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They were the best the world could give. They were my inspiration and my teachers. I spent so many hours watching their miracles! Probably the best basketball players of all times. Here's a tribute to all of them. Wilt Chamberlain - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - Magic Johnson Larry bird - Michael Jordan Basketball's Hall of Fame |
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| WILT CHAMBERLAIN | |
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Wilt Chamberlain showed early that he was not just an ordinary basketball player. In his rookie year in the NBA in 1959, the 7-1, 275-pound Chamberlain averaged 37.6 points a game. Two seasons later, that number was up to 50.4 points a game, a record that still stands. And on March 2 of that year, he did something that has never been equaled and probably never will -- he scored 100 points in a game against the New York Knicks. Chamberlain averaged nearly 40 points per game for his first seven seasons, then spread his talent around, passing and rebounding. |
| KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR | |
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The countless highlights of Abdul-Jabbar's basketball career are renowned. He is a member of both the NBA and the Presidential Halls of Fame, and is the only player in NBA history to have won the Most Valuable Player award six times. He was the first player to ever score 37,000 points in a career, and in 1993, was the first basketball player to receive the National Sports Award presented by President Clinton. However, when Time magazine called Kareem Abdul-Jabbar "history's greatest basketball player," they were referring to more than his unrivaled skills on the court. As an international spokesperson and role model, he has taught basketball to the world's youth and fought for their right to a good education |
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MAGIC JOHNSON |
| Magic led his Lakers to 5 NBA Championships in 1980, 1982, 1985 and back to back World Championships in 1987 and 1988. He was the Finals MVP in 1980, when he played every position for the team, and again in 1987. Magic's Lakers finished as runnerups in 1983, 1984, 1989 and 1991. As you can see, Magic's team only sat out of the NBA Finals in 1981, 1986 and 1990. Magic Johnson has individual honors as well, being a three time league MVP in 1987, 1989 and 1990. He is also a twelve time NBA all-star including the in 1990 and 1992 when he was named MVP of the game. He added an Olympic Gold Medal with the Dream Team to his other Championship titles in college and the NBA. |
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LARRY BIRD |
| Larry Bird is one of the greatest basketball players of all time and one very good reason to have Celtic Pride. He reinvigorated the NBA in the 1980s with a competitive rivalry between the Celtics and the Lakers. He has won every major distinction professional basketball bestows on its players. He was the MVP in 1984, 1985 and 1986. He was named to the all NBA First Team for 9 consecutive seasons from 1980-1988. He was a twelve time NBA All-Star, and All-Star Game MVP in 1982. His Celtics won the World Championship in 1981, 1984 and 1986. He was the NBA Playoffs MVP in 1984 and 1986. He was also a member of the Dream Team that brought home a Gold Medal from the Olympics in Barcelona. Larry won the Long-Distance Shootout 3 times. |
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MICHAEL JORDAN |
| Perhaps, he is the greatest player to ever play
the game....he even has six championship rings to back up his claim,
including 3 straight from 1991-1993, and 3 more in 1996-1998. Michael was
named the NBA Finals MVP in all of those titles. In 1991, Jordan's Bulls
finally overcame the greatest impediment to their team's success, Isiah
Thomas' Detroit Pistons, who had regularly eliminated the Bulls from the
playoffs. In 1993 he averaged 41.0 ppg in the finals, for a record. This
6-6 superstar guard is a perennial NBA first teamer (10 times from
1987-1993 and 1996 and again as a unanimous selection in 1997 and 1998).
He was once again an All-NBA First Team member in 1996 after making his
return from baseball. You can always pencil Mike in as the starting guard
for the all-star game (13 appearances in 1985 and from 1987-1993,
1997-1998 and again in 2002). He started for the ninth time in 1997, as
the first player EVER to receive more that 2 million votes. In the 1997
Game he became the first player ever to record a triple double in the all-star
game with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 11 asssists. Jordan was not named MVP
that year (Glen Rice received that honor), but he did win the Game's MVP
award in 1988 after scoring 40 points and again in 1996. Jordan was once
again elected to start (10th time in 12 appearances) in 1998 after leading
the eastern conference in voting. After coming out of retirement, Jordan
was elected to start again for the eastern all-stars in 2002.
Jordan holds the record for most career scoring titles with eight, including 7 straight, also a record. He scores so many points that it is almost unfair to compare him with other players. On November 6, 1996 Michael scored 50 points for the 36th time in his career! Jordan eclipsed the 25,000 career points total, and he continues to dominate in that statistical category. He was the tenth player to score that many points, accomplishing the feat against San Antonio on November 30, 1996, with his 35th point of the game. On January 4, 2001 Michael Jordan scored his 30,000 career point, becoming the fourth player in NBA history to reach the 30,000 point milestone. Jordan, now with 30,014 points, joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387), Karl Malone (33,669), and Wilt Chamberlain (31,419) in the 30,000+ club. Oh yeah, he's also the Bull's All-Time leading scorer, no surprise there. His career scoring average of around 32 ppg is the best of all-time...even better than Wilt and Jordan never scored 100 points in a game. On 12/30/97 Jordan broke Abdul Jabbar record of scoring in double digits in 788 consecutive games. He will undoubtedly bury this record, as there is no end in sight to his double-digit habits. He ended the season with 840 consecutive games. |
