NBA 25th Anniversary Team

Last updated

The NBA 25th Anniversary Team was chosen on December 11, 1971, to honor the 25th anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA) as the Basketball Association of America (BAA) in 1946. It was the first anniversary team in the NBA. [1] This team was meant to be an All-NBA Team for that period. Up until that time, All-NBA Teams only consisted of 2 teams (First and Second), so this Team also only consists of 2 teams/10 players (4 forwards, 2 centers, and 4 guards). The selections were restricted to retired players. [2] [3]

Contents

Selections

List of 25th Anniversary Team players, sorted by position and vote received.

Russell was the only unanimous selection to the team. Furthermore, all nominees of the 25th Anniversary Team besides Feerick and Zaslofky have also been inducted into Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

In 1980, only four players of the 25th Anniversary Team were selected into NBA 35th Anniversary Team (Pettit, Cousy, Russell, and Mikan). However, along with them, four other players of this team (Arizin, Jones, Schayes, Sharman) were selected into NBA 50 Greatest Players of All-Time in 1996 and the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.

Selection process

A panel selected 25 nominees from all eligible players, made up from 10 Forwards, 10 Guards, and 5 Centers. Then every NBA player that had been named All NBA 1st Team up to that time gave his vote. The four top voted forwards, two top voted centers, and four top voted guards made the team.

Eligibility requirements

To be eligible as a nominee, a player must (by 1971):

  1. have completed his career, and
  2. have been named All-NBA Team at least once.

Selection panels

Red Auerbach, Ned Irish, Eddie Gottlieb, Haskell Cohen, Danny Biasone, Lester Harrison, Fred Zollner, Ben Kerner, Fred Schaus, and Bob Feerick.

Nominees

List of nominees, sorted by position, last name (players denoted with an asterisk had been inducted into the Basketball Hall Of Fame), and career years.

Forwards

Centers

Guards

See also

Related Research Articles

George Mikan American basketball figure (1924–2005)

George Lawrence Mikan Jr., nicknamed "Mr. Basketball", was an American professional basketball player for the Chicago American Gears of the National Basketball League (NBL) and the Minneapolis Lakers of the NBL, the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA). Invariably playing with thick, round spectacles, the 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m), 245 lb (111 kg) Mikan is seen as one of the pioneers of professional basketball. Through his size and play he redefined it as a game dominated in his day by "big men". His prolific rebounding, shot blocking, and talent to shoot over smaller defenders with his ambidextrous hook shot – the result of the Mikan Drill – created with Ray Meyer, his coach at DePaul University, all helped change the game. He also utilized the underhanded free-throw shooting technique long before Rick Barry made it his signature shot.

Paul Arizin American basketball player (1928–2006)

Paul Joseph Arizin, nicknamed "Pitchin' Paul", was an American basketball player who spent his entire National Basketball Association (NBA) career with the Philadelphia Warriors from 1950 to 1962. He retired with the third highest career point total (16,266) in NBA history, and was named to the NBA's 25th, 50th and 75th anniversary teams. He was a high-scoring forward at Villanova University before being drafted by the Warriors of the fledgling NBA.

Bob Cousy American basketball player and coach (born 1928)

Robert Joseph Cousy is an American former professional basketball player. Cousy played point guard for the Boston Celtics from 1950 to 1963, and briefly with the Cincinnati Royals during the 1969–70 season. A 13-time NBA All-Star and 1957 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), he was a core piece during the early half of the Celtics dynasty winning six NBA Championships during his 13-year tenure with the Celtics. Nicknamed "The Houdini of the Hardwood", Cousy was the NBA assists leader for eight consecutive seasons, introducing a new blend of ball-handling and passing skills to the NBA. Following his playing career with the Celtics he served as a college basketball coach and an NBA head coach for the Cincinnati Royals. He is regarded as the first great point guard of the NBA.

