Take Spencer Haywood, who sued to become an early-entry draft pick and thus made untold numbers of players untold millions. Apparently, his inexplicable failure to dye his hair or produce his own videos has dulled his legacy. He shot 50.7 percent for his career and, when he was 35, averaged 26.5 points per game in Denver. He was the NBA’s leading scorer in the 1980s and made a total of 18 3-pointers. Some of the omissions are born of pure ignorance. You should make the Top 75 list because of what you did against your peers. I would bet that at least 25 percent of the voting panel has never heard of him. He also led in field goal percentage three times. They didn’t know how to deal with ACLs back then, and the average salary in 1960 was $15,000, so why bother?īut Johnston led the league in scoring three consecutive seasons, beginning in 1952-53, and he led in rebounding in 1954-55. Meanwhile, there’s Neil Johnston, who played eight years and had to retire after a knee injury.
Then he became a hand-me-down player who wore a different jersey each year.
You can’t blame Davis for getting hurt, but the same curve has to apply to everyone.Īfter Dwight Howard’s first eight years he seemed a lock for the Top 75. He also has played 70 or more games in a season exactly twice. Whicker: NBA’s Top 75 list leaves some worthy old-timers behind – Orange County Register
