Debunking A Myth: Were Players Really Shorter in 1967?

Go anywhere that isn’t a retirement home and announce Wilt Chamberlain as the greatest player of all time. Or try to announce Bill Russell as the greatest winner of all time. Either will be met with arguments about how small and feeble their competition was; how their dominance came as a result of their “ahead of their time” bodies and athleticism, not due to their talent and instinct.  

Nate Thurmond and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, two short guys Wilt faced. (Via. tumblr)

In order to truly understand and compare player heights, you must first look at how players are measured. Since about the 1980’s, heights have been exaggerated by agents and players in an attempt to help their draft stock. Draftexpress.com explains:

Players and various people who worked for teams had been complaining for years about barefoot measurements. Larry Johnson, the #1 overall pick in 1991 expressed his thoughts on the measurements after he came in an inch and a half below his listed height of 6’7”. "Ain't that pitiful?" Johnson said. "You don't go out there with your shoes off. Ain't that right?"

In this case, Larry Johnson being a 6’5 ½” power forward didn’t hurt his stock, because he was in a weaker draft, but many times measurements can really help or hurt a player’s position in the draft. Jerry Krause used the same logic in 1992, saying "I've never seen a young man yet play basketball in his stocking feet." That was after power forward Byron Houston  who was listed 6’7” in college measured 6’4”.

This means that somebody like Bill Russell, who is measured at 6’9 barefoot, would be measured between 6’10" and 6’11" had he played in a later era.

With that in mind, take a look at Chamberlain’s 1967 season, his first championship season. Chamberlain had one of the greatest seasons in league history with 24 points on 68 percent shooting, 24 rebounds, and eight assists per game.

His first game that season brought the New York Knicks to Philadelphia. The Knicks lineup consisted of 6’11" center Walt Bellamy and 6’9" power forward Willis Reed. With a smaller league, the New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers would meet nine times throughout the season.

Walt Bellamy and Wilt Chamberlain (Via. Bleacher Report)

One game later, the 76ers faced the Baltimore Bullets for two games. The Bullets’ front line consisted of 6’10" center Leroy Ellis, 7-foot center Mel Counts, and 6’8" power forward Wayne 

Hightower. The 76ers would face them nine times that season.

The seventh game of the 76ers season was in San Francisco against the San Francisco Warriors. The 76ers were met by 6’11" center Nate Thurmond and 6’8" power forward Fred Hetzel. They would meet nine times.

This trend held up throughout the season, with the shortest team being the St. Louis Hawks, who had two 6’9" centers as the tallest on their roster. However, if they measured the same way athletes are measured today, both would measure at around 6’10" or 6’11". 

The 1960's were some of the greatest times in basketball, however it doesn't always get the respect it deserves by the modern fan due to unfounded myths surrounding it. Perhaps it's time to appreciate those players for who they were, great players.

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D-League Decoded: Philadelphia 76ers and the D-League

Philadelphia has a new D-League affiliate in the Delaware 87ers. (nba.com)

Late last month, it was announced that the Philadelphia 76ers acquired the defunct Utah Flash D-League team and moved them to Delaware to become the 87ers (or Sevens per the team's Twitter account).

Previous to this acquisition, the team's affiliate was the Sioux Falls Skyforce, who were co-owned by three other NBA teams, the Timberwolves, Heat and Magic. Of course, if you know anything about geography you would know that Sioux Falls, South Dakota is a long ways away from Philadelphia, which made it hard for the 76ers to use the D-League until now.

Avoiding the team's weird name that's based on the Constitution, the 76ers are now able to use the D-League to their overall advantage to help develop some of their young players. Now, the team is probably going to be facing a huge overhaul after the Andrew Bynum disaster from this past season. With a team that's rebuilding, you're going to have a lot of porspects that will be in need of developing. Sure, the team can immediately put those players on an NBA court but may be at the risk of putting them out there too early.

At this moment, the 76ers have seven players who are 24 years old or younger, which should increase during the upcoming NBA Draft because of their three picks (No. 11, No. 35 and No. 42). Using Delaware as a means of development for those rookies will be crucial for the simple fact that they'll be able to transfer them in between each location. That alone will allow Philiadelphia's front office to use the same approach that teams like Oklahoma City and Golden State used this past season who both had their own D-League team.

