The way Magic ended the season, however, is absolutely legendary and it is tough to think of a better way to close out ones first season in the NBA. In the storied history of the 76ers franchise, players like Wilt Chamberlain, Julius Erving, Moses Malone, and Allen Iverson are just a few of the superstars who registered. Despite winning Finals MVP, Johnson did not win Rookie of the Year that season, it went to this other guy named Larry Bird, who had led his team to a 32-game improvement over the previous season and would win his first championship that next season. Magic won Finals MVP, with series averages of 21.5 points, 11.2 rebounds, 8.7 assists and 2.7 steals. Career Win Shares: 126.4, 39th all-time Major accolades: 11-time All-Star, one-time 1st Team All-NBA One of the great big men of the ’90s, a golden era for the center in the NBA, Patrick Ewing. Magic went on to score 42 points, along with 15 rebounds and seven assists, coming up big in the clutch for the Lakers in their 123-107 Game 6 victory. With the Lakers up on the 76ers 3-2 in the series, Magic filled in at center and was part of one of the great individual performances in the NBA Finals history in a series-clinching game. His injury was severe enough where he was not allowed to travel with the team to Philadelphia. Abdul-Jabbar would win the MVP in Magic’s rookie season and would have likely gone on to do so in the Finals had he not had to sit out Game 6 with an ankle injury. The draft tends to be the luck of the draw, with Magic lucking out big time going to a team that had made the second round of the playoffs the previous season and had all-time great center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar already in the fold. Magic changed the game in many ways and his rookie season was about as close to a storybook as one could get, with twists and turns and a title. Of course, many will argue for current NBA Finals participant Stephen Curry’s individual dominance, shooting and gravity re-defining basketball, let’s not forget that Magic won five titles and made it to the Finals nine times in his 12 NBA seasons before his first retirement. While he is currently best known for his incredible success in business, stepping down as the Los Angeles Lakers president of basketball operations and, of course, his tweets, Earvin “Magic” Johnson is also likely the consensus greatest point guard of all-time. Here are some of the best performances of first-year NBA players on the league’s biggest stage: Magic Johnson – Los Angeles Lakers, 1979-1980 Hampered by tendinitis in his knees and the decision to downplay his high-flying act to fit in with his new team, Erving averaged 21.6 points per game his first year with Philadelphia, seven fewer than he had with the Nets. While there are not many recent rookie performances of note, this list still includes some all-timers who contributed to championships or fought hard in Finals appearances. Erving was supposed to win a championship for Philadelphia, but each year brought disappointment. With Game 6 of the NBA Finals set to take place in Oakland Thursday night after a down-to-the-wire Game 5 in Toronto, we wanted to take a look into the history of brilliant series and marquee performances of NBA rookies in the Finals.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |