NBA Next 25 Jerseys/Autosby wamk - 19 cards (Last updated on Jun 15, 2013) |
1. 2012-13 Panini Elite - All-Star Salute Materials #20 Ray Allen
2 rings (so far), 10 All Star, 1 Gold Medal. Holds NBA records for 3PT shots made in career, 3PT made in a season, and 3PT attempts in a career. Also holds/held pretty much every record for Regular Season, All Star, Playoff, and Finals 3PT shots and attempts. Also holds a ton of Bucks franchise records, Sonics records, and Celtics records. Allen was a great FT shooter, and a defensive stopper. Probably has a few years left in the tank with Miami, and will likely get another ring (or two). Makes the team for being a fantastic sharpshooter from outside the arc.
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2. 2009-10 Panini Rookies & Stars - Gold Materials #39 Kobe Bryant
Kobe is a sure bet to make the Top 75 team. He's got 5 rings, 15 All Stars, 2 Finals MVP, 1 NBA MVP, 4 All Star MVP, 2 scoring titles, 9 1st Team defenses, a Slam Dunk title, and 2 Gold Medals. Bryant dropped 81 points in a game against the Raptors. Kobe is a great scorer, heats up in a hurry, and can take over games. He's an all around complete player, has developed a great outside shot over his career, and has carried the Lakers the last few seasons.
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3. 2010-11 Panini Totally Certified - Fabric of the Game Jumbo Jersey Number #19 Tim Duncan
Duncan is a slam dunk to tmake the Top 75 team. 4 rings, 3 Finals MVP 2 NBA MVP, 14 All Star games, 8 First Team All Defense, and Rookie of the Year. He also won a bronze with the 2004 Olympic Team. Duncan led the Spurs to be the dominant team of the early 2000's. Duncan is far from over, as the Spurs continue to be a factor in the Western Conference. Hopefully this post will need to be updated in the near future. Great career, great player, great organization. Duncan easily makes the Top 75.
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5. 2010-11 Panini Elite Black Box - Elite Series Materials Prime #34 Alex English
Probably flew under the radar for many, but NBA fans remember English as being one (if not the best) scorer of the 1980's. He made 8 All Star teams, was the NBA scoring champ in 1983, led the Nuggets to the playoffs 9 times, and set 31 team records. He was also the first player to score at least 2,000 points in 8 straight seasons. Not a high-profile player, but one that has played his way into the Top 75.
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6. 2012-13 Panini Absolute - Star Gazing Jersey Number Materials #8 Kevin Garnett
1 Ring, 1 MVP, 15 All Star, Defensive Player of the Year, 9 1st Team Defenses, 4 rebounding titles, 1 Gold Medal. KG is the only player to have 25,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, 5,000 assists, 1,500 steals, and 1,500 blocks. He's a sure-fire first ballot Hall of Famer, and easily makes the Top 75.
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7. 2009-10 Panini Classics - Blast From The Past Jerseys #17 Artis Gilmore
Gilmore was a beast in his day. 7'2", pure muscle, and if you came in the paint, he made you pay for it. Between the ABA and NBA, he made 11 All Star teams, won the ABA Rookie of the Year, and an ABA Championship. He's also the NBA career leader in FG percentage. He's one of the rare guys that won both Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season. Gilmore was also exremely durable, playing in 670 consectutive games.
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8. 2010 Panini Hall of Fame - Famed Fabrics #2 Tom Heinsohn
Before you say "Tom who?", consider the following-Heinsohn is the only person involved in all 17 Celtic Championships, and all 21 Finals appearances. He won 8 rings as a player, then another 2 as a Coach. One of the few guys inducted into the Hall of Fame as both Player and Coach, was Rookie of the Year and Coach of the Year, started the NBA Players Union, and has been with the Celtics organization for 6 decades. He was also a 6 time All Star. He also played a huge role in free agency coming to the league in his days as a player. He currently works for the Celtics as their color guy, sort of the Celtic version of Harry Caray.
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9. 2010-11 Panini Limited - Retired Numbers Materials #7 Dan Issel
"The Horse" started his greatness in college at Kentucky, where he still holds 23 records, including most points scored in a career, and lead the team to 3 SEC titles. Issel played in both the ABA and NBA, winning a title with the Colonels. His rookie year in the league, he won the ROY, scored 29.9 a game, and pulled down 13.2 rebounds. He wound up with 7 All Star appearances (6 in the ABA), and won an ABA All Star MVP. He was a 3 time ABA scoring champ as well. When he retired, he trailed only Kareem, Wilt and Dr. J in combined NBA/ABA total points. His nickname came from Issel only missing 24 games in 15 seasons. Issel has remained close to the Nuggets organization, including stints on the bench and in the front office. You'll recall Issel was the coach when the Nuggets beat the Sonics in the playoffs (remember Mutumbo holding the ball on his back after the #8 Nuggets beat #1 Seattle?). He's probably a long shot to make the Top 75, but needs to be considered.
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10. 2001-02 Fleer Force - Inside the Game Jerseys Numbers #NG-AI Allen Iverson
Iverson is one of those guys I can make an argument for in either direction as to his inclusion on this list. Here are his numbers: 1 MVP, 11 All Star, 2 All Star MVP, 4 scoring titles, Rookie of the Year, 3 time NBA Steals champion. Won an Olympic Bronze medal. Dude was TINY, listed at 6 foot, 165, probably smaller, had no fear taking the ball to the hoop. He's second only to Michael Jordan in playoff scoring average for a career. Iverson's off-court persona definitely hurts his chances, but looking at what he was able to accomplish, he should make the list.
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Comments
Interesting list you having going...I've pondered this myself. it's hard to narrow down the top 75 players in a league that's seen thousands, but some stand out as better than the rest. I'm also looking forward to seeing what cards you choose to represent them.
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Tanks, Billy. Some are no-brainers (Kobe, LeBron, Garnett, Duncan), some are easier to pick/guess when you look at their body of work. Some will have to be flat-out guesses, as the Top 75 won't be announced for another 8-10 years. THOSE are the tough ones!
I did start with the listing of all-time All Stars, and compared who made the Top 50, with some of the current guys, and some of the better guys from the past. Guys like Alex English were probably before a lot of current NBA fans' time, but his accomplishments and stats speak for themselves.
Stay tuned for more additions!
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Forgot to ask-any wrong choices I have made so far? :)
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I think you're right on so far! The one that stands out for me that is not here yet is Jason Kidd...second all time in steals and assists, 3rd in triple doubles, almost single handedly took the Nets to the NBA finals two years in a row from being a lottery team the year before, and with a career due to be 21 seasons, one of the longest lasting players in NBA history. I unfortunatly didn't get to see English or Gilmore or lots of others playing live, but seeing the footage after the fact, and reading the stats, I agree with you that they will make the list for sure.
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Billy: I've got Kidd on my list as well. His numbers might be somewhat inflated due to his long career, but that also means he stayed productive in his later years, right?! He's one of those guys that never jumps in your mind as a dominant player, but when you review his body of work, numbers don't lie.
I saw Gilmore play on the backside of his career. He was of that era where if you drove the lane, you expected to get hit, and hit hard to earn that layup. Today's finesse big men would get manhandled by Gilmore today.
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Alex English was not the best scorer in the eighties, forget a guy by the name of Michael Jordan?
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