Wilt Chamberlain left a lasting legacy as maybe the best ever

Was there simply any doubt about the top pick in this series? Of course not. Wilt Chamberlain was not only the top former Jayhawk to have the best NBA career, he’s possibly the No. 1 player of all time. He was a larger than life figure who had a legendary impact on the game, even if he felt he never got the true respect he deserved.

“No one cheers for Goliath,” Chamberlain once said.

No. 1 WILT CHAMBERLAIN

The “Big Dipper” was a truly dominant player that basketball had never seen before or since. He holds an astonishing 72 NBA records, including 68 alone, while claiming four of the top five total points seasons in history.

He wasted no time making an impact once he entered the NBA in 1959-60, becoming the first player to win the Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player Awards in the same season. In his pro debut during his Philadelphia Warriors’ 118-109 victory over the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden, Chamberlain exploded for 43 points and 28 rebounds.

After playing Boston and Bill Russell for the first time that season, the Celtics star center gushed over Chamberlain’s play.

“I’ve played against men as big, but never against anyone that good and big,” Ken Rappoport reported Russell saying in The Associated Press 1972 book, “The Sports Immortals.”

“You can’t relax for a second against him. He’s the best rookie I’ve ever seen. I wish I had been that good when I started.”

The 7-1 Chamberlain, who remarkably never fouled out of a game, was just getting started during his magical 14-year pro career. On March 2, 1962, Chamberlain set a record which will likely never be broken when he scored 100 points against the Knicks. He was a four-time MVP and 10-time All-NBA performer, won two NBA championships in 1967 with Philadelphia and 1972 with the Los Angeles Lakers (Finals MVP), seven scoring, nine field goal percentage and 11 rebounding titles.

Chamberlain, who was named to the All-Defensive First Team in 1972 and ‘73, was selected to 13 All-Star games (MVP in 1960) and enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1979.

Incredibly, he scored 50 or more points 118 times and 60 or more points 32 times. Chamberlain, who averaged a whopping 50.4 points and had seven-consecutive 50-point games during the 1961-62 season while once grabbing 55 rebounds in a contest, showed his versatility by leading the league in total assists in 1967-68 with 702 dimes. He also posted 22 points, 25 rebounds and 21 assists in a game in 1968. Moreover, Chamberlain is the only player to average at least 30 points and 20 rebounds per game in a season, which he accomplished nine times. Chamberlain is also the only player to average at least 30 points and 20 rebounds per game for his career.

An extremely conditioned and durable player, Chamberlain played every game in nine seasons and led the NBA in minutes per game nine times, while averaging at least 44.5 minutes per contest in each of his first 12 seasons. He’s the lone player to play more than 3,700 minutes in a season, which he did five times with his most PT coming in the 1961-62 season with 3,882 minutes (48.5 minutes per game). Remarkably, he played all but two minutes that season with seven games going into overtime, including one triple OT contest.

Overall, Chamberlain played in 1,045 games while posting the fifth-most points in history with 31,419 (30.1 ppg) and boasting the all-time mark in rebounds with 23,924 (21.9 rpg) and minutes per game (45.8). He also dished out 4,643 assists (4.4 apg) and shot 54.0 percent from the field and 51.1 percent at the free throw line.

Amazing numbers from a legendary force.

Rappoport wrote of Chamberlain: “At 7 feet 1 inch, Wilt Chamberlain did not tower over all his contemporaries in the National Basketball Association. With his mountainous height, however, he blended an almost supernatural strength. He was, in fact, a monster of a man who handled opponents on the basketball court as if they were pawns on a chessboard.”

Hall of Famer Dolph Schayes, one of the top 50 pro basketball players of all time who died Dec. 10, 2015, spoke to me in November 2007 about his memories of coaching Chamberlain in Philadelphia. Schayes coached him part of the 1964-65 season and the entire 1965-66 campaign. Alex Hannum replaced Schayes the following season, when Philadelphia went 68-13 and won the NBA title.

“He was a great player, a superstar,” Schayes said. “We’re talking about one of the top five (players) in the world. When he came to Philadelphia, he felt I could help him a lot with his free throws. He was a very poor free-throw shooter. As it turned out, we practiced a great deal and he did well in the practices. He’d shoot over 80 percent. When it came to the games, being out there with everybody looking, he kind of tightened up. I think one of his great problems is he didn’t have a touch, he wasn’t a fingertip shooter.”

Schayes said Chamberlain became a more versatile player when Philly won the championship in 1967.

“Later in his career, rather than becoming a scorer, he became a passer and a rebounder,” Schayes said. “Of course, he was always a great rebounder. When they won the championship in Philadelphia, he (was third in the league) in assists (7.8 apg). He was a wonderful passer for the team. Alex Hannum called him and said the 76ers didn’t need his scoring because they had Hal Greer, Billy Cunningham and Chet Walker. (Hannum said), ‘For us to win the championship, you have to (concentrate less on scoring and more on) passing. ...They’re considered probably one of the top five teams (of all time) in the NBA.”

Chamberlain’s scoring dipped from 33.5 points per game in 1965-66 to 24.1 ppg during Philly’s championship season. And the next year in 1967-68, Chamberlain averaged 8.6 assists per game (No. 1 in total assists) as the 76ers lost to Boston in the Eastern Conference finals.

Schayes stated that although “everybody recognized him as a fantastic player, I think he always wanted to be more of an all-round (player).”

“When he left Kansas, he played with the Harlem Globetrotter one season,” Schayes said. “He didn’t play around the basket. He played outside and worked on that part of his game. What idiot coach would say, ‘Wilt, play guard.’ You stay around the basket. People would say all he could do is dunk. He (also) had a hook shot, a jump shot.

“Wilt wanted to be the best at everything,” Schayes added. “If you talked bowling with Wilt, he’d say, ‘I’m the best bowler you’ve ever seen. If I was to box (Muhammad) Ali, I’d beat the hell out of him. If I was in track, I’d be the fastest guy.’ He was a wonderful human being. It was a shame that he died."

Chamberlain passed on Oct. 12, 1999 at age 63.

At KU, Chamberlain was a two-time consensus first-team All-American and All-Big Seven member. He won the NCAA tournament’s Most Outstanding Player Award in 1957 as KU marched to the national final before losing to North Carolina in triple overtime. Chamberlain’s career averages of 29.9 points and 18.9 rebounds per game are easily tops in KU history, while his career-high 52 points in his varsity debut is also a school single-game record.

Chamberlain was back in the Phog on Jan. 17, 1998 when his No. 13 jersey was retired at halftime of the KU-K-State game. He gave a speech that afternoon that everyone in the fieldhouse will always remember while proudly wearing his Jayhawk lettermen’s jacket.

“A little over 40 years ago, I lost the toughest battle in sports in losing to the North Carolina Tar Heels by one point in triple overtime,” Chamberlain said. “It was a devastating thing to me because I let the University of Kansas down and my teammates down. But when I come back here today and realize not a simple loss of a game, but how many people have shown such appreciation and warmth, I’m humbled and deeply honored.

“I’ve learned in life that you have to take the bitter with the sweet and how sweet this is, right here. I’m a Jayhawk and I know now why there is so much tradition here and why so many wonderful things have come from here, and I am now very much a part of it by being there (with his jersey in the rafters) and very proud of it.

“Rock Chalk, Jayhawk.”

The crowd roared as loud as the Phog may have ever gotten. Chamberlain was extremely humbled by the ovation and said that was the greatest moment of his life. He spent the next few hours in Allen Fieldhouse signing autographs for a drove of fans, who showered their love for the “Big Dipper.”

Fellow Philadelphia native, longtime friend, and the late former KU player Al Correll told Robert Cherry in his 2004 book, “Wilt: Larger than Life,” how much Chamberlain felt about Kansas.

“He loved Kansas University,” Correll said. “The man kept his KU letter jacket in perfect condition for 40 years. That should tell you something right there.”

The late and former KU teammate Al Donaghue talked to me once during a Where are they Now? interview about the great respect he had for Chamberlain.

