Wilt’s ‘Game of the Century’ set the standard
Posted: March 8, 2012 Filed under: Basketball, NBA | Tags: Bill Russell, NBA 1961-62 season, NBA records, Philadelphia Warriors, Wilt Chamberlain, Wilt Champberlain 100 points 1 Comment
Name a great one. Babe Ruth. Ted Williams. Jim Brown. Tom Brady. Wayne Gretzky. Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan.
The list goes on and on, but no athlete in the history of professional sports ever had a more dominant game — and a more dominant year — than Wilton Norman Chamberlain, playing for the Philadelphia Warriors in 1961-62.
The crowning achievement of Chamberlain’s year (and his career) occurred on March 2, 1962, when Wilt scored 100 points against the New York Knickerbockers.
The ‘Game of the Century” was played before a half-empty arena with 4,124 in attendance in Hershey, Pa. The contest was not televised — in fact no footage of any kind exists.
Not a single New York sportswriter was there to write about it. There were only two photographers on hand, and one of them left after the first quarter. Veteran broadcaster Bill Campbell broadcast the game over WPHT radio in Philadelphia.
In addition to his 100 points, Wilt established single game records that still stand for field goal attempts (63), field goals made (36), and free throws made (28 on 32 attempts), mind-boggling for such a terrible foul shooter.
No NBA player has ever come close to approaching 100. Kobe Bryant scored 81 points in 2006. David Robinson had 71 in 1994. Michael Jordan scored 69 in an overtime game. Pete Maravich once scored 68 against the Knicks.
Here are 10 interesting sidebars about Wilt Chamberlain and his incomparable 1961-62 ‘Season of the Century’:
1. 50.4 PPG: Chamberlain scored 4,029 points and averaged 50,4 points a game during the 1961-62 season, coming off a 44.8 scoring average the previous year. In the 50 years since, Michael Jordan’s 37.1 ppg in 1986-87 is the NBA high water mark
.
2. Scoring Streaks: In 1962, Wilt scored more than 50 points 44 times, more than 60 a dozen times and more than 70 twice. In December of 1961, Chamberlain had five straight games of 50, including a then-record 78 against the Los Angeles Lakers. Later that December, he scored 50 or more seven times in a row. He had another streak of six straight 50+ games in January of 1962, topped by 73 against the Chicago Packers. Wilt scored 67, 65 and 61 in the games leading up to 100. And two nights after 100, Chamberlain torched the Knicks for 58 at Madison Square Garden.
3. Rebounds: Wilt averaged 25.6 rebounds per game that year, third best all-time behind his own best 27.2 in 1960-61 and 27.0 in his rookie year, 1959-60.
4. League Leader: Chamberlain led the NBA in at least 10 major categories in 1961-62, including minutes played, field goals, field goal attempts, free throws, free throw attempts, total rebounds, points, minutes per game, points per game and rebound per game.
5. Minute Man: Wilt played every minute of every Warriors game that year, and averaged more than 48 minutes per game (48.52), the only time that’s ever been done. In fact, the top seven seasons of minutes played all belong to Chamberlain, who never fouled out of an NBA game.
6. All-Star Game Record: He set new standards in the NBA All-Star game that year with 42 points and 24 rebounds. But Bob Pettit of the host St. Louis Hawks won the MVP as the West beat the East, 150-130.
7. Playoffs: Wilt’s Warriors finished second in the NBA East in 1961-62 with a 49-31 record, 11 games behind the Boston Celtics (60-20). Philadelphia beat the Syracuse Nationals 3-2 in the best-of-five first round, then lost to the eventual NBA champion Celtics in seven games, with the home team 
winning each time. Wilt outscored his Boston counterpart, Bill Russell, in all seven games, with a 42-point, 37-rebound effort in Game Two, and a 41-point, 34-rebound performance in Game 4. In the deciding Game 7, Chamberlain had 22 points and 21 rebounds, and tied the game in the last minute with a three-point play, but the Celtics’ Sam Jones hit the game-winner with two seconds remaining. Russell finished with 19 points and 22 rebounds
8. No MVP: Despite putting together the greatest statistical season in NBA (and arguably pro sports) history in 1961-62, Wilt Chamberlain did not with the MVP. That honor went to his rival, Bill Russell. Wilt did win four NBA MVP awards.
