@@BallStar4D2He appreciates old and new basketball why does it matter what team he likes. Plus your favorite team just had the worst 1st round upset ever.
I think Nate Thurmond and Sidney Moncrief both deserve a mention in this series. Both were so incredible on defense and were key contributors on very underrated teams. Awesome series, I loved both videos
Sidney Moncrief always comes to my mind when I think of the NBA's most underrated players. People don't realize how good Bucks teams of the early '80s were because they didn't get to the finals, but that's only because of how great the Celtics and 76ers were in that era. Besides Moncrief, the Bucks also featured Bob Lanier (another of the most underrated players ever) and Marques Johnson.
Thank you for including Eaton! Despite not being the best offensively, he was a machine on defense and is probably one of the most consistent players that are at least 7'3"
-- i've always seen Eaton's stats. He's a solid big b/c AVAILABILITY is the best ability. His blocking game is monstrous. Offense? 45FG and his eFG? Also 45%. That's pretty rough. Regardless, shout out to Eaton, RIP 2021.
Between Eaton's blocks & DPOY awards, Malone's scoring & rebounding, and Stockton's passing & steals; the late 80s Jazz would've probably been seen as a superteam nowadays. But the top teams were just more stacked & deep back then.
Great concept! My player suggestions... Terry Cummings, Buck Williams, Sydney Moncrief, Kevin Willis, Michael Adams, Tom Chambers, Mark Price, Bernard King, Larry Nance, Ron Harper, Cliff Robinson, Terry Porter, Mitch Richmond, Wayman Tisdale, Cedric Ceballos, Nick Van Exel, Steve Smith, Rod Strickland, Mark Jackson, Kendall Gill, Tim Hardaway, Sam Cassell, Vin Baker, Chris Mullin, Sarunas Marciulionis, Drazen Petrovic, Kenny Anderson, Otis Thorpe, Detlef Schrempf, Brad Daugherty, Reggie Lewis (just don't those last two to be forgotten)
Louie dampier is a name I’ve never heard of. And he was shooting 7 threes a game in the 60s!? That’s crazy! I wish I knew how many of those he was making per game or what his efficiency was. Definitely a pioneer in long distance shooting that I never heard of. Thanks Johnny
The 2007 NBA Playoffs game between the Golden State Warriors and the Dallas Mavericks was absolutely incredible. That game was the biggest upset in NBA history.
I met Darryl Dawkins in the early 2000s when he was the coach of a minor league team. I am 6'5" and generally regarded as a big person by most people in normal life. Darryl's hand completely swallowed mine when I got to shake his and in general, I looked like a little kid next to him. You wanna talk about a BIG dude that went toe to toe with the legends. Great gregarious demeanor, as well. RIP, Chocolate Thunder.
Fat Lever, Bobby Jones, Ricky Pierce, Marcus Johnson, Terry Cummings, Jeff Ruland ( before all the injuries) Gus Johnson…….this is such a great topic. Love your content but this one will give a history lesson to the young and old. I have more but I’ll wait for the next video
Adrian Datley, what a player. For some reason I remember his low post play and the step back, but my memory can play tricks on me.By the way, most of the players you are showing I thought they were well known, at least for people of my age (50). Love these series. Well done.
I’ve met Dantley while working at the Basketball Hall of Fame. Very humble guy and very respectful of the era in which he played even though he essentially gets forgotten hence his inclusion in this video. Dangerous scorer and one of the better players to have played
This is a good series; I doubt you'll name anyone whose career idk about, but there's a serious lack of knowledge and/or respect for players from previous basketball eras, and this'll help to educate some.
When I was a kid, Dale Ellis was the first player I ever saw that I wanted to pattern my jumpshot after. It was one of the prettiest shots I've ever seen. He had a perfect form with a quick release. If I'm not mistaken, he is also the first player in NBA history to hit 1000 3-pointers. Much respect to Dale Ellis. It also makes me wonder how great the Mavericks could have been in the 80s with Ellis, Schrempf, Perkins, Donaldson, Davis, Blackmon, and Harper. That 80s Mavericks team was loaded.
