In order to determine WHO the greatest players of all time are, join me for a 7 part series breaking down which players dominated every era..one decade at a time.
If we are talking about a TRUE BASKETBALL GOAT of the 70s and not just the NBA, I honestly think the answer is Dr J...and it would be a slam dunk (pun intended)...
@@chauvintookaknee4blm268 i love dr j but over mj is kinda crazy he dont got the winning, influence, and scoring ability mj had but i fw dr j he arguably top 10 id say
You got to mention Havlicek if you are talking about the 70s. He went from a supporting player who won a lot in the 60s to the best player on one of the only two franchises who won multiple times in the 70s.
My GOAT in the 60's is Russell, 70's is Kareem, 80's is Magic, 90's is Jordan, 2000s is Kobe. But, because Michael Jordan has best balance between winning and offensive and defensive dominance, he's my leading player for the GOAT. I have extra points for winning, nobody cares about Jerry Stackhouse averaging 30ppg when you can't inspire your teammates to play better.
GREAT POINT, and quite frankly, that is my purpose of doing this series. At the end of it, I am going to tie them all together to make one massive hour long piece to determine who are the true GOATs. Spoiler it's those who dominate both individually and from a winning standpoint for their eras. And here is another spoiler, there aren't many that have done it...
@@skap_attack Because I witnessed, Magic, Jordan, and Kobe play. They all have this magical aura that whenever they step in even their team is down, they just give confidence to their teammates that everything will be alright. There's no panic, they direct their teammates with the alpha dog like giant persona, and finish the game with laser focused precision and mentality. That's why I can't put Lebron in my list, it's always Wade, Kyrie, or AD doing these stuff for him. He panics and breaks down on close games.
Kareem was a mediocre defender Willis Reed = 0 seasons of 22 ppg Willis Reed = 27.8 ppg vs Kareem in 1970 EDF Wilt Chamberlain (Age 34) 20.7 ppg on 55% in the season 22.0 ppg (FG% N/A) vs Kareem in 1971 WCF 1972 season Kareem = 34.8 ppg on 57% Thurmond = 21.4 ppg on 43% 1972 WCSF Kareem = 22.8 ppg on 41% Thurmond = 25.4 ppg (FG% N/A) The Bucks still won thanks to Oscar carrying Kareem. With Kareem struggling, Oscar redirected the offense through Bob Dandridge, who outscored Kareem 24 to 23 ppg. Kareem shot a poor 64% FT in the 1972 WCSF 1973 Kareem = 30.2 ppg on 55% in the season Kareem = 22.8 ppg on 43% in WCSF vs Thurmond Oscar = 21-5-8 on 50% FG - 91% FT, but the Bucks still lost despite Kareem having such stacked help. Kareem also shot a poor 53% FT in the 1973 WCSF 1974 Cowens = 19 ppg on 44% in the season Cowens = 23 ppg on 44% in Finals vs Kareem 1974 Finals Game 7 Cowens = 28-14-4-2-1 on 52% FG - 100% FT Kareem = 26-13-4-0-0 on 48% FG - 55% FT Cowens outperformed Kareem in every statistic except for tying him in assists. 1975 and 1976 Kareem became only consensus top 10 player to miss 2 playoffs in his prime 1977 Walton = 18.6 ppg 14.4 rpg 3.8 apg on 53% in the season Walton = 19.3 ppg 14.8 rpg 5.8 apg on 50% in WCF vs Kareem Walton's PPG, RPG, and APG all increased against Kareem with a slight dip in FG% 1978 Jack Sikma = 10.7 ppg on 46% in his rookie season Jack Sikma = 18.3 ppg (N/A FG%) vs Kareem in 1st round win 1980 Darryl Dawkins = 14.7 ppg on 52% in the season Darryl Dawkins = 21.4 ppg on 52% in 1980 Finals Games 1-5 Game 6 is excluded because Kareem did not play Interestingly, Dawkins only had 14 points on Game 6 when Kareem did not play after scoring over 20 in 4 consecutive games when Kareem played in Games 2-5 . 1981 1st Rd (FG% N/A) Moses Malone - 31.3 ppg Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - 26.7 ppg Moses beat Kareem with a 40-42 team 1982 Dave Corzine - 10-8 on 52% in the season Dave Corzine - 16-11 on 47% in WCF vs Kareem 1983 Finals Moses Malone - 25.8 ppg 18.0 rpg on 51% Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - 23.5 ppg 7.5 rpg on 55% Moses' PPG, RPG, and FG% all increased compared to the regular season 1983 Artis Gilmore - 18-12 on 63% in the season Artis Gilmore - 20-14 on 60% vs Kareem in 1983 WCF In 1984 Kareem turned 36, so we won't look at his mediocre defense from that point on. Conclusion - Kareem was a mediocre defender who often got lit up and exposed against other big men.
Kareem heavily depended on Magic / Oscar Kareem = 2 scoring titles with Oscar Kareem = 0 scoring titles without Oscar The NBA's leading all-time scorer couldn't lead the NBA in scoring without being set up by Oscar Robertson, probably the second-best playmaker of all-time after Magic Johnson Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1971-1974 with Oscar 30.9 ppg on 56% Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1975-1979 post-Oscar pre-Magic 26.6 ppg on 55% -4.3 ppg decrease Every year from the 1975 to 1979 season, Kareem's scoring continually decreased without Oscar Robertson by his side. This was not because Kareem had passed his prime, since Kareem was 27-31 during those years. In 1980, when Magic Johnson became a Laker, Kareem's scoring finally increased again at age 32 and he shot the highest FG% of his career. Kareem = 3 seasons of 30+ ppg in 4 seasons with Oscar Kareem = 0 seasons of 30+ ppg in any season without Oscar Kareem came close with 29.98 PPG in the 1975 season, but even this came under anomalous circumstances. Firstly, the Bucks still missed the playoffs with Kareem, making his numbers empty stats a-la Demarcus Cousins with the Kings or Anthony Davis with the Pelicans. Kareem did miss games, but this was due to a self-inflicted injury. Kareem punched the stanchion out of frustration during a preseason game, putting him out of commission for the early part of the season. Any struggles the Bucks had in Kareem's absence is his own fault, since his own inability to keep his emotions in check is what put the Bucks at a disadvantage in the first place. Secondly, the 1975 Western Conference was one of 6 times in a 79+ game season (1961-present) that a conference failed to produce a 50+ win team. This means that Kareem's numbers came under incredibly easy circumstances, even for the already weak standards of the 1970s. Lastly, Kareem shot the worst FG% of his career in the 1975 season (excluding his very last season at age 41) despite those favorable circumstances, so his high volume came at a high cost without Oscar. The Bucks made the 1971 and 1974 Finals when Oscar led the playoffs in APG, but failed to make the Finals in 1972 and 1973 when Oscar did not lead the playoffs in APG, losing in 1 or 2 rounds. So without Oscar leading the playoffs in APG or having the all-time regular season and playoff leader in APG in Magic Johnson by his side, Kareem had no chance of making the Finals even under his very favorable circumstances. Without the two best playmakers of all-time playing at an extremely high level, Kareem's teams were going nowhere in the playoffs. All players with 10+ APG in a Finals run Bob Cousy 1 time (1959 - only lasted 2 rounds) Magic Johnson 7 times, 6 of which Kareem benefited from 1974 Bucks with Oscar = Game 7 of the NBA Finals 1975 Bucks without Oscar = missed playoffs 1975 Bucks with Kareem = 38-44 1976 Bucks without Kareem = 38-44 Kareem became the only consensus top 10 player to miss the playoffs twice in prime without Oscar or Magic in 1975 and 1976. Kareem beat ZERO (0) 50+ win teams in the playoffs in 6 seasons without Oscar/Magic, 5 of which were prime seasons. After struggling without Oscar, Kareem lucks out and is gifted Magic Johnson, the all-time leader in regular season and playoff APG, to set up his points like Oscar did. In the 1980, 1981, and 1982 seasons, Kareem had more PPG with Magic than in the 1979 season without Magic, despite his minutes continuing to decrease each of those years and being ages 32-34. Kareem's 3 highest and 5 of his 6 highest FG% seasons came with Magic Johnson despite being ages 32-37 in those years with Magic. This is quite clearly because of Magic's passing. Excluding Kareem's last season at age 41, Kareem's 3 worst FG% seasons were non-Oscar/Magic years 1976 - 53% 1970 - 52% 1975 - 51% 2 of which were prime seasons These statistics and facts with context clearly show that Kareem heavily depended on Magic and Oscar's passing to set him up. His best PPG and FG% years were with Oscar and Magic respectively, even when playing with Magic at ages 32-37. Yet Kareem's 3 worst FG% seasons, excluding his very last year at age 41, were in non-Magic/Oscar years, even when in his prime at age 27 and 28.
Bro! THANK YOU! I was a tiny kid just following some of these greats during this decade. Hopefully current generation fans will appreciate how dope players outside of today were and understand what they did for the league! ✌🏽
My absolute pleasure, and many thanks to you for watching...and I am with you. Sadly, the further away we get from something, the more forgotten it becomes. It is my hope that one day this newer generation will find a way to look back and appreciate things they might not have personally been able to experience.
Shout out to independent media & content creators for actually covering basketball history & telling the truth without all the BS SPONSORED narratives. I'm looking forward to the rest of this series!!
Great vid. Love the shoutouts to Elvin Hayes and Rick Barry. Would like to bring up some guys few people talk about: Gail Goodrich was the 3rd (sometimes 4th option) for the Lakers in the early 70s, but he still averaged 26, 24, 25, 23ppg fm 1971-72 to 74-75. He was a deadly medium range shooter who could also get open around the basket. Tiny Archibald is STILL the only NBA player to lead the league in assists AND scoring in the same year (34ppg, 11.4 Assists in 72-73). George Gervin (THE ICEMAN!) is one of the purest scorers in NBA history (and maybe the coolest!), he lead the league in scoring 3 straight years (77-79), and popularized "street ball" in the NBA (Dr J, Tiny, Earl Monroe, Connie Hawkins before). Finally, at 6'6, Wes Unseld was probably the shortest starting center of all-time, good thing he was almost 6'6 as wide as well! Maybe the hardest working player of the 70s, the dude was an absolute rebounding TANK and defensive MONSTER, great passer and could score some, and was one of the best players in the decade.
The 70's were weird. Me being a Bullets/Wizards guy, we had our title in that era too. We were one of the worst NBA champs ever...lol! No one ever talks about Wes Unseld alongside Kareem or Russell or Wilt. The league was really suffering during that time. Kareem had it early on, but it was lost and regained later on. Look forward to the next drop Skap!!!👍
The 70s is a bizarre decade. And the ABA being a separate league unfortunately was a big part of that. I think the one guy that could have legit competed for this title with Kareem was Dr J. unfortunately, he only "technically" played 4 years in the decade. Impossible case to make. I don't think Kareem "dominated" this decade by any means. He just kind of holds this title by default....THANKS FOR WATCHING, I appreciate you!!
Pretty crazy that Bullets appeared in 2 consecutive Finals. Won the first one with Wes Unseld earning the FMVP averaging 9.0 ppg 11.7 rbg 3.9 apg. Like what? How did he win that over Elvin Hayes who averaged the same amount of minutes and games played along with 20.7 ppg 11.9 rbg 1.6 spg 2 bpg on 48%? Guess you had to be there to understand, or it will always be debated like Igoudala being given the 2015 FMVP even if you were there for the 2015 Finals.
Amongst NBA fans, the 1970s is perhaps the least-talked about era of the NBA's post-infancy. Some may assume the 1960s would be discussed less often, but from my personal experience most basketball fans have some understanding of the Wilt-Russell rivalry as well as the other great stars of the 1960s such as West, Baylor, and Oscar. With the 1970s, however, not nearly as many people discuss the championship teams of that decade such as the 1974 and 1976 Celtics, 1975 Warriors, 1977 Blazers, 1978 Bullets or 1979 Sonics like they do with Russell's Celtics or even Wilt's 1967 Sixers. Considering that the likes of Oscar, West, Baylor, and Wilt's primes took place in the 1960s, most of the 1970s stars other than Kareem don't receive nearly as much recognition as the stars of other decades. We don't hear about the leaders of most 1970s Title teams; Willis Reed, Dave Cowens, Rick Barry, Bill Walton, Elvin Hayes, Gus Williams, etc. like we do with Magic, Bird, Jordan, Hakeem, all the way to the most recent championship-leading players such as Shaq, Kobe, Duncan, or LeBron. After comparing the former list of names to the latter, perhaps one can get a good idea of why that is the case. My assumption is that the general lack of discussion of the 1970s is at least partially attributable to a lack of interest due to the much weaker quality of the 1970s, whether fans are aware of this weakness or not. There is no doubt about the fact that the 1970s is unquestionably the weakest era of the NBA's post-infancy (1960-present) years. There was a severe lack of quality competition on both the team and individual levels, for a multitude of reasons
@@jordanjenkins1671Yeah. The Unseld selection didn't make much sense to me, either. If you remember though, Wes was far better liked by the media than Elvin was. In any case, I feel Dandridge should have been the MVP of the finals. But I definitely would have picked Hayes second.
So glad you're continuing this series! It's unfortunate that there's less of an audience for NBA history than for the endless repetitive debates. One thing that makes evaluating players legacies a bit difficult from this time is the lack of footage. I was fortunate enough to get to see the entire 75 finals, it might still be on YT. But you can't find full games of the 72 finals at all. It's one thing to look at stats on a website somewhere but another thing entirely to get an in depth feel of a player's bag
You are SO right about this...all of this LOL. And yes, there is sadly much more of an audience for perpetual hot takes and shit talking, but I was looking forward to doing this so I can get away from all of that for a bit...but yes, sadly, the further away from something we get, the more forgotten it becomes. But I don't care what kind of viewing I get, I am going to stay the course and complete this entire series! Thank YOU so much for watching. I appreciate you!
I think a few comments referenced the footage during this era of hoops. There were a TON of problems with the league, some of the greats probably suffered because of this. I believe I watched the SuperSonics (Gus Williams, Dennis Johnson and Jack Sikma) finals on tape delay, which speaks to how far the league has come.
