tremendous spark off the bench for Pat Riley. He averaged more than ten points per game in his two seasons there. Orlando was then traded to Denver where he averaged a career-high 25.1 points per game in 1990-91. He finished with 13,623 points and 3,696 rebounds.
3. Adrian Dantley – No. 6 in 1976 (Buffalo)
Recently inducted in the Basketball Hall of Fame (2008), Dantley posted 23,177 points during his fifteen-year NBA career. He played for seven different teams, making a name for himself during his tenure with the Jazz. Utah retired his #4 jersey after his retirement.
Dantley made six All-Star appearances during his career, was named the 1977 Rookie of the Year, and won the NBA’s scoring title on two occasions (both with the Jazz). He was a member of the United States Olympic Team in Montreal in 1976, taking home a gold medal. He averaged more than thirty points per game in four-straight seasons (1980-1984), cementing his status as one of the most prolific scorers in league history.
2. Lenny Wilkins – No. 6 in 1960 (St. Louis)
Wilkins played for four teams during his fifteen-year NBA career while also coaching six different franchises. He is one of only three men to be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach. He scored 17,772 points as a player and recorded 1,332 wins as a coach. He was a nine-time All-Star, led the league in assists in 1970, and was named to the league’s ’50th Anniversary Team’.
He averaged fewer than 11.7 points on just one occasion in his career, his final season with the Blazers in 1974-75. He finished second to Wilt Chamberlain in the NBA MVP voting in 1968, quite an accomplishment during a time when Wilt dominated the league.
1. Larry Bird – No. 6 in 1978 (Boston)
It’s hard to believe that five teams passed on Larry Joe Bird in the 1978 draft, with Mychal Thompson, Phil Ford, Rick Robey, Micheal Ray Richardson, and Purvis Short all selected ahead of him. He tallied 21,791 points over his thirteen NBA seasons, never averaging fewer than 19.3 points per game.
His career averages of 24.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game earned him a spot in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998. During his time with the Celtics he won three NBA titles, a trio of MVP awards, enjoyed twelve All-Star appearances, and took home the Rookie of the Year award. He was also named the NBA’s ’50 Greatest’ Team, as well as nine All-NBA First Teams and three All-NBA Defensive Second Teams. In addition to all of that, he earned a Coach of the Year award in 1998 with the Pacers.
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 |
