[nbcsports.com] NBA's greatest ballhawks (Serious Hakeem love)

[weslinder]

I hadn't seen this, but it's a couple of weeks old.

http://www.nbcsports.com/nba/424876/detail.html

Pro basketball’s greatest ball hawks
Posted: Nov.17, 2006, 6:37 pm EST
By David Friedman
82games.com

The NBA officially began recording steals and blocked shots during the 1973-74 season, one year after the ABA started keeping track of these statistics. Since then, just 51 players have had at least 100 steals and 100 blocked shots in the same season, 26 of whom only accomplished the feat once. Five players had 100-100 seasons in 2005-06: Kevin Garnett (104 steals, 107 blocked shots), Andrei Kirilenko (102-220), Shawn Marion (160-137), Ben Wallace (146-181) and Gerald Wallace (138-115).

How valuable is it to have a 100-100 player on a team? Could such a player actually be harming his team by gambling too much, resulting in defensive breakdowns? The careers of Julius Erving and Bobby Jones provide possible answers to those questions. Erving played against Jones in the ABA and then teamed with him for eight years with the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA. During that time, the 76ers made it to the Conference Finals four times, advanced to the NBA Finals three times and won one championship; Philadelphia never ranked lower than eighth in ppg allowed and usually placed in the top five. That was not a result of playing at a slow pace, either, because the 76ers twice led the league in point differential and were always among the league leaders in that category.

Kevin Garnett ranks third on the all-time list with eight 100-100 Club seasons. He missed having a ninth such year by four steals in 2001-02 and would have probably had another one in 1998-99 if the lockout had not limited the season to 50 games. Garnett has never exceeded the 200 level in either category and has ranked in the top ten in blocked shots only once in his 11 year career, which is surprising considering his length and jumping ability. He has never ranked in the top ten in the league in steals.

Ben Wallace has had six straight 100-100 Club seasons and his shot blocking numbers are much better than Garnett’s. Wallace has produced three 100-200 Club seasons, tied for third all-time with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and is a two time member of the Top Ten Club (consisting of players who ranked in the top ten in the league in both categories in the same season), including 2005-06.

Andrei Kirilenko has rung up four 100-100 Club seasons in his five year career, including two 100-200 campaigns, and he is a one time member of the Top Ten Club. Kirilenko has also had three “5x5” games—contests in which he put up at least a total of five in the categories of points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocked shots; “5x5” games have not been completely tracked but the only other players who are known to have accomplished this feat are Hakeem Olajuwon (six times), Vlade Divac, Jamaal Tinsley and Marcus Camby.

Julius Erving can be considered the founder and president of the 100-100 Club. He tallied 181 steals and 127 blocked shots for the Virginia Squires (ABA) in 1972-73, his second professional season. Erving is also the first member of the even more exclusive Top Ten Club. Erving accumulated a record 12 100-100 Club appearances in his 16-season career. Erving missed the cut for a 13th season in 1977-78 by only three blocked shots. He almost certainly exceeded 100 steals and 100 blocked shots in his rookie year (when such records were not kept), meaning that he was a consistent threat in both categories until his 15th campaign, when he was 36 years old! Erving set the standard with six Top Ten Club seasons and he missed having a seventh in 1981-82 when he finished 11th in the NBA in steals, .012 spg behind 10th place. In 1975-76, Erving logged the first 200-100 Club season, ranking third in the ABA in steals (207) and seventh in the ABA in blocked shots (160). Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Olajuwon are the only other 200-100 players; Jordan is the only player who did it twice and those were the only two seasons in his career that he blocked at least 100 shots.

Olajuwon displayed amazing defensive versatility during his career. He matched Erving’s standard with 12 100-100 Club seasons and ranks second with four Top Ten Club finishes. Erving had the first 100-200 season but Olajuwon is the undisputed king of this category, racking up 11 seasons with at least 100 steals and 200 blocked shots; in three of those seasons he amassed more than 300 blocked shots and on two occasions he combined 150-plus steals with 300-plus blocked shots. David Robinson had one 150-300 Club season and three 100-300 Club seasons; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the only other 100-300 Club player.

Erving and Jones are the only teammates to twice have 100-100 Club seasons at the same time (1979-80 and 1983-84). Jones, who is considered to be one of the greatest defensive forwards ever, earned eight straight NBA All-Defensive First Team selections, plus one Second Team selection and two ABA All-Defensive Team selections, while Erving only received one ABA All-Defensive Team selection. Does this disparity in recognition mean that Erving gambled too much to get steals and blocked shots, placing himself out of position when he failed to make those plays? Jones disagrees with that way of thinking: “He was an exceptional defensive player. My goal during my career was to get 100 steals and 100 blocked shots every year. I think that in my 12-year career I did it six times. He did it quite a few times (more than that). Those are unselfish stats. Those are stats that don’t hurt your teammates; they help your team. He had good anticipation and he was willing to gamble. He was willing to expend the energy and he was a tremendous athlete who could play both ends (of the court).”