Despite being a solid developmental move,  they only assigned one player (Arnett Moultree) during the 2012-13 season, which does make sense of the strange situation the team was going through. With that said, Philadelphia did use the other teams involved in the D-League to call up two players (Shelvin Mack and Justin Holiday) who turned out to be below average pickups but still meant that there was that connection.

Speaking of connection, the 76ers front office hired and assigned Aaron Moszer to be their first team president. This was possibly the best overall hiring for this new ball club because of Moszer's 15-year experience working in the world of minor league sports. Before signing on to Delaware, Moszer worked as the VP of Sales/Marketing for Ripken Baseball, which is one of the top developmental leagues for youth baseball in the US. While helping out the future of the game of baseball, Moszer was also an instrumental part in the inagural season of the Aberdeen Ironbirds who are the Class A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Of course, Moszer won't be in charge of the on-court aspect of the team but will be the key man in charge of making sure things go right in the first season of this team.

Again, we're about six months until the team will open up shop to start its first season so a lot can happen in that time frame, but this is still a great move for the future of a rebuilding Philadelphia 76ers franchise.

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Friday Roundtable: The NBA's Uninjured MVP

 Chris Paul and Kyrie Irving lock eyes during a charity game. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty)

BDD's Friday Roundtable is a weekly discussion among a group of our writers on a trending NBA or college basketball topic.

This week's question: With Kobe Bryant's injury potentially putting the Los Angeles Lakers in a holding pattern, which uninjured NBA player is most valuable to his team?

Kyle:

The "most valuable player" category is always tricky because people naturally think of the most talented players. While I consider this player one of the best in the NBA, he is not one of the four or five elite scorers that first come to mind.

My most valuable player that a team can't afford to lose to injury is one of the best floor generals in the game; Chris Paul. I considered Carmelo Anthony and James Harden, who both lead their teams in scoring by more than 10 points more than the second leading scorer, but imagine the type of office the Clippers run without Paul. Paul finds his teammates so well (9.6 assists per game) that it almost overlooks the fact he scores 16.6 points per game. Paul's defense and 2.4 steals per game is just as valuable. Other players on the team should be good enough to at least somewhat make up for a lack of scoring, due to injury, on a playoff-caliber team. But good luck finding a backup point guard that can match what Paul brings to the table.

An injury to LeBron James or Kevin Durant would draw questions to the Heat or Thunder's title chances but Dwyane Wade and Russell Westbrook are both capable of taking over scoring loads. How Paul is able to run the Clippers while he's on the floor is a thing of beauty that fellow Clippers point guards Chauncey Billups and Eric Bledsoe, along with most of the other point guards in the NBA, cannot emulate.

Fred:
Dwight Howard. The Lakers with a healthy and motivated Howard look like a completely different team. Since the All-Star break, Dwight is averaging 17 points, 15 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks on 55% shooting. Not surprisingly, the Lakers are 9-3 since then. He’s finally starting to regain his athleticism. He fights hard for rebounds and leaps high for blocks. His demeanor has changed as he finally seems to be having fun on the court again.

The Lakers simply do not have good defensive players outside of Dwight and Metta World Peace. Howard has a tremendous amount of responsibility to protect the paint as speedy point guards blow by the Laker perimeter defense. As soon as Dwight has to come out of the game, the opposing team drives the lane relentlessly without fear. His responsibility is magnified with Jordan Hill and Pau Gasol both being out, forcing the Lakers to go as far as playing World Peace at center while Dwight rests.

There is no denying Kobe has been fantastic this season, but the Lakers wouldn’t have a chance at the playoffs without the recent play of Dwight Howard.

Zach: 
My answer is Kyrie Irving. I just cannot help myself. The guy is not CP3, but he doesn't play in Los Angeles, either. Despite the Cleveland Cavaliers not being a playoff contender this season, Irving has taken fans' recently broken hearts and has begun mending them back together, possession by possession. Irving has brought basketball life back to Cleveland sooner than anyone expected.

This season, Irving averages 23 ppg, shoots over 40 percent from both the field and behind the arc, and dishes away nearly six assists per game. It's not about the numbers. Irving is a showman. Pepsi's 'Uncle Drew' documentaries are enjoyed by everyone, young and old, basketball fan or not. Irving was this year's three-point contest winner at the All-Star Game in Houston. His game presents cunning elements of flash, style and technique all appealing to the eye.