The 70's were interesting. I don't remember any televised games. I kept up with the Bulls at the end of the 70's by newspaper. Sports were rarely talked about unless you were able to stay up and watch news recap that lasted all of 2 or 3 minutes. The early 70's Bulls with Norm Van Lear, Jerry Sloan, Bob Love, Chet Walker, Tom Boerwinkle and coach Dick Motta were decent. Couldn't escape the Bucks, Lakers and Warriors who went on to win the championship. Those teams were old unfortunately. By the time I was deep into basketball, they were losing the coin flip to the Lakers. I guess it was for the better. We ended up sucking enough to get MJ who I was able to watch live as an Andy Frain usher at Chicago Stadium. Great series Skap.
"It is fundamentally impossible to compare players from different eras." I wish more people could understand this. All these back and forth trashing of different eras drive me crazy. Except Lebron, I'm openly a Lebron hater.
The 1970s is the only post-infancy decade with no great dynasty 1960s - Celtics 1980s - Lakers and Celtics 1990s - Bulls 2000s - Lakers and Spurs 2010s - Warriors There was no 60+ win team in 5 of 10 seasons in the 1970s. From 1980 to 2017 that only happened once in 38 years (2000/01). Even in 2001, the Lakers became one of only two teams (2010 Lakers) to beat 4 50+ win teams in one playoffs, so the competition was still of far superior overall quality.
@JakeJamal That's why the 1970s is balanced because you got to see other teams getting a chance to win a chance to win a championship instead of the same damn teams almost every single year in almost ever single decade
@@Kings0424 Sub-50 Win Finals Teams from 1960-present 1965 Lakers - 49-31 - 80 game season 1977 Blazers - 49-33 2003 Nets - 49-33 - the last sub-50 team to make the NBA Finals 1964 Warriors - 48-32 - 80 game season 1969 Celtics - 48-34 1972 Knicks - 48-34 1975 Warriors - 48-34 1978 Sonics - 47-35 1995 Rockets - 47-35 1970 Lakers - 46-36 1966 Lakers - 45-35 - 80 game season 1967 Warriors - 44-37 - 81 game season 1978 Bullets - 44-38 1999 Knicks - 44-38 - win% adjusted for 82 games (27-23) 1971 Bullets - 42-40 1976 Suns - 42-40 1981 Rockets - 40-42 - only losing Finals team since 1959 8 of the 17 sub-50 win teams to make the Finals from 1960-present came in the weak 1970s. 1-seeds that had under 50 wins, 79+ game seasons only (1961-present) 1964 Warriors - 48-32 1965 Lakers - 49-31 1966 Lakers - 45-35 1967 Warriors - 44-37 1970 Hawks - 48-34 1975 Warriors - 48-34 In 79+ game seasons (1961-present), the 1960s and 1970s are the only decades to produce conferences with no 50+ win teams. 5 worst-record Finals teams (1960-present) 1999 Knicks - 44-38 (adj. for 82) 1978 Bullets - 44-38 1971 Bullets - 42-40 1976 Suns - 42-40 1981 Rockets - 40-42 The 1978 NBA Finals is the only time since 1958 that both Finals teams had under 50 wins, and the 1958 season only lasted 72 games. Record-wise, three of the five worst Finals teams from 1960-present were in the 1970s.
Rick Barry is a guy I totally forgot about. During recent top 5 SF debates I was looking over Rick Barry's resume. Dude has a case for being a top 5 SF! I know you couldn't cover everything about the 1970s, but one part you definitely should have mentioned was how Willis Reed won New York's only 2 NBA championships alongside Walt Frazier (1970, 1973). I noticed you considered a season like 1979-1980 as part of the 70s instead of as part of the 80s, so I figure you used the same logic with the Knicks 1969-1970 season and that's why they didn't get a mention for being one of the teams to win multiple championships in the 70s.
Pistol Pete helped to redifine the game, had GOAT handles, his trick shots brought the game of "HORSE" to a professional level, and he was just a cool dude. Kareem def was the GOAT of the 70s, though, with him being in Airplane! being the hilarious peak at the end of the decade. 😂 My mom tells stories about how my dad would sneak out with his friends to go to those Bucks games, but who can blame him?! 🏀❤️ Those 71-72 Lakers were the real first superteam! Even though West, Baylor, and Chaimberlain were all old and at the end of their careers, their insanely historic run makes it that much more meaningful and sweeter. Just ask Jerry West about how tough all those losses were and how incredible it felt to finally win. The Kareem and Wilt rivalry was so damn good in this decade too. Dr. J was also insane and also forever changed basketball (for the better). The 70s are highly underrated, imo. Lots of incredible games that still have strict rules, tough defense, and fast gameplay, and a lot of great players! Honestly, if the 70s weren't as impactful, I'm not sure the NBA would have survived. Great video as always! I'm loving these decades videos! I can't wait for the 90s, and then we can all hear about the most awesome All Star game of all time whose halftime included the greatest collection of basketball legends ever assembled. There's a reason why that Dream Team also hilariously destroyed everyone! ❤ Remember, all of these amazing players and the announcers that watched and interviewed and covered these great players nearly universally agree that MJ was one of the best, if not the best, they'd ever seen (except for Wilt, who also always took everything personally and would body anyone, even at the age of 50 😂). 💯 I wish Wilt was still around, because the shade and fire he would be spitting would be informative, intelligent, biting, and hilarious! ❤🏀
@@Amick44 yeah my dad lived in boston during the bird era. He always talks about how you saw glimpses of waltons greatness on the 86 team but everyone wished they could have seen him fully healthy
70's were tough to cover, you missed some big names like Pete, Havlicek, Archibald, Unseld, Gervin. Mentioned by knowledgeable folks in the comments. But still great job for a guy who hasn't been around at the time. Good luck with the 80's, your gonna have quite a few Lakers or Celtics fans disagree with you. History of the game is important and refreshing.
Great to look at this underrated decade that set the table for the Golden Era of the following two decades (including the stars you highlighted from the 70's)! Parity was definitely unparalleled in this decade, but the sheer volume of superstars driving diverse play styles would become truly exciting in the upcoming decades. Much respect to the 70's!
Extra excited for the next two, @@skap_attack! It just happens that the Greatest Center, PF, SF, SG, and PG of all-time all came from the 80's (3 of them even peaking in the 90's).
Dr J will always be the best for the 70’s. He was the inspiration for Jordan and Magic, he made dunking an art form. How would basketball look without the doctor? I’m glad I am in a timeline where Dr J played professional basketball.
Man, I feel like every generation up until now had so much respect for the past. I grew up watching MJ’s second three-peat and Kobe’s 5, and my dad and fam had full games of the Showtime Lakers on tape. I also had all of the Bulls championship tapes. I got to see greatness, and hearing MJ and Kobe talk about West, Baylor, Dr. J, David Thompson, etc. I had to find out more, and it made me appreciate the game even more. This era, sadly, and LeBron and his fans in particular, cannot accept the fact that nobody has been able to surpass Jordan, and that includes my favorite player, Kobe Bryant. You have to be objective, and some people can’t. My list goes: 1 Jordan 2 Kobe 3 Magic 4 LeBron 5 Kareem This series is a lot of fun. I’m enjoying the break from the Bagless One. Keep up the great work!
Great break down. 70s had alot going on, but kareem was consistent all the way through. 80s is tough. Likely going to be magic. I think bird would be my choice. But alot of star power. I look forward to the next vid
The 80s is TIGHT! Very, very close call. We know the two vying for it. Magic won more, Bird was probably more individually dominant (but he won a lot too that decade). Undeniably two of the top 5-6 all time players in my book...but there can only be one GOAT of the 80s... As for the 70s, I agree. Kareem might not have been able to imprint his dominance from a winning standpoint, but he won as much as anyone else while being the best individual player.
Willis Reed = 0 seasons of 22 ppg Willis Reed = 27.8 ppg vs Kareem in 1970 EDF Wilt Chamberlain (Age 34) 20.7 ppg on 55% in the season 22.0 ppg (FG% N/A) vs Kareem in 1971 WCF 1972 season Kareem = 34.8 ppg on 57% Thurmond = 21.4 ppg on 43% 1972 WCSF Kareem = 22.8 ppg on 41% Thurmond = 25.4 ppg (FG% N/A) The Bucks still won thanks to Oscar carrying Kareem. With Kareem struggling, Oscar redirected the offense through Bob Dandridge, who outscored Kareem 24 to 23 ppg. Kareem shot a poor 64% FT in the 1972 WCSF 1973 Kareem = 30.2 ppg on 55% in the season Kareem = 22.8 ppg on 43% in WCSF vs Thurmond Oscar = 21-5-8 on 50% FG - 91% FT, but the Bucks still lost despite Kareem having such stacked help. Kareem also shot a poor 53% FT in the 1973 WCSF 1974 Cowens = 19 ppg on 44% in the season Cowens = 23 ppg on 44% in Finals vs Kareem 1974 Finals Game 7 Cowens = 28-14-4-2-1 on 52% FG - 100% FT Kareem = 26-13-4-0-0 on 48% FG - 55% FT Cowens outperformed Kareem in every statistic except for tying him in assists. 1975 and 1976 Kareem became only consensus top 10 player to miss 2 playoffs in his prime 1977 Walton = 18.6 ppg 14.4 rpg 3.8 apg on 53% in the season Walton = 19.3 ppg 14.8 rpg 5.8 apg on 50% in WCF vs Kareem Walton's PPG, RPG, and APG all increased against Kareem with a slight dip in FG% 1978 Jack Sikma = 10.7 ppg on 46% in his rookie season Jack Sikma = 18.3 ppg (N/A FG%) vs Kareem in 1st round win 1980 Darryl Dawkins = 14.7 ppg on 52% in the season Darryl Dawkins = 21.4 ppg on 52% in 1980 Finals Games 1-5 Game 6 is excluded because Kareem did not play if by consitent u mean consistency getting exposed on defense in the post season you'd be right lol
@@JakeJamal LISTEN, KID! I’ve been hearing that crap ever since I was at UCLA. I’m out there busting my buns every night! Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes!
Skap, I really wish that the NBA would pay you for this series when you get it done. Because I think that people would enjoy it like they did The Last Dance. This has never been done before.
The Knicks technically did not win that first one in the 1970 league year. That was in the 1969-70 season. But in terms of calendar year, you're right.
by exposing kareems subpar defense in 1970 Willis Reed = 0 seasons of 22 ppg Willis Reed = 27.8 ppg vs Kareem in 1970 EDF the actuall best center off all time hakeem would never let himself be cooked like that lol
@@skap_attack I'll it's refreshing to see this type of content! We live in a society today, that tries to rewrite history. You're paying homage to the past and respecting the present simultaneously! Simply put, you're giving credit where it's due.
💯. We've placed winning as the most important or vital achievement. It has become imperative and it blinds us to what is of true value and worth. And in our pursuit of this lofty achievement we dropped honesty, we dropped integrity, we dropped self-respect, we dropped truth, humility and common decency, and finally, the last pieces of dead weight to be dropped was courage and honour, now we have the ideal setup to win.
@@itznotdatserious99 I appreciate you saying so. I do a lot on the “modern era” but I have ALWAYS thought it vital to remember and discuss the past prominently. And quite frankly as it pertains to NBA basketball, the older generations are by and large better than this newer iteration. Thanks for watching! 🙏❤️
It does have that feel. BUT, you would think the most dominant player (Kareem) who won FIVE MVPs in that decade would have been able to dominant more if that were truly the case.
@@skap_attack in the 1970s, Wilt and Willis Reed were on their way to retirement, finishing their careers in 1973. There was no other legit MVP candidate until the late 70s when Moses Malone came around, winning his first MVP in 1979. For the rest of the 70s, Kareem's fellow MVP winners were Dave Cowens, Bob Mcadoo, and Bill Walton. None of these guys are even top 40 players of all-time.
@@skap_attack On top of that, Kareem's 1976 MVP came when he "led" the Lakers to a losing 40-42 record and missed the playoffs. The 1970s MVP competition was so weak, that the best player in the league couldn't even make the playoffs. No wonder Kareem had so many MVPs
from my personal experience most basketball fans have some understanding of the Wilt-Russell rivalry as well as the other great stars of the 1960s such as West, Baylor, and Oscar. With the 1970s, however, not nearly as many people discuss the championship teams of that decade such as the 1974 and 1976 Celtics, 1975 Warriors, 1977 Blazers, 1978 Bullets or 1979 Sonics like they do with Russell's Celtics or even Wilt's 1967 Sixers. Considering that the likes of Oscar, West, Baylor, and Wilt's primes took place in the 1960s, most of the 1970s stars other than Kareem don't receive nearly as much recognition as the stars of other decades. We don't hear about the leaders of most 1970s Title teams; Willis Reed, Dave Cowens, Rick Barry, Bill Walton, Elvin Hayes, Gus Williams, etc. like we do with Magic, Bird, Jordan, Hakeem, all the way to the most recent championship-leading players such as Shaq, Kobe, Duncan, or LeBron. After comparing the former list of names to the latter, perhaps one can get a good idea of why that is the case. My assumption is that the general lack of discussion of the 1970s is at least partially attributable to a lack of interest due to the much weaker quality of the 1970s, whether fans are aware of this weakness or not. There is no doubt about the fact that the 1970s is unquestionably the weakest era of the NBA's post-infancy (1960-present) years.
I can’t believe you left out George “ICEMAN” Gervin. He may not have won a title, but he sure carried the Spurs in their early NBA seasons especially in 1979 where he carried the spurs to a game 7 in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Washington Bullets (the defending champs).
I absolutely LOVE Gervin. One of my all time fave scorers, and in my opinion, one of the greatest 5 or 6 scorers who have ever lived. Unfortunately for him, again, he was only technically in the NBA for four seasons. I hate the ABANBA shit that went down in that decade...
@@skap_attackright. His real prime was mid to late 70s to early 80s. Similar to Havlicek. Prime late 60s to mid 70s, ditto Walt Frazier and Dave Bing. That makes it hard to call certain players the very best of the decade when maybe they were only Superstars for part of the decade.