9. NBA Leader: Chamberlain won the NBA scoring title his first seven years in the league, beginning with his rookie year in 1959-60. He led the league in rebounds 11 times in 14 seasons, and even won the assist title in 1967-68. He won two NBA titles, with the 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers and the 1971-72 Lakers.
10. On the Record: The record books are heavy with Chamberlain’s accomplishments. In addition to what’s been outlined above, he holds the NBA record for most consecutive field goals (18), most rebounds in a game (55), most games with 50+ points (118); most consecutive games with 40+ points (14) most consecutive games with 30+ points (65), most consecutive games with 20+ points (126), highest rookie scoring average (37.6 ppg) and highest field goal percentage in a season (.727).
LIN-stant stardom is a rare gem
Posted: February 17, 2012 Filed under: Baseball, Basketball, football, Hockey, MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL | Tags: Billy Ray Bates, Boston Globe, Don Murdoch, Fernando Valenzuela, Hurricane Hazle, instand stardom, Jeremy Lin, Joe Charboneau, John Starks, Kurt Warner, Linsanity, Mark Fidrych Leave a comment
Jeremy Lin made a huge jump, graduating from Harvard to achieve NBA celebrity status.
In less than two weeks, Jeremy Lin has gone from the Erie BayHawks in the D-League to LIN-finity and beyond.
He’s burst upon the scene like a supernova, eclipsing out-of-the-box scoring records legends like Bird, Magic, Jordan, Kobe and others in the process. Jeremy is a LIN-ternational celebrity.
This kind of breakthrough is extremely rare in professional sports, where prospects are pampered, primed and projected before they’re old enough to shave.
Very few athletes slip through the cracks and become household names as quickly as Jeremy Lin.
And no, Tim Tebow doesn’t qualify. Tebow was a Heisman Trophy winner from the University of Florida, a football powerhouse. That’s a lot different than undrafted Jeremy Lin from Harvard.
Another invalid compare is Steve Nash, the veteran 16-year point guard for the Phoenix Suns. Nash, like Lin, thrived in coach Mike D’Antoni’s system. But unlike Lin, he was a first round pick in the NBA draft.
Here are some other rising sports starts through the years, LIN-instant hits so to speak. Some went on to long and glorious careers, others flamed out as suddenly as they appeared.
NBA
John Starks bagged groceries for a time after high school and played for three junior colleges. He went undrafted out of Oklahoma State, and like Lin spent one year at Golden State before signing with 
the Knicks in 1990,
Starks, right, broke his arm in practice attempting to dunk over Patrick Ewing. Eventually he became a starter at shooting guard and made the NBA All-Star team in 1994.
That year, the Knicks made the NBA Finals, where they lost Game 7 to the Houston Rockets when Starks shot 2-for-18.
Long-time Boston Globe sportswriter Bob Ryan, who recently announced he is retiring following the London Olympics, compared Lin to Billy Ray Bates.
A third-round pick from Kentucky State in the 1978 NBA draft, Bates was cut by the Rockets, but emerged two years later with the Portland Trailblazers.
Bates went on to have two solid seasons with Portland, but by 1983 his career was finished.
NFL
Considered one of the best undrafted players of all time, Kurt Warner was cut by the Packers in 1994 and wound up stocking grocery shelves for $5.50 an hour in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Warner also played Arena League football and was a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Northern Iowa, before joining the St. Louis Rams in 1998.
One year later, Warner passed for a record 414 yards and was named Super Bowl MVP when the Rams beat the Tennessee Titans.
Warner was a two-time NFL MVP (1999 and 2001) and was named to the Pro Bowl four times. He still holds the top three passing yardage records for the Super Bowl.
MLB
Several pitchers achieved instant star status, including Mark “The Bird” Fidrych of the 1976 Tigers and Fernando Valenzuela of the 1981 Dodgers. Valenzuela won both the National League Cy Young and Rookie of the Year awards, and finished his career in 1997, 173 victories later.
Fidrych, left, won 19 games and was named American League Rookie of the Year. He would win just 10 more times before he career ended in 1980.
That same year, Joe Charboneau broke in with the Cleveland Indians, and was voted AL Rookie of the Year after belting 23 home runs and batting .289. He wound up playing just 70 more games in the majors, his career finished in 1982 before his 27th birthday.
Kevin Mass made a big splash with the Yankees in 1990 when he hit 10 homers in his first 72 at bats, the best start in baseball history. Clearly a one-hit wonder, Maas was shuffling between the majors and minors two years later, and wound up playing in Japan.
