Inner-Circle Hall of Famers: 1970s
Posted by Neil Paine on December 21, 2009
Required reading material:
Who Are the “Inner-Circle” Hall of Famers? (Part I – Intro to Method)
Inner-Circle Hall of Famers: 1950s/1960s
1970s
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ("The Captain")
Position: Center
Height: 7-2 Weight: 225 lbs.
Born: April 16, 1947 in New York, New York
High School: Power Memorial in New York, New York
College: University of California, Los Angeles
| Year | Age | Team | MediaPts | Rank | StatsPts | Rank | Composite | %Possible | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 22 | MIL | 319.0 | 6 | 323.0 | 2 | 321.0 | 99.1% | 3 |
| 1971 | 23 | MIL | 354.0 | 1 | 354.0 | 1 | 354.0 | 100.0% | 1 |
| 1972 | 24 | MIL | 360.0 | 1 | 360.0 | 1 | 360.0 | 100.0% | 1 |
| 1973 | 25 | MIL | 344.0 | 1 | 344.0 | 1 | 344.0 | 100.0% | 1 |
| 1974 | 26 | MIL | 344.0 | 1 | 344.0 | 1 | 344.0 | 100.0% | 1 |
| 1975 | 27 | MIL | 349.0 | 11 | 357.0 | 3 | 353.0 | 98.3% | 5 |
| 1976 | 28 | LAL | 344.0 | 1 | 344.0 | 1 | 344.0 | 100.0% | 1 |
| 1977 | 29 | LAL | 295.0 | 1 | 295.0 | 1 | 295.0 | 100.0% | 1 |
| 1978 | 30 | LAL | 276.0 | 10 | 285.0 | 1 | 280.5 | 98.4% | 3 |
| 1979 | 31 | LAL | 277.0 | 4 | 280.0 | 1 | 278.5 | 99.5% | 2 |
| 1980 | 32 | LAL | 287.0 | 1 | 287.0 | 1 | 287.0 | 100.0% | 1 |
| 1981 | 33 | LAL | 302.0 | 3 | 302.0 | 3 | 302.0 | 99.3% | 2 |
| 1982 | 34 | LAL | 305.0 | 12 | 308.5 | 8.5 | 306.7 | 97.1% | 10 |
| 1983 | 35 | LAL | 308.0 | 9 | 309.0 | 8 | 308.5 | 97.6% | 7 |
| 1984 | 36 | LAL | 307.0 | 4 | 292.5 | 18.5 | 299.7 | 96.7% | 9 |
| 1985 | 37 | LAL | 315.5 | 5.5 | 315.0 | 6 | 315.2 | 98.5% | 6 |
| 1986 | 38 | LAL | 322.0 | 4 | 319.0 | 7 | 320.5 | 98.6% | 4 |
| 1987 | 39 | LAL | 315.0 | 21 | 294.5 | 41.5 | 304.6 | 90.9% | 23 |
| 1988 | 40 | LAL | 312.5 | 20.5 | 267.0 | 66 | 288.9 | 87.0% | 28 |
| 1989 | 41 | LAL | 330.0 | 24 | 212.5 | 141.5 | 264.8 | 75.0% | 28 |
Already the greatest college basketball player of all time, Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr. made the transition from NCAA fame to NBA superstardom with as little difficulty as any player ever, landing with the Bucks in the '69 Draft and instantly establishing himself as a Top-5 player in his first season (by comparison, LeBron James -- granted, 3 years younger than KAJ when he came out -- was merely the 20th-best player in the NBA by these metrics as a rookie, waiting until his 2nd year before joining the Top-5). Changing his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ("Generous Servant of Allah") the day after the Bucks won the 1971 championship, his game remained the same, and he was a fixture among the 10 best players in basketball every season from 1970 to 1986. The stats in particular love Kareem, as he ranked 1st overall by the metrics a downright UCLA-like 9 times in 10 seasons between 1971 and 1980 (years in which he was unfairly denied a number of MVP awards). Oh, and I forgot to mention that Jabbar also won 6 NBA titles as a player and is the league's all-time leader in points scored. If that's not a full basketball resume, I have no idea what is.
Julius Erving ("The Doctor")
Position: Forward-Guard
Height: 6-6 Weight: 200 lbs.
