Tag Archives: Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan’s Lockout Stance is fueled by Kobe Hate

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The most recent news is that Jordan is part of a group of owners prepared to lose the season. But it goes further than that with Jordan: he was apparently one of those pushing for a 47% BRI split. Jordan is being labeled a sell-out. For a man that’s made millions selling underwear, that’s not anything out of the ordinary.

However, I have a different theory why Michael Jordan is fighting for such a hard BRI line. Simply put, Jordan enjoys his status as greatest of all time. He holds the record for the two largest single season salaries, with $30 million in 1997 and $33 million in 1998. In fact, Michael Jordan is the only player to crack $30 million in salary. However, Kobe Bryant will hit $30 million in 2014. If Jordan cuts the BRI, he can keep Kobe Bryant off the list of $30 millioners. Even better, if he locks Kobe out for a season, he lowers Kobe’s shot of hitting six titles. So all of Michael Jordan’s greed and selling out may just be a clever ploy to hide his status as the ultimate Kobe hater.

-Dre

The Winningest Tandems

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Dre Alvarez (@nerdnumbers) is a Co-Editor for the Wages of Wins Network and is also in charge of handling the stats data. He’s a long time fan of Colorado Sports, depending on the weather. He’s an even bigger fan of the stats, data and all things nerdy.

It Takes Two to Tango

Looking at teams with two great players is always fun. Today I thought I’d go through all of the possible combination of positions to find the best set of players to ever play.

Before we get started, let me explain my methodology.  I begin with tandems where both players produced more than 10 wins in the same season.  In other words, a tandem only counted if both players hit the 10 Wins Produced mark. I then looked for tandems with multiple years on the same team.

Given this criteria, here are the top tandems.  Enjoy!

Top Backcourt (PG and SG)

En Garde!

Terry Porter and Clyde Drexler from 1987-1992 on the Portland Trail Blazers

  • Terry Porter (PG) – 17037 Minutes Played, 0.247 WP48, 87.7 Wins Produced
  • Clyde Drexler (SG) – 17524 Minutes Played, 0.320 WP48, 116.7 Wins Produced
  • Total – 34561 Minutes Played, 0.284 WP48, 204.4 Wins Produced

In six seasons these two anchored a great Portland team. They helped the Blazers to four 50 win seasons and two finals. This tandem is overshadowed by the Jordan-Pippen duo of the same period. Still, they are the greatest backcourt of the last 30 years.

Top Pass and Shoot (PG and SF)

There was this other guy too.

Dr. J and Mo Cheeks from 1980-1983 on the Philadelphia 76ers

  • Maurice Cheeks (PG) – 10001 Minutes Played, 0.257 WP48, 53.5 Wins Produced
  • Julius Erving (SF) – 10896 Minutes Played 0.291 WP48, 66.1 Wins Produced
  • Total – 20897 Minutes Played, 0.275 WP48, 119.6 Wins Produced
Dr.J had been a great player for a decade. In 1980 he got Mo Cheeks to back him up and the 76ers managed to make it to two finals. In 1982 Moses Malone came aboard and this team won it all. Sadly Dr. J’s age kept this tandem from staying on top. However, they helped the 76ers to 244 wins, 3 finals appearances and a title in four years. Not too shabby!

Top Pick and Roll (PG and PF)

Pick and Roll!

John Stockton and Karl Malone from 1988-2001 on the Utah Jazz

  • John Stockton (PG) – 37640 Minutes Played, 0.330 WP48, 259 Wins Produced
  • Karl Malone (PF) – 42171 Minutes Played, 0.289WP48, 254 Wins Produced
  • Total – 79811 Minutes Played, 0.309WP48, 513 Wins Produced

This pair was great for fourteen consecutive seasons! In that time they managed twelve 50 win seasons and two finals appearances. Stockton and Malone are the epitome of a top tandem and they have the numbers and results to back it up.