Before Irving even has turned 21, Cleveland has seen plenty of disappointment. We remember Micheal Jordan beating the buzzer, jumping in celebration. We remember 'The Decision', the removal of 'We are Witnesses' posters, and jerseys set aflame as a town feeling betrayed cursed their once hometown hero. Irving will be able to enjoy a well-deserved cocktail a week from tomorrow.

Irving's importance to the Cavaliers is clear. He is the guy and, barring injury, he will be for a long time. 

Alex: 

If Bryant suffered a more serious injury – one that sidelined him for the rest of the regular season – the answer would be Steve Nash. He would be the captain capable of solidifying the Lakers as the eighth seed or possibly overtaking the Rockets to move higher. In the absence of an alternately ball dominant or uber-facilitating Kobe, Mike D’Antoni would hand Nash the reigns to a slightly diluted Seven Seconds Or Less offense that incorporated pick-and-rolls with Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol.

As it stands, however, Bryant only has a (badly) sprained ankle and a reputation for playing through pain. Instead of Nash, another point guard is the most important, uninjured asset of his team: Jrue Holiday. Working with the Philadelphia 76ers’ patchwork roster of under-developed young players, journeymen and aging role players in the absence of could-have, should-have, would-have been game changer Andrew Bynum, Holiday has been the brightest spot for a team that was competing for a playoff spot until a few weeks ago.

Aspects of Holiday’s game could certainly use improvement, namely his main duty of ball handling. The fourth-year PG has committed 232 turnovers this season (third in the NBA), but that is due more to his position as a crutch in the Sixers’ offense. It only becomes troubling if the trend continues if/when Bynum returns and Philadelphia’s strategy shifts, as Holiday’s miscues have spiked this season by 1.8 more turnovers per game.

Luckily for his team, the good outweighs the bad: Holiday is fourth in the league in assists with 8.7 per game and second in the overall category with 521. Not surprisingly, he is assisting on 39.1 percent of his teammates field goals when on the floor. Presuming those numbers sustain through the end of the season (or even if he can rack up just 11 more assists), they will all be career highs. While a .445 field goal percentage – brought down by a .326 percentage from long range – does not jump off the page, Holiday is shouldering the 76ers’ burden by playing 38.6 minutes per game, leading the scoring charge with 18.6 points per game (which, if he keeps it up, will make for a career-best season 4.6 ppg higher than his current record) and facilitating at a high rate to teammates of a lesser quality.

Holiday’s Win Shares per 48 minutes has dipped since he became the team’s focal point this season, but his career-high 17.7 player efficiency rating and first All-Star nod validate his performance. Philadelphia is 8.5 games out of the eighth seed. Barring a miracle, the Sixers will miss the postseason. But with even a slightly better supporting cast or even a few games swung by a healthy Bynum? We could get caught up in the pre-playoff rush and be talking Holiday up to be the NBA’s next great point guard.

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Take A Pick: Evan Turner or Derrick Williams

Evan Turner drives against Derrick Williams. (Jim Mone/AP)

The Minnesota Timberwolves defended the den from a hungry Philadelphia 76ers team Wednesday, winning 94-87. Target Center played host to a dismal display of fourth quarter shooting. Minnesota scored only one bucket on 12 attempts while Philadelphia made its 25 percent shooting feel like an air-raid assault. Before tip-off, trade rumors swirled around Derrick Williams and Evan Turner. This, at the time, seemed as if could have been both players' last time out with their respective teams.

Turner and Williams, both drafted with second overall picks in consecutive years, have yet to consistently play at a level that satisfies standards predicted for the two coming into the NBA.

Playing an average of 21.5 minutes per game, Williams struggled to find a scoring niche his rookie year, averaging close to nine points shooting and only 26 percent from 3-point range. In the following offseason, the Wolves made an offer for Nicholas Batum, which after being matched by Portland Trail Blazers, left Minnesota thin at the 3-4 positions. After injuries to both Kevin Love and Chase Budinger, Williams saw his playing time skyrocket. Williams, in a career high 36 minutes on Wednesday, scored 17 going 7-12 from the field, shooting 2-4 from behind the arc, while snatching eight boards in the victory over Philly.

