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Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and the 20 Greatest Scorers in NBA Playoff History
The Best Scorers in NBA Playoff History: Michael Jordan and, a distant second, Allen Iverson (Yes, That’s Iverson Pre-Mega Ink)
Oh man. It’s NBA playoff time. Awesome. Here’s the 2013 NBA Postseason schedule.
And here are the top 20 players with the highest career postseason scoring averages, led by the GOAT, Michael Jordan. He’s the only player to post more than 30 points a playoff game, 33.45 in 179 games.
Allen Iverson has the second-best average. Is he a Hall of Famer?
Iverson is closely followed by the L.A. Lakers’ Jerry West.
Then, look at this, it’s LeBron James and Kevin Durant. Sure, Durant needs a few more playoff games under his belt, but is there any doubt he’ll remain on this list until the end?
James is already at 115 postseason games played, and the way he’s been playing, who would be surprised to see him up his average over the next few seasons, at least?
Carmelo Anthony (15th) is playing at such a clip right now as well (and just won his first NBA scoring title). Expect him to rise in the rankings after this postseason.
Kobe Bryant places 10th, beaten out by Dirk Nowitzki even, but hold on – Kobe’s played 220 playoff games, almost 100 more than Dirk (and almost 50 more than Jordan). You have to account for these sorts of things.
Follow @VinGetz| PLAYER | PPG | POSTSEASON GP | |
| 1. | Michael Jordan | 33.45 | 179 |
| 2. | Allen Iverson | 29.73 | 71 |
| 3. | Jerry West | 29.13 | 153 |
| 4. | LeBron James | 28.48 | 115 |
| 5. | Kevin Durant | 28.07 | 43 |
| 6. | Elgin Baylor | 27.04 | 134 |
| 7. | George Gervin | 26.98 | 59 |
| 8. | Dirk Nowitzki | 25.95 | 128 |
| 9. | Hakeem Olajuwon | 25.90 | 145 |
| 10. | Kobe Bryant | 25.64 | 220 |
| 11. | Bob Pettit | 25.45 | 88 |
| 12. | Dominique Wilkins | 25.41 | 56 |
| 13. | Dwyane Wade | 25.24 | 110 |
| 14. | Tracy McGrady | 25.20 | 44 |
| 15. | Carmelo Anthony | 24.94 | 54 |
| 16. | Rick Barry | 24.77 | 74 |
| 17. | Karl Malone | 24.67 | 193 |
| 18. | Alex English | 24.43 | 68 |
| 19. | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 24.31 | 237 |
| 19. | Shaquille O’Neal | 24.31 | 216 |
Thanks to basketball-reference.com.
Photo: live.drjays.com
Most and Fewest Points Scored in an NCAA Tournament Championship Game (School)
Hall of Famer Jerry Tarkanian and His 1990 UNLV Runnin’ Rebels Scored the Most Points in an NCAA Tournament Championship Game
Offense is just not the name of the game in college basketball anymore. These are some low-scoring affairs in the 2013 NCAA Tournament.
So, it’s likely that tonight’s Final may produce a team that makes the second list below – lowest scores by a team in the Championship game.
As with a previous post – schools with the lowest scores in any round – this is broken up into two groupings: all-time, and since 1979 for a fairer, modern look. Those old-school teams (literally) didn’t score as much. 1978-79 was the first season when schools were seeded for the Tournament.
That UConn-Butler Championship (53-41) in 2011 produced two of the lowest scores in the modern era. The 41 by Butler even made the all-time list.
Some of the lowest scores were winners (noted by an asterisk).
But first, the highest single-team point totals in NCAA Tournament Finals history.
Would you believe that in the 74 National Finals that have been played (1939-2012), only one team has ever broken 100-points! That would be Jerry “The Shark” Tarkanian‘s UNLV Runnin’ Rebels of 1990.
Tarkanian, by the way, was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame today.