“He was a unique player, and probably the greatest basketball player in college that ever lived,” Donaghue said. “The rules of the game were changed to accommodate him, the dunking rules, things like that. He was an awesome athlete, the strongest man I ever met. He could do so much on the athletic field. Not only was he tremendously talented on the basketball court, he ran track at KU, he threw the shot, he high jumped. He was a very good athlete, a very strong man. (I) maintained a good friendship with him over the years. It was nice to see him come back finally several years ago just before he passed away. He made a nice statement toward KU.”

He truly left a legacy that will never be forgotten. His combination of size, speed, strength and agility was simply remarkable.

“Wilt is the most dominant force this game has ever known. I'm convinced that Wilt Chamberlain is one of the greatest all-around athletes the world has ever seen,” Hannum told Terry Pluto in his 1992 book, “Tall Tales.”

"I don't think it's fair to compare players in different eras, but he was about as dominant as any one player could be in any sport. I looked at him like he was invincible,” Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown once said. 

“We will never see another one like him,” Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar added.

When asked if Chamberlain was the best ever, Oscar Robertson simply told the Philadelphia Daily News: 

“The books don’t lie.”

Paul Pierce made his name as a Boston Celtic and NBA legend

I am now down to the No. 2 former Jayhawk with the best NBA career. There is simply no doubt about the pick here. Paul Pierce put up monster numbers and plenty of wins during his career, while ranking as one of the all-time NBA greats and No. 15 top scorer in history.

No. 2 Paul Pierce

Paul Pierce’s NBA career all began on a gloomy, rainy late afternoon in Vancouver at General Motors Place on June 24, 1998 during the NBA Draft. While it was rainy outside, hope, anticipation and a buzz filled the arena for Pierce and the roughly 20 other future NBA players in attendance.

The Grizzlies’ mascot entertained fans with his antics on the court while a highlight film shined on the video board. A friend and I proudly held up a white and crimson and blue banner supporting Pierce and fellow Jayhawk and coveted NBA prospect Raef LaFrentz: “Rock Chalk, Pick a Jayhawk.”

And then the draft commenced when Commissioner David Stern stepped up to the podium. Pierce, for one, didn’t expect to wait in the Green Room long. After all, after three stellar years at Kansas, where he was named an All-American after his junior season, most observers believed he would be picked in the top three or five spots, and just maybe as high as No. 2.

Jerry West, Los Angeles Lakers Executive VP of Basketball Operations, believed Pierce would make an immediate impact in the NBA.

“He has played kind of an NBA-like game already,” West said. “He looks like he will be able to come in and compete right away without a lot of special coaching to get him ready to play. He plays a thinking man’s game and he is going to be a very, very attractive player for a lot of teams.”

And then the wait and drama started. First, the Los Angeles Clippers selected Michael Olowokandi. Then Mike Bibby went to Vancouver. Every five minutes, Stern called a name with no mention of Pierce. Raef LaFrentz. Antawn Jamison. Vince Carter. Robert Traylor. Jason Williams. Larry Hughes. And then Dirk Nowitzki was selected with the the ninth pick.

Finally, after so much wait and anticipation for Pierce on the biggest day of his life, the Boston Celtics selected him with the 10th overall pick. Stunned, shocked and dazed, Pierce stood up, hugged his family members, put on a green Celtics’ hat, and walked to the podium and shook hands with Stern while taking a picture with the commissioner. He soon spoke to the media about looking forward to his new start in Boston.

“I am a little disappointed, but it is a situation I had no control over,” Pierce said. “I guess teams figured they couldn’t use me, or that someone else fit their needs better. We (agent) never had a chance to talk with, or mentioned the Celtics. It’s a big surprise to me to be wearing this hat. If you would have told me a week ago, I would have not believed a word of it, but I am here, this is my situation and I will make the most of it.

“I am going to use this as motivation and show these teams that they passed on a quality player. I just want to go out there next year to let them know that they should have picked me but I am happy that (Rick, Celtics coach) Pitino felt confident in my ability and gave me a chance.”

Nineteen years later in 2017, Pierce ended his superlative and legendary NBA career proving his doubters wrong, becoming one of the all-time Celtics and NBA greats. His achievements were simply remarkable, especially considering this was once a teenager who was cut from his varsity high school team in Inglewood, California, as a bright-eyed freshman.

With such a fabled franchise in Boston, where legends like Larry Bird, John Havlicek, Bob Cousy and Bill Russell donned the Celtics green, Pierce made an indelible mark for 15 seasons. He averaged 21.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.44 steals and 36.6 minutes in 1,102 career games (1,099 starts). No. 34 ranks No. 1 in franchise history in three-point field goals (1,823), free throws (6,434) and steals (1,583), while placing second as the Celtics’ second all-time leading scorer (24,021 points).

In addition, “The Truth” placed in the the top-10 list in games played (3rd-1,102), minutes played (3rd – 40,360), field goals (3rd – 7,882), field goal attempts (2nd – 17,630), three-point field goal attempts (1st – 4,928), free throw attempts (1st – 7,979), offensive rebounds (8th – 1,008), rebounds (7th – 6,651), assists (5th – 4,305) and blocked shots (4th – 668). With 15 years in Boston, Pierce trails only Havlicek for the most ever spent in a Celtics uniform.

After finishing his career with the Los Angeles Clippers last season, Pierce got his just due by signing a one-day contract with Boston on July 17.

“We’re honored that Paul has chosen to retire as a Celtic. He is among the very best Celtics – a champion on and off the court,” said Celtics governor and managing partner Wyc Grousbeck. “We congratulate Paul on a Hall of Fame career, and look forward to seeing his number raised to the rafters of TD Garden.”

Pierce was overwhelmed with emotion.

“It's an honor to have this opportunity to once again call myself a Boston Celtic," Pierce said. "The organization and city took me in and made me one of their own, and I couldn’t imagine ending my career any other way. I’m a Celtic for life.”

A month later on Aug. 18, the Celtics announced that they will retire Pierce’s No. 34 in a game against Cleveland this season on Feb. 11.

“We teamed up with Paul from the beginning of our ownership and grew to be champions together,” Grousbeck said. “He’s a great person and a great Celtic.”

“I will always be grateful for the sacrifices Paul made to help the Celtics be great,” said Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge. “His love for the game was contagious and his talents and hard work were legendary. He was one of the greatest players of his era.”

Pierce was extremely proud to know his jersey will hang from the hallowed rafters of TD Garden for all time. Pierce’s No. 34 will represent the 22nd retired number in Celtics franchise history. He becomes the first Celtic to have his number retired since Cedric Maxwell’s No. 31 was retired on Dec. 15, 2003.

“The moment I was drafted by the Celtics, I knew I was joining one of the most historic organizations in the NBA,” said Pierce of Boston, which has won 17 NBA titles. “For 15 years, I played at the Garden, looking up at the jerseys of some of the most iconic players in the game – Russell, Bird, and Cousy. To now be recognized alongside those names is such an honor. I have always said I would be a Celtic for life, and now it is really coming true.”

Like many others, Celtics Co-Owner Steve Pagliuca believes Pierce is quite deserving to have his jersey retired.

“Paul was a transcendent player, a great leader, and wonderful teammate; simply one of the great Celtics in every way,” Pagliuca said. “His number in the rafters will forever remind us of the joy he brought to the game of basketball and his love for the fans and the city of Boston.”

Pierce had the makings of greatness from the beginning. In his NBA debut against Toronto on Feb. 5, 1999, all Pierce did was collect 19 points, nine rebounds, five assists, and four blocks. 

He would only get better. Much better.

Pierce was a 10-time All-Star, won a championship and Finals MVP trophy with the Celtics in 2008, a member of the All-NBA Second Team in 2009 and a three-time All-NBA third-team selection (2002, 2003 and 2008). Pierce was also named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 1999 and was the league’s three-point contest winner at the 2010 All-Star game.

In addition, he was the NBA regular-season leader in total points in 2002 (2,144) and the regular-season leader in free throws made in 2003 (604).

This superstar has been named Player of the Week 17 times during his career, Player of the Month four times, and Rookie of the Month once. He averaged over 20 points per game in seven straight years from 2000-2007 with his career-high 26.8 points per contest coming in the 2005-06 season.

