The Editors of Basketball Digest
In the December issue of Basketball Digest, the editors wrote an article ranking the top 100 players in basketball history.
They picked Michael Jordan number one, and said, "Of all the players on this list, Jordan was the easiest to rank. Go ahead, try to find a reason why he shouldn't be No. 1."
Well, opinions are opinions (and if you want to know why Jordan isn't number one, click here and learn, but I digress), but if you are going to express your collective opinion, then at least have an educated one. I am amazed that an entire group of editors, would make so many mistakes. Here are the mistakes of those they consider less than Jordan...
"3. Wilt Chamberlain, c, 1959-1973
...They say he wasn't a team player, but he's the only center to lead the league in assists (702 in 1967-68). They say Russell always got the best of him. But he snared a record 41 rebounds against the Celtics center in one game of the '67 playoffs and a never-to-be-broken 55 rebounds against his Boston rival in November 1960. That was the year, you'll remember, when Wilt averaged 50.4 ppg and 25.7 rpg."
Error: Wilt did not average 50.4 ppg and 25.7 rpg in 1960. He did this in the 1961-62 season. Make a mental note about him leading the league in assists in 1967-1968, because...
"7. Oscar Robertson , G, 1960-74
...In 1968, he pulled off another remarkable triple, topping the NBA in scoring, assists, and free throw percentage."
Error: They just said that Wilt Chamberlain led the league in assists in 1968!!! Oscar Robertson did not lead the league in assists nor scoring (Dave Bing did) in 1967-68, nor did he ever lead the league in scoring in his career. He did lead the league in points per game and assists per game in 1967-68, but averages were not used to determine scoring and assists leaders until the following year, and the writers did not add the "average" disclaimer. Nitpicking? Well, they do contradict themselves. Furthermore, I knew this, and I'm not an editor for a basketball publication. And finally...
"13. Julius Erving, F, 1971-87.
...Erving developed a fierce rivalry with [Larry] Bird and the Celtics, losing to Boston in three straight Conference Finals before capturing an NBA crown in 1983."
Error: On Magic Johnson, they said, "in no game was his contribution bigger than Game 6 of the '80 Finals, where he started in the middle for an injured Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] and ended up with 42 points, 15 rebounds, and seven assists." Uh, guys...did you even watch that game? Magic wasn't playing the Celtics, he was playing Erving's Sixers! The Basketball Digest Editors claim Erving lost the 1980, 81, and 82 Conference Finals to the Celtics, when in fact, the won two of the three conference finals (1980 and 1982). The '81 (Celtics jinx) and '82 (Dr. J jams the jinx) were two of the all-time great playoff series in NBA history, and these jabronis don't even remember it!
Pretty lame. If it weren't for the fact that this is a basketball magazine, I would let this slide, but for that, they each have earned separate rooms in the Hotel of Fools.