Jones mentioned the g-word—gambling—in his answer. So, does going after steals and blocks—gambling, if you will—leave the team’s defense vulnerable in some way? Jones emphatically says no and explains the defensive philosophy that the 76ers used: “In the type of defense that we played, if one person gambled it was kind of like a spider web type of thing—the web stretches. If one guy goes, the other four sort of cheat and leave their men a little bit to help out in case the ball moves and a guy becomes open. You just keep rotating around. I don’t think it (going for steals or blocks) is selfish at all. I think that it’s good. You have to put pressure on the offense because shooters are so good. The offense has such an advantage because it can initiate what takes place, so as a defender you have got to try to instigate something to throw them off and make them do something they don’t want to do. The old term, ‘pressure will bust the pipe,’ is very true. It will make people change what they want to do.”

Hall of Famer Billy Cunningham, who coached the 76ers during the seasons in question, amplifies those sentiments: “Julius had the great ability to block shots. His anticipation defensively for steals and creating turnovers was just wonderful and he was definitely underrated in that regard. He took a great deal of pride in his defense. We had to rely on our quickness more than physically overpowering teams. If Julius went for the steal and missed, there was supposed to somebody there giving him support until he recovered and got back into the defensive set.”

Those 76ers were outstanding for reasons that went beyond having 100-100 Club players on their roster but their sustained success and strong rankings as a defensive squad are powerful indicators of the value of having versatile, athletic defenders like Erving and Jones. Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were a similarly disruptive defensive duo on six championship teams in the 1990s, but neither was quite the shot blocker that Erving and Jones were.

David Friedman's work has appeared in various publications and he authored a chapter of the anthology Basketball in America: From the Playgrounds to Jordan's Game and Beyond (Haworth Press, 2005). Check out his basketball blog: http://20secondtimeout.blogspot.com/

[Zboy]

May I remind you folks that Hakeem Olajuwon is listed in the Top 10 ALL-TIME STEALS list. Yes, I am wondering the same thing....what is a center doing there?

Hakeem was absolutely flawless on defense. He could steal, he could block (A LOT), he could rebound, he was the best help defender I have ever see, and he was an excellent man defender.

Teams used to rethink their sets on offense based on Hakeem's defense. Players used to look for Hakeem each time they drove to the basket.

[smoothie]

Originally Posted by Zboy May I remind you folks that Hakeem Olajuwon is listed in the Top 10 ALL-TIME STEALS list. Yes, I am wondering the same thing....what is a center doing there? Hakeem was absolutely flawless on defense. He could steal, he could block (A LOT), he could rebound, he was the best help defender I have ever see, and he was an excellent man defender. Teams used to rethink their sets on offense based on Hakeem's defense. Players used to look for Hakeem each time they drove to the basket.

i agree 100%.

hakeem was DOMINANT in every sence of the word. there wasn't a stat that he could excell at. he made everyone better.

having a guy that can steal and block means a lot less FG's for the opponents. rebounds also help keep opponents FG's down. on the other end he is unstoppable with the ball.

best player ever. i'd take him over any other center. if the bulls traded jordan for hakeem, they would've won just as many titles. he is as good as anyone who has ever played the game.

LOVE the DREAM!

[AXG]

Olajuwon is also in the top ten in blocks, scoring, rebounding, and steals. He is the only player in NBA history placed in the top ten for all four categories.
Olajuwon ranks all-time 7th in steals and is by far the highest ranked center. (note that that statistic was not recorded until the 1973-74 season)
Dream was amazing, as a 7 foot center could record over 2,000 steals and over 3,800 blocks for his NBA career.

[Sishir Chang]

Totally agree with Dream's greatness but what I find interesting on that list is who you don't see mentioned in that article. No Barkley, Tim Duncan, Shaq, Drexler, Alvin Robertson (the Spurs gaurd in the 80's who almost averaged a quadruple double in terms of pts, reb, assists and steals), Michael Cooper, Laimbeer or many of the other names that were known as great defenders.

[rimrocker]

Originally Posted by Sishir Chang Totally agree with Dream's greatness but what I find interesting on that list is who you don't see mentioned in that article. No Barkley, Tim Duncan, Shaq, Drexler, Alvin Robertson (the Spurs gaurd in the 80's who almost averaged a quadruple double in terms of pts, reb, assists and steals), Michael Cooper, Laimbeer or many of the other names that were known as great defenders.

I'm a Laimbeer hater, so take this with the appropriate salt, but... he was not a great defender. He had some success getting in the heads of weak-minded individuals and he was a big body who knew how to get position. He was also one of 18 fouls (James Edwards, Mahorn) to put on the opposing center/low post threat. More than all that, he was and is a punk who, along with Mahorn, did more dirty tricks than CREEP. He is as good a person as any to blame for the flopitis that infects basketball today and he tarnished a great sport through his brutality. The only fights I've cheered for are the ones where Laimbeer got what he deserved. If he was a regular guy down at the gym, he would have been cold-cocked multiple times and banned for life.