He averaged 16.5 points per game his rookie season, then 19.3 ppg his second year, before his breakout third season in 2000-01 when he averaged 25.9 points per game.

That was the year he became known as “The Truth.” It all began after the Celtics lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in a 2001 game. Despite the setback, Pierce mesmerized fans and players alike by dropping 42 points on the eventual NBA champs. 

After the game, Lakers star center Shaquille O’Neal spotted a Beantown reporter and leaned toward the scribe’s notebook.

“Take this down,” O’Neal said. “My name is Shaquille O’Neal, and Paul Pierce is the (very long expletive) truth. Quote me on that, and don’t take nothing out. I knew he could play, but I didn’t know he could play like this. Paul Pierce is the truth.”

Pierce’s superlative year in 2000-01 came after he nearly lost his life in a stabbing incident at a Boston nightclub in September before the season.

He was stabbed 11 times in his face, neck and back, and had to undergo surgery to repair a damaged lung. His life was saved by wearing a thick leather jacket, which prevented the knife wounds from reaching his heart and other important internal organs. Pierce was also helped by the fact that the club was just five minutes from New England Medical Center, where he was given treatment before he had the chance to lose dangerous amounts of blood. 

"A couple ladies were in there, I stopped to say hi, and next thing you know, I was in a mix with somebody," he told his Web site.

"Everything happened so fast, I can't even tell you how long it lasted."

Pierce survived and gained a new perspective after “the night that changed my life forever.”

"It's not something you're going to forget," he told Sports Illustrated in 2008. "I'm fortunate to be here. I feel a lot older from the simple fact I had a brush with death and saw my life flash before my eyes. You grow up 10 times as fast."

At age 35, Pierce became the oldest player in Celtics history to score 40 points in a regulation game when he did so against Cleveland on Dec. 19, 2012 at TD Garden in Boston’s victory. He scored 25 points in the second half and made all seven of his field goals in the final quarter. Pierce shot 13 of 16 from the field, 6 of 8 from beyond the arc, and 10 of 11 at the free throw line.

''When I first came into the league I always asked myself, 'Do I want to be good or do I want to be great?'” Pierce told the Associated Press afterwards. ''Every time I stepped out and worked on my game, that's what I asked myself. I always got here early and worked on my craft as hard as I could because I wanted to be one of the great players.”

He cemented himself as one of the legendary Celtics when Pierce became MVP of the 2008 Finals when Boston won the championship against the Lakers, the team he idolized growing up in Inglewood. Pierce, who scored 38 points in Game Five, produced 21.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.08 steals and 38.8 minutes in that six-game series, helping the Celtics raise their NBA-record 17th championship banner and first since 1986.

Boston delivered the biggest turnaround in franchise history in winning 66 games and improving its regular-season wins by a whopping 42 games from the past year with the arrival of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. While they were called “The Big Three,” the C’s couldn’t have won the title without Pierce, who had endured some trying seasons to finally come out on top in Boston’s title clinching Game 6 victory.

In Bill Simmons’ 2009 “The Book of Basketball,” the author and lifelong Celtics fan wrote that he penned a “postgame passage” about Pierce:

“We watched that guy grow up. We watched him become a man. We believed in him, we gave up on him, and we believed in him again. ... Part of me wanted to walk onto the court Tuesday night and just tell Pierce, ‘It’s hard for me to say this without sounding condescending, but I’m proud of you.’ We spend so much time complaining about sports and being disappointed that our favorite players never end up being who we wanted them to be, but in Pierce’s case, he became everything we wanted him to be. When he held up the Finals MVP trophy after the game and screamed to the crowd in delight, I don’t think I’ve ever been happier for a Boston athlete. How many guys stick with a crummy franchise for 10 solid years, then get a chance to lead that same team to a championship? Does that ever happen in sports anymore?”

Simmons wrote in his book that Pierce ranked as the No. 54 best player in NBA history.

Bob Ryan, the Hall of Famer and former longtime writer for the Boston Globe, also gave ultimate respect to Pierce in his 2014 book, “Scribe: My Life in Sports.”

“Old-timers are pained to hear me say this, but I believe it absolutely--Paul Pierce was the greatest pure scorer in Celtics history,” Ryan wrote. “I don’t mean he was a better player than either Larry Bird or John Havlicek. But in terms of having the most ways to get the ball in the basket, he’s the best Celtic ever. His game has been a strange combination of the 1950s and the twenty-first century, in that he blends the artistry and chicanery of his elders with the three-point shot they often could only have dreamed of. Unlike both Bird and Havlicek, in his extended prime he could always do it on his own--he did not need a pick, he just needed everyone else to get out of the way.”

Boston Hall of Fame player and coach Tommy Heinsohn once said of Pierce: “This guy has the most total offensive game I’ve ever seen a Celtic have.”

The late Red Auerbach, who led led the Celtics to nine NBA championships as head coach and was a team executive for seven other titles, told ESPN The Magazine in 2002 that Pierce was a renaissance player.

“He would absolutely fit in with the Celtics teams I coached,” Auerbach said. “He’s the whole package, offensively and defensively. He’s respectful and he doesn’t bitch. Old-fashioned. I really like him.”

Pierce improved his overall skills and become a complete player during his NBA career while always playing with a high level of confidence. He came up big in crunch time and developed a reputation as a fourth-quarter assassin.

“I want the ball in the fourth quarter when the game is on the line,” he said in 2002. “I feel like I can go help this team win. My teammates have confidence in going to me down the stretch and I try to deliver. I’m a different player in the fourth quarter. That’s when I rise to the top.”

One of the best scoring games of his career came against New Jersey on Dec. 1, 2001 when Pierce scored a jaw-dropping 46 of his then-career-high 48 points in the second half and overtime during Boston’s comeback victory.

“You feel like heads and shoulders above everybody,” Pierce told the Associated Press afterwards. “You feel like everybody else is moving in slow motion and you’re the fastest guy out there. No matter what you do, you feel it’s going to work."

Pierce added: “To tell you the truth, I feel like I’m in the zone every game, no matter if I’m making shots or missing shots. I feel like every shot I take is going to go in.”

Despite being a prolific scorer, points were never that big a deal to Pierce. He was all about winning games.

"It doesn't matter to me, scoring big," Pierce told the Associated Press in 2001. "I'm just trying to play as hard as I can and win. If I am going, I am capable of putting up huge numbers. But I just want to win." 

In 19 seasons with Boston, Brooklyn, Washington, and the Los Angeles Clippers, Pierce averaged 19.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.3 steals and 34.2 minutes in 1,343 games (1,285 starts). He shot 44.5 percent from the field, 36.8 percent from three-point range and 80.6 percent at the charity stripe. He ended the 2016-17 season as the only active player with at least 25,000 career points, 7,000 rebounds and 4,500 assists.

In 14 playoffs, Pierce averaged 18.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.2 steals in 36.6 minutes per game, while shooting 42.3 percent from the field, 35.5 percent from beyond the arc, and 83.0 percent at the free throw line.

Pierce ranks No. 15 all time in scoring (26,397), No. 15 in games (1,343), No. 15 in minutes (45,880), No. 19 in field goal attempts (19,465), No. 24 in field goals (8,668), No. 4 in three-point field goals (2,143), No. 5 in three-point field goal attempts (5,816), No. 8 in free throws (6,918), No. 12 in free throws attempted (8,578), No. 32 in defensive rebounds (6,435), No. 79 in total rebounds (7,527), No. 69 in assists (4,708), No. 19 in steals (1,752) and No. 60 in points per game (19.7).

According to basketballreference.com, Pierce earned a whopping $197,024,552 during his spectacular career.

After all his greatness, after all his resounding success, after all his hardwood magic, Pierce remains grateful he unexpectedly slipped to the No. 10 pick to Boston on draft night on June 24, 1998, where he made all of his professional dreams come true.

“Certain things happen for a reason,” Pierce told Basketball News in 2002. “My initial thought was that I was disappointed that I slid. Then I thought, 'It happened for a reason.’ Somebody wanted me to be here, and this is the place I want to be.”