Another Yankee outfielder, Shane Spencer, “The Home Run Dispenser,” had a brilliant September in 1998 for a World Championship team. However, Spencer never lived up to the promise of that meteoric start.
Bob “Hurricane” Hazle had an amazing start with the 1957 Milwaukee Braves, hitting .403 as a late call-up to help his club win the National League pennant. A year later, he was out of baseball.
NHL
Don Murdoch scored eight goals for the Rangers in his first three games, including five in one game. He was on a pace to set the single-season rookie goal-scoring record when an ankle injury ended his year. During the off-season he was busted for cocaine possession, and suspended by the NHL.
Murdoch played 320 career games, but never came close to living up to the promise of his first season,
LIN-sanity: Top 10 Jeremy LIN-isms
Posted: February 11, 2012 Filed under: Basketball, NBA, Uncategorized | Tags: Jeremy Lin, Knicks point guard, Lin-isms, Linsanity, New York Knicks, The Mighty Lin 7 CommentsNew York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin has quickly become one LIN-credible story.
It’s LIN-sane.
He’s taken the NBA by surprise, Twitter by trend, and the Giants off the back pages of the New York tabloids.
You cannot stop Jeremy Lin…you can only hope to contain him.
A little over a week ago, Lin was buried at the end of the Knick bench, just up from the Erie BayHawks of the D-League, cut by both the Rockets and Warriors. Jeremy who?
He had never started an NBA game or scored more than 13 points. Now he’s setting records.
Lin doused the Los Angeles Lakers for a career-high 38 points the other night. He scored 89 points in his first three career starts, the most by any player since the merger between the NBA and ABA in 1976-77. That includes Jordan, Bird, Magic, Kobe, LeBron…all of them.
He is the first NBA player to average at least 20 points and seven assists in his first three starts since 1991.
Lin played college ball at Harvard, an institute of higher learning that has produced more U.S. Presidents than NBA players.
Undrafted out of college, he was signed by Golden State and was used sparingly last year. Lin was picked up the Houston Rockets, then waived, and signed with the Knicks as a free agent on December 27. Talk about a holiday present.
One of the few Asian Americans in NBA history, Lin is also the first American player to be of Chinese or of Taiwanese descent in the league.
Headline writers, bloggers and quipsters coast to coast and around the world are having a field day with Jeremy Lin phenomenon.
Here are the SportsLifer’s top 10 LIN-isms.
The Mighty LIN
All he does is LIN
LINcredible Story
He’s a LINtellectual from Harvard
The LIN Dynasty
Oh, the LINsanity
LINderella Story
Knicks Missing LINk
Super LINtendo
LINspiration
LeBron’s Disappearing Act Remindful of Wilt
Posted: June 8, 2011 Filed under: Basketball, NBA | Tags: Heat-Mavericks, Lebron James, NBA playoffs, playoff woes, Wilt Chamberlain Leave a comment
The “heat” is on Miami’s LeBron James following his Game 4 flame-out.
When LeBron James pulled his disappearing act against the Dallas Mavs in Game 4 of the NBA Finals the other night, he evoked memories of another classic underachiever — Wilt Chamberlain.
LBJ is considered by many to be the best player in the NBA today. He’s been compared to some of the all-time greats, including his Airness himself, Michael Jordan.
But in these NBA Finals, LeBron is not even the best player on the Miami Heat. Dwayne Wade, pure and simple, has been Miami’s best player and their go-to-guy down the stretch.
King James scored eight points in Game 4. Eight points. Are you serious? You have to go back 434 games to find the last time the great Lebron scored eight points or less in a game.
LeBron made just three of 11 shots and came up empty when it mattered most, down the stretch in the fourth quarter.
James did finish with had nine rebounds and seven assists. But all that really matters is that the Heat got eight points from the most dominant basketball force on the planet and lost by three with a chance to put a stranglehold on the series.
Wilt in The Clutch
Sounds like Wilt Chamberlain, the Big Dipper. Wilt was a virtually unstoppable force who once averaged 50 points for an entire season and scored 100 points in a single game.
For years in the 60s, Wilt’s teams — the Philadelphia Warriors and later the 76ers — came up short against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference playoffs before the Sixers won the NBA title in 1967.
The following year, Philly blew a 3-1 lead and lost to the Celtics in a seventh game where Wilt, far right against Bill Russell, scored only 14 points and failed to score a single point in the second half.