I commented on the last video that the entire Dallas Mavericks of the 80s should be a subject of their own video. Definitely a team that could have done more but we're unable to get past the juggernaut Lakers
Even though Dale Ellis never won a championship he was still solid in a lot of payoff series and clutch in key playoff games. Also, Dallas could have drafted Barkley Imagine Barkley on that squad.
Yoo!! You nailed it! As a Spurs fan, that shot by Elliot does feel like the beginning of the dynasty. You had to have been here in SA. You could feel it in the air that something special was happening.
I have never heard a stadium as loud as the Dome that day. When Stoudamire was shooting free throws right before that shot people started paddling on the seats in front of them, and since they were hollow plastic they made a thundering echo when you'd hear hundreds of people in the area hitting them. It sounded like a train coming by and got Stoudamire to miss one of the free throws. Everyone was jumping up and hugging strangers when Sean hit that shot and then when Dave got the rebound and dribbled out the clock at halfcourt off Jim Jackson's miss. Everyone in my section was high fiving every other person they passed by as we left that game. God the Blazers came out so demoralized in Game 3 after Sean stole that Game 2 from them. RIP to my boy Ram who I went to that incredible game with.
I hope Alvin Robertson gets in this series. God he was a nasty defender and a pretty good scorer, and has one of four quadruple doubles ever recorded. As much as I love Terry Cummings, who the Spurs traded Alvin for, I'm still sad we never got to see Alvin with David Robinson together. Us Spurs fans were so excited to see it when David was doing his Naval commitment. The Spurs defense would have been so nasty having a guy like Alvin who was a great pickpocket of the ball handler, outstanding in the passing lanes, and strong as an ox to throw on guys like Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter, Kevin Johnson, John Stockton, etc who were enormous thorns in the Spurs' side in David Robinson's prime.
T.R. Dunn is easily one of the most forgotten about defenders of the 80s, I've always been a fan of defensive players so seeing players like Joe Dumars, Mo Cheeks, and Mark Eaton made me happy.
I didn't remember the name, to be honest, so I'm really glad he was included. Nice to know that the offensive juggernaut also had an elite defender. ;)
Love the spirit behind this series. Giving some shine to some forgotten greats. Love it! I'm sure it means a lot to them and their families. Learning about the past is important!
Such a shame Cheeks was overlooked because Dr J and Moses Malone were the frontrunners of the '83 squad. MARK MY WORDS: The Sixers don't win the title if either he or the "secretary of defense" don't suit up that year Btw please mention Bobby Jones in this series
Man, he's even more underrated! Everyone, including me before I did research thanks to your comment, neglects how effective he was as a 20ppg 3rd option shooting 50/100 as a perimeter player. He could have carried many franchises as their superstar, maybe even the Sixers alongside Chuck. I can't believe we never got the chance to witness a prime Andrew Toney. The man was out of the league by 30 and never found his former self after 27, the age most players take off! Damn injuries. Maybe he, young Chuck, aging Dr J, Mo Cheeks and still elite Moses could emerge as the mid 80s conquerors of the loaded east! If he were healthy, maybe Moses would never leave! Imagine what justice it would be for Dr J, Moses and Chuck to have at least one ring more. Cheeks and Toney would also be remembered and honoured more as key contributors to a 76ers DYNASTY! Bobby Jones would also be remembered as a Pippen/ Rodman status defender now, because he was.
@@marykalyva225 Believe me, as a Celtics fan who was in his 20s in the '80s, I know how great Toney was. He's the main reason we traded for Dennis Johnson. Those Philly teams were fantastic, even before they acquired Moses Malone.
@@kevinhouse4376, You are one of the few pleasant exceptions. Not many pay attention to those details unfortunately. Most of us fans don't acknowledge players like Toney who were very good but not superstars, especially because many weren't born when Toney played
Wildest thing about Sean Elliott was his kidney function was so low that he needed dialysis in the 1999 playoffs, but he put off treating it until the end because he wasn't going to lose what looked to be his final shot at a title. And no one knew about it until a week or so after the Spurs won the title when he finally announced it and then announced his only real option was a transplant. Luckily his brother was a match to donate one and he got the transplant not too long after. I was at the Memorial Day Miracle and to this day it's the greatest game I have ever gone to, but I can't imagine how insane the crowd would have been at that game had we known the sacrifice Sean was making to get that title.