***

Basketball was Paul Anthony Pierce’s first love and he grew up watching his hometown Los Angeles Lakers on television while sometimes sneaking into the Forum to watch a game.

“That's the beginning for me, just watching the Lakers and Celtics battling it out in the Finals,'' Pierce once told the LA Daily News. "That was just like the birth of basketball for me. I was a little kid  — 6, 7 years old — just being at my uncle's house, trying to get a seat on the floor to see it. The TV was so small, you just wanted to get a glimpse of it.''

He had two basketball heroes as a youth.

“I admired Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan,” Pierce answered in an an email question on NBA.com in 2001. “Magic I had the chance to watch a lot, when I grew up in Inglewood because the only games we got were the Laker games. So I had the chance to pattern my game a little bit after him. I'm not a point guard, but I tried to be versatile in my game and not limit myself because I was taller than the other kids so I tried to be able to do the other things that the guards and forwards could do.”

And someday in the near future, Pierce will join Magic and Jordan in Springfield, Massachusetts, where the legends live in the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame.

Before he achieved superstardom in the NBA, Pierce made his name at Kansas after becoming a McDonald’s All-American in high school and scoring 28 points in that all-star game, two points shy of tying Jordan’s record.

A consensus first-team All-American at KU after his junior year in 1997-98, Pierce was also the Big Eight Freshman of the Year in 1995-96. The No. 9- leading scorer in KU history with 1,768 points, Pierce is one of just seven Jayhawks to score more than 700 points in a season.

His jersey was retired in Allen Fieldhouse on Jan. 25, 2003.

Pierce averaged 11.9 points as a freshman and 16.3 points during his sophomore year before averaging 20.4 points as a junior while blossoming into an All-American. He became the first Jayhawk to average over 20 points since Danny Manning in 1988.

“My first year, I couldn’t do the things that I do today,” Pierce told The Sporting News in 1998. “We had other great players and there was no need. But I developed because there was a process of learning — learning the system and learning the things I could do.”

And opposing coaches and players couldn’t stop him.

“Paul Pierce is like a silent assassin out there,” then-Texas A&M coach Tony Barone said. “He hangs around, gets an offensive rebound. All of a sudden, he steals the ball and gets a dunk. Then he hits a three-pointer.”

 

Former KU coach Roy Williams loved Pierce’s fiery competitive spirit.

"The bigger the game, the bigger he played," Williams said in an interview for Beyond the Glory.

Ryan Robertson, Pierce’s teammate for three years, was also a true believer.

“Best player I ever played with,” Robertson said in a 2007 interview. “My freshman roommate. Just an absolute hunger for basketball.”

Jo Jo White was an iron man and one of the all-time NBA greats

This next player during the series is the No. 1 former Jayhawk guard to have the best NBA career, and one of only two backcourt players in the top-10. Jo Jo White was one of the all-time NBA greats who is now enshrined in Springfield, Mass., in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame after giving his heart and soul to the game for so many years.

No. 3 Jo Jo White

The No. 9 overall pick in the first round by the Boston Celtics in the 1969 NBA Draft just after legendary Boston center Bill Russell retired, Jo Jo White helped usher in a new era in Beantown while playing 12 seasons in the league and making his name as one of the all-time Celtics and NBA greats. White’s No. 10 jersey was retired and hung from the rafters on April 9, 1982 in Boston Garden, while he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in September 2015, a long overdue wait for the former Jayhawk star.

"I am so honored to be here,” ESPN.com reported White saying at his media conference on Sept. 10, the day before his induction. “I only wish my mother and father were here.

"I absolutely adored playing this game," White added. "I'm so proud to be right here."

The jubilant White, who had brain surgery seven years ago and had to relearn how to talk and walk, had no complaints that this magical and priceless moment took so long.

"I didn't play the game for (individual honors)," White said. "I don't make those decisions. To see them finally get to you, it's like, 'Oh, you're in now.' I don't make those decisions.”

The 6-3 guard, who played his first nine-plus seasons in Boston before finishing up with Golden State and Kansas City in 1981, ranks No. 9 all time in Celtics history in minutes and field goals, No. 8 in field goals attempts and points per game (18.4), No. 7 in assists, No. 10 in points and steals per game, and No. 6 in minutes per game (37.3).

White had a complete offensive and defensive game, and was one of the NBA’s first “iron men,” competing in all 82 games from 1972-77 and also playing over 3,200 minutes each season from 1971-77, where the St. Louis, Mo., native was an All-Star for seven-straight years while finishing in the top-10 in the league in total assists from 1972-77. He also ranked No. 9 in field goals in 1971-72 and No. 8 in 1975-76 and No. 7 in free throw percentage in 1976-77 and No. 6 in 1978-79.

White, who was named first-team All-Rookie and second-team All-NBA in 1974-75 and 1976-77, averaged a career-high 23.1 points per game in 1971-72 (third year in league) and a career-best 6.1 assists per game in 1972-73.

He helped lead the Celtics to the NBA championship in 1974 and 1976 and was MVP of the ‘76 Finals, the crowning moment of his career. White came up with a memorable and thrilling performance against the Phoenix Suns in Game Five, scoring a game-high 33 points, dishing a game-best nine assists in 60 minutes as Boston won, 128-126, in triple overtime.

Many basketball observers claim that to be the greatest game ever played.

“This I would say is frozen in time,” White said on NBA.com during a chat session in 2006. “I happened to be on the floor for 60 minutes of the game. I vividly remember just about every play made during that game.

“I personally would have to say it was one of the greatest games, and I was very happy to be a part of it. It had so many heroes in it. Certainly it was the longest game I'd ever been in, with so many players making so many big shots. It was draining. It was strenuous. You had to reach down for everything you had to pull out a victory. It had all the dramatics that anyone could ask for.”

White said he became extremely tired during the game, but was driven to complete the contest and win.

“Fatigue became a factor. I was tired, but I was conditioned to go the distance, so my thinking was that if I was tired, the other players were close to death. So that gave me motivation to push on, and any athlete worth his salt would want to be on the floor for that game, and I was up to the task.”

White, who competed in 837 games, finished his illustrious career with 14,399 points (17.2 ppg), 4,095 assists (4.9 apg), 3,345 rebounds (4.0 rpg) and 686 steals (1.3) in 35.8 minutes per game (No. 45 all time). White also shot 44.4 percent from the field and 83.4 percent at the free throw line (No. 96 all time).

White, who always came up big in the postseason, played in six playoff series (80 games) and averaged 21.5 points, 5.7 assists, 4.4 rebounds in 42.9 minutes per game.

He also ranks No. 84 all time in 2-point field goals and No. 42 in defensive rating (100.8).

Bill Simmons lists White the No. 95 best player in NBA history in his 2009 “The Book of Basketball.” Simmons cites White’s clutch play in Game Five of the ‘76 Finals, when he hit a big technical at the end of the second overtime, and then the clinching free throws in the third OT, “even though he was so exhausted by that point, he was sitting down on the court when Phoenix shot free throws.

“If your life depended on it, you wanted Jo Jo out there. Period.”

White was a tremendous all-around athlete and was actually also drafted by baseball’s Cincinnati Reds and the NFL's Dallas Cowboys. But he chose to pursue his first love with hoops. White’s former head coach at Boston, Tommy Heinsohn, who was also inducted into the Hall of Fame in September 2015 as a coach, said he was a supreme Celtic.

"I've been a big champion of (White). He should have been in a long time ago," Heinsohn told ESPN.com. "He was a significant player on a very successful (two-time championship team).

"I can still remember him, after the triple-overtime game where he played (60) minutes (of a possible 63), unable to get off the (locker room) floor after the game was over. He truly loved the game. And a lot of people took him for granted. He's one of those guys on the Celtics that was a terrific, terrific player."

Heinsohn was one of just many admirers of White’s during his career. The 1978 Complete Pro Basketball Handbook wrote that former Celtic great Bob Cousy “says (White’s) play selection is almost flawless.”