Wilt was traded to the Lakers in the off-season, and took LA to the NBA Finals. But in Game 7 of the 1968 Finals, Chamberlain took himself out of the game midway through the fourth quarter, never returned, and the Lakers lost to the Celtics.
In 1970, it happened again. Lakers-Knicks in the NBA Finals, Game 5, and New York’s Willis Reed went down in the first quarter with a thigh injury. The Lakers led by 13 at the half, but collapsed in the second half when Wilt and Jerry West combined for just five shots.
Wilt had a monster Game 6 with 45 points and 27 rebounds as the Lakers forced a seventh game. But facing a hobbled Reed in Game 7, Chamberlain was barely visible as the Knicks romped to their first NBA Championship.
Two Titles for Chamberlain
Wilt did manage to win a second NBA title in 1972 when Reed was once again sidelined by injury.
In Chamberlain’s defense, he faced Hall of Fame centers like Russell, Reed, Nate Thurmond and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and led far inferior teams to near titles.
LeBron, who is seeking his first NBA Championship, has an edge in talent in these finals. The Heat were heavily favored coming in, and hold the homecourt advantage over Dallas.
“I’ll come back in Game 5 and do things that need to be done to help our team win,” LBJ said after the Game 4 meltdown.
The jury is still out on that one.
10 Reasons to Hate The Heat
Posted: May 1, 2011 Filed under: Basketball, NBA, Uncategorized | Tags: Dwayne Wade, Hate the Heat, Heat-Celtics, Lebron James, Miami Heat, New York Knicks, Pat Riley Leave a comment
There are at least 10 reasons to hate the Miami Heat – but this isn’t one of them.
My entire life, I’ve rooted against the Boston Celtics. I was the guy pulling for Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain and all the others who fell to the relentless Green Machine. Larry Bird was a legend, but Magic Johnson was my guy. And don’t remind me of the countless times the Celtics have embarrassed the Knicks, including this year.
But I’m changing my stripes for the NBA playoffs. For those who know me, rooting for Boston is way off base, totally out of character.
Heck, there are countless reasons to root for the Celtics to beat the Miami Heat. Especially for New York fans. Here’s 10 of ’em:
1. LeBron James, who teased New York fans before taking his “talents” to South Beach.
2. Pat Riley, who infamously FAXed in his resignation to the Knicks and fled to Miami.
3. The winters, which are warmer in Miami.
4. Beat the Heat and Hate the Heat roll off the tongue. And fittingly, Heat and hate are anagrams.
5. LeBron wasn’t very nice to Cleveland either.
6. Dwayne Wade, who not only kills the Knickerbockers, he killed my alma mater, Holy Cross, in the NCAAs when he played at Marquette.
7. The arrogant Heat players and management, who felt they could “arrange” a championship.
8. That tasteless show the Heat put on last summer when they introduced LeBron and Chris Bosh to South Florida.
9. New York basketball fans are smarter.
10. Riley’s slick hairdo.
The Top 10 List of Top 10 Lists
Posted: April 22, 2011 Filed under: Baseball, Basketball, college basketball, college football, football, Hockey, MLB, NBA, NCAA, NFL, NHL, Olympics, Sports, Super Bowl, World Series | Tags: 10 baseball records that will never be broken, Joe DiMaggio, lords of the ringless, top 10, top 10 list, top 10 quarterbacks Leave a comment
Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak has held up for nearly 70 years. It’s one of 10 baseball records that will never be broken.
People like top 10 lists. They’re neat and tidy. They cut to the chase. They can be controversial. And they work. Ask David Letterman.
Throughout the past three years, the SportsLifer has posted a wide variety of top 10 lists. Here’s the top 10 of top 10s.
1. 10 Baseball Records That Will Never Be Broken
SportsLifer also appears on Bleacher Report, and this blog earned a gold medal with more than 5,000 reads. And it’s been grounds for debate, soliciting 39 comments on the SportsLifer web site alone.
2. The 10 Best College Football Teams of All Time
Another Bleacher Report hit, this one led to a silver medal with 2,000 viewers.
3. Top Ten All-Time Quarterback List
An early SportsLifer blog, posted after Brett Favre retired from the Packers. Upon further review and based on his ill-fated comebacks, Favre slips from third to fifth, behind Dan Marino and Otto Graham.