[choujie]

Originally Posted by Sishir Chang Totally agree with Dream's greatness but what I find interesting on that list is who you don't see mentioned in that article. No Barkley, Tim Duncan, Shaq, Drexler, Alvin Robertson (the Spurs gaurd in the 80's who almost averaged a quadruple double in terms of pts, reb, assists and steals), Michael Cooper, Laimbeer or many of the other names that were known as great defenders.

Barkley was never known as a great defender. Mayb not even a good defender in regular season.

[Rocket Freak]

Olajuwon is 6'10".

[tested911]

Originally Posted by Rocket Freak Olajuwon is 6'10".

T-Mac's height

[tested911]

Originally Posted by tested911 T-Mac's height

Blah nevermind NBA . com has him at 6'8 even though I think he's still taller than that

[OddsOn]

Originally Posted by tested911 Blah nevermind NBA . com has him at 6'8 even though I think he's still taller than that

Not really. He is barely 6'-8" with shoes.

[Sishir Chang]

Originally Posted by rimrocker I'm a Laimbeer hater, so take this with the appropriate salt, but... he was not a great defender. He had some success getting in the heads of weak-minded individuals and he was a big body who knew how to get position. He was also one of 18 fouls (James Edwards, Mahorn) to put on the opposing center/low post threat. More than all that, he was and is a punk who, along with Mahorn, did more dirty tricks than CREEP. He is as good a person as any to blame for the flopitis that infects basketball today and he tarnished a great sport through his brutality. The only fights I've cheered for are the ones where Laimbeer got what he deserved. If he was a regular guy down at the gym, he would have been cold-cocked multiple times and banned for life.

Hey I wasn't a Laimbeer fan either although I couldn't stand Chief Parish even more. That said he had a reputation as being a great defender. According to this article it wasn't deserved which surprised me.

[NewYorker]

Originally Posted by AXG Olajuwon is also in the top ten in blocks, scoring, rebounding, and steals. He is the only player in NBA history placed in the top ten for all four categories. Olajuwon ranks all-time 7th in steals and is by far the highest ranked center. (note that that statistic was not recorded until the 1973-74 season) Dream was amazing, as a 7 foot center could record over 2,000 steals and over 3,800 blocks for his NBA career.

He's just not top 10 in blocks, he's number one. Although truly Russel in number one they say - but who really knows.

[Uprising]

There'll never be another like the Dream.

[Yodels]

Hakeem played with the old defensive rules. With these rules it would have been ridiculous.

The sad thing is there are some that believe multiple defensive players of the year Mutombo or Ben Wallace are better defenders.

[francis 4 prez]

Originally Posted by AXG Olajuwon is also in the top ten in blocks, scoring, rebounding, and steals. He is the only player in NBA history placed in the top ten for all four categories.

sadly he is now only 11th in rebounds, though he was 10th at the end of the 00-01 season (and thus top 10 in all 4 categories at that time). karla passed him during hakeem's final year and hakeem finished a mere 22 rebounds behind unseld for 10th. but he's obviously still the only one to be top 11 in all 4, just doesn't sound as cool.

[Shroopy2]

Originally Posted by Zboy May I remind you folks that Hakeem Olajuwon is listed in the Top 10 ALL-TIME STEALS list. Yes, I am wondering the same thing....what is a center doing there? Hakeem was absolutely flawless on defense. He could steal, he could block (A LOT), he could rebound, he was the best help defender I have ever see, and he was an excellent man defender. Teams used to rethink their sets on offense based on Hakeem's defense. Players used to look for Hakeem each time they drove to the basket.

That might be the part I miss the most about Hakeem. The apprehensiveness players had going to the paint. After he leaped in the air on a pump fake on the 2ND jump skying just as high and disposing the shot attempt. Then the FEAR they would had in their faces. The Double clutching the ball at times almost scared to shoot.

Manning the Paint, Altering Shots, Intimidating Presense, Hakeem was definitely the full extent of those terms at his best on defense. Its only now I'm realizing how spoiled we were to have had that so many years....

[TBar]

Hakeem played handball and soccer growing up and had IMO the quickest - hand -eye coordination of any big man of his era. Combined with his athletic ability -strength and self improvement every season he will never be duplicated. Some part of his game got better every year in the league.TEams like the formidable Lakers of the '80's feared him. Boston team of 1986 with the self acclaimed best team ever could not contain him with Parrish, McHale, and Walton. In 1986 Akeem Olajuwon was a second year player - sophomore in the finals that no one had an answer for-the Rockets took the "greatest " team in history to 6 games.

Many props to Hakeem- as time passes we realize how special he was.

[jts10]

Something that still makes me smile, when the Bulls where winning all of their championships. The Rockets would only get to play them 2 times a year and would sweep them.

Anyone know how to look that up?

[Kindger]

Originally Posted by jts10 Something that still makes me smile, when the Bulls where winning all of their championships. The Rockets would only get to play them 2 times a year and would sweep them. Anyone know how to look that up?

You know, you are a member of ClutchFans. No, being a rookie is not an excuse

enjoy

http://www.clutchfans.net/opponent_h....cfm?TeamID=24