Before he achieved greatness in the NBA, White was a star at Kansas. A two-time All-American in 1968 and 1969, White was also a three-time All-Big Eight selection and a member of the 1968 gold-medal USA Olympic Team, where he became a national hero.

His jersey was retired in Allen Fieldhouse on Jan. 27, 2003.

He scored a career-high 30 points against Colorado on Feb. 1, 1969 in his KU finale, the 999th win for the Jayhawk program, while finishing his career as the fourth-leading scorer in school history (1,286 points) and the highest among any KU guard.

“He had a truly great game considering the pressure, the occasion, his folks being here and the crowd wanting him to succeed,” KU coach Ted Owens told the Lawrence Journal-World afterwards. “I’ve never been happier for a player, and no player ever deserved such an ovation any more. I pulled him with 12 seconds left to sure he’d get the response he deserved.”

It was a fitting end to a stellar career. 

“Jo Jo White (was) probably the best guard that ever played in the Big Eight,” former and late KU assistant Sam Miranda told me in a November 2000 interview.

White, who was a mid-year high school graduate, came to Kansas without Owens and ace recruiter Miranda actually ever seeing him play.

“He worked out for just one or two days before the big freshmen rivalry game against Kansas State,” Owens wrote in his 2013 book, “At the Hang-Up.”

“It wasn’t very far into the game before we knew we had a tremendous player on our hands. Jo Jo was 6’3” and 190 pounds, and if a coach were going to order a point guard off the Internet (it would’ve been a mail order catalogue back then), the point guard would have looked like Jo Jo. He was such a complete player with great court vision, a calm and confident court presence and the ability to put pressure on the opposition point guard — oh, yeah, and he could shoot it, too.”

White shot, dribbled, passed and defended all the way to the Hall of Fame. His induction speech was prerecorded due to his health problems and shown on the video board. It was an emotional speech which received a huge ovation.

“In May 2010, I was diagnosed with a tumor on my brain,” White said. “The doctor said I wasn’t supposed to be here, but God had other other plan(s), and for this, I am truly, truly grateful. I always tried to be the best. I tried out for the high school JV team. I got cut, so what did I do? I went out for the varsity team and made it. ... I had two great mentors at the University of Kansas, my head coach Ted Owens (he was in attendance at White’s HOF induction) and the team’s assistant coach Sam Miranda. To Sam and Ted, I love you.

“Being drafted by the Boston Celtics was one of the best things to ever happen to me...”

And “one of the best things to ever happen” to the Celtics in Beantown, where his jersey lives in the rafters at TD Garden.

For all time.

Clyde Lovellette was one of NBA's first great big men

This legendary KU big man had some dominant seasons in the NBA, and made his name as a true enforcer who wouldn’t back down from any opponent. Clyde Lovellette is a Hall of Famer and one of the all-time NBA greats, who makes the top-four among former Jayhawks who had the best NBA career.

No. 4 Clyde Lovellette

One of the first great big men in the NBA and also one of the first big guys to venture on the perimeter and showcase a lethal one-handed set shot, the 6-9 Lovellette played 11 seasons in the league with the Minneapolis Lakers, Cincinnati Royals, St. Louis Hawks and Boston Celtics. The Terre Haute, Ind., native, who played for three NBA championship teams with Minneapolis (1954) and Boston (1963,’64), was a four-time All-Star in 1956, ‘57, 1960 and ‘61 (21 points and 10 rebounds in the 1961 game) while inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1988.

The No. 9 overall pick in the first round by Minneapolis in the 1952 NBA Draft, Lovellette’s most productive offensive season came in 1957-58 with Cincinnati, when he averaged 23.4 points while also posting 12.1 rebounds per game. Lovellette, who posted a career-high 14.0 rebounds per game in 1955-56 for Minneapolis when he made All-NBA Second Team, averaged over 20 points in six seasons and also 10-plus rebounds per game in six seasons. He also averaged a double-double in six seasons, including four straight from 1954-58.

Lovellette ranked among the league leaders in several categories, including points per game (1954-58), 2-point field goals (1954-58; No. 1 in 1957-58 with 679), field goal attempts (1954-58), field goal percentage (1953-62), free throw percentage (1958-1961), free throw attempts (1955-56), minutes (1955-58), games (No. 2 with 72 in 1953-54), rebounds per game (1954-58) and player efficiency rating (1954-61).

A true winner who was dubbed “The Terre Haute Terror,” “The Great White Whale” and “The Monster,” Lovellete also competed in 10 playoffs. He exploded for 24.2 points per game for Minneapolis in the 1957 playoffs, averaged 16.5 points and 10.5 rebounds for Cincinnati in 1958, and then 17.6 points and 10.8 rebounds with St. Louis in 1960.

One of the highlights of his career was playing against another Jayhawk legend in Wilt Chamberlain.

“I enjoyed playing against him in the NBA because there was a lot of motivation--mainly I was sorry to see him leave KU after two years,” Lovellette told Mark Stallard in his 2005 book, “Tales from the Jayhawks Hardwood.”

“I didn’t know the circumstances, but I thought it was terrible that he would leave Kansas and not stay his four years. I always kept that in the back of my mind when I got ready to play a game against him, because it made it just a little sweeter if we’d defeat him. ... He couldn’t guard me outside, so I took him outside and shot. Of course, we didn’t have the three-point shot then, but I would have done real well with it. We’d always put Bob Pettit inside or Cliff Hagan inside, and I’d take Wilt outside, and we had a great run with him. I hate to play Bill Russell more than I did Chamberlain. Russell was quicker, a defensive ballplayer. Wilt, I enjoyed playing against him.”

While he only played with the Lakers his first four seasons in the league, Lovellette made an indelible impact. Cody Williams of lakeshowlife.com wrote in 2015 that the former KU All-American ranks as the No. 9 best draft pick in Lakers history.

“With their first-round pick in the 1952 NBA Draft, the then Minneapolis Lakers selected a big man out of Kansas by the name of Clyde Lovellette,” Williams wrote. “Lovellette immediately made an enormous impact on the Lakers organization, helping lead them to a title in 1954 in just his (rookie) season in the league. Lovellette played four seasons with the Lakers and was phenomenal in his time there. The 6-9 forward-center averaged 17.9 points and 11.2 rebounds per game, but it was the mismatches he created in against virtually every opponent.

“Lovellette had the ability to stretch the floor slightly before that was a common thing in the game. As a big man, he could step out and knock down short jumpers away from the rim, meaning that opposing big men would have to play out of position to defend him. Lovellette wasn’t around long with the Lakers as he left after the 1957 season, but he helped bring them to glory upon his arrival and brief tenure with the team. He was a big man uncommon to the era with his versatility at his size. Had he been a Laker for life, he’d certainly have been higher on this list, but his impact still deserves a spot in the Top 10.”

After four years in Minneapolis, the Lakers traded Lovellette to Cincinnati, where he played just one season in 1957-58 before being shipped to St. Louis. He enjoyed four years with the Hawks and playing with two future Hall of Famers in Hagan and Pettit.

While he was known as a very physical, rough and even the dirtiest player in the league, Lovellette also was a great offensively skilled center.

“People forget that Clyde was a very good basketball player,” Hagan told Terry Pluto in his 1992 book, “Tall Tales.”

“He couldn’t move up and down the court very well and he certainly couldn’t jump. But he got a lot of rebounds and had great range on his shot, especially for a center. He meant a lot to my game because his shooting brought the opposing center away from the basket and opened the middle for me.”

Lovellette was sold by St. Louis to the Celtics after the 1961-62 season, where he teamed with Russell. Zelmo Beaty told Pluto the story behind Lovellette leaving the Hawks.

“When I was a rookie, Clyde Lovellette was on the team,” Beaty said. “We had a scrimmage and Clyde hit me in the back. It was a blow that could have cost me my career, because I went face-first into the backboard. I was all right, but Mr. Kerner (Ben, Hawks owner) came running out of the stands screaming at Clyde about trying to hurt his No. 1 draft choice. Within a week, Mr. Kerner traded Clyde to create a spot for me.”

That worked out fine for Lovellette, who added two more championships with Boston. He was a player who certainly made a legendary name in the league.