4. Lords of The Ringless: Wide Receiver Edition
One of the popular Lords of The Ringless postings, which also feature running backs, quarterbacks and MLB and NBA players.
5. 10 Things You May Not Know About Yankees Vs. Red Sox
A natural rivarly and a natural top 10. Did you know Horace Clarke knocked in the winning run in the longest game the Yankees and Red Sox ever played — 20 innings.
6. Hometown Heroes: The Best Athletes from White Plains
Art Monk, Washington Redskins wide receiver and NFL Hall of Famer, tops this homeboy list.
7. Top Ten Best NFL Championship Upsets Ever
This list was sparked by the Giants upset of the previously unbeaten Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. That epic ranks second behind the Jets win over the Colts in Super Bowl III.
8. The 10 Best Game-Winning Shots In NCAA Tourney History
GOOD! HE DID IT! BRYCE DREW DID IT! VALPO HAS WON THE GAME A MIRACLE!” What a shot!
9. 10 Things You Never Knew About Jake Beckley
Who knew “Old Eagle Eye” had nearly 3,000 hits and and still leads all first baseman in putouts and total chances. Beckley retired after the 1907 season. Remember.
Bucky Dent’s home run in Boston in the 1978 Yankee-Red Sox game playoff game tops the list of games the SportsLifer has seen….in person.
10 Facts On Celtics-Knicks Playoff Rivalry
Posted: April 16, 2011 Filed under: Basketball, NBA, Uncategorized | Tags: Bernard King, Celtics-Knicks playoff rivalry, Dave Cowens, Earl Monroe, Knicks-Celtics, Larry Bird, NBA playoffs, Walt Frazier Leave a comment
Earl Monroe shoots over Dave Cowens in 1973 Eastern Conference Finals.
Here are 10 things you absolutely had to know about the playoff history between the Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks, the NBA’s two remaining charter franchises.
1. All-Time Record
The Celtics and Knicks are meeting for the 13th time in the playoffs. They split the previous 12, unless you count Boston’s 2-0 win in a curious 1954 round robin with the Syracuse Nats. Overall Boston leads the series 30-27.
2. Common Foes
That’s second all-time to the 18th playoff meetings between Boston and the Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers. They have met 18 times, though once since 1985.
3. The First Time
Boston faced New York for the first time in 1951, when the Knicks beat the Celtics, 2-0 behind Max Zaslofsky, a guard from Brooklyn and St. John’s, who averaged 17.9 points a game.
4. Knicks in the 50s
The Knicks won the first three playoff meetings — in 1951, 1952 and 1953 — and advanced to the NBA Finals each year, losing all three times.
5. Eventual Champs
Four times the winner of the Celtics-Knicks playoff series has gone on to win the NBA Championship — Boston in 1969, 1974 and 1984 and New York in 1973.
6. Seventh Heaven
Twice the series has gone seven games, in 1973 and 1984. The Celtics had never lost a Game 7 before 1973, but the Knicks marched into Boston Garden and won 94-78 behind Walt Frazier.
7. Larry Legend
The Knicks pushed the Celtics to seven games in 1984, but Boston dominated the finale and won 121-104 behind Larry Bird, right, who averaged a career post-season high 27.5 points that year.
8. King of the Court
Knicks forward Bernard King averaged 29.1 points per game for the Knicks in the 1984 series, the highest single series scoring average in the history of the rivalry.
9. The Last Time
The Celtics and Knicks last met in the playoffs back in the spring of 1990. Paul Pierce was 12 years old and rooting for the Lakers; Carmelo Anthony was in kindergarten.
10. Knicks Break Streak
In 1990, the Knicks rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the best-of-five series and won Game 5 to break a 26-game losing streak over six years at Boston Garden.
Gimme a break: Knicks full of excuses
Posted: March 26, 2011 Filed under: Basketball, NBA, Uncategorized | Tags: Carmelo Anthony, James Dolan, Mike D'Antoni, NBA, New York Knicks 1 Comment
Melo and the Knicks are missing the point – they’re heading the wrong way.
Several weeks back, shortly after the Carmelo Anthony trade, Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said he’d be satisfied if the Knicks won half their remaining games.
Way to set the bar high, coach. You’ve got two superstars on your team, two of the five top scorers in the NBA in Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire, and your goal is mediocrity. Sadly, the way the Knicks are playing right now, they’d settle for playing .500 ball.