I just realized that the 1970s and 1980s were still a fast paced, high scoring era. I mean I never would've guessed that the 2010s were slower paced and lower scoring then those decades which makes me have alot more respect for Lebron breaking Kareem's all time scoring record because he did it in a lower scoring era of basketball. The only real low scoring decades were the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s by these estimations but the 2020s are back to what it was from the 1960s to the 1980s. Remarkable.
I can’t wait until this series reaches “Bron’s Era”. I’ve always said there’s a good argument that he was never the best player in his own era (besides MAYBE his 2 championship seasons in Miami).
I love how not only is this an informative and well-presented retrospective, but also having the knowledge that this entire elaborate series is ultimately just going to serve as one giant exposition for massively shitting on LeBron James in the end 🤣 The hustle never stops, keep fightin the good fight skap
Did they have the "gather step" back then or is that something the modern NBA ushered in to help their artificially created star James Harden score more points? 😂
This was the era when I first started watching the NBA as a kid. It's almost im[possible to explain the impact of the ABA NBA merger. It completely changed the sport.
We gotta get a top 25 all time list video from you man. I'm interested in some of your rankings like if you'd have Dr. J over KD or if you'd even have Curry in the top 15. God, I don't even know where you'd rank Lebron. Probably like the 6-8 range behind guys like Jordan, Kobe, Magic, Bird and others I'm assuming. I think you might even have Hakeem up in the top 10 as well because it seems like you really like him as well.
For the difference in average points per game between the decades do you think that is more about how good the offense is or how good the defense is? If that’s confusing then here’s a more direct question. During the 2000s was the offense just worse or was the defense just way better than any other decade?
Soooo, I am breaking this up by league year. The Knicks won the championship at the end of the 1969-70 NBA league year. The series was technically played in the 1970 calendar year, so you're right. But I am breaking this up by league years for a true 10 seasons.
Kareem won his first Chip with the Bucks in 70's when Big O joined him. In the video this is kinda glossed over and seems like Kareem only won when Magic came.
The knicks won 2 titles along with Boston. The Lakers only won 1 tho they reached the finals 3 times. Wes Unseld's Bullets got to the finals 4 times in the decade but only won 1. My vote for team of the 70's, slightly by default due to much parady during the era, are the Knicks, led by Willis Reed and Walt "Clyde" Frazier. 2 titles in 3 appearances.
For purposes of this series, I decided to go by league years... 1.) 1970-71 2.) 1971-72 3.) 1972-73 4.) 1973-74 5.) 1974-75 6.) 1975-76 7.) 1976-77 8.) 1977-78 9.) 1978-79 10) 1979-80 I did this because in my mind, this is technically the league year of the actual decade. I realize the NBA championships are actually played out in the following calendar years. But I go by what season they begin in. The 1969-70 season, to me belongs to the 60s.
I have been saying this for over a decade. GOAT is for a player with both individual and team accolades, accumulative stats don’t count as it doesn’t determine DOMINANCE, averages are better. If accumulative stats was so great, the NBA execs would be paying you more money for it…..they don’t! They pay based on averages. So why would anyone look at GOAT status any different 🤷♂️ People always mistake “favourite” player with “GOAT”
Kareem has such a high rank on the all-time leaderboards because of the fact that he played 20 seasons, 14 of them with the 2 best PGs of all-time helping him out. If you give any player 14 seasons with the 2 best PGs of all-time, they better have some high cumulative stats.
Hakeem Olajuwon is definitely the best center of all-time. Often times, fans use inaccurate measures of evaluating individual players, including subjective awards like MVPs and all-star teams. Once we put all of these factors in context, it will become clear that the only center in Hakeem's conversation is Bill Russell. Not Kareem, not Wilt, not Shaq. Hakeem is vastly superior to all of them, and still superior to Russell in my opinion.
@@JakeJamal - sure MVPs/ all NBA are subjective I will give you that. However league leader awards are NOT Hakeem - x2 rebound and x3 blocks Kareem - x2 scoring, x4 blocks and x1 rebound title…. Yeah - to be “great” you need to dominate BOTH ends, Kareem proved he has as he has the hardware and Hakeem does not - sure Hakeem has great footwork and is great defensively….again though Kareem was just a little more dominant 🤷♂️ FYI having “all-stars” on the team don’t necessarily mean you will win or perform better go ask LBJ 🤷♂️ Hakeem had Clyde (who was considered the MJ equivalent during the 80s and they came in the league apprx the same time) - you act as though Hakeem had no one, the guy entered the league with Sampson!!!! Like I stated initially - there’s a difference between FAVOURITE player oppose to BETTER. Keep in mind when you are comparing greats you are literally splitting hairs and every accolade counts whether you believe it should be discounted because it’s “subjective” or not. By your theory - a voting system is illegitimate 🤦♂️ this isn’t boxing or MMA where there’s only x3 judges…..it’s a large panel voting on All-NBA, MVPs…
@@bGzzzzzKareem faced weak competition Kareem's fellow MVP winners were the likes of Cowens, Walton, and McAdoo. This was incredibly easy competition for MVPs and not at all comparable to future MVP competition like Magic, Bird, Moses, Jordan, Isiah, Kevin Johnson, Hakeem, Karl Malone, Barkley, Duncan, Shaq, Kobe, LeBron, Nash, Wade, Durant, Curry, and many more. Bob McAdoo in 1975 was the only pre-1996 MVP to not make the 50 Greatest List. Since 1996, Derrick Rose is likely the only other MVP who would not make the 50 Greatest. In 1976, Kareem became the only MVP to miss the playoffs. When the best player in league can't make playoffs - tells a lot about the league's quality. Likewise, when the best player of that decade in Kareem missed the playoffs twice, something no other consensus top 10 player has done, that further confirms the weakness of the league's quality The 1970s is the only post-infancy decade with no great dynasty 1960s - Celtics 1980s - Lakers and Celtics 1990s - Bulls 2000s - Lakers and Spurs 2010s - Warriors There was no 60+ win team in 5 of 10 seasons in the 1970s. From 1980 to 2017 that only happened once in 38 years (2000/01). Even in 2001, the Lakers became one of only two teams (2010 Lakers) to beat 4 50+ win teams in one playoffs, so the competition was still of far superior overall quality. Kareem did not have to face many of the best players of the 1970s for several years The ABA diluted the NBA by removing the best competition and placing them in a separate league Rick Barry - 1969-1972 Artis Gilmore - 1972-1976 Billy Cunningham - 1973-1974 George Gervin - 1973-1976 Julius Erving - 1972-1976 David Thompson - 1976 Sub-50 Win Finals Teams from 1960-present 1965 Lakers - 49-31 - 80 game season 1977 Blazers - 49-33 2003 Nets - 49-33 - the last sub-50 team to make the NBA Finals 1964 Warriors - 48-32 - 80 game season 1969 Celtics - 48-34 1972 Knicks - 48-34 1975 Warriors - 48-34 1978 Sonics - 47-35 1995 Rockets - 47-35 1970 Lakers - 46-36 1966 Lakers - 45-35 - 80 game season 1967 Warriors - 44-37 - 81 game season 1978 Bullets - 44-38 1999 Knicks - 44-38 - win% adjusted for 82 games (27-23) 1971 Bullets - 42-40 1976 Suns - 42-40 1981 Rockets - 40-42 - only losing Finals team since 1959 8 of the 17 sub-50 win teams to make the Finals from 1960-present came in the weak 1970s. 1-seeds that had under 50 wins, 79+ game seasons only (1961-present) 1964 Warriors - 48-32 1965 Lakers - 49-31 1966 Lakers - 45-35 1967 Warriors - 44-37 1970 Hawks - 48-34 1975 Warriors - 48-34 In 79+ game seasons (1961-present), the 1960s and 1970s are the only decades to produce conferences with no 50+ win teams. 5 worst-record Finals teams (1960-present) 1999 Knicks - 44-38 (adj. for 82) 1978 Bullets - 44-38 1971 Bullets - 42-40 1976 Suns - 42-40 1981 Rockets - 40-42 The 1978 NBA Finals is the only time since 1958 that both Finals teams had under 50 wins, and the 1958 season only lasted 72 games. Record-wise, three of the five worst Finals teams from 1960-present were in the 1970s. In the only championship that Kareem was the best player, the 1971 Bucks had one of the weakest paths to title of all-time 41-41 Warriors 48-34 Lakers (no Jerry West) 42-40 Bullets (Gus Johnson out 2 of 4 games) The Bucks' opponents were a combined 131-115 (0.533), the worst collective playoff opponent win% of any title team after 1957, and that's before taking West and Johnson's injuries into account. When Jerry West returned in 1972, the Lakers beat the Bucks on the way to the 1972 title. Conclusion - Kareem played in weakest 1960s-present decade for almost all his prime. This made it significantly easier for him statistically and accolade-wise compared to future players.
@@bGzzzzz Kareem heavily depended on Magic / Oscar Kareem = 2 scoring titles with Oscar Kareem = 0 scoring titles without Oscar The NBA's leading all-time scorer couldn't lead the NBA in scoring without being set up by Oscar Robertson, probably the second-best playmaker of all-time after Magic Johnson Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1971-1974 with Oscar 30.9 ppg on 56% Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1975-1979 post-Oscar pre-Magic 26.6 ppg on 55% -4.3 ppg decrease Every year from the 1975 to 1979 season, Kareem's scoring continually decreased without Oscar Robertson by his side. This was not because Kareem had passed his prime, since Kareem was 27-31 during those years. In 1980, when Magic Johnson became a Laker, Kareem's scoring finally increased again at age 32 and he shot the highest FG% of his career. Kareem = 3 seasons of 30+ ppg in 4 seasons with Oscar Kareem = 0 seasons of 30+ ppg in any season without Oscar Kareem came close with 29.98 PPG in the 1975 season, but even this came under anomalous circumstances. Firstly, the Bucks still missed the playoffs with Kareem, making his numbers empty stats a-la Demarcus Cousins with the Kings or Anthony Davis with the Pelicans. Kareem did miss games, but this was due to a self-inflicted injury. Kareem punched the stanchion out of frustration during a preseason game, putting him out of commission for the early part of the season. Any struggles the Bucks had in Kareem's absence is his own fault, since his own inability to keep his emotions in check is what put the Bucks at a disadvantage in the first place. Secondly, the 1975 Western Conference was one of 6 times in a 79+ game season (1961-present) that a conference failed to produce a 50+ win team. This means that Kareem's numbers came under incredibly easy circumstances, even for the already weak standards of the 1970s. Lastly, Kareem shot the worst FG% of his career in the 1975 season (excluding his very last season at age 41) despite those favorable circumstances, so his high volume came at a high cost without Oscar. The Bucks made the 1971 and 1974 Finals when Oscar led the playoffs in APG, but failed to make the Finals in 1972 and 1973 when Oscar did not lead the playoffs in APG, losing in 1 or 2 rounds. So without Oscar leading the playoffs in APG or having the all-time regular season and playoff leader in APG in Magic Johnson by his side, Kareem had no chance of making the Finals even under his very favorable circumstances. Without the two best playmakers of all-time playing at an extremely high level, Kareem's teams were going nowhere in the playoffs. All players with 10+ APG in a Finals run Bob Cousy 1 time (1959 - only lasted 2 rounds) Magic Johnson 7 times, 6 of which Kareem benefited from 1974 Bucks with Oscar = Game 7 of the NBA Finals 1975 Bucks without Oscar = missed playoffs 1975 Bucks with Kareem = 38-44 1976 Bucks without Kareem = 38-44 Kareem became the only consensus top 10 player to miss the playoffs twice in prime without Oscar or Magic in 1975 and 1976. Kareem beat ZERO (0) 50+ win teams in the playoffs in 6 seasons without Oscar/Magic, 5 of which were prime seasons. After struggling without Oscar, Kareem lucks out and is gifted Magic Johnson, the all-time leader in regular season and playoff APG, to set up his points like Oscar did. In the 1980, 1981, and 1982 seasons, Kareem had more PPG with Magic than in the 1979 season without Magic, despite his minutes continuing to decrease each of those years and being ages 32-34. Kareem's 3 highest and 5 of his 6 highest FG% seasons came with Magic Johnson despite being ages 32-37 in those years with Magic. This is quite clearly because of Magic's passing. Excluding Kareem's last season at age 41, Kareem's 3 worst FG% seasons were non-Oscar/Magic years 1976 - 53% 1970 - 52% 1975 - 51% 2 of which were prime seasons These statistics and facts with context clearly show that Kareem heavily depended on Magic and Oscar's passing to set him up. His best PPG and FG% years were with Oscar and Magic respectively, even when playing with Magic at ages 32-37. Yet Kareem's 3 worst FG% seasons, excluding his very last year at age 41, were in non-Magic/Oscar years, even when in his prime at age 27 and 28.
The 70s is undoubtedly the greatest NBA era. The only wack part is they didn’t have the 3P line for extra spice, but ABA did so it makes up for it. 70s had TRUE handcheck which was abolished in 1980, zone and actual triple team defensive schemes. It may have held the most talent with countless all-stars & legends competing during this era. Kevin Porter,Jerry Sloan, David Thompson,George Gervin,Gail Goodrich,Pete Maravich,John Havilicheck,Dennis Johnson,George McGinnis, Walt Frazier, Nate Thurmond, Willis Reed, Charlie Scott & I can literally keep going for days…. None of these names were even mentioned in this video, this era was super deep
I totally agree with you here. The 70s is a vastly underrated era. Overall much deeper than the 60s in terms of frontline talent. I never really understood why it’s such a discredited decade.
@@skap_attack The NBA likes to forget the merger ever happened + they used the Formula of the ABA and made the face of the league a player instead of a Franchise. Because I follow an old head group on FB that post 70s ABA memorabilia, stories, forgotten players and stats. Most would say Mel Daniels & Roger Brown are in contention if not greater than Dr. J yet we never hear about them even in ABA documentaries. Anyways, it didn’t work out with the NBA exactly how they wanted, love DR.J but he is on the level of West & LeBron, great players who can’t win. So they were ecstatic when a 6’8 PG-SF & a 6’10 SF-PF entered the league simultaneously with Charisma & amazing ability to make others greater with their play, on top of coming off a rivalry in their final NCAA game which was for the championship. O’Brien couldn’t write a better script. In short term the league wasn’t manipulated much at all pre 80s. We all know Stern era is when it got ridiculous with marketing and so forth even worse with Silver. Dynasty’s make for a better story.