Born: February 22, 1950 in Roosevelt, New York
High School: Roosevelt in Roosevelt, New York
College: University of Massachusetts Amherst
| Year | Age | Team | MediaPts | Rank | StatsPts | Rank | Composite | %Possible | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 21 | VIR | 330.0 | 31 | 342.5 | 18.5 | 336.2 | 93.4% | 15 |
| 1973 | 22 | VIR | 309.5 | 35.5 | 339.0 | 6 | 323.9 | 94.2% | 19 |
| 1974 | 23 | NYA | 313.5 | 31.5 | 340.5 | 4.5 | 326.7 | 95.0% | 13 |
| 1975 | 24 | NYA | 328.5 | 31.5 | 358.0 | 2 | 342.9 | 95.5% | 14 |
| 1976 | 25 | NYA | 310.5 | 34.5 | 343.0 | 2 | 326.3 | 94.9% | 13 |
| 1977 | 26 | PHI | 290.0 | 6 | 291.5 | 4.5 | 290.7 | 98.6% | 3 |
| 1978 | 27 | PHI | 280.5 | 5.5 | 269.5 | 16.5 | 274.9 | 96.5% | 10 |
| 1979 | 28 | PHI | 262.0 | 19 | 267.5 | 13.5 | 264.7 | 94.5% | 13.5 |
| 1980 | 29 | PHI | 286.0 | 2 | 286.0 | 2 | 286.0 | 99.7% | 2 |
| 1981 | 30 | PHI | 304.0 | 1 | 303.5 | 1.5 | 303.7 | 99.9% | 1 |
| 1982 | 31 | PHI | 314.0 | 3 | 315.0 | 2 | 314.5 | 99.5% | 2 |
| 1983 | 32 | PHI | 312.0 | 5 | 310.0 | 7 | 311.0 | 98.4% | 6 |
| 1984 | 33 | PHI | 305.0 | 6 | 307.5 | 3.5 | 306.2 | 98.8% | 4 |
| 1985 | 34 | PHI | 305.0 | 16 | 296.0 | 25 | 300.5 | 93.9% | 17 |
| 1986 | 35 | PHI | 305.0 | 21 | 284.0 | 42 | 294.3 | 90.6% | 25 |
| 1987 | 36 | PHI | 315.0 | 21 | 251.0 | 85 | 281.2 | 83.9% | 27 |
As has been customary since this post, I penalized Erving's ABA performance by 25%... And he still comes out as an Inner-Circle legend. Instead of waxing poetic about Dr. J, I've found the best way to appropriately pay tribute to his career is through the good, old-fashioned mixtape (BTW, he has to be the first great player you can say that about):
John Havlicek ("Hondo")
Position: Forward-Guard
Height: 6-5 Weight: 203 lbs.
Born: April 8, 1940 in Martins Ferry, Ohio
High School: Bridgeport in Bridgeport, Ohio
College: Ohio State University
| Year | Age | Team | MediaPts | Rank | StatsPts | Rank | Composite | %Possible | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | 22 | BOS | 93.0 | 25 | 95.0 | 23 | 94.0 | 80.3% | 19 |
| 1964 | 23 | BOS | 91.0 | 21 | 97.0 | 15 | 94.0 | 84.6% | 15 |
| 1965 | 24 | BOS | 47.0 | 68 | 85.0 | 30 | 63.2 | 55.4% | 34 |
| 1966 | 25 | BOS | 103.5 | 8.5 | 84.0 | 28 | 93.2 | 84.0% | 16 |
| 1967 | 26 | BOS | 108.5 | 15.5 | 115.5 | 8.5 | 111.9 | 91.0% | 9 |
| 1968 | 27 | BOS | 298.0 | 9 | 285.0 | 22 | 291.4 | 95.2% | 11 |
| 1969 | 28 | BOS | 304.0 | 8 | 285.0 | 27 | 294.3 | 94.6% | 12 |
| 1970 | 29 | BOS | 316.5 | 8.5 | 316.5 | 8.5 | 316.5 | 97.7% | 8 |
| 1971 | 30 | BOS | 348.5 | 6.5 | 350.5 | 4.5 | 349.5 | 98.7% | 4 |
| 1972 | 31 | BOS | 358.0 | 3 | 353.5 | 7.5 | 355.7 | 98.8% | 4 |
| 1973 | 32 | BOS | 342.0 | 3 | 334.5 | 10.5 | 338.2 | 98.3% | 5 |
| 1974 | 33 | BOS | 340.0 | 5 | 328.5 | 16.5 | 334.2 | 97.2% | 9 |
| 1975 | 34 | BOS | 354.0 | 6 | 337.0 | 23 | 345.4 | 96.2% | 12 |
| 1976 | 35 | BOS | 336.5 | 8.5 | 290.0 | 55 | 312.4 | 90.8% | 25 |
| 1977 | 36 | BOS | 276.0 | 20 | 239.0 | 57 | 256.8 | 87.1% | 26 |
| 1978 | 37 | BOS | 267.0 | 19 | 215.0 | 71 | 239.6 | 84.1% | 25 |
