All-time Playmakers

[CeltsSteve@AOL.com]

Kenny didn't make the list ;-) . . .



Drawing a line of greatness: Playmakers in the NBA  
Sept. 12, 2001
By <A HREF="http://www.sportsline.com/u/page/writerblock/kahn.htm">Mike Kahn</A>
SportsLine.com Executive Editor
 
    
It comes down to this: 

"As long as I can remember playing basketball -- going back to when I was 11 
or 12 -- I always had the ball in my hands. It was my job to make sure we had 
the plays to win games, and that meant me making sure the right guy had the 
ball in the right place. And sometimes, it came down to me being that guy. A 
playmaker is the guy who makes everyone better and makes the team win at all 
costs." 

There is no better person to illustrate what it means to be a playmaker than 
Earvin "Magic" Johnson, which is why he tops our list as the best playmaker 
in NBA history. But Magic has plenty of company, including his role model 
Oscar Robertson, and the all-time assist and steal king, John Stockton. 
Johnson, Robertson, Isiah Thomas, Nate Archibald, Tim Hardaway and Kevin 
Johnson are the only players in NBA history to average at least 20 points and 
10 assists in the same season. A benchmark that clearly exceeds 20 points and 
10 rebounds considering countless big men in NBA history have accomplished 
that. 

But all you have to do is understand it means you're getting at least 40 
points a game from your playmaker to start with, and it also means he is 
including his teammates. 

"Oscar taught all of us how to use your body and your teammates to get the 
shots you want," Johnson said. "He was the ultimate because he could do what 
it took to make any situation work and his fundamentals were so strong. 

"Stockton, man, he's just amazing to watch. He sees the whole floor while 
he's out there, and even though he's got Karl (Malone), it isn't as easy as 
he makes it look. He doesn't waste any motion and can make passes off the 
dribble with either hand. He's gonna be 40 and he's still doing it." 

Johnson, 42, retired from the game 10 years ago when it was revealed he was 
HIV-positive, otherwise he very likely would have been right with Stockton on 
the all-time assist board ahead of Robertson. But records are merely numbers 
on a sheet of paper.  

Winning NBA titles -- and Johnson has five NBA Championship rings -- is the 
ultimate difference between players, and few have ever made the impact on a 
game the way he did. Indeed, Bob Cousy added flash and flutter to the point 
guard position which in turn added spice to the Boston Celtics as they were 
winning titles, and Guy Rodgers of the San Francisco Warriors was the first 
really quick, penetrating point guard who could break down a defender. Lenny 
Wilkens proved he could beat a defender off the dribble and score or pass. 
These are all the difference-makers who not only were productive themselves, 
but made the other players around them better as well because their mental 
approach to the game supercedes the basic shooting and passing skills all 
point guards have in their arsenal. 

And it all begins with Magic. 

