I also went to Enid High School, Mark Price graduated in '82, I was there in '83. It was spectacular watching him even in high school. He's also very nice and autographed cards for me.
I drove past his house. I love him that much. Worked with someone who was coached by his dad. Worked with people who knew him. Favorite player of all time
Born and raised in a Cleveland. I watched Price when I was a kid. That dude was waayyyy better than he gets credit for. Cats forget about Terrell Brandon too.
Yes - Terrell Brandon was super underrated as well. By the time he was the focal point, the Cavs offense was slow and they were more of a glass-controlling, half-court team. T Brandon in his prime on a good team would have been nuts - he could shoot over anyone from any spot on a dime (a lot like Price)
While not much playoff success as noted, 1992 was a deep run. Mark Price and Cavs pushed a 67 win Jordan/Pippen Bulls team to 6 games in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Also, all the teams the Cavs were losing to in the late 80s to early 90s w/ Price, were making deep runs, sometimes winning championships. And I thought the 92' Cavs would've been able to beat the Trail Blazers in the Finals if not for Jordan, and I grew up in Portland. 89' was really Cleveland's best team in the Price era in my opinion, but they got the bad style match-up against the Bulls in the 1st round due to Rick Mahorn's malicious elbow to Mark Price's head. I still feel that Lenny Wilkins should've used Ron Harper defensively on Jordan way more than Craig Ehlo, including on the last play in Game 5.
Absolutely agree, Mark Price is very underrated. And personally, I believe it's because he had a very successful, but quiet career. If you say to people, "What about Mark Price?" I guarantee most would say "oh yeah, I forgot about him." It's a shame but alot of great players aren't remembered for being just that....Great. But instead they are only remembered for splitting defenses and finishing with a 360 through the legs dunk, or being seen on commercials and billboards. Mark Price just did his job, and did it spectacularly. But unfortunately, for the rest of the world, that just wasn't enough to be remembered except by people who TRUELY appreciate the game.
As a 50+ year-old Cleveland fan, I know how really good MP was, and how tragically underappreciated he is today. The video presentation and lengthy, well-researched information were very well done and cement the case for Price's reputation as one of the very best PG's of his generation. It's a crying shame that the Cavs of '88-'93 never won a title, because they were one of the very best teams in the league during that stretch.
His number hangs in the Cleveland rafters. The Cavs wouldn’t have been the 3 seed to play the 6th seeded Bulls in 1989 if the Bad Boy Piston’s Rick Mahorn hadn’t elbowed Price in the head giving him a concussion the last week of the season. I also remember a game in Indiana when Reggie Miller gave Price a two handed shove in the throat. Rules were different then and Price was a target. His defensive ‘liability’ was not getting in the scrum to avoid getting knocked around. In today’s selfish NBA, Price would average 30+ points per game. The Cavs played unselfish team basketball and Lenny coached them brilliantly. Price played when needed and would sit when not needed as those Cavs dominated most teams. His PPG does not tell the whole story and you do a good job explaining that. Nice piece.
It was Rick Mahorn who elbowed Price in the head. He wouldn't average 30+points per game in today's NBA. Diminutive white point guards don't do that. He'd average 20+/10+ in points & assists if he was playing on an up-tempo team that also runs a ton of pick-&-role, like the Suns or Thunder. He's just neither big enough, nor explosive enough, nor selfish enough to average 30-ppg. in any NBA.
Yes Mahorn thank you. Yes Price is unselfish - if he maintained his attitude in today's NBA, I would agree with you. I think today Price would be more 3 point oriented but yeah 30 a game is a lot. It could depend on how the team is structured and how healthy he is. Thanks for responding.
Great video. Price has his number number retired in Cleveland. He did make it to eastern conference finals in early 90s, cavs lost in 6 to bulls. Other than the 88 season, most of the early round playoff exists were due to injuries with Daugherty. In those seasons, Price was only reason the cavs even got to playoffs. He's a hall of famer in my book. I agree its unfortunate he may be over looked for being a white guy. Also, definitely never requested a trade in his prime. Best Cavs point guard ever, period.
He's a hall of famer had his career (and esp his prime) not been cut short by injuries. Had Grant Hill, Paul Westphal and Sid Moncrief not had their careers shortened too, they would have been in sooner.
In 1993 Jordan said he and Price were the 2 best guards in the league. After he retired, Isiah Thomas said Price was his toughest matchup. He didn't have eye-popping stats, but after he came back from his torn ACL, he only played about 30 minutes a night, plus the Cavs had Terrell Brandon to back him up. Also was great at passing off his dribble.