The playoffs, which seemed like a lock a few weeks back, are no sure thing anymore. The Knicks are in a free fall, having lost five straight and eight of their last nine. It would take a historic collapse for the Knicks to miss the post-season in the NBA’s weak Eastern Conference, but after losing to the likes of the Bucks, Pacers, Pistons and Cavs, the playoffs are no longer automatic.
Here’s a typical Knick game: Come out flat and fall way behind in the first quarter, play catch-up ball in the second and third, then fail to execute in the fourth and go down to defeat. Again and again, the pattern repeats.
“It’s going to take a while,” D’Antoni said several weeks ago. “I don’t think we’ll get it as well as we want this week or next week. But at the end of the year we should have it real good. In the meantime we have to get in the playoffs — whatever seed it is and prepare for that team.”
“I know everybody’s anxious. I’m anxious, the players are anxious. There’s no way you can throw four-to-six new guys into a rotation and all be on the same page. Some teams exploit things we haven’t gone over.”
The Knickerbockers are good on one thing — excuses. Peter Vecsey outlined a few of those excuses in his always entertaining Hoop du Jour in the New York Post.
Excuses, Excuses, Excuses
“Everybody has them and goes to ’em nightly. You all know the drill by heart — trade adjustments; readjustments to Billups returning from a thigh bruise, though the team was 4-1 without him; rough March schedule; rough upbringing; rough surf; the dog ate my home-court advantage; James Dolan spending too much time getting Radio City ready for Charlie Sheen.”
D’Antoni is part of the problem. More than one Knick fan has suggested he remove the “D” from his name — since his team doesn’t play any.
Earlier this week, the Knicks decided not to practice on an off-day — although it’s obvious they need the work. “If nothing else,” one player said, “we need a break from each other.”
Gimme me a break. Which of course Cablevision brat James Dolan didn’t give Madison Square Garden fans when he raised ticket prices by an average of 49 percent.
Barnett Unsung Hero on Knicks Champions
Posted: February 27, 2011 Filed under: Basketball, NBA | Tags: Dick Barnett, Earl Monroe, Knicks legends, NBA Champions, New York Knicks, Walt Frazier, Willis Reed 2 Comments
Before the Knicks had Clyde and the Pearl in the “Rolls Royce Backcourt,” they had Dick Barnett.
Walt Frazier and Earl Monroe may rank as the best guard tandem in NBA history, but Barnett and his “Fall Back, Baby” jump shot, below left, brought the Knicks back to respectability and pointed them towards a pair of the NBA championships.
The Gary, Indiana native, a three-time All-America player at Tennessee State, was the first draft pick of the Syracuse Nationals in 1959. He played two years with the Nats and three with the Lakers.
In between was a one-year stint with the Cleveland Pipers, who Barnett led to the ABL Championship in 1962. (The owner of the Cleveland team was former Yankee owner George Steinbrenner.)
Barnett came to New York in October of 1965 in a trade that sent forward Bob Boozer to the Lakers.
It was during his nine years in New York that Barnett made his mark. He joined a Knic
ks team that featured center Walt Bellamy, top draft pick Jim “Bad News” Barnes, and a second-round pick out of Grambling named Willis Reed.
Knicks on The Rise
The Knicks would finish last in the Eastern Conference for the seventh straight year in 1965-66, but they were getting better. And Barnett was a big part of the story. He averaged a career-high 23.1 points that year, and two seasons later made the NBA All-Star team.
The Knicks would win their first NBA Championship in 1970. Barnett, starting in the backcourt with Clyde Frazier, averaged 14.9 points per game in the regular season, 16.9 points in the playoffs.
In the clinching Game Seven against the Lakers, the game where Reed walked on the Madison Square Garden court to inspire his teammates and fans, Barnett scored 21 points as the Knicks won the NBA title.
Barnett remained a starter until the Knicks acquired the Pearl in 1972. He finished his career with another Knickerbocker championship in 1973. In all, Barnett played in five NBA Finals, three with the Knicks and two with the Lakers.
Barnett never averaged less than 12 points per game in his first dozen years, and finished his NBA career with a 15.8 scoring average and 15,358 total points. He was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame, along with his coach John McClendon, on the strength of their three successive NAIA national championships at Tennessee State.
After his career, Barnett received a PhD in education at Fordham, and retired from teaching sports management at St. John’s in 2007. He was recently feted at Knicks Legends night at Madison Square Garden.
