Elvin Hayes (29pts/13rebs) vs Warriors (1975 Finals) 

John Lewis awesome story! Sports are a great way to bond. I’ve had the same type of experiences with my father.

John I grew up in Maryland...went to the Cap Centre several times and even practiced at Ft Meade with the Bullets when a senior (I played ball). I remember the Big E on the Tel Screen of the Cap Center...while the crowd would yell "EEE!" My dad passed recently too. Brings back memories. Hayes had that turnaround jumper and loved to dunk. He and Unseld were very good rebounders too. They finally won it vs. Seattle in 78.

Hello Mr. Lewis, that’s a great story! Sorry to hear about your father passing, but it’s great that you remember those stories.

I share those exact memories! I miss the Cap Centre. And the Big E was and is such vastly underrated player.

Yes. Agreed.

In my book he's 6th, I cant see myself taking one of Duncan , Karl, KG, Dirk, or Barkley out

20 years later the feat was repeated. The 75 Warriors and 95 Rockets......the only teams to sweep a NBA Finals as road underdogs.

@@FuShengAlex True, although the '95 Rockets were a better team than their record indicated. The previous season (1993-94), they won 58 games and won the championship. In 1994-95, they essentially had the same team (Olajuwon, Horry, Maxwell, Kenny Smith) and traded Thorpe for Drexler, which seems like an improvement. As far as the '75 Warriors, they failed to make the playoffs the year before (73-74) they won the championship (although they had a decent record)

You should have told him that the palming rules were a lot stricter. You couldn't put your hand on the side of the ball back then. A simple crossover from today would be called a carry in the 60s and 70s.

Great turnaround jump shot!

Totally agree.

Exactly. And when he retired also 3rd all time in rebounding behind Wilt and Russell!

John Bishop your argument is just idiot...u can't compare eras man....only stats,domination,accomplishments...i could also say that kg play in an era with no great big men except duncan and dirk!hayes play in an era vs prime kareem,wilt,cowens,walton,thurmond,useld,lucas,bellamy,reed,lanier,mcadoo,haywood...all HOF....u say about fg% but u don't know that kg had 49.5fg% in his career....that is lower than malone,barkley,duncan,mchale,lucas.mcadoo and many other great forwards!

Andreas GR KG faced way way WAY great competition, just the style alone is enough. KG is the greatest PF, and in takes in-depth study to know it. Not saying aone, stats, accomplishments, domination blah blah. Accomplishments = nothing, all about luck of situation. Pettit = 2 MVP's, but those 2 seasons don't touch KG's top 10 seasons? Domination is backd up by statistics, they are not there own category. Dominance is all that matters, KG is the most dominant ever. A greater scorer than Duncan, the greatest passing big man of all time, a top 5 rebounder of all time, a top 20 defender of all time, probably number 2 at the PF position. That isn't my proof, that's pointing a few things out.

John Bishop what are u talking about man?....pettit avg 26.5-16.5reb in his career!so u don't care about stats,accomplishments...but only cause u like kg and watch him live...u say he is the best....wow...great argument!kg was good scorer but barkley,hayes,dirk and of course malone were much better scorers!barkley was better scorer,rebounder,passer,better fg% eventhough was only 6.6!karl malone was much better scorer,as good rebounder,better leader....le led utah in 2 nba finals,man!

+Andreas GR IMO you can't compare NBA pre 3 point line to todays. I mean the 3 point line changed everything!

Tommy Adams what does this mean?...there were many things in basketball and in many eras that change the way b-ball is played but there is always comparison...especially when we are talking about big guys!

Actually Bias may have even been better. But yes they were very similar. Lenny was more of a scoring forward while Elvin could play the post too. And Elvin was an all time great.

Butch was kind of a glue type player who kept things together.

@@Amick44 The owner of the Warriors didn't like Butch's wife so got rid of him. Can't make this stuff up.

@@jingqi9106 wow wow wow! Can't say I heard this. He was an important veteran on a pretty young team. I recall Barry lamenting his departure, understandably.

@@Amick44 Yeah, that one move may have cost the Warriors at least one more chip if not 2 because the team chemistry was never the same.

More athletic and a better defender though

It was introduced in the NBA in 1979 and in the ABA in 1967.

It was in the ABA...four years later it came into the NBA.

You're an idiot. Larry played in 403 fewer games because his career was cut short by injuries, so of course Big E's totals are higher. Look up their AVERAGES (don't have an aneurysm - math is tricky for morons) and shooting percentages, then compare their career accolades (MVPs, 1st-team All-NBA selections, championships, Finals MVPs). At no point during Big E's career was he considered the best all-around player in the game. Bird was viewed in that light over multiple seasons.

@@mcbrideradio100 ASSHOLE A CAREER IS A CAREER, I WOULD MUCH RATHER GET ANOTHER 400 GAMES, AND I SAY AGAIN, U CAN HAVE LARRY BIRD AND I WILL TAKE BIG E ANY DAY OF THE WEEK, I WATCH BOTH LARRY AND BIG E THRU COLLEGE AND PRO. SO I KNOW WHAT THE FUCK I'M TALKING ABOUT, LARRY WAS GOOD BUT BIG E WAS BETTER AND MUCH BETTER

@@mcbrideradio100 Actually Hayes is the only player besides Wilt Chamberlain to average at least 21 points and over 12 rebounds a game when he retired. I am not going to suggest he was better than Bird...but I saw them both play, and there was not much distance between them. Bird was a much better passer, Elvin a much better rebounder (look at their avg per game). But Elvin Hayes is often overlooked. Elvin led the NBA in scoring in his rookie year. The dude could play...he outplayed Jabbar in the Astrodome in college and a lot when they faced off. Give the man his due. The last I checked, 12.5 rebounds a game (Hayes) was better than 9.8 (Bird). And Hayes played most of his career with Wes Unseld who was himself a double digit rebounder. Elvin was just a better rebounder and shot blocker than Bird. Bird was a little better at scoring and a better passer.

Yes, except E won a title. Too bad Karl never did.

Yes he did. Barry freaked...he was a hell of a shot.

They still won...having Rick Barry light it up all series in that sweep helped.

How was Hayes dirty? Give me a break. He just played hard. Clifford Ray played every bit as hard under that rim.

Randolph's Way me

That is sad. Hayes is the only player, besides Wilt, to retire averaging over 21 points and 12 rebounds a game (look it up).

Shut up

Then Clifford Ray must have had them crawling over him...