Havlicek's enduring trait (beyond 8 career championship rings and an indefatigable perpetual-motion style on the floor) is his durability and longevity. By these metrics, only Kareem, Karl Malone, Dr. J, and Shaquille O'Neal had more years among the game's Top 25 players than Hondo's 14; he was a Top-25 guy in all but two of his seasons. He peaked relatively low for an Inner-Circle legend -- in the early 1970s, when the media ranked him 3rd overall -- but he had a sneaky long, consistent career as one the best all-around (offense + defense) players ever, and was arguably the best Sixth Man in league history as well (if nothing else, he certainly defined the role during the sixties). Admittedly, he's probably one of the most doubtful of the "no-doubters", but I think there's something to be said for consistently very good (if not great) production over a long period of time, as opposed to players with high peaks that only last a few years at most.
Elvin Hayes ("The Big E")
Position: Forward-Center
Height: 6-9 Weight: 235 lbs.
Born: November 17, 1945 in Rayville, Louisiana
High School: Eula D. Britton in Rayville, Louisiana
College: University of Houston
| Year | Age | Team | MediaPts | Rank | StatsPts | Rank | Composite | %Possible | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | 23 | SDR | 282.5 | 29.5 | 295.0 | 17 | 288.7 | 92.8% | 16 |
| 1970 | 24 | SDR | 295.0 | 30 | 311.0 | 14 | 302.9 | 93.5% | 14 |
| 1971 | 25 | SDR | 323.5 | 31.5 | 341.0 | 14 | 332.1 | 93.8% | 16 |
| 1972 | 26 | HOU | 330.0 | 31 | 349.5 | 11.5 | 339.6 | 94.3% | 11.5 |
| 1973 | 27 | BAL | 337.0 | 8 | 312.0 | 33 | 324.3 | 94.3% | 18 |
| 1974 | 28 | CAP | 339.0 | 6 | 337.0 | 8 | 338.0 | 98.3% | 5 |
| 1975 | 29 | WSB | 358.0 | 2 | 353.5 | 6.5 | 355.7 | 99.1% | 3 |
| 1976 | 30 | WSB | 338.0 | 7 | 326.5 | 18.5 | 332.2 | 96.6% | 9 |
| 1977 | 31 | WSB | 292.0 | 4 | 293.0 | 3 | 292.5 | 99.2% | 2 |
| 1978 | 32 | WSB | 267.0 | 19 | 265.0 | 21 | 266.0 | 93.3% | 16 |
| 1979 | 33 | WSB | 278.0 | 3 | 271.0 | 10 | 274.5 | 98.0% | 5 |
| 1980 | 34 | WSB | 270.5 | 17.5 | 258.5 | 29.5 | 264.4 | 92.1% | 21 |
| 1981 | 35 | WSB | 135.5 | 169.5 | 241.5 | 63.5 | 180.9 | 59.5% | 70.5 |
| 1982 | 36 | HOU | 142.5 | 174.5 | 250.0 | 67 | 188.7 | 59.7% | 70 |
| 1983 | 37 | HOU | 143.0 | 174 | 212.5 | 104.5 | 174.3 | 55.2% | 105 |
| 1984 | 38 | HOU | 142.0 | 169 | 43.5 | 267.5 | 78.6 | 25.4% | 267.5 |
Hayes' career is an interesting study in contrasts: He was underrated for a great deal of his career, yet for some I'm sure it "feels" like he's being overrated here by being named to the Inner Circle. He has a rep for shrinking away in clutch situations, yet he was the most dominant player in the 1978 playoffs (despite the memory of Wes Unseld being named Finals MVP while Hayes fouled out of Game 7 vs. Seattle with just 12 points). In fact, for the majority of Hayes' tenure with the Bullets, he -- not Unseld -- was their best player, and on top of that he had just as many playoff Win Shares as Unseld over the same span. Pretty outlet passes or not, history has unfairly overrated Unseld at Hayes' expense over the years, which is bizarre because Hayes is the clear member of the Inner Circle, and Unseld has as much claim to the honor as do Tim Hardaway and Jack Sikma.
