I Love The 90s(Just Posted: The Big Men)

[Ben-le-ouf]

Chicago
Jordan/Pippen/Grant- Everyone knows what 23 and 33 did but some may have forgotten the work that #54 put in. Hows 14 & 10, 13 & 9 and 15 & 11 consecutively.

Actually any trio wich could include Jordan and Pippen is a very good trio...
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[Sauru]

the magic trio and the knick trio dont really belong in that list.

Why?

they just were not as good as the rest of the list. the orlando one was more of a duo. i would have put nick anderson in there before grant.

the knicks one i think is dont work mainly cause of starks. i dont think anyone who is that streaky can be considered in something like this. i mean because of him the knicks dont have a ring. they had the rockets right where they needed them and this guy just shot up every kind of garbage shot he could think of. would have been easier for him to just shoot on the rockets basket and make it quicker. now i am not saying the knicks would have 100% won without him in that game but imo they had better than a 50% chance to do it. its one thing to have a player on the court who is doing nothing and not helping, but its another thing thats much much worse when you got a player doing everything but doing everything wrong and actually hurting your team.

[GloveGuy]

"I Love The 90s" will take a two-day hiatus. I've been getting home late after soccer practice and after that, I have to hit the books, so I don't really have a lot of time to make long posts. You can sticky this if you (Andrew) want to so it doesn't fall off. If it's not necessary, that's fine.

[Fresh8]

Just noting... Damon Stoudamire had a 19 ppg and 9 apg... definately his best statistical season... although you can argue he played well in his first year on an expansion team.

[FanOfAll]

Just noting... Damon Stoudamire had a 19 ppg and 9 apg... definately his best statistical season... although you can argue he played well in his first year on an expansion team.

He was actually good back then. Now he has tendency to hog onto the ball until the last possible second and do something stupid with the ball.

[Rens]

Just noting... Damon Stoudamire had a 19 ppg and 9 apg... definately his best statistical season... although you can argue he played well in his first year on an expansion team.

He was actually good back then. Now he has tendency to hog onto the ball until the last possible second and do something stupid with the ball.

He did pretty much the same on the Raptors except he did have teammates that warranted that kind of play

[air gordon]

sorry i'm late for this great thread...

most of my thunder has been stolen already but i'd still like to add...

phoenix was an excellent team in the 90's, not just that one year they made the finals. the 93 & 94 teams were title contending teams. if i'm not mistaken in '94, the suns were a mario elie 3pter away from getting to the finals

chris webber should be added to rookies of the 90's. he had a fantastic rookie year including an around the back dunk on sir charles, one of my all time fav dunks. and even if the duo was shortlived, the cwebb and spree, heck that whole team was a great watch.

mullin's the best shooter i've ever seen

[FanOfAll]

Just noting... Damon Stoudamire had a 19 ppg and 9 apg... definately his best statistical season... although you can argue he played well in his first year on an expansion team.

He was actually good back then. Now he has tendency to hog onto the ball until the last possible second and do something stupid with the ball.

He did pretty much the same on the Raptors except he did have teammates that warranted that kind of play

Which was why I pointed it out . He could get away with it there, but man he's gotta get a head change or something because he can't do that in POR.

[GloveGuy]

Declines Of The 1990s

Shawn Kemp: One of the greatest power forwards of his era, also had one of the greatest declines during the 1990s. Shawn Kemp played power forward, yet had the athleticism and dunking ability of a swingman. While possessing the ability to hit the mid range shot and make his way to the basket, he could also post up on any big man in the league.

His last great season was in 1999, where he averaged 20 points and 9 rebounds with the Cleveland Cavaliers, though his decline happend about three years earlier. Upset with his contract in 1996, Kemps play and statistics decreased, and his last shot as a Seattle Supersonic was a missed three which lost his team the game and the series against the Houston Rockets in round two of the playoffs. He was traded to Cleveland and in the season of 1999, showed up to training camp overweight. He was then traded to the Blazers, where he would stuggle with cocaine abuse. In 2001, he signed with the Magic though his tenure there would only last one year. Now, he is playing in the USBL for the Oklahoma Storm.



Chicago Bulls: Following their sixth championship in eight years, the Bulls dynasty was dismantled by one man -- Jerry Krause. Phil Jackson was let go, even after free agent Michael Jordan stated he wouldn't play for another coach. Following Jordan's retirement, Krause traded Scottie Pippen to Houston for Roy Rogers and a second-round pick. Rogers would never play for the Bulls. After a 62-10 season, the Bulls -- led by Toni Kukoc and Ron Harper, the two remaining starters -- went 13-37, while coached by Tim Floyd. They were so bad that Dickey Simpkins, who had never averaged more than 3 points for the Bulls, played all fifty games, even starting 35 of them.



