Basketball Statistics Blog

Friday Press Clippings:
The Greatest Scoring Machines in Pro Basketball History

From 20 Second Timeout By David Friedman
Download source here: ' The Greatest Scoring Machines in Pro Basketball History '

"... When discussing the greatest scorers in pro basketball history it is only natural to look at career scoring average. Once a player scores 10,000 points or participates in 400 regular season games he is eligible to be ranked among the career points per game leaders. The list of career ppg leaders often combines retired veterans with active players in the prime of their careers. ..."

"... It is much more informative to broaden the discussion to include other relevant statistics. The accompanying chart compares 18 of the greatest scorers in pro basketball history at various stages of their careers. This article will focus primarily on three of these players: Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Jordan. ..."

"... Whether or not Jordan passes Kareem in total points or slips behind Wilt in career scoring average, he will be remembered for what he did in his peak years. Jordan averaged 32.6 ppg in his first five seasons (11,263 points in 345 games) and was still at 32.6 ppg after seven seasons (16,596 points in 509 games).

He only dipped slightly to 32.2 ppg after 10 seasons (21,998 points in 684 games, including an 18 game season in 1985-86 due to a broken foot and a 17 game season in 1994-95 after his first comeback). Jordan has bested Chamberlain in two areas: 30-plus ppg seasons (eight to seven) and scoring titles (ten to seven). ..."

"... Julius Erving and Jordan are the only "mid-size" players of these five. Dr. J averaged 28.7 ppg in his first five seasons, all in the ABA. He won three scoring titles, once topping 30 ppg. His career average stood at 26.6 ppg after seven seasons and 26.1 ppg after ten. He finished his career with 30,026 points in 1243 games (24.2 ppg). ..."

"... Several of the great scoring machines sacrificed individual numbers in order to help their teams challenge for championships by becoming more balanced offensively: Wilt, Dr. J, Moses Malone, Oscar Robertson, Adrian Dantley—but no one exemplifies this more than Bob McAdoo, a three time scoring champion who became a sixth man for the Showtime Lakers and played on their 1981-82 and 1984-85 championship teams. ..."

Read more articles in 20 Second Timeout.

To read Today's 'Press Clippings' in Spanish, click this week above on the 'Español' tab or afterwards click here: ' ¿ Cómo medir la defensa con la ayuda de la estadística ? ' por Cherokee.

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