Unfortunately the best players other than Kareem were in the ABA during this decade. Thus they didn't really play the full decade in the actual NBA. Kind of gives it to Kareem by default.
Kareem had 5 prime seasons to prove that he could carry a team but failed horribly without Oscar/Magic, missing the playoffs twice in his prime. Even when he had Hall of Famers Dantley and Wilkes on his team, Kareem only went 1-2 in playoff series on that stacked squad.
@JakeJamal So you gonna forget about him winning the championship for the Bucks in 1971 when he has the best player. Bruh when Kareem went to the Lakers, the Lakers went 30-52 the previous season. What the hell are you talking about
@@Kings0424 Kareem totally outplayed and beat Wes Unseld. This is the only time Kareem beat a great big man without any caveats. In his first season with Oscar, Kareem won his first scoring title and ring. Kareem did beat Wilt on the way to this ring, but it comes with an asterisk as Jerry West did not play in that series due to injury. West came back the next year and Kareem was sent home packing.
Excellent video, as usual. However, I disagree with your definition of when a decade should begin and end. The 70s should begin with the 69-70 season and end with the 78-79 season, because the majority of the games are played after January 1st, and the most important games are at the end of the season. To say that the Lakers won two championships in the 70s, when the second one literally took place in 1980, is illogical. That changes things a little. There are still only two teams with multiple championships, but it's now the Celtics and Knicks (not the Lakers). This will give the Lakers 5 titles in the 80s, instead of 4.
I don't know if I'd put the 1971 Lakers in my top 5 all time Teams ever. I mean I'd put the 1987 Lakers and 2001 Lakers over them in terms of just Laker teams and then that's not even taking into consideration the 1986 Celtics who were considered the greatest NBA team of all time at that time, the 1996 Bulls who were also considered the greatest NBA team of all time at that time and even the 2017 Warriors who are the newest greatest NBA team of all time. If the 1972 Lakers are in the top 10 teams of all time, I'd put them at the backend of the top 10 and I might have to leave the 1971 Bucks out of the top 10 depending on the other teams I'd consider for the top 10.
I can't wait until someone owns two decades of basketball. Just imagine if Jordan had a little more help in the 1980s like if he was drafted by either the Rockets and Trailblazers and he'd won three titles at the end of the 1980s and then dominated the 1990s with his six titles as well. He'd own the 80s and 90s if he'd have Ralph Sampson or Clyde Drexler on his team early in his career. Lebron had a chance to do this very thing as well if he'd been drafted to a better team. Imagine if he'd been drafted by the Pistons and gotten four titles in the 2000s and he'd own the decade and stolen at least one of Kobe's two Championships at the end of the decade and then he'd probably leave for south beach and own the 2010s as well. What's crazy about Lebron is if you change a few things in his career, he could've literally owned the 2000s, 2010s and 2020s decades. That's unfathomable. If he'd join a young up and coming team like the Nuggets or Bucks in 2018 instead of the Lakers, he'd have at least three titles already in the 2020s as well and he'd most likely have been Finals MVP as well because the media tends to like Lebron more than Jokic and Giannis. Regardless, Lebron literally had a chance to own three decades of NBA basketball but squandered it early on during the 2000s granted he really didn't have any help during the decade and then he chose the wrong team to go to in 2018 which is why he doesn't own the 2020s. He'd definitely own the 2020s had he chosen a good team with competent ownership like the Nuggets. I don't trust the Bucks to build around Lebron and Giannis though so definitely if he went to the Nuggets they might very well have three-peated or possibly even four-peated but injuries happen and thats just too hard to calculate especially with the amount of young talent in the western conference during this decade.
@@massimocometti6529 They were rebuilding. Lakers were at their lowest point when Kareem joined and the roster was terrible. Kareem was pivotal to turning things around and getting the Lakers on the winning road again. And the roster was still terrible. He took a losing team to two conference finals and championship finals before Magic arrived. And the roster was doable. Besides, the reverse of your argument is also true, Magic didn't win without Kareem. Safe to say they need each other to win. It had something to do with 'Teamwork', well, that's what I heard., and it seems to have worked. They kept at it and won 5 times. 'Teamwork', who knew, who knew it could be this effective. (And we all know, Kareem did win without Magic)
Kareem heavily depended on Magic / Oscar Kareem = 2 scoring titles with Oscar Kareem = 0 scoring titles without Oscar The NBA's leading all-time scorer couldn't lead the NBA in scoring without being set up by Oscar Robertson, probably the second-best playmaker of all-time after Magic Johnson Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1971-1974 with Oscar 30.9 ppg on 56% Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1975-1979 post-Oscar pre-Magic 26.6 ppg on 55% -4.3 ppg decrease Every year from the 1975 to 1979 season, Kareem's scoring continually decreased without Oscar Robertson by his side. This was not because Kareem had passed his prime, since Kareem was 27-31 during those years. In 1980, when Magic Johnson became a Laker, Kareem's scoring finally increased again at age 32 and he shot the highest FG% of his career. Kareem = 3 seasons of 30+ ppg in 4 seasons with Oscar Kareem = 0 seasons of 30+ ppg in any season without Oscar Kareem came close with 29.98 PPG in the 1975 season, but even this came under anomalous circumstances. Firstly, the Bucks still missed the playoffs with Kareem, making his numbers empty stats a-la Demarcus Cousins with the Kings or Anthony Davis with the Pelicans. Kareem did miss games, but this was due to a self-inflicted injury. Kareem punched the stanchion out of frustration during a preseason game, putting him out of commission for the early part of the season. Any struggles the Bucks had in Kareem's absence is his own fault, since his own inability to keep his emotions in check is what put the Bucks at a disadvantage in the first place. Secondly, the 1975 Western Conference was one of 6 times in a 79+ game season (1961-present) that a conference failed to produce a 50+ win team. This means that Kareem's numbers came under incredibly easy circumstances, even for the already weak standards of the 1970s. Lastly, Kareem shot the worst FG% of his career in the 1975 season (excluding his very last season at age 41) despite those favorable circumstances, so his high volume came at a high cost without Oscar. The Bucks made the 1971 and 1974 Finals when Oscar led the playoffs in APG, but failed to make the Finals in 1972 and 1973 when Oscar did not lead the playoffs in APG, losing in 1 or 2 rounds. So without Oscar leading the playoffs in APG or having the all-time regular season and playoff leader in APG in Magic Johnson by his side, Kareem had no chance of making the Finals even under his very favorable circumstances. Without the two best playmakers of all-time playing at an extremely high level, Kareem's teams were going nowhere in the playoffs.
@@JakeJamal Yeah, team mates heavily depend on each other, that's how they win. We take advantage of each other's strengths, plan, and mask each other's weaknesses and go out and play the game. . We do it as a team, teamwork, is how we win games, it's how we win championships.
Hey bro just curious, I really found myself interested by your videos contrasting thought to lebrons greatness and all that but I also feel sometimes you’re biased against him somewhat, not trying to attack but I’m commenting to ask if you’ll ever do a respect lebron video where you analyze the good of his game and give a breakdown of where you think he does lie in basketball greatness. You’ve swayed me away from thinking he’s the goat for sure but all i can find are lebron is either the goat or trash content and I want to see from your perspective where you rank lebron and how much you do appreciate the good things he has done in his time as a player. Just a thought 😮
It's a good call and a tough one. Everything about James seems to always come with an asterisk. This is a guy who has 'Chosen 1' tattooed across his back, it just speaks volumes to who this man is. And it's all so goddamn sad. He had so much promise, so much talent, what a disappointment. 😢
Hakeem Olajuwon is definitely the best center of all-time. Often times, fans use inaccurate measures of evaluating individual players, including subjective awards like MVPs and all-star teams. Once we put all of these factors in context, it will become clear that the only center in Hakeem's conversation is Bill Russell. Not Kareem, not Wilt, not Shaq. Hakeem is vastly superior to all of them, and still superior to Russell in my opinion.
@JakeJamal Bill Russell is overrated! Average 15 ppg in his career! Hakeem was better! If you look at individual statistics, then Wilt is unmatched! 1.Wilt 2.Kareem 3.Hakeem , ... In the modern game, Bill would be something like Garnett, more like PF! Hakeem was something like "interim " champion while Jordan played baseball !
@@mirospajic9929 Bill Russell is the only center that deserves to be in the discussion with Hakeem. I actually can see a case that Russell could be greater than Hakeem, though I have more reasons to pick Hakeem over Russell. Why is Russell so great? Because he could adapt his game to his team's needs in order to make them win Many bring up Russell's low regular season FG% and ppg, but Russell changed his role as needed to win for his team. His regular season low FG% and low scoring is irrelevant, because he adapted his game when it mattered and won the Finals while playing multiple different roles 1962 Finals - Russell dropped 23-27-6 on 54%, led his team in pts/rebs 1963 Finals - Russell dropped 20-26-5 on 47% 1965 Finals - Russell dropped 18-25-6 on 70%, NBA Finals record for FG% 1966 Finals - Russell dropped 24-24-4 on 54%, led his team in pts/rebs Russell could be the best scorer, defender, rebounder, blocker, and even passer (1969 Finals) when he had to. Along with Hakeem, Russell is the only center to lead a title team in scoring (1962) and assists (1965), though Hakeem did both at the same time in 1994. He was a complete player and he has 11 rings to show for it. He also was amazing at making his teammates better, the Celtics lost in the 1958 Finals when Russell was injured and 11-0 when he was healthy. Only once in his career did a healthy Bill Russell lose in the playoffs against Wilt in 1967.
KNICKS 70; 73.... CELTICS 74; 76..... LAKERS 72; 80 [NOT 79----SUPERSONICS]..... KAREEM 5 MVP'S IN THE 70's [71,72,74,76,77].... HIS OTHER MVP WAS IN THE 79-80 SEASON.... GREAT ANALYSIS THOUGH EVEN IF SLIGHTLY ERRONEOUS.....
Dr. J carried two leagues on his back. The ABA and the NBA. Great video
If we are talking about a TRUE BASKETBALL GOAT of the 70s and not just the NBA, I honestly think the answer is Dr J...and it would be a slam dunk (pun intended)...
@@skap_attackdr j>bron easily
@jit1709and Dr j > mj easily. Dont forget Buddy
@@jit1709doc clears Mike too. Lbj isn't the only propaganda machine remember
@@chauvintookaknee4blm268 i love dr j but over mj is kinda crazy he dont got the winning, influence, and scoring ability mj had but i fw dr j he arguably top 10 id say
Wishing Kareem a full recovery from his broken hip.
Absolutely!
Absolutely!
same
You got to mention Havlicek if you are talking about the 70s. He went from a supporting player who won a lot in the 60s to the best player on one of the only two franchises who won multiple times in the 70s.
First half of the 70s. Possibly only Kareem was equal or better.
I am totally convinced that scapp attack should have his own show on ESPN 🔥🔥💯🎯
My GOAT in the 60's is Russell, 70's is Kareem, 80's is Magic, 90's is Jordan, 2000s is Kobe. But, because Michael Jordan has best balance between winning and offensive and defensive dominance, he's my leading player for the GOAT. I have extra points for winning, nobody cares about Jerry Stackhouse averaging 30ppg when you can't inspire your teammates to play better.
GREAT POINT, and quite frankly, that is my purpose of doing this series. At the end of it, I am going to tie them all together to make one massive hour long piece to determine who are the true GOATs. Spoiler it's those who dominate both individually and from a winning standpoint for their eras. And here is another spoiler, there aren't many that have done it...
@@skap_attack Because I witnessed, Magic, Jordan, and Kobe play. They all have this magical aura that whenever they step in even their team is down, they just give confidence to their teammates that everything will be alright. There's no panic, they direct their teammates with the alpha dog like giant persona, and finish the game with laser focused precision and mentality. That's why I can't put Lebron in my list, it's always Wade, Kyrie, or AD doing these stuff for him. He panics and breaks down on close games.
@sunnysighup Facts I agree with everything you are saying
Kareem was a mediocre defender
Willis Reed = 0 seasons of 22 ppg
Willis Reed = 27.8 ppg vs Kareem in 1970 EDF
Wilt Chamberlain (Age 34)
20.7 ppg on 55% in the season
22.0 ppg (FG% N/A) vs Kareem in 1971 WCF
1972 season
Kareem = 34.8 ppg on 57%
Thurmond = 21.4 ppg on 43%
1972 WCSF
Kareem = 22.8 ppg on 41%
Thurmond = 25.4 ppg (FG% N/A)
The Bucks still won thanks to Oscar carrying Kareem. With Kareem struggling, Oscar redirected the offense through Bob Dandridge, who outscored Kareem 24 to 23 ppg. Kareem shot a poor 64% FT in the 1972 WCSF
1973
Kareem = 30.2 ppg on 55% in the season
Kareem = 22.8 ppg on 43% in WCSF vs Thurmond
Oscar = 21-5-8 on 50% FG - 91% FT, but the Bucks still lost despite Kareem having such stacked help.
Kareem also shot a poor 53% FT in the 1973 WCSF
1974
Cowens = 19 ppg on 44% in the season
Cowens = 23 ppg on 44% in Finals vs Kareem
1974 Finals Game 7
Cowens = 28-14-4-2-1 on 52% FG - 100% FT
Kareem = 26-13-4-0-0 on 48% FG - 55% FT
Cowens outperformed Kareem in every statistic except for tying him in assists.