Turner averaged 20 ppg during his final season as an Ohio State Buckeye. Turner, a SF with respectable handles, could create a mismatch in almost every game at the collegiate level. Not having size as a luxury in the NBA, the Sixers coaching staff worked with Turner on moving without the ball, as well as finding ways to catch and create in the low block when matched up against smaller defenders. He led the Sixers in Wednesday's losing effort with 17 points on 6-16 shooting. Turner tallied six rebounds and shot 5-6 from the charity stripe, getting his game going about midway through the third quarter.

With neither player moved at the trade deadline, Turner and Williams will finish out the season continuing to play the roles the Sixers and Wolves ask of them. Both teams are looking in from outside the playoff picture. Philly is 3.5 games behind the Milwaukee Bucks, who hold the eighth and final spot in the Eastern Conference, while the Wolves remain 6.5 back in the West. The Minnesota front office made a promise to appear in this year's postseason, rewarding season ticket holders a 10 percent discount on next year's packages if the team fails to make the playoffs. The Wolves not only have to overcome the deficit in the loss column, but also need to jump Portland, the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers, all of which are fighting for a playoff slot.

Here's the hypothetical situation: your organization just missed a postseason appearence by two games. You have the opportunity to sign either Williams or Turner. Who do you believe helps more in making the playoffs during the 2013-2014 season?

Career Numbers

• Evan Turner, third season.
• Age 24, 6'7" 220lbs
• 27.7mpg 9.7 ppg 5.2 rpg and 2.9 apg
• 43% FG 32% 3ptFG and 75% FT
• Current Season
• 36.3 mpg
• 16.8 ppg 6.6 rpg and 4.3 apg (per game)
• 42% FG 47% 3ptFG and 76% FG
  
  
• Derrick Williams, second season.
• Age 21, 6'8" 240lbs
• 21.4 mpg 9.3 ppg 5.8 rpg and 0.5 apg
• 41% FG 29% 3ptFG and 70% FT
• Current Season
• 21.2 mpg
• 10 ppg 5 rpg and 0.4 apg (per game)
• 41% FG 33% 3ptFG and 71% FT

Williams' rookie year makes comparing these career stats worthy, but Turner is clearly the more developed product thus far.

Over the last ten games, Turner is averaging 13 ppg in 35.4 minutes and shooting 40 percent while Williams has accumulated 12.3 ppg in just 25.3 minutes and is shooting 42 percent in his extended role.

Turner's responsibilities as a Sixer started as limited, but have become a pivotal. Turner now has playoff experience to aid aside the chemistry developed with his teammates, primarly Jrue Holiday, who has been Turner's only PG while in the NBA.

Williams fights a different battle. Love, Minnesota's both beloved and hated star player, has been irrelevant this season. Injuries not only to Love, but also Budinger, Andre Kirilenko and Nikola Pekovic during the course of this season have forced Williams in new places on the court. At times, he has played as a 4 — an undersized 4 — and struggled to match-up with the likes of Blake Griffin, Pau Gasol and even NeNe. When playing as a 3, Williams seems lost in pick-and-roll sets when faced with a quicker guard.

Both players have shown maturity, character, and have worked hard both on and off the court, saying all the right things to coaches and the press, careful not to provide any ammo that could be used by media.

The choice is yours, Internet.

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NBA Summer League: It's Happening

Alec Burks gets the better of Jacob Pullen in college, upped the ante Monday. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

NBA Summer League competition began this week as D-Leaguers, young players already in The Association and others hoping to make rosters took to the court in Orlando. Squads representing the Philadelphia 76ers and Utah Jazz squared off in the early game before giving a turn to the offseason versions of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers.

Two of the more notable performers were Utah's Alec Burks and point guard Jacob Pullen, playing for the Philly offshoot Liberty Ballers. Both Big 12 alums filled their respective stat sheets. After a quiet rookie season, Burks scored 31 points going 10-14 from the field, 1-2 from three-point range and 10-11 at the foul line. Pullen — having missed out on being drafted in 2011 and then playing pro ball for a year in Italy — shot 8-14, including 4-7 on trey attempts and 3-3 at the charity stripe, which was good for 23 points. He had a team-high four assists, but also committed four turnovers.

As always, a good showing in summer league doesn't necessarily equate to good statistics in actual NBA games, or even making a team's roster, so temper any expectations for a few more months.

Games slated for today pit the Detroit Pistons against the Orlando Magic (currently in progress), and the Brooklyn Nets against the Boston Celtics. All summer league games can be seen for a subscription fee through NBA.com, where box scores are also available.


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