Superb video, Jonny! I hadn't heard of Louie Dampier, but it was awesome getting to learn about him and I want to read up more about him now thanks to your video :). I know I listed some players earlier when I commented earlier but thought of another one - Scott Pollard. I think he was a good role player for the Kings and a solid backup for Divac. Awesome video again, Jonny! Have a nice day.
I too love the inclusion of Dampier. A lot of people who visit the Basketball Hall of Fame don’t understand why he is inducted and it is simply because people don’t respect the ABA. He as explained is a pioneer of the game as we see it today and without him and other key ABA players such as Artis Gilmore, Mack Calvin, and Dan Issel don’t get mentioned so thank you for this comment!
Glad to see someone highlighting Elliott and dale ellis. Both couple of my favs growing up. Hope i see guys like Eddie jones, glen rice, tim hardaway, mark price on here Jonny. People didn't like Tim for his off court comments but he and price are 2 very underrated pg's. MJizzel
I grew up watching all these guys. They were great players. Sad thing is that most of the basketball world and media almost forgot them. Thanks for giving them their long due recognition.
Larry Johnson, Glen Rice, Glenn Robinson, Cliff Robinson, Damon Stoudemire, Alonzo Mourning, John Starks, Anthony Mason...I could go on and on with players from the 90s who have now been forgotten :/
Great series. Have a bunch of players: Rolando Blackmon Brad Daugherty Alex English Sleepy Floyd World B. Free George Gervin Darrell Griffith* Elvin Hayes Connie Hawkins* Spencer Haywood Gus Johnson Kevin Johnson Bernard King* Bill Laimbeer Fat Lever* Reggie Lewis Jeff Malone Moses Malone Johnny Moore* Alonzo Mourning Chris Mullin Ricky Pierce Chuck Person* Drazen Petrovic* Kevin Porter Terry Porter Paul Pressey Mark Price Michael Ray Richardson* Alvin Robertson* Jeff Ruland* Detlef Schrempf* Pervis Short Jack Sikma* Peja Stojackovic Roy Tarpley* David Thompson Otis Thorpe Andrew Toney Kelly Tripucka Buck Williams Kevin Willis I put an “*” by some of my favorite overlooked players. Also added English, Gervin, Hayes and Moses because I feel like people forget just how great they were! Keep up the great work Jonny!
I know he's a hall of famer, but as a Knicks fan, would love to see you talk about Dave DeBusschere if you go for a round 2. Walt Frazier and Willis Reed get lots of credit for those two championship teams (rightfully so) but Dave's defence and long range shooting seems to be somewhat forgotten in comparison. Would also love to see you talk about Bernard King, people still forget how great he was even after he was traded to Baltimore with multiple 50pt games after his knee injuries.
Baron Davis was a good player. The style that combines power and speed was quite exciting. Also good at passing. You had the ability to be selected as an All-Star about five times. Davis tends to focus on scoring and dunking, but he was also very good as a point guard. Davis is an underrated NBA player.
Not enough people know about Micheal Jordan, an unknown/unappreciated shooting guard from the University of North Carolina. He played with the Bulls, alongside the also criminally underrated Scottie Pippen, in the 90’s, you should do a video about him. Please!
While I don't always agree with your vids, I always make sure to watch and enjoy them. This list/series though is very good and keeps on surprising me. The likes of Eaton, the Ellises. Thanks and keep up the good work.
Mark Eaton’s story is crazy. Let’s put it this way, we bash older generation players saying they were going against plumbers and such. Mark was a professional mechanic before becoming an NBA player. This guy was a back up on his high school team. Worked as a mechanic, and then he was discovered and did the whole college theme. He was a 26 year old rookie when he made the NBA. He then played his career against Magic, Bird, MJ, Olajuwon and many others. If his life hadn’t of happen I wouldn’t of believed a story like that.
my mom has met Mo Cheeks numerous times (through a former football player). and i have a signed basketball from him. and he also left us post game tickets when we were in Boston one time. Mo Cheeks is a great man.
