Archive for December, 2007

BEST DAMN GUARD: JERRY WEST

Posted by meandovine on December 16th, 2007

JERRY WEST

The logo -- Jerry West

Combine a deadly jump shot, tenacious defense, obsessive perfectionism, unabashed confidence, and an uncompromising will to win, and you’ve got Jerry West, one of the greatest guards in NBA history.

During his 14-year playing career with the Los Angeles Lakers, West became synonymous with brilliant basketball. He was the third player in league history to reach 25,000 points (after Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson). He was an All-Star every year of his career and led Los Angeles to the NBA Finals nine times. He left the game holding records for career postseason scoring and the highest average in a playoff series.

West’s statistical record only begins to tell his story. When the chips were down, West, with his lightning-quick release, was the guy the Lakers turned to for the big basket. Many players have been tagged with the nickname “Mr. Clutch,” but none of them lived up to it as well as West did. He was responsible for perhaps the most famous buzzer-beater of all time: a 60-foot swish that tied Game 3 of the 1970 NBA Finals against the New York Knicks.

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BEST DAMN GUARD, Jerry West, NBA | 18 Comments »

BEST DAMN GUARD: OSCAR ROBERTSON

Posted by meandovine on December 10th, 2007

OSCAR ROBERTSON

Oscar Robertson 

Oscar Robertson, the “Big O,” is the player against whom all others labeled “all-around” are judged, and he may remain the standard forever.

Born in 1938, Robertson grew up dirt-poor in a segregated housing project in Indianapolis. In the projects he not only learned basketball but also learned firsthand about racial discrimination and economic inequality. He was drawn to basketball instead of baseball — which was more popular in the neighborhood-because it was “a poor kids’ game.” He learned how to shoot by tossing tennis balls and rags bound with rubber bands into a peach basket behind his family’s home.

Robertson’s on-court brilliance, and the off-court racism to which he was subjected, continued at the University of Cincinnati. As a collegian, he was nothing short of incredible, scoring 33.8 ppg with a one-handed style that made his shots virtually unblockable. Three times he won the national scoring title, was an All-American, and was named College Player of the Year.

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BEST DAMN GUARD, NBA, Oscar Robertson | 17 Comments »