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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
LeBron James Sixth Most Minutes Per Game in NBA History. Here are the Top 20.
Opponents Almost Never Got a Break From Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell
Not only is LeBron James in the prime of creating a legacy as one of the greatest basketball players in NBA history (so far: Rookie of the Year, three MVPs, nine All-Star Games, six-time All-NBA, four-time All-Defensive, a Finals MVP and title), but he’s on the job most of the time.
What I’m saying is: over LeBron’s 10-year career, he has clocked an average of nearly 40 minutes a game.
Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat fans have no doubt gotten their money’s worth with James.
Same for Oklahoma City Thunder fans – three-time scoring champ Kevin Durant has averaged more than 38 minutes a game over his short career.
But check out Wilt Chamberlain, in some pundits’ ranking the greatest of all time. He averaged the most minutes of all time: a ridiculous, and probably unbreakable record, of 45.80 MPG. That’s less than three minutes off the whole game clock.
In 1961-62, thanks to overtime games, Chamberlain actually averaged 48.5 minutes a game, more than regulation. He’s the only player to do that and probably always will be.
Chamberlain also holds the top seven single-season MPG marks.
His nemesis, Boston Celtic Bill Russell, comes in second all-time.
Follow @VinGetz| PLAYER | CAREER MPG | |
| 1. | Wilt Chamberlain | 45.80 |
| 2. | Bill Russell | 42.29 |
| 3. | Oscar Robertson | 42.20 |
| 4. | Allen Iverson | 41.12 |
| 5. | Elgin Baylor | 40.03 |
| 6. | LeBron James | 39.79 |
| 7. | Jerry West | 39.24 |
| 8. | Jerry Lucas | 38.76 |
| 9. | Bob Pettit | 38.75 |
| 10. | Latrell Sprewell | 38.63 |
| 11. | Dave Cowens | 38.60 |
| 12. | Paul Arizin | 38.42 |
| 13. | Larry Bird | 38.40 |
| 14. | Elvin Hayes | 38.37 |
| 15. | Michael Jordan | 38.26 |
| 16. | Kevin Durant | 38.17 |
| 17. | Mel Hutchins | 37.93 |
| 18. | Stephon Marbury | 37.70 |
| 19. | Geoff Petrie | 37.64 |
| 20. | Steve Francis | 37.56 |
Photo: sportige.com
NBA: Top 20 Active Players with Best Chances of Making Hall of Fame
Ten Active NBA Players on the Way to the Hall of Fame (clockwise from top left: Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Ray Allen, Jason Kidd, Paul Pierce and Dirk Nowitzki)
Take an NBA player’s career points per game and throw in average assists and rebounds. Note his All-Star Game selections and number of titles won. Account for the era he played in, and, oddly, his height.
Add some math and now you have a formula that portends to predict which active players have the best chances of making the Basketball Hall of Fame, according to my source, basketball-reference.com. The site’s model and method is explained here.
The results are mostly obvious, but there are a few surprises.
Of course, Kobe Bryant is a shoo-in. He’s the only active with a 100% chance of becoming a Hall of Famer. But it might as well be 100% for the whole top 10. All of these guys are getting in. Chris Paul might be the questionable one here, but if the second half of his career mirrors his first, he’s in.
Players filling up Nos. 11-20, are more debatable.
Chris Bosh? Sounds crazy. I didn’t think so at first, either. But hoopsmanifesto.com makes an interesting case.
Tony Parker? I do think so. Parker has the numbers and the titles. Slamonline.com agrees.
Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard need to do more – statistically, in league leaderships and awards, and finally in championships. They have the All Star bids though.
Vince Carter, Pau Gasol, Tracy McGrady and Amar’e Stoudemire are the weakest representatives on the list. Each one, though, has a shot.
You have to believe Kevin Durant will rise way up in the rankings as the older cagers hang it up in the next few years. Durant is on his way, already with four scoring titles, four All-Star appearances, a Finals appearance and the Rookie of the Year in his first six seasons. That’s a “Wow.”
Finally, Steve Nash, one of the greatest point guards in NBA history and a back-to-back MVP media darling. Of course he’s making the trip to Springfield, Mass. What’s he doing at just 57%?
One more note on Hall of Fame eligibility – a player must be retired a full five years before making the ballot. OK – one more thing to note – the NBA is the least stringent of all the major sports in keeping players out of the Hall of Fame. Don’t be surprised if all these guys make it in.
Follow @VinGetz| PLAYER | HALL OF FAME CHANCES (%) | CURRENT TEAM | |
| 1. | Kobe Bryant | 100 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 2. | Tim Duncan | 99.99 | San Antonio Spurs |
| 3. | Kevin Garnett | 99.90 | Boston Celtics |
| 4. | LeBron James | 99.87 | Miami Heat |
| 5. | Dwyane Wade | 99.78 | Miami Heat |
| 6. | Dirk Nowitzki | 98.73 | Dallas Mavericks |
| 7. | Paul Pierce | 98.28 | Boston Celtics |
| 8. | Jason Kidd | 95.55 | New York Knicks |
| 9. | Ray Allen | 92.81 | Miami Heat |
| 10. | Chris Paul | 89.29 | Los Angeles Clippers |
| 11. | Chris Bosh | 89.17 | Miami Heat |
| 12. | Tony Parker | 82.81 | San Antonio Spurs |
| 13. | Carmelo Anthony | 80.81 | New York Knicks |
| 14. | Dwight Howard | 80.66 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 15. | Vince Carter | 78.19 | Dallas Mavericks |
| 16. | Kevin Durant | 70.04 | Oklahoma City Thunder |
| 17. | Pau Gasol | 61.30 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 18. | Tracy McGrady | 58.22 | Atlanta Hawks |
| 19. | Amare Stoudemire | 57.19 | New York Knicks |
| 20. | Steve Nash | 56.93 | Los Angeles Lakers |
Photos: espn.com