i think ben wallace belongs on this list as well. despite being fairly well known even by the majority of people, i still think people forget how good he was
My family’s from Philly and my pops has this legendary story of himself at just 15 yrs old meeting Darryl Dawkins at a movie theater back in those 70s. They were just casually standing in line right next to each other to get tickets. Darryl said what’s up to him and it practically left my pops speechless from what I was told, haha. All this to say, I just peeped both videos you have for this series, and you’ve got a good thing going with this. I can always appreciate those that respect the history of this game. Looking forward to the next
Dell Curry, Nick Van Exel, Andre Kiralinko, Derek Harper, Ron Harper, Horace Grant, Dennis Scott, Kenny Smith, Mitch Richmond, Chris Muillen, Tayshaun Prince, Jermaine Oneal, & Shawn Kemp
Really hope you cover Calvin Murphy, before Hakeem he was absolutely the greatest Houston Rocket of all time and at 5'9" is one of the original "Short Kings" of the NBA and to this day is the shortest player in the Hall of Fame. Even after all the great players to come to and be drafted by the Rockets he's still a Top 5 all time Rocket.
This series is going to be great. I think one player that could've been brought up is Brad Daugherty. He was one of the great centers that played during the 80s and 90s who played with the contending Cavs teams during that era. If his back injuries didn't shorten his career, he could've been a hall of famer. I also think that a lot more ABA players should be mentioned in this series as well. The likes of Mel Daniels, Marvin Barnes and other ABA greats that are forgotten to time van the recognition that they deserve.Definitely am enjoying the series. I can't for the next one.
Love it! Eaton was a great add, he was a monster in his time. Just a few players I would like to see get more recognition are Detlef Schrempf, Terrell Brandon, Kevin Duckworth, Mitch Richmond, Steve Francis, Eddie Jones, Glen Rice, Fat Lever, Dan Majerle, Nick van Exel, Mike Bibby, Arvydas Sabonis (is my Blazers bias showing yet?), and Mookie Blaylock.
great series idea! a few i'd like to see: bernard king, michael ray richardson, gus johnson, dick barnett, bobby jones, terry porter, buck williams, jerry lucas, lou hudson, lenny wilkens, terry cummings, bob dandridge, bob love, ... i guess i could go on for a while.
So what’s it mean if you knew the name of all 4 from the thumbnail before watching 😂. As a fellow fan and longtime student of the game I’m really glad that I found your channel. Great series as well.
Love this! Dantley was absolutely a problem in the locker room, complete Prima Donna. But, his stat-line meant that he consistently yielded considerable trade value. That fact combined with the shift in inter-personal chemistry is why teams uniformly improved after moving him on.
Dennis Johnson has to be one of the most underrated players. People only know him for his work on the Celtics when he played a defensive/playmaking role and have no idea about his amazing 1983 season with the Suns or his finals MVP on the only championship winning Super Sonic’s team. In his prime Dennis was an incredible slasher and sacrificed his numbers to win and help a system
Kiki Vandeweghe, David Thompson, Moses Malone, Rod Strickland, Pete Maravich, Brad Daugherty, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, many players deserve to be mentioned...
Hopefully going forward, we'll see Sam Jones, John Starks, Anthony Mason, Byron Scott, Mike Riordan, Kevin Johnson, Dan Majerle, Terry Porter, Glen Rice, Mark Price, Brad Daugherty, Ron Harper, Allan Houston, Latrell Sprewell, Eddie Jones, and Marcus Camby.
Vlade Divac (Formerly of your beloved Lakers; Evented the flop) Tim Hardaway (First NBA player to be recognized for a 'killa' crossover) Andrei "AK47" Kirilenko (Great nickname) Chris Mullen (Arguably the 2nd greatest bball player from NYC) Glenn Rice (Efficient scorer who would who played in an era that didn't suit his game) Bryant "Big Country" Reeves (Great nickname) Detlef Shrimp (Spelled his last name incorrectly on purpose) Deron WIlliams (Battled CP3 for best PG in the late 2000s)
Hey, really love your work. Have you ever thought about a series talking about the unknown mvp's in league's history? that would be aesome, i believe. Greetings from Mexico.