Top “Small” and Tall (PG and C)

Who's turn is it to be MVP again?

Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1980,1981,1982 and 1985 on the Los Angeles Lakers

  • Magic Johnson (PG) – 9938 Minutes Played, 0.430 WP48, 89.1 Wins Produced
  • Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (C) – 11426 Minutes Played, 0.265 WP48, 63 Wins Produced
  • Total – 21364 Minutes Played, 0.342 WP48, 152.1 Wins Produced

Thirty years later and this duo remains the best point guard and center combo I can find. Magic hit the ground running and Kareem still had some life. Every season these two were both healthy the Lakers won 55+ games and also won the NBA Championship. Sadly — because of Kareem’s age (he played college ball in the 1960s) — their window was short, but it was certainly sweet.

Top Wings (SG and SF)

How would you feel if you became a synonym for side-kick?

Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen from 1990-1993 and 1996-1997 on the Chicago Bulls

  • Michael Jordan (SG) – 18596 Minutes Played, 0.382 WP48, 147.9 Wins Produced
  • Scottie Pippen (SF) – 18369 Minutes Played, 0.259 WP48, 98.9 Wins Produced
  • Total – 36965 Minutes Played, 0.321WP48, 246.9 Wins Produced
Once Pippen hit his prime, this duo tore through the league. In their six great seasons together the Bulls never failed to get less than 55 wins.  And they also collected five titles [and a 6th title in 1997-98]. Sadly, Jordan took a break in the middle (and by 1998 Pippen had faded). It’s pretty easy to call this one of the greatest tandem of all time.

Top Shooting Power (SG and PF)

Pace yourselves.

Reggie Miller and Dale Davis from 1993-1995 and 1997-1998 on the Indiana Pacers 

  • Reggie Miller (SG) – 14016 Minutes Played, 0.190 WP48, 55.5 Wins Produced
  • Dale Davis (PF) – 11665 Minutes Played, 0.221WP48, 53.6 Wins Produced
  • Total – 25681 Minutes Played, 0.204WP48, 109.2 Wins Produced
These two are the weakest tandem on the list. They are also the only one to fail to make a finals while both players were playing at their peak (they did make it in 2000 when Reggie Miller had faded). Reggie Miller was good but possibly over-appreciated and Davis was great and possibly under-appreciated. However, I think the Pacers would be happy to get them both back at this point.

Top Shaq and Kobe (SG and C)

Bickering like an old married couple.

Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant from 1999-2004 on the Los Angeles Lakers 

  • Kobe Bryant (SG) – 16114 Minutes Played, 0.216 WP48, 72.6 Wins Produced
  • Shaquille O’Neal (C) – 15213 Minutes Played, 0.339 WP48, 107.5 Wins Produced
  • Total – 31327 Minutes Played, 0.276 WP48, 180.1 Wins Produced
That’s right, this duo was good enough and popular enough to name the category. From 1999 to 2004 they managed to lead the Lakers to a threepeat and four finals. There were ups and downs and they split up a few seasons too soon. Still, they rightfully earn their spot.

Top Forwards (SF and PF)

Big Stiffs

Larry Bird and Kevin McHale from 1985-1988 and 1990 for the Boston Celtics 

  • Larry Bird (SF) – 15188 Minutes Played, 0.401WP48, 126.9 Wins Produced
  • Kevin McHale (PF) – 13222 Minutes Played, 0.239WP48, 65.9 Wins Produced
  • Total – 28410 Minutes Played, 0.326WP48, 192.8 Wins Produced
These two made up part of the greatest front court ever assembled. Bird and Parish were the big producers, but McHale definitely helped. Injuries limited him late in his career but his time at the top with Bird was well spent. The Celtics hit 50 wins every season with Bird and McHale playing hot and the Celtic also went to three finals (including one victory).

Top Mixed Bigs (SF and C)

Two out of three aint bad.