On the outside looking in: Rick Barry, Artis Gilmore, George Gervin
Inner Circle according to HoF Probability: Jabbar, Havlicek, Erving, Dave Cowens
December 23rd, 2009 at 8:16 pm
Don't blame Neil for any perceived shortcomings in the Win Shares system, as the system is mine and mine alone. And I'm sorry, but I don't have the time or the energy to rebut what Kevin wrote, so let me just say that I disagree with most of his comments.
As for Bill Russell being similar to Dick Barnett, you never saw that on my site. You must be thinking of this site.
December 23rd, 2009 at 8:50 pm
My bad, Justin. It was about 3 years ago I saw that. All these sites look the same to me :). Still, the stats that site uses and the one this site uses are the same statistics. You can't get away from the fact the pre-73 stats are horrible, and even the ones available today are inadequate, certainly not as good as they could be. An enterprising person (perhaps you, Justin?) could vastly improve the stats available just by being creative with the game logs that are fee on NBA.com. You could duplicate Bill James by offering "12 NBA statistics you won't see anywhere else!".
And I was wrong, Barnett was #3 on the list, not #2.
So my memory isn't so bad after all. I may have been a little imprecise on the minutiae of the facts but got the overall impression correct.
December 23rd, 2009 at 9:18 pm
Kevin, no worries. Sorry, as I re-read what I wrote it sounds like I'm blowing you off, but I honestly don't have the time to give you a good answer right now.
December 24th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
Hayes, Unseld, Cowens, Gervin...you know what? Rick Barry was better than any of them and should be the inner circle pick here. And I'd agree with AYC--Barry was probably better than Havlicek as well. One of the most underappreciated great players ever.
December 24th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
The other player who might deserve to be on that list is Walt Frazier, who (considering his defensive reputation) was probably the best guard of the 70s. Over 20 points a game (with very good efficiency), 6-8 assists, great defense, and he was (by Win Shares) the best player on two championship teams. At his best, I think he was better than Hayes and Havlicek, although he doesn't have their longevity.
December 28th, 2009 at 1:52 am
Why bother coming up with a "system" if you're going to tack on ridiculous benchmarks and requirements.
The championship requirement is absurd.
Gary Payton won a title with the Heat at age 37 (PER: 10.7). So he's in.
Karl Malone, arguably the greatest power forward ever - nope.
4 players per decade? Makes no sense whatsoever.
December 28th, 2009 at 4:21 pm
I want to comment on the ascertion that there is something wrong with picking 4 guys per era. Yes, there are more players now than ever. However, that just makes for a watered down league. We could go back to the 8-10 team league and watch much better basketball. I'm not going to let more players into my HOF because the league/s decided to let more inferior players in.
December 29th, 2009 at 8:46 pm
No way Walton belongs there. Great for 2 years, but that's all. And he was not the best player in the world during those 2 years, Kareem was still better. Suggesting that Bill was the best while still in college is just plain silly. That's like saying Kareem was better at UCLA than Wilt was during the same time in his prime with the 76ers. And I always love the myth that Walton dominated Jabbar in the '77 WCF. Walton owned the first half of game 1 and the fourth quarter of game 3 and that's it. Kareem won the other 13 quarters in the series and he killed Bill statistically despite receiving a lot more help defense on him. Portland with their speed and depth at gaurd and Lucas at the 4 was the best team the West easy when fully healthy - a lot of people don't give them enough credit - and while Walton did play well it was Lucas and the Portland guards that really killed LA. LA played above its head all season and with Allen hobbled and Washington out during the playoffs Kareem had almost no help at all - he practically had to beat Golden State by himself in 7 games for LA to even reach the WCF. I do agree that Cowens should be above Hayes, not sure about Unseld though.
March 9th, 2010 at 11:29 pm
KAJ / MMalone
E.Hayes /
Dr J / R Barry
J West / PMAravich
November 12th, 2011 at 3:40 pm
Yo aun necesito buscar mas sobre este tema para poder seleccionar la opcion mas de acuerdo para mi. Actualmente busco informacion sobre lo que se denomina de la "dieta dominguera".