“In short, Clyde Edward Lovellette is basketball royalty of the highest order,” Michael McClellan of Celtic Nation wrote in 2005.

“My strength was I could shoot, I was strong, I was not going to be intimidated and I was so mean,” Lovellette told the Star Tribune in 1987. “I caused a lot of controversy as far as roughness goes. I took my lumps and gave them.”

He played in 704 games while scoring 11,947 points (17.0 ppg) and grabbing 6,663 rebounds (9.5 rpg). Lovellete, who also dished out 1,097 assists, shot 44.3 percent from the field and 75.7 percent at the free throw line.

That career 9.5 rebounds per game ranks No. 62 in NBA history, while Lovellete’s 21.6 player efficiency rating ranks No. 40 in NBA annals.

He died of cancer in 2016 at age 86. Jeannie Buss, the Lakers’ co-owner at the time (now controlling owner), expressed her sentiments to the Star Tribune over what Lovellette meant to the franchise (Minneapolis departed for Los Angeles after the 1959-60 season).

“Clyde was a link to our early years in Minnesota, and a key member of the 1954 championship team,” Buss said. “We’re proud that he was a Laker, and his passing is a sad day for our organization.”

The first basketball player in history to play on an NCAA, Olympics, AAU and NBA championship squad, Lovellette is still the only college player to lead the nation in scoring (28.6 ppg) and win the NCAA title in the same year (1952), where he earned MOP honors and scored a then-NCAA record 141 points during the tournament. He was named the Helms College Player of the Year.

A three-time All-American at KU, Lovellette led the Big Seven in scoring in each of his three seasons and was the leading scorer on the USA’s gold-medal Olympic team in the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland.

His jersey was retired in Allen Fieldhouse on Feb. 15, 1992, while Lovellette was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame on Nov. 19, 2012.

“There are too many people to thank for being enshrined in the Hall of Fame,” Lovellette said during his induction. “It’s always an honor to be inducted to a Hall of Fame. It’s always great to be represented in basketball. That’s been my life ever since I could bounce the ball. Playing for a great coach like Phog Allen and being with a group of guys like Bill Lienhard, Bill Hougland and Bob Kenney, those are the people that really make the team. Without a staff around you, I wouldn’t be here. I don’t believe one man can win any ball games. They can have a big impact, but the other four men that are with him, that’s where you develop team play, camaraderie and the real togetherness to win a ball game.”

Lienhard told me during a 2000 interview that KU became a championship team in 1952 once Lovellette became a more team-oriented player. The Jayhawks finished just 16-8 the previous season before transforming into a team for the ages in 1952 with a stunning 28-3 record.

“I think they (coaches) finally convinced Clyde that he had to play team ball and pass the ball to the other players,” Lienhard said. “When he started doing that and when we started working really as a team, it made a big difference. We finally jelled. ... It paid off for him, because when he started throwing the ball to the other players, the defenders couldn’t stay on him all the time.  They had to guard somebody else.”

And Lovellete became completely unstoppable with his deadly hook shot.

“I started out with a good hook and then I had a good one-handed shot,” Lovellette said. “The hook shot has sort of gone away because not many people play with their back to the basket anymore. They’re big enough and moving quicker. They’re out there in front where they can see the basket. I shot my shot with my back to the basket, so I couldn’t see the basket. You had to have that touch and distance. It just came natural.”

Bill Bridges was a three-time NBA All-Star and explosive rebounder and double-double machine

I am finally down to the top-five former Jayhawks who had the best NBA career. This player easily deserves recognition at the No. 5 spot, one of the great rebounders in not only KU history, but also NBA annals. Bill Bridges was a true warrior who made a huge impact on the game.

No. 5 Bill Bridges

A rugged, relentless rebounder and double-double machine, this undersized 6-6 power forward was all passion and heart when it came to crashing the glass. Bill Bridges, who played for the love of the game, had a very memorable 13-year NBA career from 1963-75 for the St. Louis/Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors.

Amazingly, Bridges ranks with Wilt Chamberlain as the the only former Jayhawks to average a career double-double in the NBA. Bridges accomplished this rare feat with 11.9 points (11,012) and 11.9 rebounds (11,054) per game. Bridges, who also averaged 2.8 assists, made three All-Star appearances in 1967 and ‘68 with St. Louis, and in 1970 with Atlanta, highlighted with a 15-point, seven-rebound performance in 21 minutes during the 1968 game.

A third-round draft pick (No. 32 overall) by the Chicago Packers (now the Washington Wizards), Bridges ranks No. 27 in NBA history in career rebounds and No. 17 in career rebound average, while listed No. 25 in career playoff rebounds with 1,305 boards in 113 games. He finished in the top-10 in rebounding during seven seasons, while ranking in the top-10 in minutes during three campaigns (1966-67, 1967-68, 1969-70).

Bridges, who is second behind Chamberlain among former Jayhawks in all-time NBA rebounding and sixth in career scoring, was a consistent player who averaged a double-double for nine-straight seasons from 1964 to 1973. His best year statistically came in 1966-67, when Bridges averaged career highs in points (17.4 ppg) and rebounds (15.1).

Bridges, who made the All-NBA Defensive Second Team in 1968-69 and 1969-70, was also a workhorse who played in at least 78 games for 10-straight seasons from 1963-73. Four times, he played in all 82 games.

Wait, there’s more. Bridges played over 40 minutes per game in five different playoffs, where he shined in the postseason. He averaged 20.3 points and 14.9 rebounds in the playoffs in 1966, 15.7 points and 18.8 rebounds in 1967, and 9.8 points and a whopping 20.8 rebounds in 1971.

His numbers decreased the last two seasons of his career, and Bridges was waived by Los Angeles during his last campaign on Dec. 6, 1974 before Golden State signed him on March 1, 1975 for the stretch run. Bridges played 15 games for the Warriors during the regular season and 14 contests in the playoffs while winning his first NBA championship, a most fitting end to a remarkable and magical career.

Bridges played in 926 games while shooting 44.2 percent from the field and 69.3 percent at the free throw line in 33.3 minutes per contest.

After his KU career ended in 1961, Bridges began his professional career with the Kansas City Steers in the American Basketball League (ABL). He played 1 1/2 seasons with the Steers before the league folded. However, Bridges was a star who won a championship and led the ABL in rebounding both seasons while pacing the league in scoring (29.2 ppg) during his second year. He established the ABL single-game scoring record with 55 points on Dec. 9, 1962.

Kansas City native and future Jayhawk standout Ron Franz (1964-67) used to follow those Steers’ games closely and viewed Bridges as a hero.

“He was pretty unique in the fact for his size, he was probably one of the toughest rebounders,” Franz once told me. “He played in the NBA for quite a few years. I guess if anybody that I would recall or remember or think about in that particular time frame, it probably would have been him because I did go to the old Kansas City Steers’ game. He was an interesting player.”

A Hobbs, New Mexico, native, Bridges first made his mark at Kansas, where he was a three-time All-Conference pick and an All-American his senior season in 1961 after averaging 16.1 points and 14.1 rebounds (third-best single-season average in school history). He became the first player in a Big Six-Seven-Eight career to score more than 1,000 points (1,028) and grab more than 1,000 rebounds (1,081) in just 78 games, while his 580 boards in conference games is still a record.

Moreover, Bridges holds the Kansas record for most rebounds in a three-year career. Bridges, who grabbed 30 rebounds versus Northwestern on Dec. 3, 1960 (third best at KU for single game and most by a senior), averaged a double-double every season at KU and left his mark with a 13.2 scoring average and a 13.9 rebound average (No. 2 in school annals behind Chamberlain). 

Forty-three years after he ended his tremendous collegiate career, Bridges’ No. 32 jersey was retired in Allen Fieldhouse on Dec. 9, 2004.

The Lawrence Journal-World reported on that historic event.

“I feel I belong here,” Bridges told the crowd during his speech. “It’s always been a privilege to be a Jayhawk. People come up to me and Jayhawks have great name value. To have my jersey retired in this place, it’s an honor.”