1975 and 1976
Kareem became only consensus top 10 player to miss 2 playoffs in his prime
1977
Walton = 18.6 ppg 14.4 rpg 3.8 apg on 53% in the season
Walton = 19.3 ppg 14.8 rpg 5.8 apg on 50% in WCF vs Kareem
Walton's PPG, RPG, and APG all increased against Kareem with a slight dip in FG%
1978
Jack Sikma = 10.7 ppg on 46% in his rookie season
Jack Sikma = 18.3 ppg (N/A FG%) vs Kareem in 1st round win
1980
Darryl Dawkins = 14.7 ppg on 52% in the season
Darryl Dawkins = 21.4 ppg on 52% in 1980 Finals Games 1-5
Game 6 is excluded because Kareem did not play
Interestingly, Dawkins only had 14 points on Game 6 when Kareem did not play after scoring over 20 in 4 consecutive games when Kareem played in Games 2-5 .
1981 1st Rd (FG% N/A)
Moses Malone - 31.3 ppg
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - 26.7 ppg
Moses beat Kareem with a 40-42 team
1982
Dave Corzine - 10-8 on 52% in the season
Dave Corzine - 16-11 on 47% in WCF vs Kareem
1983 Finals
Moses Malone - 25.8 ppg 18.0 rpg on 51%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - 23.5 ppg 7.5 rpg on 55%
Moses' PPG, RPG, and FG% all increased compared to the regular season
1983
Artis Gilmore - 18-12 on 63% in the season
Artis Gilmore - 20-14 on 60% vs Kareem in 1983 WCF
In 1984 Kareem turned 36, so we won't look at his mediocre defense from that point on.
Conclusion - Kareem was a mediocre defender who often got lit up and exposed against other big men.
Kareem heavily depended on Magic / Oscar
Kareem = 2 scoring titles with Oscar
Kareem = 0 scoring titles without Oscar
The NBA's leading all-time scorer couldn't lead the NBA in scoring without being set up by Oscar Robertson, probably the second-best playmaker of all-time after Magic Johnson
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1971-1974 with Oscar
30.9 ppg on 56%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1975-1979 post-Oscar pre-Magic
26.6 ppg on 55%
-4.3 ppg decrease
Every year from the 1975 to 1979 season, Kareem's scoring continually decreased without Oscar Robertson by his side. This was not because Kareem had passed his prime, since Kareem was 27-31 during those years. In 1980, when Magic Johnson became a Laker, Kareem's scoring finally increased again at age 32 and he shot the highest FG% of his career.
Kareem = 3 seasons of 30+ ppg in 4 seasons with Oscar
Kareem = 0 seasons of 30+ ppg in any season without Oscar
Kareem came close with 29.98 PPG in the 1975 season, but even this came under anomalous circumstances. Firstly, the Bucks still missed the playoffs with Kareem, making his numbers empty stats a-la Demarcus Cousins with the Kings or Anthony Davis with the Pelicans. Kareem did miss games, but this was due to a self-inflicted injury. Kareem punched the stanchion out of frustration during a preseason game, putting him out of commission for the early part of the season. Any struggles the Bucks had in Kareem's absence is his own fault, since his own inability to keep his emotions in check is what put the Bucks at a disadvantage in the first place.
Secondly, the 1975 Western Conference was one of 6 times in a 79+ game season (1961-present) that a conference failed to produce a 50+ win team. This means that Kareem's numbers came under incredibly easy circumstances, even for the already weak standards of the 1970s. Lastly, Kareem shot the worst FG% of his career in the 1975 season (excluding his very last season at age 41) despite those favorable circumstances, so his high volume came at a high cost without Oscar.
The Bucks made the 1971 and 1974 Finals when Oscar led the playoffs in APG, but failed to make the Finals in 1972 and 1973 when Oscar did not lead the playoffs in APG, losing in 1 or 2 rounds. So without Oscar leading the playoffs in APG or having the all-time regular season and playoff leader in APG in Magic Johnson by his side, Kareem had no chance of making the Finals even under his very favorable circumstances. Without the two best playmakers of all-time playing at an extremely high level, Kareem's teams were going nowhere in the playoffs.
All players with 10+ APG in a Finals run
Bob Cousy 1 time (1959 - only lasted 2 rounds)
Magic Johnson 7 times, 6 of which Kareem benefited from
1974 Bucks with Oscar = Game 7 of the NBA Finals
1975 Bucks without Oscar = missed playoffs
1975 Bucks with Kareem = 38-44
1976 Bucks without Kareem = 38-44
Kareem became the only consensus top 10 player to miss the playoffs twice in prime without Oscar or Magic in 1975 and 1976. Kareem beat ZERO (0) 50+ win teams in the playoffs in 6 seasons without Oscar/Magic, 5 of which were prime seasons.
After struggling without Oscar, Kareem lucks out and is gifted Magic Johnson, the all-time leader in regular season and playoff APG, to set up his points like Oscar did.
In the 1980, 1981, and 1982 seasons, Kareem had more PPG with Magic than in the 1979 season without Magic, despite his minutes continuing to decrease each of those years and being ages 32-34. Kareem's 3 highest and 5 of his 6 highest FG% seasons came with Magic Johnson despite being ages 32-37 in those years with Magic. This is quite clearly because of Magic's passing.
Excluding Kareem's last season at age 41,
Kareem's 3 worst FG% seasons were non-Oscar/Magic years
1976 - 53%
1970 - 52%
1975 - 51%
2 of which were prime seasons
These statistics and facts with context clearly show that Kareem heavily depended on Magic and Oscar's passing to set him up. His best PPG and FG% years were with Oscar and Magic respectively, even when playing with Magic at ages 32-37. Yet Kareem's 3 worst FG% seasons, excluding his very last year at age 41, were in non-Magic/Oscar years, even when in his prime at age 27 and 28.
Bro! THANK YOU! I was a tiny kid just following some of these greats during this decade. Hopefully current generation fans will appreciate how dope players outside of today were and understand what they did for the league! ✌🏽
My absolute pleasure, and many thanks to you for watching...and I am with you. Sadly, the further away we get from something, the more forgotten it becomes. It is my hope that one day this newer generation will find a way to look back and appreciate things they might not have personally been able to experience.
Shout out to independent media & content creators for actually covering basketball history & telling the truth without all the BS SPONSORED narratives.
I'm looking forward to the rest of this series!!
Thank you for showing love to the older generation Skap 💪🏾. These guys were great and are often forgotten. The ABA is often unfairly discredited.
Pistol Pete was my favourite player of this era
Damn that's a great call. Probably shoulda given him a shout out in this video.
Pistol Pete stays disrespected
One of the most “ahead of his time” players in any sport
@@andrewcook1246 Pistol would have been a tall Curry nowadays and he will be unstoppable and one of the goats if he played with modern rules
lamelo ball is his reincarnation
Skap,u need to do video exposing lebums turnover record in detail 🙏
LOL don't worry, I will get back to him soon...
Great vid. Love the shoutouts to Elvin Hayes and Rick Barry. Would like to bring up some guys few people talk about:
Gail Goodrich was the 3rd (sometimes 4th option) for the Lakers in the early 70s, but he still averaged 26, 24, 25, 23ppg fm 1971-72 to 74-75. He was a deadly medium range shooter who could also get open around the basket.
Tiny Archibald is STILL the only NBA player to lead the league in assists AND scoring in the same year (34ppg, 11.4 Assists in 72-73).
George Gervin (THE ICEMAN!) is one of the purest scorers in NBA history (and maybe the coolest!), he lead the league in scoring 3 straight years (77-79), and popularized "street ball" in the NBA (Dr J, Tiny, Earl Monroe, Connie Hawkins before).
Finally, at 6'6, Wes Unseld was probably the shortest starting center of all-time, good thing he was almost 6'6 as wide as well! Maybe the hardest working player of the 70s, the dude was an absolute rebounding TANK and defensive MONSTER, great passer and could score some, and was one of the best players in the decade.
The 70's were weird. Me being a Bullets/Wizards guy, we had our title in that era too. We were one of the worst NBA champs ever...lol! No one ever talks about Wes Unseld alongside Kareem or Russell or Wilt. The league was really suffering during that time. Kareem had it early on, but it was lost and regained later on. Look forward to the next drop Skap!!!👍
The 70s is a bizarre decade. And the ABA being a separate league unfortunately was a big part of that. I think the one guy that could have legit competed for this title with Kareem was Dr J. unfortunately, he only "technically" played 4 years in the decade. Impossible case to make. I don't think Kareem "dominated" this decade by any means. He just kind of holds this title by default....THANKS FOR WATCHING, I appreciate you!!
@@skap_attack Anytime fam!
Pretty crazy that Bullets appeared in 2 consecutive Finals. Won the first one with Wes Unseld earning the FMVP averaging 9.0 ppg 11.7 rbg 3.9 apg. Like what? How did he win that over Elvin Hayes who averaged the same amount of minutes and games played along with 20.7 ppg 11.9 rbg 1.6 spg 2 bpg on 48%? Guess you had to be there to understand, or it will always be debated like Igoudala being given the 2015 FMVP even if you were there for the 2015 Finals.
Amongst NBA fans, the 1970s is perhaps the least-talked about era of the NBA's post-infancy. Some may assume the 1960s would be discussed less often, but from my personal experience most basketball fans have some understanding of the Wilt-Russell rivalry as well as the other great stars of the 1960s such as West, Baylor, and Oscar. With the 1970s, however, not nearly as many people discuss the championship teams of that decade such as the 1974 and 1976 Celtics, 1975 Warriors, 1977 Blazers, 1978 Bullets or 1979 Sonics like they do with Russell's Celtics or even Wilt's 1967 Sixers.
Considering that the likes of Oscar, West, Baylor, and Wilt's primes took place in the 1960s, most of the 1970s stars other than Kareem don't receive nearly as much recognition as the stars of other decades. We don't hear about the leaders of most 1970s Title teams; Willis Reed, Dave Cowens, Rick Barry, Bill Walton, Elvin Hayes, Gus Williams, etc. like we do with Magic, Bird, Jordan, Hakeem, all the way to the most recent championship-leading players such as Shaq, Kobe, Duncan, or LeBron. After comparing the former list of names to the latter, perhaps one can get a good idea of why that is the case.
My assumption is that the general lack of discussion of the 1970s is at least partially attributable to a lack of interest due to the much weaker quality of the 1970s, whether fans are aware of this weakness or not. There is no doubt about the fact that the 1970s is unquestionably the weakest era of the NBA's post-infancy (1960-present) years. There was a severe lack of quality competition on both the team and individual levels, for a multitude of reasons
@@jordanjenkins1671Yeah. The Unseld selection didn't make much sense to me, either. If you remember though, Wes was far better liked by the media than Elvin was.
In any case, I feel Dandridge should have been the MVP of the finals. But I definitely would have picked Hayes second.
So glad you're continuing this series! It's unfortunate that there's less of an audience for NBA history than for the endless repetitive debates.
One thing that makes evaluating players legacies a bit difficult from this time is the lack of footage. I was fortunate enough to get to see the entire 75 finals, it might still be on YT. But you can't find full games of the 72 finals at all. It's one thing to look at stats on a website somewhere but another thing entirely to get an in depth feel of a player's bag
You are SO right about this...all of this LOL. And yes, there is sadly much more of an audience for perpetual hot takes and shit talking, but I was looking forward to doing this so I can get away from all of that for a bit...but yes, sadly, the further away from something we get, the more forgotten it becomes. But I don't care what kind of viewing I get, I am going to stay the course and complete this entire series! Thank YOU so much for watching. I appreciate you!
I think a few comments referenced the footage during this era of hoops. There were a TON of problems with the league, some of the greats probably suffered because of this. I believe I watched the SuperSonics (Gus Williams, Dennis Johnson and Jack Sikma) finals on tape delay, which speaks to how far the league has come.
The 70's were interesting. I don't remember any televised games. I kept up with the Bulls at the end of the 70's by newspaper. Sports were rarely talked about unless you were able to stay up and watch news recap that lasted all of 2 or 3 minutes. The early 70's Bulls with Norm Van Lear, Jerry Sloan, Bob Love, Chet Walker, Tom Boerwinkle and coach Dick Motta were decent. Couldn't escape the Bucks, Lakers and Warriors who went on to win the championship. Those teams were old unfortunately. By the time I was deep into basketball, they were losing the coin flip to the Lakers. I guess it was for the better. We ended up sucking enough to get MJ who I was able to watch live as an Andy Frain usher at Chicago Stadium. Great series Skap.
Moses Malone in an underrated god of basketball. So much gets lost in time. Thank you for the great content!
Damn Rick Barry got a smooth shot
"It is fundamentally impossible to compare players from different eras."
I wish more people could understand this. All these back and forth trashing of different eras drive me crazy.
Except Lebron, I'm openly a Lebron hater.
Me too! But that's because LeBron and all of his trash fan base are the one trashing every other era.
not hate when its factual
Most of LeBron's fans are kids or young adults. Kids tend to lack appreciation of the past until they become part of it.
The 70s was the most well balanced decade in the NBA
Absolutely undeniable.
That's a pretty good argument. In my opinion though, I'll say the 80s and 90s
The 1970s is the only post-infancy decade with no great dynasty
1960s - Celtics
1980s - Lakers and Celtics
1990s - Bulls
2000s - Lakers and Spurs
2010s - Warriors
There was no 60+ win team in 5 of 10 seasons in the 1970s. From 1980 to 2017 that only happened once in 38 years (2000/01). Even in 2001, the Lakers became one of only two teams (2010 Lakers) to beat 4 50+ win teams in one playoffs, so the competition was still of far superior overall quality.
@JakeJamal That's why the 1970s is balanced because you got to see other teams getting a chance to win a chance to win a championship instead of the same damn teams almost every single year in almost ever single decade
@@Kings0424 Sub-50 Win Finals Teams from 1960-present
1965 Lakers - 49-31 - 80 game season
1977 Blazers - 49-33
2003 Nets - 49-33 - the last sub-50 team to make the NBA Finals
1964 Warriors - 48-32 - 80 game season
1969 Celtics - 48-34
1972 Knicks - 48-34
1975 Warriors - 48-34
1978 Sonics - 47-35
1995 Rockets - 47-35
1970 Lakers - 46-36
1966 Lakers - 45-35 - 80 game season
1967 Warriors - 44-37 - 81 game season
1978 Bullets - 44-38
1999 Knicks - 44-38 - win% adjusted for 82 games (27-23)
1971 Bullets - 42-40
1976 Suns - 42-40
1981 Rockets - 40-42 - only losing Finals team since 1959
8 of the 17 sub-50 win teams to make the Finals from 1960-present came in the weak 1970s.