Follow @VinGetzMOST POINTS SCORED IN NCAA TOURNAMENT FINALS
| YEAR | SCHOOL | PTS | OPPONENT | PTS | OT | |
| 1. | 1990 | Nevada-Las Vegas (1) | 103 | Duke (3) | 73 | |
| 2. | 1964 | UCLA | 98 | Duke | 83 | |
| 3. | 1978 | Kentucky | 94 | Duke | 88 | |
| 4. | 1954 | La Salle | 92 | Bradley | 76 | |
| 4. | 1969 | UCLA | 92 | Purdue | 72 | |
| 4. | 1975 | UCLA | 92 | Kentucky | 85 | |
| 7. | 1965 | UCLA | 91 | Michigan | 80 | |
| 8. | 1995 | UCLA (1) | 89 | Arkansas (2) | 78 | |
| 8. | 2000 | Michigan State (1) | 89 | Florida (5) | 76 | |
| 8. | 2009 | North Carolina (1) | 89 | Michigan State (2) | 72 |
FEWEST POINTS SCORED IN NCAA TOURNAMENT FINALS (ALL TIME)
| YEAR | SCHOOL | PTS | OPPONENT | PTS | OT | |
| 1. | 1939 | Ohio State | 33 | Oregon | 46 | |
| 2. | 1941 | Washington State | 34 | Wisconsin | 39 | |
| 2. | 1943 | Georgetown | 34 | Wyoming | 46 | |
| 4. | 1949 | Oklahoma State | 36 | Kentucky | 46 | |
| 5. | 1942 | Dartmouth | 38 | Stanford | 53 | |
| 6. | 1941 | Wisconsin* | 39 | Washington State | 34 | |
| 7. | 1946 | North Carolina | 40 | Oklahoma State | 43 | |
| 7. | 1944 | Dartmouth | 40 | Utah | 42 | OT |
| 9. | 2011 | Butler (8) | 41 | Connecticut (3) | 53 | |
| 10. | 1944 | Utah* | 42 | Dartmouth | 40 | OT |
| 10. | 1940 | Kansas | 42 | Indiana | 60 | |
| 10. | 1948 | Baylor | 42 | Kentucky | 58 |
FEWEST POINTS SCORED IN NCAA TOURNAMENT FINALS (SINCE 1979)
| YEAR | SCHOOL | PTS | OPPONENT | PTS | OT | |
| 1. | 2011 | Butler (8) | 41 | Connecticut (3) | 53 | |
| 2. | 1981 | North Carolina (2) | 50 | Indiana (3) | 63 | |
| 3. | 1992 | Michigan (6) | 51 | Duke (1) | 71 | |
| 4. | 2002 | Indiana (5) | 52 | Maryland (1) | 64 | |
| 4. | 1983 | Houston (1) | 52 | North Carolina State (6) | 54 | |
| 6. | 2011 | Connecticut (3)* | 53 | Butler (8) | 41 | |
| 7. | 1980 | UCLA (8) | 54 | Louisville (2) | 59 | |
| 7. | 1983 | North Carolina State (6)* |
54 | Houston (1) | 52 | |
| 9. | 2006 | UCLA (2) | 57 | Florida (3) | 73 | |
| 10. | 2010 | Butler (5) | 59 | Duke (1) | 61 | |
| 10. | 2012 | Kansas (2) | 59 | Kentucky (1) | 67 | |
| 10. | 1980 | Louisville (2) * |
59 | UCLA (8) | 54 |
Thanks to sports-reference.com‘s play index.
Photo: deseretnews.com
Top 20 Players with the Highest Career On-Base Percentage (OBP)
Ted Williams Has the Best On-Base Percentage of All Time
On-base percentage (OBP) has been utilized more and more over the years in evaluating a baseball player’s skill and value.
Back in the day (and we’re talking as late as the 1980s and 1990s), average, home runs and other basic statistics were the primary go-to numbers used in determining whether a player had the goods or not.
With the rise of Sabermetrics and other advanced stats, OBP, slugging percentage (SLG), on-base + slugging (OBS) and wins against replacement (WAR) have come to the forefront in player scouting.
So, what is on-base percentage?
Where average simply accounts for a player’s hits in getting on base, OBP accounts for his walks and hit-by-pitches, as well – basically any way of getting on base that either improves average or does not reduce it (as in the case of an error or fielder’s choice, for example).
Here is the math, courtesy my source, baseball-reference.com: (H + BB + HBP)/(At Bats + BB + HBP + SF)
It would make sense, then, that when one normally thinks of OBP, they may have in mind contact hitters who work the count.
How far from the truth when you look at the all-time career leaders.
Most of these guys are sluggers – led by Ted Williams himself.
There’s Babe Ruth in second, Lou Gehrig, Barry Bonds, Jimmie Foxx, Mickey Mantle, Frank Thomas and so on.
Of course, you have some of the best pure hitters in the game’s history too – Ty Cobb, Billy Hamilton, Tris Speaker and Eddie Collins.
Why the sluggers, though? Walks. Tons of walks. They were often pitched around.
And look at that at the bottom – the only active on the list, Todd Helton. Will that be one of many factors that helps Helton into the Hall of Fame?
Follow @VinGetz| PLAYER | OBP | BATS | |
| 1. | Ted Williams | .482 | L |
| 2. | Babe Ruth | .474 | L |
| 3. | John McGraw | .466 | L |
| 4. | Billy Hamilton | .455 | L |
| 5. | Lou Gehrig | .447 | L |
| 6. | Barry Bonds | .444 | L |
| 7. | Bill Joyce | .435 | L |
| 8. | Rogers Hornsby | .434 | R |
| 9. | Ty Cobb | .433 | L |
| 10. | Jimmie Foxx | .4283 | R |
| 11. | Tris Speaker | .4279 | L |
| 12. | Eddie Collins | .4244 | L |
| 13. | Ferris Fain | .4241 | L |
| 14. | Dan Brouthers | .4233 | L |
| 15. | Max Bishop | .4230 | L |
| 16. | Shoeless Joe Jackson | .4227 | L |
| 17. | Mickey Mantle | .420 | B |
| 18. | Mickey Cochrane | .4192 | L |
| 19. | Frank Thomas | .4191 | R |
| 20. | Todd Helton | .418 | L |
Photo: biography.com