He died on Sept. 25, 2015 in Santa Monica, California, at age 76 after a prolonged battle with cancer. A moment of silence was given to him during Late Night in Allen Fieldhouse a few weeks later on Oct. 9.

Bridges always took great pride in rebounding.

"I maintain there's nothing you can do to create that kind of player. It's an art form," Bridges told the Journal-World in 2004. "You learn to anticipate situations and make it happen. You've got to want it."

Ted Owens, who was an assistant under Dick Harp when Bridges played at KU, said the former Jayhawk All-American was an exceptional rebounder.

“He was truly one of our greatest players. He was the finest rebounder for his size of anybody I’ve ever seen,” Owens told the Journal World on Oct. 8, 2015. “He taught me a lot about rebounding. He had an incredible career in the NBA, winning the championship with Rick Barry and that bunch.”

Former KU standout Al Donaghue also had great respect and praise for Bridges. The two were teammates for two seasons (1958-60) as KU won the conference championship in 1960 with Bridges and Wayne Hightower leading the attack.

“Bridges was probably the most intense rebounder I’ve ever met in my entire life,” the late Donaghue once told me. “He was just animal. I use that as a lovable form. He was just great on the court as an intense rebounder.”

Donaghue had the great fortune to also team with Chamberlain during the 1957-58 season.

“It was interesting to play with them,” Donaghue said about Wilt and Bridges. “It was a real treat to battle against them in practice. They made you better.”

Bridges truly blossomed under Harp after arriving at KU as a raw prospect. The late Al Correll, who teamed with Bridges, spoke about the New Mexico native in Max Falkenstien and Doug Vance’s 1996 book, “Max and the Jayhawks: 50 years on and off the air with KU Sports.”

“Bill is probably the strongest non-athletic person I’ve ever known,” Correll said. “He had the biggest hands I’ve ever seen. He had no other thought on the floor but go get the ball. He knocked me out about three times with his elbows. He was so brutal under the basket. People want to talk about coach Harp and his coaching ability ... let me tell you ... Bill Bridges couldn’t have made my high school team. Coach Harp made Bill Bridges. There is no question in my mind. From what he learned from coach Harp, Bill was able to play at the pro level for a very long time. He worked with him every day on basic fundamentals. What a strong man Bill Bridges was. What a fighter. I doubt if you could find anyone that worked harder.”

Bridges was so strong he helped shatter a backboard in the NBA playing for the Hawks. In Terry Pluto’s 1992 book, “Tall Tales,” former player Rudy LaRusso related this funny story from official Richie Powers.

“Bill Bridges drove to the basket on Gus Johnson of Baltimore,” LaRusso said. “Bridges went up for the dunk, slammed it through and Johnson came down on Bridges’ back. The force of those two guys hitting the backboard caused the whole thing to shatter. Now, there’s glass everywhere, absolute chaos. Then Kerner (Ben, flamboyant Hawks’ owner) came running out of the stands screaming, ‘It’s a three-point play. Richie, he got fouled, it’s a three-point play.’”

Bridges, who certainly made a lot of great plays during his career, will best be remembered by his relentless work ethic, rebounding, and the grace he carried himself.

He was, quite simply, a gentle person off the hardwood who touched countless lives.

“Bill was a great person, an incredible person, one of the nicest people you’d ever want to meet. He was a wonderful man with a great, sweet spirit about him,” Owens said.

Danny Manning persevered through three ACL surgeries while having an impressive 15-year NBA career

I am now down to the No. 6 former Jayhawk who had the best NBA career. This KU legend would have certainly ranked higher had he not undergone three ACL surgeries during his 15 years in the league. Still, Danny Manning persevered through adversity and had a great career. Hall of Famer and TV analyst Bill Walton once called Manning “one of the most graceful players of our era.”

No. 6 Danny Manning

In just Danny Manning’s freshman season at Kansas, his coach Larry Brown destined the phenom for immortality.

“He’s the most complete young player I have ever seen,” Brown said. “He’ll be the best."

"This kid has the chance to be thought of in light of the best when his career is over," Brown added. "He is unlike any player I've ever been around."

The hosannas and rave reviews kept coming during Manning’s career as scouts believed he would revolutionize the forward position in the NBA. While a sophomore, Manning graced the cover of Sports Illustrated.

“He does more than anybody since Bird and Magic,” Indiana Pacers scout Tom Newell told SI. "When he's 24, 25, people will just sit back and marvel at this guy. He's a whole new concept in basketball."

After Manning finished his magical KU career by scoring 2,951 points (No. 6 all time in NCAA history at the time and currently No. 10) and leading the underdog Jayhawks to the national championship in a thrilling 83-79 win over Oklahoma, NBA general managers salivated over winning the rights to the No. 1 pick in the lottery and selecting this prodigy.

Christmas came early for Los Angeles Clippers GM Elgin Baylor as the woeful franchise won the top pick on May 21, 1988. Baylor was overwhelmed with jubilation on national television and proudly held up a Clippers’ jersey with Manning’s name and his No. 25 on the back.

"This is the happiest moment I've had since I've been associated with basketball,” the Hall of Famer Baylor told the Los Angeles Times. “It's a great moment for the L.A. Clippers. My prayers worked. I had everyone praying every day and night. This is terrific."

The Clips, who last made the playoffs in 1976 and had the league’s worst record the past two seasons, were in dire need of a difference maker.

Team president Alan Rothenberg got his greatest prize.

“This is a wonderful day in our history," Rothenberg said. "Maybe the gods of fortune are finally starting to smile on us after all the bad luck we've had. Last night, my wife and I opened an entire bag of fortune cookies, and there was nothing good until the last one. It read: 'Your fondest wish will come true.' "

Manning’s agent Ron Grinker was prepared to shoot for the moon regarding his client by seeking a $35-million contract, the richest rookie deal of all time.

"The only thing I can assure you is that Danny Manning won't consider anything less than either (Patrick) Ewing (the No. 1 pick in the 1985 Draft signed a $33.5-million-10 year deal with the New York Knicks) or (David) Robinson (he signed a $26-million, 10-year contract last season as the No. 1 pick in the draft) got," Grinker said.  

"Danny Manning is the most unique player to come into the NBA because he can play five positions like (Boston Celtics star) Larry Bird. Danny Manning carried a very ordinary Kansas team to a championship."

Manning, who played on the bronze-medal 1988 Olympic team, ended up signing a five-year, $10.5 million contract.

With all the hype surrounding him, Manning’s NBA fortunes came crashing down after 26 games into his rookie year when he tore his ACL, one of three blown knees he would suffer during his 15-year career. Manning started 18 of 26 games for coach Mike Schuler that shortened first season and averaged 16.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.0 blocks per game.

“The doctors told us that he would never play again and that his career was over,” Manning’s wife, Julie, told Jazz HomeCourt Magazine in 2001.

Manning didn’t listen to the naysayers and eventually became a two-time All-Star with Los Angeles in 1993 (he became the Clips’ first All-Star since Marques Johnson in 1986) and ‘94. The 6-10 forward had a career year in '93 when he averaged 22.8 points per game (No. 10 in NBA) and set a franchise record for total points (1,800) while leading the Clippers to the playoffs for the second-straight season.

He had, quite simply, become all the rage in the NBA and helped rescue a downtrodden franchise, which had missed the playoffs for 16 years. Manning was also reunited with Brown, who became L.A.'s head coach from 1992-93 while pointing the offense towards his former college star.

“(Manning’s) the closest thing in this league to Magic Johnson,” New York Knicks coach Pat Riley said at the time.

While Manning was posting the best numbers of his career under Brown, it was a rocky reunion. Manning, a sensitive young man, found it difficult to play for Brown a second time and deal with his harsh and demanding coaching style. Ralph Lawler, the Clippers’ longtime TV and radio voice, wrote on the Clips’ website in 2011 about the frustration of both Manning and Brown:

“(Brown’s) reunion with Manning was fraught with problems. The coach was originally more excited about it than the player, and by late in that first season, neither was very happy. The Clippers lost to the Bulls in Chicago in early April. The club bussed to Milwaukee that night for a game two nights later against the Bucks. Brown and Manning lit up the late night lobby of the Pfister Hotel with a loud, nose-to-nose exchange of expletives. The team managed to win five of its final eight games despite the nervous tension that hung over them. The seeds for discontent the following season had been sown.

