Ok, Mr. Kubatko, here I go again: my two pennies on Kevin Johnson resulted in another YAY vote, combined with yours gave KJ snake-eyes; here's my take on the pre-MJ, MJ!
I doubt any hoops fan of the 70's can view Marques's case without symbioticly seeing the UCLA version AND the Bucks model simultaneously. Marques was not Jordan, but he was a polished basketball player prior to debuting with the Bucks, as were many Bruins players of the Wooden and early post-Wooden Era. Lewis Alcindor could have held his own against Wilt at least 3 years before he actually did so. I am not using hyperbole (well, maybe a little!) when I say that Marques Johnson was a star in L.A. before the N.B.A. His first 7 seasons were spent out of the spotlight in Milwaukee, and his talents were mostly displayed to local fans. But other players, coaches, writers, and basketball junkies 😎 like me, considered Marques one of the elite talents in the league at the time 🏀. After being sentenced, er..traded to the Clippers, his halcyon days were over. You have shown him to be the statistical peer of many greats of NBA history. Looking at his comps reminds me how much more athletic Marques was than the dozen players surrounding him. That's why I believe that he, like Kevin Johnson, may have been more severely hurt by the truncation of his career. But the bottom line is that, for almost a decade, Marques Johnson was one of the best basketball players in the world 🌎 👏! Hall of Fame? Of course! 🥇
Ok, Mr. Kubatko, here I go again: my two pennies on Kevin Johnson resulted in another YAY vote, combined with yours gave KJ snake-eyes; here's my take on the pre-MJ, MJ!
I doubt any hoops fan of the 70's can view Marques's case without symbioticly seeing the UCLA version AND the Bucks model simultaneously. Marques was not Jordan, but he was a polished basketball player prior to debuting with the Bucks, as were many Bruins players of the Wooden and early post-Wooden Era. Lewis Alcindor could have held his own against Wilt at least 3 years before he actually did so. I am not using hyperbole (well, maybe a little!) when I say that Marques Johnson was a star in L.A. before the N.B.A. His first 7 seasons were spent out of the spotlight in Milwaukee, and his talents were mostly displayed to local fans. But other players, coaches, writers, and basketball junkies 😎 like me, considered Marques one of the elite talents in the league at the time 🏀. After being sentenced, er..traded to the Clippers, his halcyon days were over. You have shown him to be the statistical peer of many greats of NBA history. Looking at his comps reminds me how much more athletic Marques was than the dozen players surrounding him. That's why I believe that he, like Kevin Johnson, may have been more severely hurt by the truncation of his career. But the bottom line is that, for almost a decade, Marques Johnson was one of the best basketball players in the world 🌎 👏! Hall of Fame? Of course! 🥇