A look back at some of the #1 NBA Draft picks of all time.
Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, David Thompson, Shaquille O’Neal, Blake Griffin, LeBron James, Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, Elvin Hayes, Allen Iverson, Elgin Baylor, David Robinson, Tim Duncan.
Fellow Lakers guard Michael Cooper said, “There have been times when [Johnson] has thrown passes and I wasn’t sure where he was going. Then one of our guys catches the ball and scores, and I run back up the floor convinced that he must’ve thrown it through somebody.”
In 905 NBA games, Magic Johnson tallied 17,707 points, 6,559 rebounds, and 10,141 assists, translating to career averages of 19.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 11.2 assists per game, the highest assists per game average in NBA history (second highest is John Stockton with a career average of 10.5 assists per game). Johnson shares the single-game playoff record for assists (24), holds the Finals record for assists in a game (21), and has the most playoff assists (2,346). He holds the All-Star Game single-game record for assists (22), and the All-Star Game record for career assists (127). Johnson introduced a fast-paced style of basketball called “Showtime”, described as a mix of “no-look passes off the fastbreak, pin-point alley-oops from halfcourt, spinning feeds and overhand bullets under the basket through triple teams.”
Johnson was exceptional because he played point guard despite being 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), a size reserved normally for frontcourt players. He combined the size of a power forward, the one-on-one skills of a swingman, and the ball handling talent of a guard, making him one of the most dangerous triple-double threats of all time; his 138 triple-double games are second only to Oscar Robertson‘s 181.
Oscar Robertson (Cincinnati Royals) became the only player in NBA history to average a triple-double for an entire season, with 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 11.4 assists.
In the 1961–62 season, Robertson broke the assists record by Bob Cousy, who had recorded 715 assists two seasons earlier, by logging 899. The Royals earned a playoff berth; however, they were eliminated in the first round by the Detroit Pistons. In the next season, Robertson further established himself as one of the greatest players of his generation, averaging 28.3 points, 10.4 rebounds and 9.5 assists, narrowly missing out on another triple-double season. The Royals advanced to the Eastern Division Finals, but succumbed in a seven-game series against a Boston Celtics team led by Bill Russell.
During his 14-year NBA career with the Cincinnati Royals and the Milwaukee Bucks, Robertson became the top-scoring guard of all time, amassing 26,710 points. Among all players, only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, Moses Malone, Elvin Hayes, and Hakeem Olajuwon have scored more.
The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Robertson played the shooting guard/point guard position, and was a twelve-time All-Star, eleven-time member of the All-NBA Team, and one-time winner of the MVP award. His average of 25.7 ppg per game ranks as the sixth-highest mark ever among retired players, and he averaged 30 points or more in six seasons. He was a key player on the team which brought the Bucks their only NBA title in the 1970–71 NBA season.
The New York Times reported in 2008 that Cincinnati basketball sophomore Oscar Robertson scored 56 points at Madison Square Garden against Seton Hall . The final score was Cincinnati 118 and Seton Hall 54. Robertson outscored the entire opposition.
Robertson was 22-for-32 and hit all 12 free throws. Keep in mind, this was before three-point shots and well before the NCAA instituted a shot clock. Robertson eventually was inducted into the National Basketball Hall of Fame for his vaunted college and NBA career.
below is a snippet from The New York Times:
“When the Big O First Played the Garden: 56 in ’58”
By OSCAR ROBERTSON
Published: March 9, 2008When we took the court that night, we had an 8-2 record. A guard in high school, I was playing forward and averaging about 30 points and 16 rebounds a game. An injury had sidelined our 6-10 senior pivotman, Connie Dierking, so we were still adjusting at both ends of the court. We were a fast-breaking, high-scoring team, and given the opportunity, my teammates could put the ball in the basket as well.
Our game tipped off in front of what seemed like a mostly empty building. (I think the crowd was about 4,500.) I missed my first jumper, but on the next possession, I backed my defender down, then spun off him for a scooping layup. From that point, I was pretty much in a zone, hitting jump shot after jump shot, or posting up, or finishing fast breaks. The ball kept going in the basket for me, and our whole team was fast-breaking and scoring at will. I was taken out with two minutes left, and the final score was Cincinnati 118, Seton Hall 54.
I did not know how many points I had until I was cornered in the dressing room by the largest horde of reporters I had ever seen, all of whom wanted to ask about my record night. I had hit 22 of 32 field-goal attempts and 12 of 12 free throws.
I’m afraid I wasn’t a very exciting interview, giving mostly monosyllabic replies and identifying my first state high school championship as my biggest thrill to date. One writer stayed until after all the others had left, and introduced himself as Milton Gross of The New York Post.
“You know, if you’re a star, you have to learn how to talk to the media,” he said.
“But I don’t know them,” I replied.
He said he would be willing to give advice on dealing with the press — an offer I was happy to accept — and he became a trusted friend and confidant for the rest of my college and professional careers.
When I finally dressed and left the Garden, it was late; the streets were empty and glowing. A light snow was in the air. I was with my roommate, Chuck Machock. The team had long gone, so we walked back to the Paramount Hotel, talking about the game we had just played and everything that had happened afterward. I was not sure why, but I had a sense that my life would never again be the same after that night.
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