Larry Bird and Robert Parish from 1981-1987 and 1990-1991 for the Boston Celtics 

  • Larry Bird (SF) – 26672 Minutes Played, 0.372WP48, 206.5 Wins Produced
  • Robert Parish (C) – 23407 Minutes Played, 0.253WP48, 123.5 Wins Produced
  • Total – 50079 Minutes Played, 0.316WP48, 330.1 Wins Produced
The Celtics of the 80s were lucky enough to have a trio of great players. But  before there was the big three it was just Larry Bird and Robert Parish. These two helped the Celtics to 50 wins every season Larry Bird was healthy. They also tacked on three titles for good measure.

Top Two Towers (PF and C)

I intended to keep it at one tandem a category. I ended up making an exception here and we get a tie!

No, you're a power forward!

Tim Duncan and David Robinson from 1998-2002 for the San Antonio Spurs  

  • Tim Duncan (PF/C) – 14535 Minutes Played, 0.297WP48, 90 Wins Produced
  • David Robinson (PF/C) – 11243 Minutes Played, 0.298WP48, 69.9 Wins Produced
  • Total – 25778 Minutes Played, 0.298WP48, 159.9 Wins Produced

David Robinson waited a long time for his title. As soon as Tim Duncan joined the Spurs these two were a top tandem. Sadly David Robinson was already near the end and faded in 2003. These two managed to start San Antonio’s streak of 50 win seasons (it stands at 12 or 14 if you adjust 1999 season for 82 games). Tack on two titles and these two are the best Front-Court ever assembled.

We're better than Robinson and Duncan!

Charles Oakley and Patrick Ewing from 1989-1991,1993-1994 and 1997 for the New York Knicks

  • Charles Oakley (PF) – 15574 Minutes Played, 0.226 WP48, 73.2 Wins Produced
  • Patrick Ewing (C) – 18027 Minutes Played, 0.245 WP48, 91.9 Wins Produced
  • Total – 33601 Minutes Played, 0.236 WP48, 165.1 Wins Produced
These two just barely manage to put up a fight against Duncan and Robinson by having six seasons of greatness together (as opposed to five). They had four 50 win seasons and a trip to the finals. Oakley managed to contribute even as he faded by getting Marcus Camby to the Knicks via trade.

Summing Up

Hope you enjoyed the list. . With the exception of Oakley and Ewing vs. Robinson and Duncan the winner was usually clear cut. Still, I’d love to hear any names I may have missed.

-Dre

North Carolina and UCLA Produced the Most Wins for the NBA

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In my last post I noted that the longer NBA players are in college, the less they offer in the NBA.   Today it is a different question.  Which universities are turning out the most productive NBA players?

The NBA drafted players from 346 different institutions of higher learning from 1978 to 2010. See this spreadsheet for the full list.

Below is a list of the top 10 schools in wins produced. As one can see, NBA players from the University of North Carolina and UCLA produced over 200 more wins than players from any other college since 1978.

1. University of North Carolina: 54 players produced 1285.8 wins

You were expecting someone else?

  • Most productive alum: Michael Jordan with 284.2 wins produced
  • Least productive alum: Joe Wolf with -17.7 wins produced

2. University of California, Los Angeles: 65 players produced 1052.5 wins

Miller time.

3. Duke University: 38 players produced 826.5 wins

If not for the Pistons he coulda been a contender.

  • Most productive alum: Grant Hill with 137.9 wins produced
  • Least productive alum: Bobby Hurley with -5.2 wins produced

4. Michigan State University: 26 players produced 759.5 wins

Magic Johnson was worth about four players.

5. University of Houston: 21 players produced 724.6 wins

Houston's Dream #1 Pick and Robinson's Nightmare.

6. Georgetown University: 25 players produced 721.6 wins

Rejected!

7. University of Arizona: 39 players produced 570 wins

A.I who?

8. Clemson University: 13 players produced 568.8 wins

See Cleveland it's not so bad.

9. University of Nevada-Las Vegas: 29 players produced 561.6 wins

Finally a title and a spot on a top ten list!

