Slam Magazine recently released a special collector’s issue featuring the publication’s picks for the 500 greatest NBA players of all time and cited only one former PBA import in the lineup – Cedric Ceballos.
Slam editors chose from cagers who played at least five seasons in the NBA. The requirement knocked out PBA legends Billy Ray Bates and Glenn McDonald. Bates suited up for Portland, Washington and the Los Angeles Lakers in four seasons while McDonald played for Boston and Milwaukee in three.
There were former PBA imports who made the cut-off but were snobbed. Larry McNeill (who once held the NBA record for most consecutive field goals without a miss in the playoffs), Leon Wood (a former Olympian now an NBA referee) and Kevin Porter (who led the NBA in assists in four years) were among them. Of those who were ignored, Porter probably had the most reason to gripe.
Porter played for the Washington Bullets in the 1975 finals and once recorded 29 assists in a game. He campaigned in 10 NBA seasons and finished his pro career with Toyota in the PBA. More than any other PBA import with at least five years of experience in the NBA, Porter should have been named to the top 500 list.
By the way, some of the players in the Slam roster didn’t deserve to be named. Terry Catledge (who nearly played in the PBA), Eric Money, Sam Bowie and Kelvin Ransey surprisingly made it to the list. Not too many experts will disagree that Porter should’ve been named before Catledge, Money, Bowie or Ransey.
Ceballos was No. 405 in the cast. Here’s the brief description that Slam wrote on the California State at Fullerton forward who won the NBA slam dunk title in 1992 wearing a blindfold: “Following the retirement of Magic Johnson and before the arrival of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, the Lakers tried to find players who would get them back in title contention. One of the bright performers during that transition phase was Ceballos. The shoot-first swingman won the ‘92 dunk contest as a Sun and later became the first Laker in 20 years to drop 50 points in a game when he did it in ‘95.”
Ceballos played from 1990 to 2001 for Phoenix, the Lakers, Dallas, Detroit and Miami. Before wearing the San Miguel jersey in the PBA in 2004, Ceballos barnstormed Israel and Russia.
The top 20 players in Slam’s 500 were, in order, Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, O’Neal, Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Tim Duncan, Larry Bird, Bryant, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Hakeem Olajuwon, Bob Pettit Moses Malone, Julius Erving, John Havlicek, Karl Malone, Isiah Thomas and Charles Barkley.
The last 20 were Elden Campbell, Robert Reid, Clyde Lee, John Long, Cliff Ray, Manute Bol, Joe Graboski, Avery Johnson, Gene Banks, Sarunas Marciulionis, Reggie Williams, Antoine Carr, Joe Smith, P. J. Brown, Drew Gooden, Kevin Duckworth, Chris Kaman, Cuttino Mobley, David Wesley and Pervis Ellison.
Mobley and Wesley over Kevin Porter? That can’t be right.
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There was a book published last year entitled “100 Things Celtics Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die” by Donald Hubbard. Former Boston guard Jojo White wrote the foreword.
No. 22 in the 100 things is “the greatest game in NBA history” – the triple overtime Boston win over Phoenix at the old Garden on June 4, 1976. It was Game 5 of the finals with the count even at two wins apiece.
Down by a point with 22 seconds left, Boston inbounded at halfcourt and Havlicek got the ball. Alvan Adams fouled Havlicek who hit the first free throw, missed the second but the Celtics grabbed the rebound. After Havlicek missed from the field, Phoenix regained possession with three ticks to go. Regulation ended in a 95-all tie.
It went into a third overtime where future PBA import McDonald scored six points in a hero’s role to ice the game for Boston. McDonald came in to replace Paul Silas who had fouled out with 3:23 left.
Something innovative was done by Phoenix coach Paul Westphal in the second extension. Out of timeouts, Westphal called for a ceasefire anyway to incur a technical foul in order to get the inbound pass at halfcourt with two seconds to go and Boston on top, 111-110. White hit the technical free throw and the Celtics went up, 112-110. Phoenix forward Gar Heard took the inbound pass and threw up a desperation corner jumper that made it at the buzzer to force a third overtime.
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NBA stars are often quoted about their thoughts on how they try to work within the team concept despite being individually talented.
“There’s been a lot of talk of me being a one-man show but that’s simply not the case,” said Bryant. “We win games when I score 40 and we’ve won when I score 10.”
“As brilliant an individual that Michael Jordan was, he was not successful until he got with a good team unit,” said Abdul-Jabbar. “A team will always appreciate a great individual if he’s willing to sacrifice for the group. Great players are willing to give up their personal achievement for the achievement of the group. It enhances everybody. One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team but one man cannot make a team.”