Moses Malone RIP

[ChicosBailBonds]

age 60

[4everwarriors]

Wow, what's up with all these basketball playas checkin' out so young, hey?

[brandx]

One of my favorites ever.

Gave some of the greatest interviews seen by man.

[Goose]

He was a special player. Very sad.

[real chili 83]

Wasn't he the first to go pro out of H.S.?

[4everwarriors]

Signed LOI for Maryland in the morning of national signin' day, then went back to sleep. Next stop ABA, ai na?

[real chili 83]

Worked out pretty well for him, ai na?

[MUEng92]

Man, as I big Sixer fan tin the early 1980s, the last few weeks have sucked.

[HouWarrior]

Wasn't he the first to go pro out of H.S.?

Yup.

Early in Akeem (before he became "H"akeem) Olajuwon's career, while still with UH's Phi Slamma Jamma, he and Clyde Drexler spent a summer playing ball at Fonde Rec Center in the 6th Ward. Because many NBA players call Houston home in the offseason, the player lineups were phenomenal. It was Free to anyone who wanted to watch...best "free" BB show ever .

All summer, Rocket Center Mo Malone schooled Akeem on the toughness and physicality of the center position. It was an amazing battle to watch. Mo Malone played the low post with force, relentless determination, and always ...excellent positioning. Young Akeem....well at least he didnt give up... but you could already see he had great quick, footwork.

Mo is a top 10 all time center...How high would you rank him? Who are in your top 10?

Here is a good top 10 NBA center article:
http://hoopsmanifesto.com/articles/basketball/top-10-nba-centers-of-all-time.html
My list:

1)   Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers – 1969 – 1989

2) Wilt Chamberlain – Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers – 1959 – 1973

3) Hakeem Olajuwon – Houston Rockets, Toronto Raptors – 1984 – 2002

4)Bill Russell – Boston Celtics – 1956-1969

5) Moses Malone – Utah Stars, Spirits of St. Louis, Buffalo Braves, Houston Rockets, Philadelphia 76ers, Washington Bullets, Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee Bucks, San Antonio Spurs – 1974 – 1992, 1993-1994

6)Shaquille O'Neal – Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics – 1992 – 2011

7) Patrick Ewing – New York Knicks, Seattle Supersonics, Orlando Magic – 1985 – 2002

8) George Mikan – Minneapolis Lakers – 1948 – 1954, 1955 – 1956

9) David Robinson – San Antonio Spurs – 1989 – 1996, 1997 – 2003

T-10) The C/PF trio:Elvin Hayes, Tim Duncan, Bob McAdoo

[keefe]

Yup.

Early in Akeem (before he became "H"akeem) Olajuwon's career, while still with UH's Phi Slamma Jamma, he and Clyde Drexler spent a summer playing ball at Fonde Rec Center in the 6th Ward. Because many NBA players call Houston home in the offseason, the player lineups were phenomenal. It was Free to anyone who wanted to watch...best "free" BB show ever .

All summer, Rocket Center Mo Malone schooled Akeem on the toughness and physicality of the center position. It was an amazing battle to watch. Mo Malone played the low post with force, relentless determination, and always ...excellent positioning. Young Akeem....well at least he didnt give up... but you could already see he had great quick, footwork.

Mo is a top 10 all time center...How high would you rank him? Who are in your top 10?

Here is a good top 10 NBA center article:
http://hoopsmanifesto.com/articles/basketball/top-10-nba-centers-of-all-time.html
My list:

1)   Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers – 1969 – 1989

2) Wilt Chamberlain – Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers – 1959 – 1973

3) Hakeem Olajuwon – Houston Rockets, Toronto Raptors – 1984 – 2002

4)Bill Russell – Boston Celtics – 1956-1969

5) Moses Malone – Utah Stars, Spirits of St. Louis, Buffalo Braves, Houston Rockets, Philadelphia 76ers, Washington Bullets, Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee Bucks, San Antonio Spurs – 1974 – 1992, 1993-1994

6)Shaquille O'Neal – Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics – 1992 – 2011

7) Patrick Ewing – New York Knicks, Seattle Supersonics, Orlando Magic – 1985 – 2002

8) George Mikan – Minneapolis Lakers – 1948 – 1954, 1955 – 1956

9) David Robinson – San Antonio Spurs – 1989 – 1996, 1997 – 2003

T-10) The C/PF trio:Elvin Hayes, Tim Duncan, Bob McAdoo

Olajuwon ahead of Russell?