1-seeds that had under 50 wins, 79+ game seasons only (1961-present)
1964 Warriors - 48-32
1965 Lakers - 49-31
1966 Lakers - 45-35
1967 Warriors - 44-37
1970 Hawks - 48-34
1975 Warriors - 48-34
In 79+ game seasons (1961-present), the 1960s and 1970s are the only decades to produce conferences with no 50+ win teams.
5 worst-record Finals teams (1960-present)
1999 Knicks - 44-38 (adj. for 82)
1978 Bullets - 44-38
1971 Bullets - 42-40
1976 Suns - 42-40
1981 Rockets - 40-42
The 1978 NBA Finals is the only time since 1958 that both Finals teams had under 50 wins, and the 1958 season only lasted 72 games. Record-wise, three of the five worst Finals teams from 1960-present were in the 1970s.
Rick Barry is a guy I totally forgot about. During recent top 5 SF debates I was looking over Rick Barry's resume. Dude has a case for being a top 5 SF!
I know you couldn't cover everything about the 1970s, but one part you definitely should have mentioned was how Willis Reed won New York's only 2 NBA championships alongside Walt Frazier (1970, 1973). I noticed you considered a season like 1979-1980 as part of the 70s instead of as part of the 80s, so I figure you used the same logic with the Knicks 1969-1970 season and that's why they didn't get a mention for being one of the teams to win multiple championships in the 70s.
kd bird kawhi scottie dr j (no order) id say hed slide in at 6 or 7 u can argue if he’s above lebron or not
@@jit1709 kd? Jahhajaahajaaha
@@franagustin3094 i mean when compared to rick barry it isnt that close kd is like in the 20s all time tho
@@jit1709 kd is not better than Jokic or Giannis, he is a bus rider
@@franagustin3094 never said he was giannis and jokic > bron and kd
Was hoping for the 50s but still a great video
I will hit the 50s at some point. Likely in a weird turn of events, I will probably do it last...
@@skap_attack 50s belonged to Mikan the first superstar
Pistol Pete helped to redifine the game, had GOAT handles, his trick shots brought the game of "HORSE" to a professional level, and he was just a cool dude.
Kareem def was the GOAT of the 70s, though, with him being in Airplane! being the hilarious peak at the end of the decade. 😂
My mom tells stories about how my dad would sneak out with his friends to go to those Bucks games, but who can blame him?! 🏀❤️
Those 71-72 Lakers were the real first superteam! Even though West, Baylor, and Chaimberlain were all old and at the end of their careers, their insanely historic run makes it that much more meaningful and sweeter. Just ask Jerry West about how tough all those losses were and how incredible it felt to finally win.
The Kareem and Wilt rivalry was so damn good in this decade too.
Dr. J was also insane and also forever changed basketball (for the better). The 70s are highly underrated, imo. Lots of incredible games that still have strict rules, tough defense, and fast gameplay, and a lot of great players! Honestly, if the 70s weren't as impactful, I'm not sure the NBA would have survived.
Great video as always! I'm loving these decades videos!
I can't wait for the 90s, and then we can all hear about the most awesome All Star game of all time whose halftime included the greatest collection of basketball legends ever assembled. There's a reason why that Dream Team also hilariously destroyed everyone! ❤
Remember, all of these amazing players and the announcers that watched and interviewed and covered these great players nearly universally agree that MJ was one of the best, if not the best, they'd ever seen (except for Wilt, who also always took everything personally and would body anyone, even at the age of 50 😂). 💯 I wish Wilt was still around, because the shade and fire he would be spitting would be informative, intelligent, biting, and hilarious! ❤🏀
Im suprised you didnt mention bill walton. Before my time, by my dad still talks about how great he was with the trailblazers
2 great seasons. Only because of the injuries. If it weren't for that he would definitely be up there
@@Amick44 yeah my dad lived in boston during the bird era. He always talks about how you saw glimpses of waltons greatness on the 86 team but everyone wished they could have seen him fully healthy
@@JJ_5289 he was that great. On both ends. Brilliant passer, too.
Skap, back on the attack. Laying down this history lessons.
I’d like you to open with the statement I’mma learn ya’ on these historical videos.
70's were tough to cover, you missed some big names like Pete, Havlicek, Archibald, Unseld, Gervin. Mentioned by knowledgeable folks in the comments. But still great job for a guy who hasn't been around at the time. Good luck with the 80's, your gonna have quite a few Lakers or Celtics fans disagree with you. History of the game is important and refreshing.
Great to look at this underrated decade that set the table for the Golden Era of the following two decades (including the stars you highlighted from the 70's)! Parity was definitely unparalleled in this decade, but the sheer volume of superstars driving diverse play styles would become truly exciting in the upcoming decades. Much respect to the 70's!
The 70s IS underrated. I really enjoyed making this video and am excited to do all of the decades! Many thanks for watching!!
Extra excited for the next two, @@skap_attack! It just happens that the Greatest Center, PF, SF, SG, and PG of all-time all came from the 80's (3 of them even peaking in the 90's).
This video is educational for casual fans and those desiring to become true basketball historians.
Can’t wait for the 80s. Bird is that dude.
Dr J will always be the best for the 70’s. He was the inspiration for Jordan and Magic, he made dunking an art form. How would basketball look without the doctor? I’m glad I am in a timeline where Dr J played professional basketball.
Good analysis. I can`t wait to see 80s~
Man, I feel like every generation up until now had so much respect for the past. I grew up watching MJ’s second three-peat and Kobe’s 5, and my dad and fam had full games of the Showtime Lakers on tape. I also had all of the Bulls championship tapes.
I got to see greatness, and hearing MJ and Kobe talk about West, Baylor, Dr. J, David Thompson, etc. I had to find out more, and it made me appreciate the game even more.
This era, sadly, and LeBron and his fans in particular, cannot accept the fact that nobody has been able to surpass Jordan, and that includes my favorite player, Kobe Bryant.
You have to be objective, and some people can’t.
My list goes:
1 Jordan
2 Kobe
3 Magic
4 LeBron
5 Kareem
This series is a lot of fun. I’m enjoying the break from the Bagless One. Keep up the great work!
salute to ya skap...great stuff
The best basketball channel ever!!! Just 🔥 🔥 🔥
My main man does it again, great video
I figured that it would be Kareem in the 70s because he definitely was the most dominant during that time span
It is. No GM is taking anyone Kareem. In the 70s. Nor should they.
Like the new content Skap but don’t let this new venture take away from your LeBum videos
Fast becoming my favourite NBA channel.
Ufff!! Can't wait for the 80s... 👏👏👏
The GOAT for the Decade of the 2020 is Skap. He keep getting Ws nonstop
😂 I appreciate you! 🙏❤️💪👊
Great break down. 70s had alot going on, but kareem was consistent all the way through. 80s is tough. Likely going to be magic. I think bird would be my choice. But alot of star power. I look forward to the next vid
The 80s is TIGHT! Very, very close call. We know the two vying for it. Magic won more, Bird was probably more individually dominant (but he won a lot too that decade). Undeniably two of the top 5-6 all time players in my book...but there can only be one GOAT of the 80s...
As for the 70s, I agree. Kareem might not have been able to imprint his dominance from a winning standpoint, but he won as much as anyone else while being the best individual player.
@@skap_attack I just hope you take into account that Magic played in the weaker conference.
Willis Reed = 0 seasons of 22 ppg
Willis Reed = 27.8 ppg vs Kareem in 1970 EDF
Wilt Chamberlain (Age 34)
20.7 ppg on 55% in the season
22.0 ppg (FG% N/A) vs Kareem in 1971 WCF
1972 season
Kareem = 34.8 ppg on 57%
Thurmond = 21.4 ppg on 43%
1972 WCSF
Kareem = 22.8 ppg on 41%
Thurmond = 25.4 ppg (FG% N/A)
The Bucks still won thanks to Oscar carrying Kareem. With Kareem struggling, Oscar redirected the offense through Bob Dandridge, who outscored Kareem 24 to 23 ppg. Kareem shot a poor 64% FT in the 1972 WCSF
1973
Kareem = 30.2 ppg on 55% in the season
Kareem = 22.8 ppg on 43% in WCSF vs Thurmond
Oscar = 21-5-8 on 50% FG - 91% FT, but the Bucks still lost despite Kareem having such stacked help.
Kareem also shot a poor 53% FT in the 1973 WCSF
1974
Cowens = 19 ppg on 44% in the season
Cowens = 23 ppg on 44% in Finals vs Kareem
1974 Finals Game 7
Cowens = 28-14-4-2-1 on 52% FG - 100% FT
Kareem = 26-13-4-0-0 on 48% FG - 55% FT
Cowens outperformed Kareem in every statistic except for tying him in assists.
1975 and 1976
Kareem became only consensus top 10 player to miss 2 playoffs in his prime
1977
Walton = 18.6 ppg 14.4 rpg 3.8 apg on 53% in the season
Walton = 19.3 ppg 14.8 rpg 5.8 apg on 50% in WCF vs Kareem
Walton's PPG, RPG, and APG all increased against Kareem with a slight dip in FG%
1978
Jack Sikma = 10.7 ppg on 46% in his rookie season
Jack Sikma = 18.3 ppg (N/A FG%) vs Kareem in 1st round win
1980
Darryl Dawkins = 14.7 ppg on 52% in the season
Darryl Dawkins = 21.4 ppg on 52% in 1980 Finals Games 1-5
Game 6 is excluded because Kareem did not play if by consitent u mean consistency getting exposed on defense in the post season you'd be right lol
@@JakeJamal LISTEN, KID! I’ve been hearing that crap ever since I was at UCLA. I’m out there busting my buns every night! Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes!
Love this series
Skap, I really wish that the NBA would pay you for this series when you get it done. Because I think that people would enjoy it like they did The Last Dance. This has never been done before.
Will you do nfl best player every decade too?
The Knicks won two titles in the 70’s also (‘70 & ‘73).
The Knicks technically did not win that first one in the 1970 league year. That was in the 1969-70 season. But in terms of calendar year, you're right.
@@skap_attack But it's called the 1970 NBA Finals
NY Knicks 2024 NBA Champ! Who agrees on this one. 😉
@@wazzup233 I’m sure the Knicks don’t believe this. 😳😂 But hey in an alternate universe anything is possible! 😎
by exposing kareems subpar defense in 1970 Willis Reed = 0 seasons of 22 ppg
Willis Reed = 27.8 ppg vs Kareem in 1970 EDF the actuall best center off all time hakeem would never let himself be cooked like that lol
I haven't watched the NBA in about 7 years but man I love this series and your presentation style.
NBA is strange it generally sees significant changes every 5 years.
You can definitely make that case. That peaks and primes should be viewed in a shorter snap shot of 3-5 years.
Man, when you do a video, i hit the like button instantly! This is a very good series that you're doing! Keep up the very good work that you're doing.
I appreciate you! Thank you so much for tuning and supporting the channel 🙏
@@skap_attack I'll it's refreshing to see this type of content! We live in a society today, that tries to rewrite history. You're paying homage to the past and respecting the present simultaneously! Simply put, you're giving credit where it's due.
💯. We've placed winning as the most important or vital achievement. It has become imperative and it blinds us to what is of true value and worth. And in our pursuit of this lofty achievement we dropped honesty, we dropped integrity, we dropped self-respect, we dropped truth, humility and common decency, and finally, the last pieces of dead weight to be dropped was courage and honour, now we have the ideal setup to win.
@@skap_attack once again, great video. Love your work. Thank you for sharing your talent with us, it is loved and appreciated.
@@itznotdatserious99 I appreciate you saying so. I do a lot on the “modern era” but I have ALWAYS thought it vital to remember and discuss the past prominently. And quite frankly as it pertains to NBA basketball, the older generations are by and large better than this newer iteration. Thanks for watching! 🙏❤️
Kareem the Dream and his amazing Skyhook ✨
this guy just don’t miss
🙏❤️👊
I feel like the 70s feels watered down because no team was dominant yet the ABA merging actually made the teams more competitive.
It does have that feel. BUT, you would think the most dominant player (Kareem) who won FIVE MVPs in that decade would have been able to dominant more if that were truly the case.
@@skap_attack in the 1970s, Wilt and Willis Reed were on their way to retirement, finishing their careers in 1973. There was no other legit MVP candidate until the late 70s when Moses Malone came around, winning his first MVP in 1979. For the rest of the 70s, Kareem's fellow MVP winners were Dave Cowens, Bob Mcadoo, and Bill Walton. None of these guys are even top 40 players of all-time.
@@skap_attack On top of that, Kareem's 1976 MVP came when he "led" the Lakers to a losing 40-42 record and missed the playoffs. The 1970s MVP competition was so weak, that the best player in the league couldn't even make the playoffs. No wonder Kareem had so many MVPs
from my personal experience most basketball fans have some understanding of the Wilt-Russell rivalry as well as the other great stars of the 1960s such as West, Baylor, and Oscar. With the 1970s, however, not nearly as many people discuss the championship teams of that decade such as the 1974 and 1976 Celtics, 1975 Warriors, 1977 Blazers, 1978 Bullets or 1979 Sonics like they do with Russell's Celtics or even Wilt's 1967 Sixers.
Considering that the likes of Oscar, West, Baylor, and Wilt's primes took place in the 1960s, most of the 1970s stars other than Kareem don't receive nearly as much recognition as the stars of other decades. We don't hear about the leaders of most 1970s Title teams; Willis Reed, Dave Cowens, Rick Barry, Bill Walton, Elvin Hayes, Gus Williams, etc. like we do with Magic, Bird, Jordan, Hakeem, all the way to the most recent championship-leading players such as Shaq, Kobe, Duncan, or LeBron. After comparing the former list of names to the latter, perhaps one can get a good idea of why that is the case.