Bill Russell American former basketball player and coach (born 1934)

William Felton Russell is an American former professional basketball player who played as a center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. A five-time NBA Most Valuable Player and a 12-time NBA All-Star, he was the centerpiece of the Celtics dynasty that won eleven NBA championships during his 13-year career. Russell and Henri Richard of the National Hockey League are tied for the record of the most championships won by an athlete in a North American sports league. Russell is considered to be one of the greatest players in NBA history. He led the San Francisco Dons to two consecutive NCAA championships in 1955 and 1956, and he captained the gold-medal winning U.S. national basketball team at the 1956 Summer Olympics.

The 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, also referred to as NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team, were chosen in 1996 to honor the 50th anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was the third anniversary team in the league. Fifty players were selected through a vote by a panel of media members, former players and coaches, and current and former general managers. In addition, the top ten head coaches and top ten single-season teams in NBA history were selected by media members as part of the celebration. The 50 players had to have played at least a portion of their careers in the NBA and were selected irrespective of position played.

Bill Sharman American basketball player and coach (1926–2013)

William Walton Sharman was an American professional basketball player and coach. He is mostly known for his time with the Boston Celtics in the 1950s, partnering with Bob Cousy in what was then considered the greatest backcourt duo of all time. As a coach, Sharman won titles in the ABL, ABA, and NBA, and is credited with introducing the now ubiquitous morning shootaround.

Bob Pettit American former basketball player and coach (born 1932)

Robert Lee Pettit Jr. is an American former professional basketball player. He played 11 seasons in the NBA, all with the Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks (1954–1965). In 1956, he became the first recipient of the NBA's Most Valuable Player Award and he won the award again in 1959. He also won the NBA All-Star Game MVP award four times.

Bob Feerick American basketball player, coach, executive

Robert Joseph Feerick was an American professional basketball player, coach and general manager. He was born in San Francisco, California.

Field goal percentage

Field goal percentage in basketball is the ratio of field goals made to field goals attempted. Its abbreviation is FG%. Although three-point field goal percentage is often calculated separately, three-point field goals are included in the general field goal percentage. Instead of using scales of 0 to 100%, the scale .000 to 1.000 is commonly used. A higher field goal percentage denotes higher efficiency. In basketball, a FG% of .500 (50%) or above is considered a good percentage, although this criterion does not apply equally to all positions. Guards usually have lower FG% than forwards and centers. Field goal percentage does not completely tell the skill of a player, but a low field goal percentage can indicate a poor offensive player or a player who takes many difficult shots. In the NBA, Center Shaquille O'Neal had a high career FG% because he played near the basket making many high percentage layups and dunks. Guard Allen Iverson often had a low FG% because he took the bulk of his team's shot attempts, even with high difficulty shots.

The 1951 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game played on March 2, 1951, at Boston Garden in Boston, home of the Boston Celtics. The game was the first edition of the National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game and was played during the 1950–51 NBA season. The idea of holding an All-Star Game was conceived during a meeting between NBA President Maurice Podoloff, NBA publicity director Haskell Cohen and Boston Celtics owner Walter A. Brown. At that time, the basketball world had just been stunned by the college basketball point-shaving scandal. In order to regain public attention to the league, Cohen suggested the league to host an exhibition game featuring the league's best players, similar to the Major League Baseball's All-Star Game. Although most people, including Podoloff, were pessimistic about the idea, Brown remained confident that it would be a success. He even offered to host the game and to cover all the expenses or potential losses incurred from the game. The Eastern All-Stars team defeated the Western All-Stars team 111–94. Boston Celtics' Ed Macauley was named as the first NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award. The game became a success, drawing an attendance of 10,094, much higher than that season's average attendance of 3,500.

The NBA 35th Anniversary Team were chosen on October 30, 1980, to honor the 35th anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA) as the Basketball Association of America (BAA) in 1946. It was the second anniversary team in the NBA. Unlike its predecessor, the NBA 25th Anniversary Team, that followed the concept of an All-NBA Team, this team was more like an NBA All-Star team that contains the eleven best players in the NBA's 35 years existence regardless of their position, and also had a coach. In addition, this team did not require a player to have completed his career to be eligible for this Team.