Vin Baker: From 1995-1998, Vin Baker averaged 19.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, establishing himself as one of the premier power forwards in the league. In 1999, his numbers dropped to 13 points per game as he gained an estimated 25-30 pounds over the season. He missed 16 games, being hurt with thumb and knee injuries. He would deny rumors of drinking problems and depression, as he feuded with teammates and coaches. He lost his confidence, and his contract became a burden to the Sonics. Even this year, in his first season with the Celtics, he struggled with alcoholism. After slimming down to 250 pounds, it looked as if Celtics fans would be seeing a new, rejuvenated Vin Baker. They did for the first part of the season, though alchohol problems would still come into factor, and he would be let go and then signed by the Knicks.



Derrick Coleman: The 1991 Rookie Of The Year averaged 18-20 points in his first five seasons, even being an all-star in 1994. But in his career, he has been arrested for DWI, disorderly conduct, trespassing, battering a woman, and assaulting a 17-year-old fan. Once in 1999, he urinated on the floor in a Detroit restaurant. In 1995, he was traded by the Nets for Shawn Bradley to the 76ers, and would only play 11 games that season, marking the beginning of a long and terrible decline. What looked to be a great career, was brought down by weight-gain, injuries and legal trouble. Entering his fifteenth year, Coleman has failed to average in double figures in three of the past four years.

[Andrew]

I'd add Hakeem Olajuwon to that list. His last truly fine season was 1996/1997. After that, injuries instigated a steep decline that most people would never have expected. Like many big men, Olajuwon slowed with age but had been doing so gracefully as he entered his second decade in the league.

He might have been losing a bit of quickness as minor injuries and age took their toll, but he still possessed the gifts that made him such a formidable opponent. From the 97/98 season on however, he was never quite the same and his numbers dwindled quickly.

[magius]

i dont know if id add hakeem to that list because his decline was due to plain old age and injury more so than complacency. Besides, hakeems decline started at 34ish (though one could say at 35 and 36 he was still adequate), the admirals dip also strated at around 32-34, ewing at 35-37, wilt at 35-36, russell retired at 34, mutombo at 36, mikan retired at 31 his dip, shaqs starting to dip at 31ish already (though this remains to be seen, he may be reborn), anyway the point is that the life expectancy of great cetnres (exception kareem) is basically how long hakeem lasted, thus i wouldnt call it a "decline" to the degree of kemp/baker/coleman because i guess it was natural for hakeem to decline.

[Andrew]

True, it was a natural decline but accelerated by accumlating injuries which made it pretty steep, much steeper than it would have been had he been healthy. Like most star players, his decline as age took its toll would have been more graceful.

[[Q]]

Don't forget Grant Hill, dude! Well, not really a decline, more like a steep decent off of a cliff...

[Mahoney_jr]

This thread is great. Keep on going!

[ATTENTIONWHORE]

How about the Lakers/Celtics? After the many championships of the 80's?
After Worthy, Magic, Bird, McHale, Parish retiring...

[GloveGuy]

Big Men Of The 1990s

Hakeem Olajuwon: When Michael Jordan retired in 1993 to pursue a career in baseball, Hakeem took the reigns as the NBA's top player, winning the MVP award that year. That season and the following, he led the Rockets to an NBA Championship, winning the Finals MVP award both times. Hakeem was one of the most versatile centers of all time. In 1990, he even attained a quadruple-double, with 18 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists, and 11 blocked shots. His offensive repetoire was amazing. He could play with his back to the basket or either face up to his opponent. Even today, his " Dream Shake," remains one of the most unstoppable post moves in NBA history.



Patrick Ewing: For several years, Ewing stood as the best center in the Eastern Conference. Like Olajuwon, he could play either facing the basket or with his back to the basket. The 11-time all-star led the Knicks to six 50-win seasons, and one 60-win year. Of the centers on this list, he is only second to Hakeem Olajuwon in career points, and 13th all time. In 1994, he led New York to the NBA Finals where he would face Olajuwon's Rockets. The series would come down to seven games but in the end, Houston would prevail.



David Robinson: One of the classiest players to ever step on an NBA floor was also one of the greatest centers of all time. The 1992 Defensive Player Of The Year has been named over the likes of Ewing and Olajuwon to the All-NBA First Team four times. In his first season, he led the Spurs to 56 wins and a division title, after ranking 5th in the division the previous year. In 1997, he was limited by injuries, and only played six games. The Spurs's 20-62 record helped them attain the number one overall pick, where they would draft Tim Duncan. Though on the latter part of his career and playing second fiddle to Duncan, the 1995 MVP helped the Spurs reach the Finals. In 1999, they would win the NBA Championship and would do the same four years later in 2003.