10. Wake Forest University: 20 players produced 547.1 wins

Just happy to be here.

Summing Up

Let me close with a few more observations…

The stats required to calculate wins produced only go back to 1978. The first eight seasons for the career of UCLA’s best alum in the NBA, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, were not included in this analysis. That’s why Kareem is not the most productive UCLA alum since 1978. See this spreadsheet for the full list of alumni for each school in the top 10.

Traditional basketball powerhouses, Kentucky and Kansas, placed the third and fourth-highest number of players in the NBA after UCLA and UNC, but only rank 15th and 18th in wins produced (of course, if Wilt Chamberlain from Kansas could be included, Kansas might be ranked a bit higher).

No Kentucky Wildcat produced more than 100 wins in the NBA since 1978. Rajon Rondo is the all-time leader with 65 wins produced.

Paul Pierce is the all-time leader in wins produced for Kansas Jayhawks with 157.9 wins produced but no other alum produced more than 50 wins.

University of Houston is the only school in the top 10 with two alumni that produced more than 200 wins in their careers; Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler (222.9 wins produced). The next closest school is Georgetown with Mutombo and Patrick Ewing (172.2 wins produced).

Clemson powered its way into the top 10 with three power forwards that produced more than 100 wins each: Larry Nance, Horace Grant (142 wins produced) and Dale Davis (120.8 wins produced).

Tim Duncan and Chris Paul combined to produce 368.2 wins (fifth-highest of any duo in the top 10) to land Wake Forest among the top schools.

Now that we know which colleges produced the most wins, the next question is whether the NBA overpaid for the college education of those players. That issue will be addressed in a future post.

-Mosi (check out more from Mosi Platt at the Miami Heat Index)

Games of the Season – 1986 to 1997

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The Best Game of Each Season

I love looking over classic data. Basketball-Reference has boxscores back to 1986 for the regular season. It’s a ton of fun to review old games and today I thought I’d start a series on the best games of the past. We have twenty five years of regular season data so I figured I’d break it in two and review the best game of each regular season using the Wins Produced Metric. Here’s a snap shot (and I’ll even follow up each with some commentary on the stats).

Date Name Pos MP WP48 WP
2/25/86 Larry Bird 3.5 40 1.051 0.88
1/27/87 Charles Barkley 3.8 48 0.986 0.99
4/22/88 Charles Oakley 3.5 41 1.198 1.02
11/30/88 Charles Barkley 3.8 41 1.369 1.17
3/28/90 Michael Jordan 2.0 50 1.246 1.30
1/2/91 Dennis Rodman 3.3 44 0.965 0.88
2/18/92 Dennis Rodman 4.0 29 1.711 1.03
11/7/92 Charles Barkley 3.6 44 1.122 1.03
11/20/93 Shaquille O’Neal 5.0 36 1.392 1.04
12/13/94 Willie Burton 2.1 43 1.085 0.97
3/7/96 Michael Jordan 2.0 38 1.267 1.00
11/2/96 Charles Barkley 3.9 45 0.981 0.92

 Table 1: Best game of the season for the 1986 to 1997 seasons.

1986 Game of the Season: Larry Bird in 91-74 Boston Celtics victory over New York Knicks on 2/25/1986

The 1986 season unsurprisingly features Larry Bird doing everything. In a comfortable win Bird put up a triple double by shooting efficiently, sharing the ball and rebounding. This was business as usual according to the Youtube video.

PTS TS% RBD AST TOV STL BLK PF
24 0.741 18 13 3 1 0 2

1987 Game of the Season: Charles Barkley in 108-103 Philadelphia 76ers victory over New York Knicks on 1/27/1987

Barkley put up a 20 point 20 rebound night. He tacked on seven steals and assists. His turnovers were a bit high but we’ll look the other way on this otherwise stellar performance.