I've been a Cleveland Cavaliers fan since 1986 and Mark Price was my #1 all-time favorite player on the team. Now he's my #2, behind LeBron James! But thank you @LegendofWinning (AKA L.O.W.) for making this video on Mark Price. I love seeing him get recognized for his style of basketball!!
Good on you L.O.W. I've always wanted to pattern my game after Mark Price's. Underrated doesn't even begin to cover him; he's overlooked altogether. He was like Steve Kerr from the perimeter, but capable of playing a starting guard role. Good work, as usual man!
*MARK PRICE DESERVED BE A HOF !!!* Mark Price was a great player and was one time *All-NBA-First Team* (1993) and three time *All-NBA-Third Team* (1989,1992,1994).
Don't know if Low mentioned this but another reason why he might be overlooked is because he played for a team that has a small to average market size in the cavs.
Mark Price was realllllllll good. People nowadays don't know basketball history and only see this era presently. Watch the battles between the bulls and the cavs in the playoffs back then and one can see how great Price's game was. Injuries stopped a possible HOF career.
Growing up in Cleveland, Price was my favorite player as a young kid, but I was too young to really judge him and his game on a level like this. This was really interesting and I can see the point about how his game really preceded the games of a lot of today's players. I can really see the point about how most of the guys during his time who were comparable shooters were shooting guards, guys like Reggie Miller, Mitch Richmond, , or even a Larry Bird. Point guards during that time tended to be more classical in the sense they were ball handlers, passers and guys who were mid range shooters and could take it to the hoop. Even after price retired, that trend seemed to continue outside of exceptions like Steve Nash. Point guards gradually became bigger scorers but was still centered around penetration. Nowadays, so many point guards are great outside shooters, Steph Curry, kyrie, damon lilliard, and on and on. Great video! Even as a big fan, i've never truly appreciated how interesting his game was!
Price never even averaged 20 ppg in a season. Price is great; but let's not get out of hand. Reggie carried a not so great team to the eastern conference finals time and time again. he was a superstar in the playoffs when it matters most.
Hands down my favorite player of all time, and I didn't grow up in Cleveland. Nash and Curry learned a lot from him. He was the master of the mid-range runner (along with the 3-pt shot). I always felt that Lenny Wilkins didn't let him shoot enough! Ehlo and Daugherty seemed to get a lot more of the shots. Great video, thanks!
Agree with your points on Nash and Curry. But Mark knew his job or at least a large part of it, was to involve others in the offense. Even though he was the supreme shooter on his team. And maybe the league.
sweet video! I've been a Cavaliers fan for a long time and it's nice to see this tribute to Mark Price. It's nice to see an objective view on it on his contributions to the game. Thanks!!!
Excellent video man. Mark Price was always a great player as I was growing up and it’s nice to see him get some love. He was very underrated but one of the best at his position during his time. It’s unfortunate his achievements weren’t noticed because of the bad luck he had with injuries and constantly having to face the Michael Jordan led Bulls
When he played against the Bird era Celtics I hated this guy. So quick so accurate got his teammates involved thats a shooting point guard. Damn he was good. Tip of the hat, Price gets dap.
ExceedTheHype Steve Nash was quick but he wasn't fast in a sprint like Mark Price. Before the leg injury Mark Price might have been the fastest player in the nba.
He was fast for a white guy, but he wasn't faster than Kevin Johnson for the Suns, Tim Hardaway for the Warriors or fast compared to a fast black point guard. It's not unreasonable to argue that in a few of Mark Prices' best years, he may even have been the best point guard overall in the NBA, but while he was faster than most, he still was facing an uphill genetic deficit in the explosiveness department to some of the speedy point guards of West Coast African descent. He was definitely faster than John Stockton, who he's similar to in a lot of ways, and faster than the relatively unathletic black point guards, but I'd say he was one of the top-10, not even top-5 fastest point guards in the NBA during his prime.
Listen closely at around minute 11:00. In todays era, you cannot make any contact with the guards. That is why today's guards can get off so many 3's. IT was way more physical back in the day.
I always say this. Curry wouldn’t last 2 weeks in Price’s era, but if Price and the Cavs got to play under today’s rules they would be just like the Dubs.
Great video. Price was also one of the greatest lay-up shooters ever. I once heard Red Auerbach say that his ability as a below the rim player to get his shot off over much taller players and rarely get it blocked was as good as any player he ever saw
Thank you for starting this. I hope you continue this as frequently as your schedule will allow and leave that other series alone until its an absolute necessity. "Uplifting the underrated stories forces a reevaluation of the story being told and guides the journey to proper prospective."
I grew up down the road from Richfield, and saw the Cavs play at least once a month during Price's prime. Iv'e been making the Mark Price/Steph Curry comparison for years.