Alonzo Mourning: Throughout his career, Mourning possessed an above average offensive game, averaing 20 points for his career on 52% shooting. As good as he was on offense he was even greater on the defensive end. The two-time Defensive Player Of The Year's 2.98 blocks per game career average ranks sixth among all time leaders. Drafted in 1992 by the Charlotte Hornets, he and Larry Johnson would help turn around a struggling team to third in the division. In his last year in Charlotte, he would lead them to fifty wins, only two games out of first. Sadly his career has been slowed down by a kidney disorder, focal glomerulosclerosis, since 2000. Even still, he remains one of the best centers of the 1990s.




I'm fully aware that centers Shaquille O'Neal and Dikembe Mutumbo are deserving of being on this list, but I've decided to limit my posts to only four subjects, so you guys can finish the list off. Thanks

[Rens]

I guess you don't consider power forwards big men?

[ATTENTIONWHORE]

I guess you don't consider power forwards big men?

He's probably saving that for the next post...I think it should be "The Forwards Of The 90s".

[GloveGuy]

I guess you don't consider power forwards big men?

I do, but something that I felt was so great about the 90s was the big men, particularly the centers.

[50first]

the 90's

the days when the glove had the rainman and stockton delivered the goods with the mailman...when price looked to brad and ferry wasn't so bad...kenny was still a jet and charles was still a threat and run tmc and the three j's had a big following...the years when elliott was elastic and augman was considered plastic, drexler was clyde the glyde and strickland still had his stride. before tmac was the lazy eye, perkins was the sleepy guy...phil had roni, scottie, pippen, and mike. like bel biv devoe brought the hype...duncan was still at wake and robinson had reid and the finals they didn't make...charlotte enherited a grand mother and horace still played against his twin brother and shaq had penny's back, but anderson in the playoffs cracked...eli, horry, and hakeem had the dream to be the final team and when la, la and new york didn't always what it seemed..a time when players went on strike and things became sad, so retired mike, but he returned to put up a fight but ended his career without his flight. but back to the 90's when we had high top fades, crew cuts, and mason with the million dollar haircuts..when spree lots his cool and the nba told kids to stay in school and reggie, detlef, and smitz were the pacers greatest hits..before j williams tragic ride there were was reggie lewis who's life had been denied...there were fellas like chris jackson who converted and teams were expanding on all coast...a time when chicago had the most to boast, like ewing..you knew he had you in the post. when oakley was solid like an oaktree and the colorred hair disaster got on you like a flea...technical foul one, two, and three.....nick was quick and players like rice, jones, and richmond still were sick. before jazz got on fresh's dick and a time when a rider showed us the under the leg trick. players like bird, magic, moses, and kareem were passing on the torch. now came the new wave, who did it for the love of the sport. oh how the nba has changed..from three point lines to defense, illegal D to three in the key. converting man-to-man to zone and crushing buildings like the alamoe dome....the 90's

[J@3]

Even today, his " Dream Shake," remains one of the most unstoppable post moves in NBA history.

With the way Hakeem is these days I could probably stop it

[Fresh8]

Just want to point out that Yao Ming did a Dream Shake... all thanks to fluke! (Read from SLAM)

Also to everyone... Would David Robinson be the most underrated center when compared to the other centers of the NBA in the 90's... or was he said of in the same breath as the other guys?

[Matt]

to me D-Rob was #2 as far as C's of 90's go. He had the complete game on both ends and an MVP award. Too bad he never won an NBA championship but lets face it, he had to go against Hakeem who was better and then the Jazz were on top

[50first]

i wasn't much of a jazz fan then, due to the fact that they would knock out the spurs in the playoffs just about every year.

Also to everyone... Would David Robinson be the most underrated center when compared to the other centers of the NBA in the 90's... or was he said of in the same breath as the other guys?

he was on the same page if not better at times. but going into the late 90's he wasn't as widely popular because of injuries and his acceptance of a lesser role for the team. which in my opinion makes him such a great player. he still could have been dominant but he chose to confine in what the team needed. i considered him the soft spoken giant with tanks for arms. what amazed me was as a center he ran the floor like a guard. at times even avery johnson couldn't keep up

the center i thought who was considered underrated at the time was alonzo gonzo.

[J@3]

David Robinson was my favourite player from the time I was about 7 years old til I was like 14. I just really liked the way he played, and the fact that physically he could keep in amazing shape season after season. Puts guys like Shaq to shame in that department really.