Dick Barnett’s number #12 hangs from the Garden rafters.
Melo-Drama: Knicks Look to End Drought
Posted: February 23, 2011 Filed under: Basketball, NBA, Uncategorized | Tags: Amar'e Stoudemire, Bernard King, Bob McAdoo, Carmelo Anthony, John Starks, Knicks championship drought, Larry Johnson, Melo, New York Knicks, Patrick Ewing 1 CommentNearly 40 years ago, the New York Knicks made one of the biggest trades in their history when they acquired Hall of Fame guard Earl Monroe from the Baltimore Bullets for Mike Riordan, Dave Stallworth and cash.
The Pearl teamed with Walt Frazier to give the Knicks one of the best backcourts in NBA history, and helped lead to New York to its second NBA title in 1973. They haven’t won one since.
This week the Knicks made another reach for that elusive ring when they acquired four-time NBA All-Star Carmelo Anthony from the Denver Nuggets. In a blockbuster deal, the Knicks traded away nearly half their roster, plus draft picks, in order to bring Melo to New York.
Anthony will join Amar’e Stoudemire to give the Knicks two superstars on the roster for the first time since….well since they last won a championship. Not suggesting New York is going to the NBA Finals this year, but they are heading in the right direction.
Lord knows the Knicks have tried to build a winner in the two decades since their title runs. Tried and failed. Repeatedly.
McAdoo in 1976
For example, in December of 1976, the Knicks sent John Gianelli and cash to the Buffalo Braves for Bob McAdoo — a three-time NBA scoring leader and MVP in 1975 — and Tom McMillen. The feeling was that McAdoo would join four regulars from the championship days — Monroe, Frazier, Bill Bradley and Phil Jackson — along with newcomer Spencer Haywood to bring another winner to Madison Square Garden.
Well not quite. These Knicks never advanced past the Eastern Conference semifinals, where they lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in 1978. McAdoo was sent to the Celtics during the 1978-79 season for three number one draft picks, one of whom was center Bill Cartwright.
Three years later, the Knicks acquired Bernard King from the Golden State Warriors for Micheal Ray Richardson and a 1984 fifth round pick. King had a spectacular but brief career in New York, and in 1984-85 became the only Knick in history to lead the NBA in scoring, at 32.9 points per game. Unfortunately he blew out his knee that season and later signed as a free agent with the Washington Wizards.
With King leading the charge, the Knicks advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals in both 1983 and 1984 before losing to the eventual NBA champion 76ers and Celtics respectively.
It seemed like Knicks were bound for more championships after they won the 1986 NBA draft lottery and drafted center Patrick Ewing of Georgetown. But despite repeated efforts to firm up the roster, the Knicks failed to bring in a second superstar to help Ewing.
In 1988, seeking help on the boards, the Knicks traded Cartwright and first and third round picks to the Chicago Bills for Charles Oakley and a first-round pick. Oakley was the NBA’s top rebounder in both 1987 and 1988, but it was Cartwright who won three championships with Michael Jordan and the Bulls while the Knicks were shut out
The Knicks kept on trying, and although the deals highlighted below made them competitive, they could never quite get over that championship hump.
Ewing Era Deals
1990 — Knicks sign free agent John Starks, left, released by Golden State
1992 — As part of a three-team trade with the Los Angeles Clippers and Orlando Magic, Knicks acquire forward Charles Smith
1994 — New York gets guard Derek Harper from Dallas for Tony Campbell and a first- round draft pick
1996 — On Bastille Day the Knicks make two moves, signing free agent guard Allan Houston from Detroit and acquiring Larry Johnson from Charlotte in a deal for Brad Lohaus and Anthony Mason.
1998 — Knicks trade Oakley and Sean Marks to Toronto Raptors for center/forward Marcus Camby.
1999 — In a mid-season deal, Knicks trade Starks, Terry Cummings and Chris Mills to Golden State for Latrell Sprewell.
The Knicks were competitive throughout the Ewing era. They advanced to the NBA Finals twice, losing to the Houston Rockets in a seven-game series in 1994 and the San Antonio Spurs in five games in 1999.
In the past 10 seasons, the Knicks have made the playoffs just once, where they were promptly swept by their cross-river rivals the New Jersey Nets in 2004.
Are the Knicks on the championship track at last? Only time will tell, but the pieces are starting to fall into place. And the electricity is back at Madison Square Garden.
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