BadBaronRudigor

Season One (age 19)
78g .510fg% .790ft% 14.4rpg 2.5apg 27.5ppg
1st in league in scoring, 2nd in rebounding, MVP

Season Two
70g .529fg% .764ft% 13.5rpg 4.6apg 26.8ppg
1st in league in scoring, 2nd in rebounding, MVP, Playoffs MVP


This is of course Connie Hawkins, who was banned from college and the NBA and played his rookie year in the shortlived ABL (other NBA stars playing that year include Nat "Swee****er" Clifton, Dick Barnett, Bill Bridges, George Yardley, Bill Sharman, and briefly until injured Neil Johnston -- probably better talent than early ABA). He was not allowed to play competitive ball again until age 25 in year 1 of the ABA and didn't make the NBA until age 27 after a serious knee injury that left him with limited jumping ability.

Season Three
47g .511fg% .767ft% 11.4rpg 3.9apg 30.2ppg
didn't qualify for pt or reb title but still made 1st team All-ABA

Season Four:-- injury forced a change in position (from PF to SF)
80g .490fg% .779ft% 10.4rpg 4.8apg 24.6ppg
1st team All-NBA

This is a progression that makes you wonder. Better than Erving? (league was tougher in Erving's debut) Better than LeBron? Better than Bird? What if . . . .

__________________
If you have to shoot, shoot, don't talk

Rawse

Bird.

__________________
Rawse's 15 Favorite Players
Deron Williams • Greg Oden • Rudy Gay • Dwight Howard • Tim Duncan • Pau Gasol • Mike Conley • Caron Butler • Carlos Boozer • Monta Ellis • Chris Paul • Kobe Bryant • Juan Carlos Navarro • Joe Johnson • Tony Parker

sasaint

I saw "The Hawk" play in the ABA. He truly was a monster. In sports publications of the era, there was almost as much anticipation before his first year in the NBA than there was for Alcindor. The fans missed a lot by not being able to see Connie for the years of his banishment. Thanks for digging up the stats on a largely overlooked super-talent.

jokeaward

Lebron is the most talented. He put up 27-7-6 last year and everyone was a bit disappointed.

Otherwise, Garnett, Bird, Barkley, and Wilkins. The most talented scorer was Adrian Dantley, but he wasn't superb otherwise.

__________________
You're up, the pigpen bugged
When Big Ben struck
and split like Lithuania, from Russia with Love
This Pisa lean, limp
Germinate your Swiss Miss hugs
With a flying circus of death to guarantee your Christmas SUCKS

- Aesop Rock on Nuclear Five's "The Presence" feat. Masai Key and Karniege

23isback

Why was he banned?

__________________
Want to laugh your *** off?

Go to this thread

Deke

Id say Kareem if you count him as a pf.( he did play a fair share of pf)

Dornado

When did Kareem play PF?

Jordan23Forever

Bird
Dr. J
Lebron
Barkley

In that order imo. Yes, Bird was the most talented forward ever. I consider talent the innate ability to play basketball, and consider it more a creative/vision thing than an athletic thing. I can see flipping Dr. J and Lebron, but Dr. J defined the game for a generation and influenced it for future generations.

sasaint

As I recall, he was implicated in a gambling scandal.

Deke

depending on the opposing matchup he played a fair share of pf. like if the team had a star pf and a scrub at center he would play pf.

it was only in stints but he did spend time at pf. theres really not a big difference in most pfs and centers anyway. specially in the 70s before centers bulked up.

buduan

You're so full of crap. He never played PF at any level at any time of his career.

BadBaronRudigor