No.

[The Sultan]

You can make a case for Olajuwon being ahead of Russell.  Russell was great but fairly one dimensional.  Won a bunch of championships in an era of limited player movement.  History should treat Hakeem better but he wasn't surrounded by enough good players throughout his career and is yet another one of those players whose era was completely overshadowed by Jordan's dominance.  Not saying its a foregone conclusion by any means, but I can certainly understand the argument.

[HouWarrior]

Olajuwon ahead of Russell?

No.

Please ask Russell yourself the next time you see him at the coffee shop. lol
To me, the 3/4 call is very close. I was lucky enough to see all of these in person, except for Mikan.
Any "team success" or "will to win" or even "pure rebounding" criteria places Russell ahead of all others. But in person, I'd have to say the overall positional skills of the top 3 were the best of each of their generations.
No one would begrudge Bill any place on this list, including No. 1...but we all have our perspectives. Watching Hakeem, in person,  dismantle MVP Robinson in '95 playoffs, convinced me he would've smoked even Bill  in the same circumstance. Accordingly, I gave a Very slight edge to Hakeem (BTW...I am UH Law'83).

[MU82]

"Fo, fo, fo."

One of the great quotes ever.

Another guy who just died also gave one of my favorite quotes:

"There is one word in America that says it all, and that one word is, 'You never know.'"
-- Joaquin Andujar

[brandx]

"Fo, fo, fo."

One of the great quotes ever.

Another guy who just died also gave one of my favorite quotes:

"There is one word in America that says it all, and that one word is, 'You never know.'"
-- Joaquin Andujar

That quote was why I wrote that he gave some of the great interviews ever.

[tower912]

Context.... he was asked about the 1983 76'ers playoff chances and gave the wonderfully succinct, if not quite accurate prediction. 

[MU82]

Context.... he was asked about the 1983 76'ers playoff chances and gave the wonderfully succinct, if not quite accurate prediction.

True. I think the Eastern Conference finals went 5.

[HouWarrior]

True. I think the Eastern Conference finals went 5.

That 83 76ers team had a great roster. I noticed Wes Matthew Sr was on it....did he get a ring?

10    Maurice Cheeks    PG    6-1    180    September 8, 1956    5    West Texas A&M University

14    Franklin Edwards    PG    6-1    170    February 2, 1959    2    Cleveland State University

6    Julius Erving    SF    6-7    210    February 22, 1950    12    University of Massachusetts Amherst

8    Marc Iavaroni    PF    6-8    210    September 15, 1956    1    University of Virginia

45    Clemon Johnson    C    6-10    240    September 12, 1956    5    Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University

24    Bobby Jones    PF    6-9    210    December 18, 1951    9    University of North Carolina

23    Charles Jones    PF    6-9    215    April 3, 1957    R    Albany State University

23    Bruce Kuczenski    PF    6-10    230    February 3, 1961    R    University of Connecticut

2    Moses Malone    C    6-10    215    March 23, 1955    9    

1    Wes Matthews    PG    6-1    170    August 24, 1959    3    University of Wisconsin

11    Leo Rautins    SF    6-8    215    March 20, 1960    R    Syracuse University

4    Clint Richardson    SG    6-3    195    August 7, 1956    4    Seattle University

9    Sedale Threatt    PG    6-2    175    September 10, 1961    
R    West Virginia University Institute of Technology

22    Andrew Toney    SG    6-3    178    November 23, 1957    3    University of Louisiana at Lafayette

33    Sam Williams    PF    6-8    210    March 7, 1959    2    Arizona State University