12. Maurice Cheeks, 6-1, 170: Consistently one of the most underrated players 
of his time and perhaps in history, Cheeks was an in-your-face player on both 
ends of the floor. He could pick your pocket clean on one end, then complete 
a 3-point play going to the hole at the other end. He was the classic, 
no-nonsense, make your teammates better and do what it takes to win type of 
player. 
11. Pete Maravich, 6-5, 180: Although Pistol Pete's numbers of just over 5.0 
assists a game are surprisingly low, he too, changed the game because of the 
style with which he played the game. He could make any shot from any angle 
and make any pass a variety of ways. But many times, he would forsake the 
fundamental play for flash and he lost a lot of respect over the years as a 
result. He was a bigger and better version of Memphis' Jason Williams. 
10. Guy Rodgers, 6-0, 185: He was the predecessor to players of today like 
Avery Johnson ... questionable shooters with the ability to take anybody off 
the dribble and either get to the basket or create an easy shot for his 
teammates. Incredibly slick and quick with the ball, he was as much fun to 
watch as anybody who handled the ball in the 1960s. Rodgers definitely was 
ahead of his time. 
9. Mark Jackson, 6-3, 205: M-Jack is the prototype of setting the offense and 
delivering the ball to the right player at the right time in the right place. 
It will surprise a lot of people to note that he is the fourth most prolific 
assist man in NBA history. Although not a particularly good shooter, he has 
proven to be exceptional at backing down a defender to score or drill a pass 
to the open man should a double-team come. 
8. Lenny Wilkens, 6-1, 180: Lenny and John Wooden are the only players in 
history to be in the Hall of Fame on both the coaching and playing level. And 
while Wooden's accomplishments as a coach are without peers, he never got to 
the level of playing that Wilkens did. Wilkens was one of the first point 
guards who could shoot very well and pass. He could do it all during an era 
when players were often times one-dimensional. 
7. Walt Frazier, 6-4, 205: Smooth as silk on both ends of the floor, he 
changed the way the game was played because he made everything look 
effortless. Although he didn't have great numbers overall compared to some of 
the players today, he was the ultimate playmaker because he controlled the 
game on both ends of the floor. As for numbers, consider the "Willis Reed" 
game that clinched the title for the Knicks when Reed overcame injury to 
hobble onto the floor ... few remember Frazier had 37 points and 19 assists 
in that title game. 
6. Nate Archibald, 6-0, 160: Call him Tiny for obvious reasons or Nate the 
Skate because he moved on the floor as if he were on roller skates. But until 
Achilles' tendon surgeries slowed him down, he was essentially unstoppable. 
He's still the only player in NBA history to lead the league in scoring and 
rebounding in the same season as he did during the 1972-73 campaign. He could 
get to the basket and complete 3-point plays better than any player of his 
time and was a better perimeter shooter than the credit he received. 
5. Bob Cousy, 6-1, 175: Although his six NBA titles don't put him in the same 
category as other players who have won six titles, Cousy was the heart of 
those great Boston Celtics teams. Some people thought he was the first NBA 
hot dog; others believe he was the first player who actually made the game 
fun. Whatever the case, he proved a player could make a simple pass exciting 
by looking off a defender or throwing a pass behind the back and still play 
championship caliber ball. 
4. John Stockton, 6-1, 180: The all-time leader in assists and steals, 
Stockton does the little things as well or better than anybody who has ever 
played the game. Unlike the three players ahead of him or behind him, he does 
not have an NBA title on his resume, but that doesn't diminish his 
accomplishments. In fact, the only real flaw to his game is he is too 
unselfish. He is an exceptional shooter who perhaps could have helped the 
Jazz win more games over the years by shooting more than giving it up to a 
lesser player. 
3. Isiah Thomas, 6-1, 180: Before there was Allen Iverson, there was Isiah 
Thomas. And nobody who picked up a basketball could embarrass a defender with 
sheer quickness and changing of direction with the ball than Zeke. He won a 
title in college, two in the NBA and his own ferocity of spirit perhaps cost 
him along the way because he turned off some of the politicos with his 
approach to the game and life. He missed out on the Olympics in 1980 because 
of the boycott, and he was passed up for the Dream Team in 1992 which was 
ridiculous for a player of his caliber. 
2. Oscar Robertson, 6-5, 220: During the 1961-62 season, the Big O averaged 
30.8 points, 12.8 rebounds and 11.4 assists a game, and was within an eyelash 
of averaging a triple-double two other seasons. Robertson dominated the ball 
like no other player of his time, and the only real criticism was that 
perhaps he held the ball too much. But sometimes, you have to consider who 
you are playing with. He didn't win a championship until the end of his 
career when he was traded to Milwaukee in 1971. 
1. Earvin "Magic" Johnson, 6-9, 230: A bigger and quicker version of 
Robertson, Johnson won a state high school title, an NCAA title and an NBA 
title by the time he was 20 ... an accomplishment no other player in history 
has duplicated. Whether it was setting up Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for a skyhook, 
dishing a no-look pass to James Worthy on the break for a dunk, or dropping a 
30-footer to win a game, nobody has ever proven to be more versatile at 
making his teammates better than Johnson. This list includes players who may 
have had slightly better passing skills, definitely those who were quicker, 
better defenders and better shooters. But when it comes to the entire 
playmaking package and the ability to win, nobody has ever had the same magic 
as Johnson.