My assumption is that the general lack of discussion of the 1970s is at least partially attributable to a lack of interest due to the much weaker quality of the 1970s, whether fans are aware of this weakness or not. There is no doubt about the fact that the 1970s is unquestionably the weakest era of the NBA's post-infancy (1960-present) years.
Like these videos I learn something new
Thanks so much for watching!
Shout-out to Rick Barry w his Dirk kawhi run. Only Cinderella in history. Deserves goat discussions
Kareem Abdul Jabbar is Imo easily the second greatest basketball player ever, his total basketball career is honestly unmatched
This era was the influential in the 20th century . Without them theres no 90s basketball
I can’t believe you left out George “ICEMAN” Gervin. He may not have won a title, but he sure carried the Spurs in their early NBA seasons especially in 1979 where he carried the spurs to a game 7 in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Washington Bullets (the defending champs).
I absolutely LOVE Gervin. One of my all time fave scorers, and in my opinion, one of the greatest 5 or 6 scorers who have ever lived. Unfortunately for him, again, he was only technically in the NBA for four seasons. I hate the ABANBA shit that went down in that decade...
@@skap_attackright. His real prime was mid to late 70s to early 80s. Similar to Havlicek. Prime late 60s to mid 70s, ditto Walt Frazier and Dave Bing.
That makes it hard to call certain players the very best of the decade when maybe they were only Superstars for part of the decade.
I just realized that the 1970s and 1980s were still a fast paced, high scoring era. I mean I never would've guessed that the 2010s were slower paced and lower scoring then those decades which makes me have alot more respect for Lebron breaking Kareem's all time scoring record because he did it in a lower scoring era of basketball. The only real low scoring decades were the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s by these estimations but the 2020s are back to what it was from the 1960s to the 1980s. Remarkable.
A 1 content ❤
Thank you! And many thanks for watching!
cant wait for the who owned 2010 decade lol.
I can’t wait until this series reaches “Bron’s Era”. I’ve always said there’s a good argument that he was never the best player in his own era (besides MAYBE his 2 championship seasons in Miami).
If brons era was the 2010s than we gotta look at who ate pff his plate the most
This series is fire
Do it! Do it!
Skap attack, you are doing your thing, my brother.🤛
I love how not only is this an informative and well-presented retrospective, but also having the knowledge that this entire elaborate series is ultimately just going to serve as one giant exposition for massively shitting on LeBron James in the end 🤣 The hustle never stops, keep fightin the good fight skap
2000s Shaq Kobe, Duncan
Episodes 4 and 5 will make le Fan boys cry! Yep Lew Al owns the 70s. 80s between him, Larry, Isiah and Earvin.
Did they have the "gather step" back then or is that something the modern NBA ushered in to help their artificially created star James Harden score more points? 😂
This was the era when I first started watching the NBA as a kid. It's almost im[possible to explain the impact of the ABA NBA merger. It completely changed the sport.
This is the decade that the pace slowed down alot.
We gotta get a top 25 all time list video from you man. I'm interested in some of your rankings like if you'd have Dr. J over KD or if you'd even have Curry in the top 15. God, I don't even know where you'd rank Lebron. Probably like the 6-8 range behind guys like Jordan, Kobe, Magic, Bird and others I'm assuming. I think you might even have Hakeem up in the top 10 as well because it seems like you really like him as well.
The last decade when players had class and humility. Some of their players had day jobs to keep their egos checked.
For the difference in average points per game between the decades do you think that is more about how good the offense is or how good the defense is? If that’s confusing then here’s a more direct question. During the 2000s was the offense just worse or was the defense just way better than any other decade?
The Knicks won two in the '70s too. Just helping out another brother
Soooo, I am breaking this up by league year. The Knicks won the championship at the end of the 1969-70 NBA league year. The series was technically played in the 1970 calendar year, so you're right. But I am breaking this up by league years for a true 10 seasons.
Kareem won his first Chip with the Bucks in 70's when Big O joined him. In the video this is kinda glossed over and seems like Kareem only won when Magic came.
I am a Doc fan, but Jabbar was the best in the Seventies. Rick Barry was underrated back then.
In my view, the 70's was the best basketball of all ages!
The knicks won 2 titles along with Boston. The Lakers only won 1 tho they reached the finals 3 times. Wes Unseld's Bullets got to the finals 4 times in the decade but only won 1. My vote for team of the 70's, slightly by default due to much parady during the era, are the Knicks, led by Willis Reed and Walt "Clyde" Frazier. 2 titles in 3 appearances.
Why do you recognize the decade of the 70s as 1970-71 to 1979-80 instead of 1969-70 to 1978-79? Curious bc the 1979-80 season is an 80s year overall.
For purposes of this series, I decided to go by league years...
1.) 1970-71
2.) 1971-72
3.) 1972-73
4.) 1973-74
5.) 1974-75
6.) 1975-76
7.) 1976-77
8.) 1977-78
9.) 1978-79
10) 1979-80
I did this because in my mind, this is technically the league year of the actual decade. I realize the NBA championships are actually played out in the following calendar years. But I go by what season they begin in. The 1969-70 season, to me belongs to the 60s.
I have been saying this for over a decade. GOAT is for a player with both individual and team accolades, accumulative stats don’t count as it doesn’t determine DOMINANCE, averages are better. If accumulative stats was so great, the NBA execs would be paying you more money for it…..they don’t! They pay based on averages. So why would anyone look at GOAT status any different 🤷♂️
People always mistake “favourite” player with “GOAT”
Kareem has such a high rank on the all-time leaderboards because of the fact that he played 20 seasons, 14 of them with the 2 best PGs of all-time helping him out. If you give any player 14 seasons with the 2 best PGs of all-time, they better have some high cumulative stats.
Hakeem Olajuwon is definitely the best center of all-time. Often times, fans use inaccurate measures of evaluating individual players, including subjective awards like MVPs and all-star teams. Once we put all of these factors in context, it will become clear that the only center in Hakeem's conversation is Bill Russell. Not Kareem, not Wilt, not Shaq. Hakeem is vastly superior to all of them, and still superior to Russell in my opinion.
@@JakeJamal - sure MVPs/ all NBA are subjective I will give you that.
However league leader awards are NOT
Hakeem - x2 rebound and x3 blocks
Kareem - x2 scoring, x4 blocks and x1 rebound title….
Yeah - to be “great” you need to dominate BOTH ends, Kareem proved he has as he has the hardware and Hakeem does not - sure Hakeem has great footwork and is great defensively….again though Kareem was just a little more dominant 🤷♂️ FYI having “all-stars” on the team don’t necessarily mean you will win or perform better go ask LBJ 🤷♂️ Hakeem had Clyde (who was considered the MJ equivalent during the 80s and they came in the league apprx the same time) - you act as though Hakeem had no one, the guy entered the league with Sampson!!!!
Like I stated initially - there’s a difference between FAVOURITE player oppose to BETTER. Keep in mind when you are comparing greats you are literally splitting hairs and every accolade counts whether you believe it should be discounted because it’s “subjective” or not.
By your theory - a voting system is illegitimate 🤦♂️ this isn’t boxing or MMA where there’s only x3 judges…..it’s a large panel voting on All-NBA, MVPs…
@@bGzzzzzKareem faced weak competition
Kareem's fellow MVP winners were the likes of Cowens, Walton, and McAdoo. This was incredibly easy competition for MVPs and not at all comparable to future MVP competition like Magic, Bird, Moses, Jordan, Isiah, Kevin Johnson, Hakeem, Karl Malone, Barkley, Duncan, Shaq, Kobe, LeBron, Nash, Wade, Durant, Curry, and many more.
Bob McAdoo in 1975 was the only pre-1996 MVP to not make the 50 Greatest List. Since 1996, Derrick Rose is likely the only other MVP who would not make the 50 Greatest. In 1976, Kareem became the only MVP to miss the playoffs. When the best player in league can't make playoffs - tells a lot about the league's quality. Likewise, when the best player of that decade in Kareem missed the playoffs twice, something no other consensus top 10 player has done, that further confirms the weakness of the league's quality
The 1970s is the only post-infancy decade with no great dynasty
1960s - Celtics
1980s - Lakers and Celtics
1990s - Bulls
2000s - Lakers and Spurs
2010s - Warriors
There was no 60+ win team in 5 of 10 seasons in the 1970s. From 1980 to 2017 that only happened once in 38 years (2000/01). Even in 2001, the Lakers became one of only two teams (2010 Lakers) to beat 4 50+ win teams in one playoffs, so the competition was still of far superior overall quality.
Kareem did not have to face many of the best players of the 1970s for several years
The ABA diluted the NBA by removing the best competition and placing them in a separate league
Rick Barry - 1969-1972
Artis Gilmore - 1972-1976
Billy Cunningham - 1973-1974
George Gervin - 1973-1976
Julius Erving - 1972-1976
David Thompson - 1976
Sub-50 Win Finals Teams from 1960-present
1965 Lakers - 49-31 - 80 game season
1977 Blazers - 49-33
2003 Nets - 49-33 - the last sub-50 team to make the NBA Finals
1964 Warriors - 48-32 - 80 game season
1969 Celtics - 48-34
1972 Knicks - 48-34
1975 Warriors - 48-34
1978 Sonics - 47-35
1995 Rockets - 47-35
1970 Lakers - 46-36
1966 Lakers - 45-35 - 80 game season
1967 Warriors - 44-37 - 81 game season
1978 Bullets - 44-38
1999 Knicks - 44-38 - win% adjusted for 82 games (27-23)
1971 Bullets - 42-40
1976 Suns - 42-40
1981 Rockets - 40-42 - only losing Finals team since 1959
8 of the 17 sub-50 win teams to make the Finals from 1960-present came in the weak 1970s.
1-seeds that had under 50 wins, 79+ game seasons only (1961-present)
1964 Warriors - 48-32
1965 Lakers - 49-31
1966 Lakers - 45-35
1967 Warriors - 44-37
1970 Hawks - 48-34
1975 Warriors - 48-34
In 79+ game seasons (1961-present), the 1960s and 1970s are the only decades to produce conferences with no 50+ win teams.
5 worst-record Finals teams (1960-present)
1999 Knicks - 44-38 (adj. for 82)
1978 Bullets - 44-38
1971 Bullets - 42-40
1976 Suns - 42-40
1981 Rockets - 40-42
The 1978 NBA Finals is the only time since 1958 that both Finals teams had under 50 wins, and the 1958 season only lasted 72 games. Record-wise, three of the five worst Finals teams from 1960-present were in the 1970s.
In the only championship that Kareem was the best player, the 1971 Bucks had one of the weakest paths to title of all-time
41-41 Warriors
48-34 Lakers (no Jerry West)
42-40 Bullets (Gus Johnson out 2 of 4 games)
The Bucks' opponents were a combined 131-115 (0.533), the worst collective playoff opponent win% of any title team after 1957, and that's before taking West and Johnson's injuries into account.
When Jerry West returned in 1972, the Lakers beat the Bucks on the way to the 1972 title.
Conclusion - Kareem played in weakest 1960s-present decade for almost all his prime. This made it significantly easier for him statistically and accolade-wise compared to future players.
@@bGzzzzz Kareem heavily depended on Magic / Oscar
Kareem = 2 scoring titles with Oscar
Kareem = 0 scoring titles without Oscar
The NBA's leading all-time scorer couldn't lead the NBA in scoring without being set up by Oscar Robertson, probably the second-best playmaker of all-time after Magic Johnson
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1971-1974 with Oscar
30.9 ppg on 56%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1975-1979 post-Oscar pre-Magic
26.6 ppg on 55%
-4.3 ppg decrease
Every year from the 1975 to 1979 season, Kareem's scoring continually decreased without Oscar Robertson by his side. This was not because Kareem had passed his prime, since Kareem was 27-31 during those years. In 1980, when Magic Johnson became a Laker, Kareem's scoring finally increased again at age 32 and he shot the highest FG% of his career.
Kareem = 3 seasons of 30+ ppg in 4 seasons with Oscar
Kareem = 0 seasons of 30+ ppg in any season without Oscar
Kareem came close with 29.98 PPG in the 1975 season, but even this came under anomalous circumstances. Firstly, the Bucks still missed the playoffs with Kareem, making his numbers empty stats a-la Demarcus Cousins with the Kings or Anthony Davis with the Pelicans. Kareem did miss games, but this was due to a self-inflicted injury. Kareem punched the stanchion out of frustration during a preseason game, putting him out of commission for the early part of the season. Any struggles the Bucks had in Kareem's absence is his own fault, since his own inability to keep his emotions in check is what put the Bucks at a disadvantage in the first place.
Secondly, the 1975 Western Conference was one of 6 times in a 79+ game season (1961-present) that a conference failed to produce a 50+ win team. This means that Kareem's numbers came under incredibly easy circumstances, even for the already weak standards of the 1970s. Lastly, Kareem shot the worst FG% of his career in the 1975 season (excluding his very last season at age 41) despite those favorable circumstances, so his high volume came at a high cost without Oscar.
The Bucks made the 1971 and 1974 Finals when Oscar led the playoffs in APG, but failed to make the Finals in 1972 and 1973 when Oscar did not lead the playoffs in APG, losing in 1 or 2 rounds. So without Oscar leading the playoffs in APG or having the all-time regular season and playoff leader in APG in Magic Johnson by his side, Kareem had no chance of making the Finals even under his very favorable circumstances. Without the two best playmakers of all-time playing at an extremely high level, Kareem's teams were going nowhere in the playoffs.
All players with 10+ APG in a Finals run
Bob Cousy 1 time (1959 - only lasted 2 rounds)
Magic Johnson 7 times, 6 of which Kareem benefited from
1974 Bucks with Oscar = Game 7 of the NBA Finals
1975 Bucks without Oscar = missed playoffs
1975 Bucks with Kareem = 38-44
1976 Bucks without Kareem = 38-44
Kareem became the only consensus top 10 player to miss the playoffs twice in prime without Oscar or Magic in 1975 and 1976. Kareem beat ZERO (0) 50+ win teams in the playoffs in 6 seasons without Oscar/Magic, 5 of which were prime seasons.
After struggling without Oscar, Kareem lucks out and is gifted Magic Johnson, the all-time leader in regular season and playoff APG, to set up his points like Oscar did.
In the 1980, 1981, and 1982 seasons, Kareem had more PPG with Magic than in the 1979 season without Magic, despite his minutes continuing to decrease each of those years and being ages 32-34. Kareem's 3 highest and 5 of his 6 highest FG% seasons came with Magic Johnson despite being ages 32-37 in those years with Magic. This is quite clearly because of Magic's passing.
Excluding Kareem's last season at age 41,
Kareem's 3 worst FG% seasons were non-Oscar/Magic years
1976 - 53%
1970 - 52%
1975 - 51%
2 of which were prime seasons
These statistics and facts with context clearly show that Kareem heavily depended on Magic and Oscar's passing to set him up. His best PPG and FG% years were with Oscar and Magic respectively, even when playing with Magic at ages 32-37. Yet Kareem's 3 worst FG% seasons, excluding his very last year at age 41, were in non-Magic/Oscar years, even when in his prime at age 27 and 28.
The 70s is undoubtedly the greatest NBA era. The only wack part is they didn’t have the 3P line for extra spice, but ABA did so it makes up for it.
70s had TRUE handcheck which was abolished in 1980, zone and actual triple team defensive schemes. It may have held the most talent with countless all-stars & legends competing during this era. Kevin Porter,Jerry Sloan, David Thompson,George Gervin,Gail Goodrich,Pete Maravich,John Havilicheck,Dennis Johnson,George McGinnis, Walt Frazier, Nate Thurmond, Willis Reed, Charlie Scott & I can literally keep going for days…. None of these names were even mentioned in this video, this era was super deep
I totally agree with you here. The 70s is a vastly underrated era. Overall much deeper than the 60s in terms of frontline talent. I never really understood why it’s such a discredited decade.
@@skap_attack The NBA likes to forget the merger ever happened + they used the Formula of the ABA and made the face of the league a player instead of a Franchise. Because I follow an old head group on FB that post 70s ABA memorabilia, stories, forgotten players and stats. Most would say Mel Daniels & Roger Brown are in contention if not greater than Dr. J yet we never hear about them even in ABA documentaries.
Anyways, it didn’t work out with the NBA exactly how they wanted, love DR.J but he is on the level of West & LeBron, great players who can’t win. So they were ecstatic when a 6’8 PG-SF & a 6’10 SF-PF entered the league simultaneously with Charisma & amazing ability to make others greater with their play, on top of coming off a rivalry in their final NCAA game which was for the championship. O’Brien couldn’t write a better script.
In short term the league wasn’t manipulated much at all pre 80s. We all know Stern era is when it got ridiculous with marketing and so forth even worse with Silver. Dynasty’s make for a better story.
I think Kareem owned the 70s. I know you had Barry, Gervin, players like that but I can't think of any other that was better than Kareem
Unfortunately the best players other than Kareem were in the ABA during this decade. Thus they didn't really play the full decade in the actual NBA. Kind of gives it to Kareem by default.
@@skap_attack That's true
Kareem had 5 prime seasons to prove that
he could carry a team but failed
horribly without Oscar/Magic, missing the playoffs
twice in his prime. Even when he had Hall of Famers
Dantley and Wilkes on his team, Kareem only went
1-2 in playoff series on that stacked squad.
@JakeJamal So you gonna forget about him winning the championship for the Bucks in 1971 when he has the best player. Bruh when Kareem went to the Lakers, the Lakers went 30-52 the previous season. What the hell are you talking about
@@Kings0424 Kareem totally outplayed and beat Wes Unseld. This is the only time Kareem beat a great big man without any caveats. In his first season with Oscar, Kareem won his first scoring title and ring. Kareem did beat Wilt on the way to this ring, but it comes with an asterisk as Jerry West did not play in that series due to injury. West came back the next year and Kareem was sent home packing.
Excellent video, as usual. However, I disagree with your definition of when a decade should begin and end. The 70s should begin with the 69-70 season and end with the 78-79 season, because the majority of the games are played after January 1st, and the most important games are at the end of the season. To say that the Lakers won two championships in the 70s, when the second one literally took place in 1980, is illogical. That changes things a little. There are still only two teams with multiple championships, but it's now the Celtics and Knicks (not the Lakers). This will give the Lakers 5 titles in the 80s, instead of 4.
Wes unseld!
My eyes told me Lebron owned the 70's, 80's, 90's, 00's, 10's, 20's, 30's & 40's.
LOLOL! Spoken like a TRUE LeBron stan would say it!
@@skap_attack lol
Dr. J owns the 70s, Kareem is a distant second
Actually reverse.
None of these guys would hang a banner for an in season tournament just saying 😂
Kareen won the 2nd in 1980
I don't know if I'd put the 1971 Lakers in my top 5 all time Teams ever. I mean I'd put the 1987 Lakers and 2001 Lakers over them in terms of just Laker teams and then that's not even taking into consideration the 1986 Celtics who were considered the greatest NBA team of all time at that time, the 1996 Bulls who were also considered the greatest NBA team of all time at that time and even the 2017 Warriors who are the newest greatest NBA team of all time. If the 1972 Lakers are in the top 10 teams of all time, I'd put them at the backend of the top 10 and I might have to leave the 1971 Bucks out of the top 10 depending on the other teams I'd consider for the top 10.
I can't wait until someone owns two decades of basketball. Just imagine if Jordan had a little more help in the 1980s like if he was drafted by either the Rockets and Trailblazers and he'd won three titles at the end of the 1980s and then dominated the 1990s with his six titles as well. He'd own the 80s and 90s if he'd have Ralph Sampson or Clyde Drexler on his team early in his career. Lebron had a chance to do this very thing as well if he'd been drafted to a better team. Imagine if he'd been drafted by the Pistons and gotten four titles in the 2000s and he'd own the decade and stolen at least one of Kobe's two Championships at the end of the decade and then he'd probably leave for south beach and own the 2010s as well. What's crazy about Lebron is if you change a few things in his career, he could've literally owned the 2000s, 2010s and 2020s decades. That's unfathomable. If he'd join a young up and coming team like the Nuggets or Bucks in 2018 instead of the Lakers, he'd have at least three titles already in the 2020s as well and he'd most likely have been Finals MVP as well because the media tends to like Lebron more than Jokic and Giannis. Regardless, Lebron literally had a chance to own three decades of NBA basketball but squandered it early on during the 2000s granted he really didn't have any help during the decade and then he chose the wrong team to go to in 2018 which is why he doesn't own the 2020s. He'd definitely own the 2020s had he chosen a good team with competent ownership like the Nuggets. I don't trust the Bucks to build around Lebron and Giannis though so definitely if he went to the Nuggets they might very well have three-peated or possibly even four-peated but injuries happen and thats just too hard to calculate especially with the amount of young talent in the western conference during this decade.
Bernard king was the og king in his literal name.
LeTrying hard goat LeBum😂
Devils advocate : Kareem didn’t win in LA until they drafted Magic
As a LA fan I totally agree
@@massimocometti6529 They were rebuilding. Lakers were at their lowest point when Kareem joined and the roster was terrible. Kareem was pivotal to turning things around and getting the Lakers on the winning road again. And the roster was still terrible.
He took a losing team to two conference finals and championship finals before Magic arrived. And the roster was doable.
Besides, the reverse of your argument is also true, Magic didn't win without Kareem. Safe to say they need each other to win. It had something to do with 'Teamwork', well, that's what I heard., and it seems to have worked. They kept at it and won 5 times. 'Teamwork', who knew, who knew it could be this effective.
(And we all know, Kareem did win without Magic)
60s: Bill Russell
70s: Kareem
80s: Magic
90s: Jordan
00s: Kobe
10s: Kobe
20s: Jokic
Kareem heavily depended on Magic / Oscar
Kareem = 2 scoring titles with Oscar
Kareem = 0 scoring titles without Oscar
The NBA's leading all-time scorer couldn't lead the NBA in scoring without being set up by Oscar Robertson, probably the second-best playmaker of all-time after Magic Johnson
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1971-1974 with Oscar
30.9 ppg on 56%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1975-1979 post-Oscar pre-Magic
26.6 ppg on 55%
-4.3 ppg decrease
Every year from the 1975 to 1979 season, Kareem's scoring continually decreased without Oscar Robertson by his side. This was not because Kareem had passed his prime, since Kareem was 27-31 during those years. In 1980, when Magic Johnson became a Laker, Kareem's scoring finally increased again at age 32 and he shot the highest FG% of his career.
Kareem = 3 seasons of 30+ ppg in 4 seasons with Oscar
Kareem = 0 seasons of 30+ ppg in any season without Oscar
Kareem came close with 29.98 PPG in the 1975 season, but even this came under anomalous circumstances. Firstly, the Bucks still missed the playoffs with Kareem, making his numbers empty stats a-la Demarcus Cousins with the Kings or Anthony Davis with the Pelicans. Kareem did miss games, but this was due to a self-inflicted injury. Kareem punched the stanchion out of frustration during a preseason game, putting him out of commission for the early part of the season. Any struggles the Bucks had in Kareem's absence is his own fault, since his own inability to keep his emotions in check is what put the Bucks at a disadvantage in the first place.
Secondly, the 1975 Western Conference was one of 6 times in a 79+ game season (1961-present) that a conference failed to produce a 50+ win team. This means that Kareem's numbers came under incredibly easy circumstances, even for the already weak standards of the 1970s. Lastly, Kareem shot the worst FG% of his career in the 1975 season (excluding his very last season at age 41) despite those favorable circumstances, so his high volume came at a high cost without Oscar.
The Bucks made the 1971 and 1974 Finals when Oscar led the playoffs in APG, but failed to make the Finals in 1972 and 1973 when Oscar did not lead the playoffs in APG, losing in 1 or 2 rounds. So without Oscar leading the playoffs in APG or having the all-time regular season and playoff leader in APG in Magic Johnson by his side, Kareem had no chance of making the Finals even under his very favorable circumstances. Without the two best playmakers of all-time playing at an extremely high level, Kareem's teams were going nowhere in the playoffs.
@@JakeJamal Yeah, team mates heavily depend on each other, that's how they win.
We take advantage of each other's strengths, plan, and mask each other's weaknesses and go out and play the game. . We do it as a team, teamwork, is how we win games, it's how we win championships.
tl;dr@@JakeJamal
@@Joe7_OSRS ok.... good for you ig
@@Joe7_OSRS basic summary kareem is extremly overatted
You say Kareem won 2 championships in this decade but it's incorrect, as the second is in the 1979-80, which belongs to the next decade
No pistol Pete?
Knicks won 2 championships in the 1970s, 1970 & 1973. 1972 only year Lakers won championship in the 1970s
There is only one G.O.A.T.
Mohammed Ali.
The eighties was the greatest decade for anythin Music sports it didn't matter
Hey bro just curious, I really found myself interested by your videos contrasting thought to lebrons greatness and all that but I also feel sometimes you’re biased against him somewhat, not trying to attack but I’m commenting to ask if you’ll ever do a respect lebron video where you analyze the good of his game and give a breakdown of where you think he does lie in basketball greatness. You’ve swayed me away from thinking he’s the goat for sure but all i can find are lebron is either the goat or trash content and I want to see from your perspective where you rank lebron and how much you do appreciate the good things he has done in his time as a player. Just a thought 😮
It's a good call and a tough one. Everything about James seems to always come with an asterisk. This is a guy who has 'Chosen 1' tattooed across his back, it just speaks volumes to who this man is. And it's all so goddamn sad. He had so much promise, so much talent, what a disappointment. 😢
Kareem-Abdul Jabbar was the greatest player of the 70s and the second greatest of all time.
He definitely has a good case for both of those titles...
There is only one title with Oscar Robertson! You can put MJ as the best in the 80s !
Hakeem Olajuwon is definitely the best center of all-time. Often times, fans use inaccurate measures of evaluating individual players, including subjective awards like MVPs and all-star teams. Once we put all of these factors in context, it will become clear that the only center in Hakeem's conversation is Bill Russell. Not Kareem, not Wilt, not Shaq. Hakeem is vastly superior to all of them, and still superior to Russell in my opinion.
@JakeJamal Bill Russell is overrated! Average 15 ppg in his career! Hakeem was better! If you look at individual statistics, then Wilt is unmatched! 1.Wilt 2.Kareem 3.Hakeem , ... In the modern game, Bill would be something like Garnett, more like PF! Hakeem was something like "interim " champion while Jordan played baseball !
@@mirospajic9929 Bill Russell is the only center that deserves to be in the discussion with Hakeem. I actually can see a case that Russell could be greater than Hakeem, though I have more reasons to pick Hakeem over Russell. Why is Russell so great? Because he could adapt his game to his team's needs in order to make them win
Many bring up Russell's low regular season FG% and ppg, but Russell changed his role as needed to win for his team. His regular season low FG% and low scoring is irrelevant, because he adapted his game when it mattered and won the Finals while playing multiple different roles
1962 Finals - Russell dropped 23-27-6 on 54%, led his team in pts/rebs
1963 Finals - Russell dropped 20-26-5 on 47%
1965 Finals - Russell dropped 18-25-6 on 70%, NBA Finals record for FG%
1966 Finals - Russell dropped 24-24-4 on 54%, led his team in pts/rebs
Russell could be the best scorer, defender, rebounder, blocker, and even passer (1969 Finals) when he had to. Along with Hakeem, Russell is the only center to lead a title team in scoring (1962) and assists (1965), though Hakeem did both at the same time in 1994. He was a complete player and he has 11 rings to show for it. He also was amazing at making his teammates better, the Celtics lost in the 1958 Finals when Russell was injured and 11-0 when he was healthy. Only once in his career did a healthy Bill Russell lose in the playoffs against Wilt in 1967.
KNICKS 70; 73.... CELTICS 74; 76..... LAKERS 72; 80 [NOT 79----SUPERSONICS]..... KAREEM 5 MVP'S IN THE 70's [71,72,74,76,77].... HIS OTHER MVP WAS IN THE 79-80 SEASON.... GREAT ANALYSIS THOUGH EVEN IF SLIGHTLY ERRONEOUS.....