<img class="size-full wp-image-4166 aligncenter" title="

PTS TS% RBD AST TOV STL BLK PF
25 0.789 23 7 5 7 0 3

1988 Game of the Season: Charles Oakley in 103-107 Chicago Bulls loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on 4/22/1988

Despite pulling down over 60% of his teams rebounds and shooting at a ridiculous rate Oakley wasn’t able to keep the Bulls from losing to the Cavs. His numbers merit him the rare honor of earning a Perfect Game (WP of over 1.0) but sadly his team let him down.

PTS TS% RBD AST TOV STL BLK PF
26 0.697 35 3 6 1 0 2

1989 Game of the Season: Charles Barkley in 114-106 Philadelphia 76ers victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on 11/30/1988

Sir Charles ups his previous 20 and 20 performance to a 40 and 20. His true shooting percentage mark of 0.827 is ridiculous. As before, he even managed to tack on some steals and assists for good measure. Such numbers make him the second player in our data to earn a Perfect Game.

<img class="size-full wp-image-4166 aligncenter" title="

PTS TS% RBD AST TOV STL BLK PF
41 0.827 22 5 3 6 1 2

1990 Game of the Season: Michael  Jordan in 117-113 Chicago Bulls victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on 3/28/1990

Come on, you knew it wouldn’t be long before he showed up, right? Jordan gets on this list by doing what he did best – score. Of course his rebounding in this game was also amazing. Tack on passing, stealing, while limiting turnovers and we have yet another Perfect Game.

PTS TS% RBD AST TOV STL BLK PF
69 0.732 18 6 2 4 1 5

1991 Game of the Season: Dennis Rodman in 118-107 Detroit Pistons victory over the Denver Nuggets on 1/21/1991

Rodman gets on this list in large part to his primary skill of rebounding. Of course in this game he also showed he was capable of carrying the offensive load.  Yes, Rodman was able to put up 34 points on highly efficient shooting. His other numbers aren’t too impressive but turns out those two things win games.

PTS TS% RBD AST TOV STL BLK PF
34 0.733 23 0 0 2 0 1

1992 Game of the Season: Dennis Rodman in 117-95 Detroit Pistons victory over the Orlando Magic on 2/18/1992

Dennis Rodman earns a Perfect Game and wins back to back games of the season. His rebounding numbers are great to go along with a decent number of assists. His scoring may seem low, but he managed 18 points on a mere ten shots from the field and no trips to the line.

PTS TS% RBD AST TOV STL BLK PF
18 0.900 27 5 1 0 1 4

1993 Game of the Season: Charles Barkley in 111-105 Phoenix Suns victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on 11/7/1992

Barkley makes it back onto the list with yet another Perfect Game following his typical line 20+ points to go with 20+ rebounds. He also tacks on his assists, but his steals are lacking. We’ll forgive him.

PTS TS% RBD AST TOV STL BLK PF
37 0.788 21 8 3 1 1 2

1994 Game of the Season: Shaquille O’Neal in 87-85 Orlando Magic victory over the New Jersey Nets on 11/20/1993

Shaq’s 24 points seem low for Superman in his prime. Of course, the real secret to Shaq’s greatness this game was in his rebounding and blocking. He exceeded 25 boards and 15 blocks to help his Magic eke out a close victory and earn himself his first Perfect Game.

PTS TS% RBD AST TOV STL BLK PF
24 0.617 28 3 3 1 15 4

1995 Game of the Season: Willie Burton in 105-90 Philadelphia 76ers victory over the Miami Heat on 12/13/1994

A little over a month after being waived by the Heat Burton managed to exact revenge. While many of the other Games of the Season involve multi-faceted attacks, Willie stuck to scoring to win his title. Willie went 12 for 19 from the field and tacked on 24 points in 28 trips to the charity stripe to earn top honors for the year.  This game is evidence that for one game, most NBA player can be amazing.  Of course, the truly amazing players can put up great numbers in more than one game.