Gerald wallace, people honestly forget, he was 6'7 avg 10 rbs a game in 09-10 (last SF in NBA history to do so) also is only the 3rd player in nba history to have a 2 steals 2 block's season
Please make a Top 10 players list but following this criteria…. 1. In order of who you would draft to have on your team for 7-8 years 2. Take out longevity stats and fan awards 3. How much true impact they would have for example unselfishness, hustle, two-way, leadership etc
Love the videos Johnny keep doing what your doing and filling us up with more basketball knowledge! I don’t like making suggestions because I know you are very capable of deciding who to feature but if I could just shout out one name for next video which would be Horace Grant, one of the most underrated players of the 90s who impacted every team he was on, never missed the playoffs in any season, and is a borderline hall of famer. You don’t have to take this suggestion if you don’t want to but keep doing what you do and thank you for all that you’ve done for the basketball community
When guys say "The league today is more athletic than in the 80s - 90s", it's because they just never heard of guys like Darryl Dawkins and Laphonso Ellis.
I've got a poor memory but as a kid watching Cheeks, the dude never missed an open jumper when the defense sagged towards Moses and Julius. He was automatic from 15 feet.
Here's a few guys you should think about. Randy Smith, Buf, Phil Ford, Kansas City Kings, Darnell Valentine, Portland, Rolando Blackman, Dallas, Mark Aguirre, Dallas and Detroit, Terry Cummings, Milwaukee.
As soon as you started talking about Cooper, I immediately thought of the Rock the Baby dunk. There are others in this video that I knew about beforehand due to specific moments in their careers. For example, Dale Ellis played the most minutes in a single game in league history with a very nice 69.
Cooper is one of the most criminally underrated defenders in the history of the game. Eight all defensive selections is nothing to bypass. The fact he is on the same level and, slightly above, another Laker great defender in Kobe just shows the impact of his game for those iconic teams. Great comment!
As many times as I've looked at the all time steals list, I never noticed Mo Cheeks was that high. Also, love this series. I've learned quite a bit about a handful of players I knew next to nothing about.
Be sure to turn each of these segments into a super cut when you finish the alphabet so you have an extra, long-form piece of content without much work. I’m sure some folks would appreciate a video with all the players together in one.
Kyle Korver, Jerry Sloan, Jerry Lucas, Horace Grant, Avery Johnson, Walter Davis, Peja Stojakovic, Mike Bibby, Allan Houston, Marcus Camby, Rex Chapman, Geoff Petrie, Calvin Murphy, and Phil Chenier
A lot of people are talking about how you including Eaton which don’t get me wrong I love the inclusion but the inclusions I like the most are Maurice cheeks and Michael cooper since they are VERY underrated defenders that a lot of people don’t talk about because they aren’t high volume scorers and their stats don’t pop out like other players who get recognition often.
Hot take: Joe Dumars is a top 10 shooting guard of all time. He was an awesome offensive player (as he averaged 23.5 in his bests season) who was even better defensively, and he has two rings and a FMVP. Is it crazy to rank him ahead of guys like Reggie miller???
I have few old one like Joe Fulks, Cliff Hagan, Tom Heinsohn, Dave Debuscherre, Jerry Lucas, Maurice Lucas, George McGinnis, Spencer Haywood, Paul Westphal, Dick Van Arsdale, Alvan Adams, Jack Sikma, Bob Love, Jerry Sloan, Bob Dandridge, Walter Davis, Bob Daugherty, Rony Seikaly, Calvin Murphy, Damon Stoudamire, Marcus Camby, Shareef Abdur Rahim, Larry Johnson, Detlef Schrempf, Tom Gulgiotta, Tom Gola, Paul Arizin and more more and more..Also Great to hear someday your opinion about Willis Reed.
You are doing some serious needed education to our young folks and those that love basketball should know about these guys to be some educated fans and why eras matter.
Baron Davis holds records for the highest career steals-per-game average (2.28) in NBA playoff history and the longest-made shot in NBA history (an 89-foot quarter-ending buzzer-beater). His shooting percentages from both 2-point range and 3-point range increased in the playoffs. He was a beast in Charlotte, New Orleans, and Golden State.
Denver all time is one of the most slept on teams when it comes to players, ty lawson, kenyon martin, kiki vandeweghe, t.r dunn, michael adams, antonio mcdyess, laphonzo ellis, alex english, fat lever, andre miller, dan issel, david thompson, marcus camby all underappreciated
