I know this blog may seem a bit random, but I have an explanation. Over at my main site www.sportsviews.com I will start my predictions for awards for the new season next week. Well, that gave me an idea. Since, over there, I will be predicting future winners of awards, why not look back at the winners of the past? That’s exactly what I’m starting to do today. I figured the Rookie of the Year award was as good of a place to start as any.
5. Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati 1961
Oscar barely passed Michael Jordan for a spot here. Michael averaged 28 ppg in his rookie year, but Oscar averaged 30 ppg. Michael improved his team’s win total by eleven, but Oscar managed fourteen. Of course one could argue that Michael pushed the Bulls into the playoffs, while Oscar did not do the same for the Royals. I decided to split hairs and go with Oscar Robertson. Both had amazing rookie seasons, but to average 30 points in your rookie year is unimaginable today.
4. Larry Bird, Boston 1980
The amazing thing about the Magic vs. Larry rivalry is that in both of their first NBA seasons they were wildly successful. Magic would win the NBA Finals MVP trophy and grab the first of his five rings, and Larry would win the Rookie of the Year. Magic had one of the great rookie seasons ever, but Larry won the award, Magic didn’t. Larry Bird would put up an average of 21 ppg and 10 rpg in his first year. As impressive as that is, what’s even more impressive is his impact on the Boston Celtics record. The year before Larry went to Boston the Celtics won 29 games. In Larry’s rookie year their record went up to 61 wins. As I said, impressive!
3. David Robinson, San Antonio 1990
Tim Duncan will probably always be the greatest player in the history of the Spurs, but David Robinson had the better rookie season. The biggest number that jumped out at me when looking over past winners for the list was the wins that accompanied Robinson’s arrival to San Antonio. The year before Robinson the Spurs won 21 games, and the year in which Robinson arrived the Spurs won 56 games. San Antonio went from being near the bottom of their division in 1989 to winning it 1990. That’s the impact Robinson had on the Spurs. He may never have become the player he should have been(He can thank Hakeem), but he still had one of the best rookie seasons ever.
2. Lew Alcindor, Milwaukee 1970
Kareem(or Alcindor) is an underrated legend. Everyone always seems to remember him as the guy with the funny name and the afro. Well, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is probably one of the top five players of all time. His rookie year leaves nothing to be desired. He averaged 28 ppg along with 14.5 rpg. That’s not a bad stat line my friends(Gotta love ripping off a 72 year old crazy). As I’ve done with the rest of the list, Kareem took the Milwaukee Bucks from a 27 win team to a 56 win team. One thing that has been so amazing in looking back on was seeing the impacts these players had on their teams. You just don’t see this kind of stuff anymore. Maybe that has to do with the big expansions the NBA has done. Either way, improving your team by 29 wins is pretty awesome.
1. Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia 1960
Why is Wilt Chamberlain the number one selection? The real question is: Why wouldn’t he be? Wilt Chamberlain averaged 37 ppg and 27 rpg in his rookie year. You’ll never see stats like that again people. The game may have been very different in Wilt’s day than now, but there’s no denying that Wilt Chamberlain dominated that game in ways we can’t even begin to imagine today. Wilt won the Rookie of the Year, but he also picked up the MVP as well. Could you imagine Greg Oden doing that? The Philadelphia Warriors only improved by 17 wins, but the stats speak for themselves. In 1960 Wilt Chamberlain not only had the greatest rookie season ever, but he had one of the great NBA seasons ever.
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