Two of the the greatest centers in nba history faced off in the 1995 finals. Game 4 was especially exciting as the two titans of Shaq and Olajuwon squared off in Houston. The two scored 60 points and pulled down 28 rebounds between them in this finals classic.
The big man in the middle for the Chicago Bulls of the past Artis Gilmore ran the fast break and was rewarded with this monster slam over the NBA's all time scoring leader Kareem.
In 1977 one of the best players of his generation, and all time, "Pistol" Pete Maravich put his talents on display as he scored 68 points in a game against New York. The 1976-1977 season was his best ever as a professional player. He led the league in scoring with an average of 31.1 points per game and scored 40 points or more in 13 different games which includes the 68 point masterpiece.
After the Bucks made a desperation three pointer to tie the game Clyde Drexler hits what may be the most difficult shot of his career. Drexler went to the Houston Rockets in 1995 where he won an NBA Championship with his college teammate and friend Hakeem Olajuwon.
You probably know Hakeem Olajuwon for his patented unguardable dream shake move but Olajuwon can also be argued as the best defender in NBA history. Hakeem holds the all time blocks record with 3,830 averaging 3.09 blocks per game across his hall of fame career. Olajuwon has many highlight blocks but the one he may be remembered for the most occurred in the 1994 NBA finals. Patrick Ewing and the New York Knicks led the series 3-2 but the Houston Rockets were up 86-84 with 7.6 seconds left in game 6. The ball came into John Starks and Ewing set the pick forcing Olajuwon to switch onto Starks. The rest is history. After a slight stumble Hakeem recovered to get the block on Starks forcing a game 7 that the Rockets would go onto win. We will never know if the shot would've gone in but considering that Starks had 16pts in the 4th quarter of that game my guess is that it would've been splash. Hakeem may no longer be the highest scoring international player but his all around skill make him a true baller.
This weeks nbatbt comes courtesy of the Admiral, David Robinson. A quadruple double was not possible in the NBA until the 1973-1974 season since before then they didn't record blocks and steals. Since then only 4 instances of a quadruple double has occurred. Robinson had the most recent quadruple double and did so on Feb 17, 1994. The other 3 guys were Hakeem Olajuwon, Alvin Robertson and Nate Thurmond. Robinson finished the game with 34pts 10rebs 10ast and 10blks in the 115-96 win over the Detroit Pistons. The Admiral spent his entire 14 year career playing for the San Antonio Spurs and won two championships (1999, 2003). Robinson was apart of the 1992 dream team and was inducted into the Naismith memorial basketball hall of fame in 2009 along with Michael Jordan and John Stockton. Over 20 years is a very long time to go without seeing a quadruple double but I have a feeling that if anybody in the league today were to accomplish this feat it would be The Brow, Anthony Davis. Davis didn't get his growth spurt until late in his high-school career so he spent most of his time playing as a point guard. This in combination with his fantastic scoring, rebounding and blocking skills gives me enough reason to believe AD will have the next quadruple double although it probably won't happen for another few years when he is in his prime.
If you're interested in watching the almost full (part of the 1st q is missing) quadruple double game here it is below.
The basketball player formerly known as Ron Artest (soon to be formerly known as Metta World Peace) was known for a lot of things. Being a hassle on the defensive end, getting into fights, and sometimes just downright hilarity. In a game between the Boston Celtics and the Indiana Pacers Ron Artest got fed up with his defence not being as good as Paul Pierce's offence so he decided he needed to do what was necessary to get Pierce out his game. Pierce has to get pantsed. Pierce shook it off easily and drained a three pointer moments later right in Artest's face. Ron later apologized in the only way Ron knows how. Song.
In 1986 Dr. J stunned the Dallas crowd when he hit a buzzer beating game winner from half court. Julius Erving finished the game with 20pts and 8ast and the biggest shot but it was the round mound of rebound Charles Barkley who put the sixers in their position to win with 35pts and 13rbs. One of the greatest ballers to ever play the game, Julius Erving was a hall of fame type guy on and off the court and he Barkley develop into the MVP player he became in 1993. The doctor is the only player in history to win a championship and MVP in both the ABA and the NBA. Dr. J took the whole team and pulled that win right out of a dream.
Everyone's seen a basketball shot go in on a lucky bounce but nobody has gotten said lucky bounce at a more opportune time then Don Nelson in game 7 of the 1969 NBA finals. With less than a 1:30 left to go in the game the Celtics only had a 1 point lead but a near steal by Keith Erickson got the ball into Don Nelson's hands who puts up the shot that sealed the deal for Boston. This magical shot hit the back of the rim launching the ball 6 feet in the air only so it could drop back down straight through the net giving the Celtics a 105-102 lead. The Celtics would ice the game with free throws and go on to win it 108-106 despite Jerry West (the finals MVP) averaging 38 ppg in the series and having 42 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists in the game 7. This win gave the Celtics their 11th championship in 13 seasons further cementing their dynasty.
For a more in-depth breakdown of the final game of the 1969 season watch this video below.
I'm not a basketball expert nor a basketball historian but this was most likely the best day Bob McAdoo ever had while playing in the NBA. It's game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semi Finals and Bob McAdoo receives two coveted awards before Tip-off, the scoring title for the year along with being crowned the leagues MVP. McAdoo came into the game averaging 35 ppg in the series and looking to tie it at 2-2. The Hall of Fame player Bob McAdoo, who was mostly known for his shooting touch, finished the game with 50 points 1 assist and 21 rebounds in the Braves win. It's also worth mentioning that McAdoo scored his 50 points without shooting a 3 pointer due mostly to the fact that the 3 point line didn't exist in the league at the time. The Buffalo Braves, the team McAdoo played for at the time, eventually moved to San Diego and became the Clippers (now the LA Clippers). Bob McAdoo still holds the Braves/Clippers record for most minutes played per game (40.1), field goals made per game (11.1) and field goal attempts per game (22.1). He was straight ballin.
This week in NBA Throwback Thursday we go back to game 7 of the 1965 Eastern Conference Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers. The Celtics had possession with a one point lead with mere seconds to go in the game but Bill Russell slipped up and lost the ball off the stantion for the backboard during the inbounds. This gave Wilt Chamberlain and the 76ers one last shot at the game and the series. Luckily for the Celtics however John Havlicek came to the rescue stealing the ball off the inbounds pass allowing for time to expire so Boston could win the series. Celtics commentator Johnny Most only raises excitement with his call on the play.
Havlicek played all 16 seasons of his career with the Boston Celtics scoring 26,395 points and he averaged 20.8ppg 6.3 rpg and 4.8 apg across that career. Those 26,395 points gives him the title of all time leading scorer for the Celtics, good for the 13th highest scorer ever in the NBA.
Havlicek's game saving steal is at the 2:00 minute mark but I'd implore you to watch the whole thing, Hondo deserves it.
Between the regular season and playoffs Michael Jordan scored 50+ 39 times. While there are a lot of exciting 50+ point games for me to choose from for nbatbt this one stood out to me because Jordan gets to battle with the only shooting guard who could challenge him at the time, Clyde Drexler. Michael got to go back and forth scoring with a lot of players, Bird, Magic, Malone, but he wasn't defending them and they weren't defending him most of the time. In this game two of the best shooting guards in history go head-to-head as they steal, block, and score on one another in a classic game from 1988 you won't want to miss. Oh and it gives me a reason to mention Kevin Duckworth who was the third highest scorer in the game with 27 for Portland.