But he was really more like Steve Nash than Steph Curry. He was more of a classical point than Curry, less range, though just as accurate, less explosive, more pick-&-role oriented, Curry goes so much more 1-on-1. He was a quicker but tad smaller version of Nash.
Arsen Akopyan less range? His range started when he got off the bus. He didn't shoot circus shots because every game mattered back then, and he played while running an actual offense. If he played now, he'd be a top 3 player.
He'd be a top-10 player in his best seasons. Don't tell me that every game, or close to every game doesn't matter for a team that's trying to win championships. Golden State has been vying for championships since the 14'-15 season. I love Mark Price, but he didn't have the size, strength or explosiveness to be some unstoppable do all wrecking machine w/ mammoth all-around stats like a Lebron James, Russell Westbrook, Charles Barkley, Oscar Robertson, or anybody like that. He looks pamper soft w/ the baby face, petite frame, and yeah his shooting was super accurate everywhere 25 feet and in, but guys like Thunder Dan Majerle shot deep 3s cause that was their game. That isn't Price's game. Price is more about efficiency than volume. And if he launched a couple 30-footers, all his teammates & coaches would be screaming their heads off at him to pass damn ball! Sure, he'd probably average 2 more 3-pt. attempts per game in today's NBA, but he wasn't a volume guy even for his era.
Volume shooter=jacker, and Price was no sissy-he played in a meat grinder Eastern Conference. You have to realize how much the game has changed. Back then athleticism could be suppressed by heavy hand-checking, and outright violence in the paint-Steph Curry's body wouldn't have lasted a full season, and he definitely wouldn't be in the lane. The softening of the game has allowed Steph be a top-tier player, instead of the Chris Jackson player that he would have been.
Chris Jackson wasn't consistent enough to be top-tier, and he really didn't make the guys around him better. He was a lesser version of Steph Curry. Mark Price was definitely feisty, but he didn't have the brute strength to just impose his will on a game like Shaq, Dwight Howard, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Wes Unseld, Moses Malone, Larry Grandmama Johnson before the back injury. He wasn't rugged or intimidating like a Charles Oakley, Xavier McDaniel, Anthony Mason, Latasha Byears or Kevin Willis, and if the refs let a physical guard like Derek Harper, Greg Anthony or an Alvin Robertson liberally hand check him, he could be stopped. It was more physical in Price's era than today, but not as physical as in the 70s, and Price benefited from a ton of flopping that's more discouraged today (to my dismay), similar to how John Stockton & Reggie Miller did, so he didn't have it that bad overall.
As the self-described world's biggest Mark Price fan - this is an incredible video. As an NBA fan and huge fan of analytics, analysis, and comparisons between eras - this is an incredible video. Great job - thank you!
Dennis Johnson to me was an underrated player...greatness was defined by the old Packers coach Bill Austin as players who came up big in big games. Man, that is Dennis all over. He passed way too soon...God, I loved to watch him play. Legend, you make great videos...bravo!!!
Wow! This video was very well done! Mark Price was truly a pioneer to the new point guards of the NBA game today! He would have flourished in today’s game big time! 😎👍🏾🏀❤️
Mark Price was 30 years ahead of his time he would absolutely demolish the league right now. Real basketball fans and everyone from Cleveland knows this. Jordan had an effect on a lot of guys legacies but Price most of all because Jordan owned the Cavs in the 90s
handcheck rule bro. the game would be easier for every great guard in history and price was the archetype for the modern point guard. how would he not demolish the league lmao
50/40/90 club pre rule change. can't argue with the stats. he would play exactly like steph in this league also the guards who are shooting the lights out watched mark price growing up. you're holding the fact that the man was 30 years ahead of his time against him. he invented everything steph is doing rn and if he had the same training and background that the young guys do today there's no doubt in my mind he would dominate
steph is the only better shooter than price on this list. you overrate the guards of today because the rules and latest trends of the game give them such a huge advantage that price never had
I'm glad I found this video. I've always thought that Price was under rated. Nobody ever talks about him but he was so good. Dude was always top 5 in assists and was always top 5 in assist to turnover ratio. I think he even lead it one year. People forget that he was an efficient play maker and a great shooter.
I always bring him up and people say...who? I'm glad I got to watch him in his prime. Lots of pro players but very few magicians of the game. Thanks for making this video.
I do feel that KJ was the better fit for the Suns system, just as Mark Price was the better fit for the Cavs system, though Price's assists #s would've been higher by about 2 per game in the Suns system I think.
Being from Cleveland it’s really nice to see a video about a player that my dad and grandpa talked to me about in my childhood. I had no idea he ran the offense the way that he did but I knew how great of a shooter he was. Awesome video man
Awesome video! Yes, Mark Price was underrated due to his primetime bloomed during the reign of Jordan-led Bulls. Perhaps being in Cleveland also limited the exposure of his skills, rather than the big cities like Chicago, NY, & Boston with access to major TV stations. I really enjoy watching your videos, keep 'em coming!