NBA Live Legend All-Stars Teams is a video game feature on the NBA Live video games series. It gathers five teams, each representing a decade, starting from the 1950s. Each team consists of great players from that era. Most of the players had been inducted into Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame or named NBA 50 Greatest Players.

The NBA All-Star Game Kobe Bryant Most Valuable Player (MVP) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the player(s) voted best of the annual All-Star Game. The award was established in 1953 when NBA officials decided to designate an MVP for each year's game. The league also re-honored players from the previous two All-Star Games. Ed Macauley and Paul Arizin were selected as the 1951 and 1952 MVP winners respectively. The winner is voted upon by a panel of media members, who cast their vote after the conclusion of the game. The fan voting accounts for 25% of the voting. The player(s) with the most votes or ties for the most votes wins the award. In February 2020, Commissioner Adam Silver renamed the NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player in honor of four-time winner Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash a few weeks earlier.

Boston Celtics accomplishments and records Wikipedia list article

This is a comprehensive list of the accomplishments and records of the Boston Celtics. The Celtics are an American professional basketball team currently playing in the National Basketball Association.

1956–57 Boston Celtics season NBA basketball team season (Season champions)

The 1956–57 Boston Celtics season was the 11th season for the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). This was the first time in franchise history, where the Celtics advanced to the NBA Finals, which they would later go onto win over the St. Louis Hawks in 7 games. The Celtics would make the Finals a record 10 consecutive seasons, spanning from this season to the 1965–66 season. They were led by 1957's MVP Bob Cousy, as well as Bill Russell, Bill Sharman, and 1957's Rookie of the Year Tom Heinsohn.

The 1952 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game played on February 11, 1952, at Boston Garden in Boston, home of the Boston Celtics. The game was the second edition of the National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game and was played during the 1951–52 NBA season. The Eastern All-Stars team defeated the Western All-Stars team 108–91. This was the East's second successive win over the West. Philadelphia Warriors' Paul Arizin, who led the East with 26 points, was named as the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player.

Ben Kerner was an American professional basketball owner. He was the co-founder and owner of the St. Louis Hawks of the National Basketball Association, the present-day Atlanta Hawks. In 1946, Kerner co–founded with Leo Ferris a professional team in Buffalo, New York. The team then moved to become the Tri-Cities Blackhawks after a few games. Kerner moved the franchise from Moline, Illinois to Milwaukee in 1951 and to St. Louis in 1955. His 1958 St. Louis Hawks won the NBA Championship.

NBA 75th Anniversary Team Wikimedia list article

The NBA 75th Anniversary Team, also referred to as the NBA 75, was chosen in 2021 to honor the 75th anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was the fourth and most recent anniversary team in the league. Similar to the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996, a panel of media members, current and former players, coaches, general managers, and team executives selected the greatest players in league history. Tasked with compiling a list of 75 players, the committee named an additional 76th member due to a tie in voting. It was built as part of the league's anniversary celebration during the 2021–22 season. Forty-five of the seventy-six players were later assembled in Cleveland, during the halftime ceremony of the 2022 All-Star Game.

NBA anniversary teams Honorary teams to commemorate the NBAs anniversaries

The National Basketball Association (NBA) has named four teams throughout its history that commemorate a milestone league anniversary by honoring its greatest all-time players. The NBA considers 1946 to be its founding year. The league was formed in 1949 with the merger of the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball League (NBL). The NBL began play in 1937, while the BAA started in 1946.

References

General
Specific
  1. Irving, Kyle (August 26, 2021). "NBA 75: Which active players could join the list of all-time greats?". Sporting News. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  2. "Everything you need to know about the NBA's 75th Anniversary Season". NBA.com. October 23, 2021. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  3. "Bill Russell Is Unmanimous Pick On Silver Anniversary Squad". The Evening Standard. January 11, 1971. p. 17. Retrieved October 26, 2021 via Newspapers.com.