PTS TS% RBD AST TOV STL BLK PF
53 0.846 8 3 1 1 2 2

1996 Game of the Season: Michael Jordan in 102-81 Chicago Bulls victory over the Detroit Pistons on 3/7/1996

Jordan manages to just hit his second Perfect Game by “being like Burton”. Of course, he also managed to pull down over ten boards and grab more than a few steals. His assists were a bit low, but I suspect his shooting in this game was much better than his team mates’ would have been.

PTS TS% RBD AST TOV STL BLK PF
53 0.818 11 2 4 6 0 3

1997 Game of the Season: Charles Barkley in 110-95 Houston Rockets victory over the Phoenix Suns on 11/2/1996

For the fourth time in eleven years, Charles Barkley manages to have the best game of the season. It’s his classic 20 and 20 recipe with a slight variation. This time his rebounds exceed 30 while his points just exceed 20. To add insult to injury, Chuck earns his top mark against his former team.

PTS TS% RBD AST TOV STL BLK PF
20 0.706 33 2 3 0 2 4

 Summing Up

With the exclusion of Burton in the 1995 season, many of these names were not at all surprising. We’ll have to see if any of them stick around for the next list! I do enjoy the fact that Charles Barkley and Dennis Rodman both show up as many times as Michael Jordan. I hope you enjoy this article and I’m curious if there will be a bump on Willie Burton searches.

-Dre

Midday Musing: Kobe isn’t clutch. Who cares?

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Kobe's not clutch?

Henry Abbott is one of my favorite NBA writers. Part of his claim to fame is his research on the crazy belief that Kobe isn’t clutch. This got started earlier this season when he made the point

He followed this up recently with

The number Abbott listed back in January was 36 makes out of 115 shots for both playoffs and regular season. Kobe managed to tack on another clutch miss in a startling loss to the Mavericks. Let’s ask our friends at Basketball-Reference for a little context.
  • Kobe Bryant has taken 21370 shots in the regular season and 4198 shots in the postseason.
  • His clutch shots taken in the post season comprise less than 1% of his total playoff shots.
  • His clutch shots taken in the regular season comprise less than 0.5% of his total regular season shots.
  • In the regular season Kobe has averaged a TS% of 0.556
  • In the post season Kobe has averaged a TS% of 0.542

In short Kobe is actually a pretty decent shooter (I didn’t say great and don’t even try and compare him to Michael) and he some times misses shots with 24 seconds left and the game on the line. That said, games a) with 24 seconds left, b) the game on the line,  and c) Kobe taking a shot are rare. Kobe Byrant has amassed more blocks in the playoffs than clutch shots taken in both the regular season and the playoffs! When trying to analyze how good a player is why would we focus on something that accounts for less than 1% of one part of their job?

A final note is Abbott uses a very thin line to describe clutch – 24 seconds left and a game tying or winning shot taken. 82 Games defines clutch stats as:

  • In the fourth quarter or overtime and the game within five points.

In the last four years the top player in terms of clutch minutes has never gone over 250 minutes of clutch time play. Barring his rookie season, Kobe has never played less than 2,000 minutes a season (adjusting the 1999 to an 82 game length). If Kobe somehow had the top clutch minutes every season it would have accounted for only 1.25% of his play time.

Players being clutch or not clutch is a very popular theme. In fact to be a winner or MVP candidate many writers will claim clutch is needed. The problem, though, is even when analyzing players that always take the shot when the game is on the line, such as Kobe, it turns out these shots make up very little of what the players do. Even Michael Jordan, who was a killer in the playoffs, only managed to muster up 18 clutch shots in 179 playoff games and almost 7,500 minutes of postseason play. Kobe may not be clutch, but he is a very good player.  And it turns out you don’t really need to be clutch to be a good player.

The Lakers have overcome Kobe's glaring weaknesses.

-Dre

(Editor Arturo Note- I have to respectfully disagree . Seriously, now I need another shower)