Mark Price was my biggest hero when I was a teenager. He was the most amazing player. Jordan kept him from the finals of course but those Cavalier teams were amazing. His shooting is what I modeled my game after in school
So glad you did a Mark Price video. Easy a top 20 shooter. I learned the pick and roll from watch him and Stockton.Bird is still the best 40/50/90 shooter.Thank you LOW.
Bird was the 1st one to do it. I don't know that he did that one thing the absolute best, but it's splitting hairs once you get your shooting %ages up that high.
As a native clevelander and a Cavs fan I’m so glad you made this video. My dad had always told me how good this guy was and now other people can see it too!! Go Cavs
Really appreciate you doing this video... even if I am a bit late to the party! Grew up in a house where my dad (from Cleveland) was a high school basketball coach. The Cavs were his favorite team obviously, and Mark Price was always my favorite player to watch. I know lots of sports fans have "that team" from "that era" when they were really great, but never quite good enough to get to the title. The Cavs from "that era" were mine. Even heard Isiah Thomas make a comment about him on one of those retrospective documentaries. He was asked if there was anyone that he played against who didn't get the proper recognition in his opinion. He said "there was a span of 2 or 3 years where Mark Price was as good as anyone in the league." I agree
You forgot Price's greatest accomplishment. His Cavaliers team is probably the only team to beat Jordan and Scottie's Bulls all 6 games of the regular season. In the 1988-89 season the Cavs beat the Bulls all 6 times in the regular season. That is true greatness. That is the last time I bet against Michael Jordan. I made a $2 bet with my friend that the Cavs would beat the Bulls in the playoffs. Then Jordan hit The Shot.
My best friend’s favorite player was Mark Price. We watched many games and Price I feel was indeed a very special player. A true point guard ..unselfish, great ball handling skills, great shooter all around, and almost automatic from the free throw line.
Hmmmm but stockton can defend and had huge hands that help him to pass the ball one handed easily, he had 14apg in a season while shooting 18ppg and 3 steals per gme...while mark price was liability in defense and a flashy passer and shooter buts that s it lol..
He didn't have Karl The Mailman Malone, but the combinations of Larry Nance & Brad Daughtery more than made up for that. Mark Price was the John Stockton of The East, but what Stockton has the most on Price isn't how great each was in their prime, but longevity.
Steph Curry The G.O.A.T Nobody could shoot it like Mark Price could in the 90s. Therefore yes he is the Curry of the 90s. That doesn't mean he's saying he's as good as Curry though but your dumbass wouldn't understand that.
Steph Curry The G.O.A.T I didn’t say he a better curry he what curry is during the 90 hes combo guard with great jumper pulling not saying he’s was MVP they have same play style. like AI and Irving have same play style
Mark Price was a great NBA player and he truly deserves to be talked about much more,he played very hard and gave his teammates everything that he had inside of him to give on the hardwood floors and he most definitely is one of best shooting guards in NBA history.(Please give him the honor that he truly deserves for what he did in the National Basketball Association,he was a great shooter and no one can ever take that away from him eventhough he's not talked about like he should be,he should be in the conversations of great NBA shooter's).
I don't think his forgotten and underrated nature has to do with being white. I think its primarily that few people saw him play due to playing on the Cavs, never going deep in the playoffs, and being injured a lot. His black Cav teammates are also largely forgotten. Secondarily because the lack of athleticism means a lack of appearances on highlight reals.
Even more impressive a 6 ft guard, having to rely on quickness and picks to do it. Dirk in many cases, had open looks cause big guys don't like to come out.
Growing up in Cleveland Price is still my favorite player of all time. I consistently fight people about his game. Greatest shooter all time. Hands Down. Only 6'0 tall and like stated the best pick and roll player ever lol
I appreciate this video. Price is my favorite player of all time. Since the Bulls used to beat the Cavs all the time, I didn't mess with Jordan. My dude..........
Grew up a Cavs fan in the late 80s early 90s and yes, Mark Price was awesome. That whole team was great. The Ron Harper for Danny Ferry trade killed that team.
I agree 100%..he was the slasher , athletic guy who could get a basket at the rim and with the roster they had didn't need a Danny Ferry...top5 worst trades ever
@Legend of Winning u made a lil mistake on the 50 40 90 club chart, first of all u forgot dirk nowitzki and second, steve kerr is usually not considered a member because he didnt met the minimum shot requirements
Mark Price played superb basketball he was a great technician and probably a top 5 shooter all time with that beautiful stroke.I love a player that can really really shoot.