“During his second season, the coach worked feverously to trade Manning, who was clearly his best player. The details get a little murky here, but the frustrated coach reportedly offered his resignation in mid-season but then agreed to finish the year. The resignation was apparently accepted and then terms of a new deal were discussed, but never finalized. At any rate, Larry Brown was gone at season’s end.”

Yes, Brown resigned after the 1992-93 season, and after Manning’s second-straight All-Star appearance in 1994, Los Angeles traded their all-time leading scorer to the Atlanta Hawks on Feb. 24 of that year for “The Human Highlight Film” Dominique Wilkins since the Clippers knew they would lose Manning in free agency.

Manning led the top-seeded Hawks to the playoffs and averaged 20.0 points per game before Atlanta lost in the second round to Brown’s Indiana Pacers.

Seeking a championship contender, Manning then signed with the Phoenix Suns and became the team’s No. 2 option behind Charles Barkley, a role he felt more comfortable with. Manning shined in the Valley of the Sun, averaging 17.9 points and 6.0 rebounds per game while shooting a career-high 54.7 percent from the field (No. 8 in league) and helping lead Phoenix to the best record in the NBA (36-10) before blowing out his right ACL in practice on Feb. 6, 1995.

For Manning, it was heartbreak all over again. And for the Suns, their championship dreams were shattered as they eventually lost in the second round of the playoffs.

Danny Schayes, a player on that Suns’ team, wonders what might have been with Manning in the lineup the remainder of the season.

“I think so,” Schayes replied when I once him asked if Phoenix could have won the NBA title.

“We were a dominant team that year. But those were the breaks of the game. He had a terrific year for us. It’s certainly a shame that it (injury) happened. He was just a key part of our team. He was one of those guys that played every position well. He made everything happen from wherever he was on the court.”

Schayes commented that Manning fit in great with Phoenix's free-flowing offense.

“He was certainly athletic, (but) he was not a guy who relied on his athletic ability to get the job done,” Schayes said. “He was always the guy who thought the game and why he was so good for us is because we played a freelance style, which allowed guys like me and him and Danny Ainge, guys who knew how to play, to really excel together. And those of us who had that same kind of individual style, we could kind of read each other’s thoughts. It was very cool.”

Barkley also loved playing with Manning, one of the most all-around players of his time.

“If you go back and think about his game,” Barkley said, “the biggest advantage he had, he was so versatile. I don’t even know what position (he had). He was one of those guys who didn’t have a position. That’s pretty remarkable to be in that situation. Was he a power forward? Was he a small forward? He was just a very unique player.”

Manning was also a very determined player who returned to the game after that second injury while becoming the first player in NBA history to play again after having reconstructive surgeries on both knees.

He found some of his old form and earned the NBA Sixth Man Award with the Suns in 1998 after averaging 13.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Manning, though, was dealt another cruel blow when he tore his ACL for the third time at the end of the season.

He would never become the same player again, though he played four and a half more seasons with Phoenix, Milwaukee, Utah, Dallas and Detroit.

“He wasn’t ready to quit,” Julie Manning told HomeCourt Magazine. “He was just determined to do it. Besides, basketball is in his blood, he has to do it.”

Manning remarkably played in all 50 games for the Suns in 1998-99 during the lockout season after returning from knee surgery, and again with two aging bad knees, he actually played in all 82 games for the Jazz in 2000-01 for just the second time in his career and his first since the 1991-92 season. 

"After I came off my third ACL, to play 50 games in that 50-game season, that was an accomplishment to me," Manning told the Deseret News in 2001. "The games were so fast in terms of being back-to-back, and right on top of one another." 

He had to be also proud of playing every game with Utah two years later. Manning, who teamed with future Hall of Famers John Stockton and Karl Malone, was an important bench player in the twilight of his career who averaged 7.4 points per game in the regular season and then 9.8 points in the playoffs.

Detroit gave Manning one last opportunity in the NBA when the Pistons signed him in February 2003 to the remainder of the season. Coach Rick Carlisle, who said Manning would have had a Hall of Fame career had he not been hurt, felt fortunate to sign the big man.

“He's been around the league and is one of the smartest players that I have ever come across,'' Carlisle told the Associated Press. “He's the kind of player who can walk in, not knowing anything, and still contribute.''

Manning played 13 games for Detroit and four more in the playoffs, giving a glimpse of his golden days by scoring 17 points in the regular-season finale.

But he knew he gave the game all he had for 15 seasons, and was ready to quit and begin a coaching career. Manning officially retired on Sept. 12, 2003 at age 37. His agent Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports proudly issued a statement.

"It has been a pleasure and a honor to represent Danny Manning,” Bartelstein said. “He exemplifies everything you look for in a professional athlete.”

Manning reflected on his career at NBA.com that day in a chat session with fans. He wrote that his No. 1 highlight “was winning the Sixth Man Award or being named an All-Star. But probably most of all, it was being able to play for so long after three knee surgeries. ... I was blessed with great doctors, medical staff and trainers. It's just a lot of repetition. You want to get your muscles to fire up like they are supposed to. You need a little stubbornness to get through it all.”

He then closed with these sentimental words:

“Thanks to all my friends for having kind words for me. To my wife and two children for their support. And to the fans, the few Danny Manning fans out there (laughs), I really appreciate all your support.”

Manning, who played for seven different teams and in nine playoffs during his career, started 398 of 883 games. He boasts career averages of 14.0 points (12,367), 5.2 rebounds (4,615), 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals in 27.3 minutes per game, while shooting 51.1 percent from the field (No. 82 all time) and 72.9 percent at the free throw line.

During two All-Star games, he played a total of 35 minutes while shooting 9-of-12 from the field (5-of-5 in the 1993 game) and posting 18 points and eight rebounds.

According to basketballreference.com, Manning earned $59,695,666.

His injuries certainly prevented him from becoming the superstar player and Hall of Famer that Brown and scouts predicted, but Manning made an indelible impression on his teammates, coaches, opponents and NBA fans.

“I give him tons of credit, ” Schayes said. “He still had a great career for undergoing three major knee (surgeries). There aren’t many guys that can say that.”

“(That) kind of really curtailed what he could have done,” former NBA player Brad Lohaus added. “We had the same agent so I’ve known Danny for a lot of years, one of the great college basketball players ever and he would have been one of the all-time pros but the knees just don’t hold up.

“He had a great NBA career. Compared to his college career, it kind of takes a back seat. But he’s very special. He was really quick. He’s so big, you don’t realize how quick he was. That’s why he was so good. He could handle the ball at 6-10, shoot the ball, smart player. He had it all.”

Ted Juneau, Manning’s coach at Lawrence High School and a very close friend, greatly admires his former star pupil’s work ethic and how he persevered after all those injuries. Manning is the only NBA player to compete again after having three ACL surgeries.

“No one understands how hard he worked to be as good as he was,” Juneau told me in a 1999 interview. “People don’t understand the amount of work that he put into being a very good player, and the pride he took in doing that. He has pride in everything he does, and I think he’s always going to be successful because he’s very, very competitive. He doesn’t want to lose.  He’s always willing to work very hard to achieve his goals. You blow your knee out three times. I don’t think any of us can really imagine what that’s like. It speaks a lot about courage and a lot about pride and the work it takes and his ability to do that. That’s probably the one thing that amazes me about him.”

A.C. Green, Manning’s former teammate with the Suns, was amazed over Manning as a person and a player.

“Some guys over the years, you just really enjoy being around,” Green told me in 1999. “He’s kind of one of those off the court guys that you can hang out with because he’s real down to earth, a real person. So I’ve always enjoyed being around Danny, and I really enjoyed playing with him on a daily basis because he’s a battler. He’s got a license to battle and likes to go to work and win games. I have nothing but really admiration for Danny.”

Grinker had the utmost respect for him, too. He said in January 1996 that the former KU star gave more to charity than he received in salary (after taxes) the previous season.

“Some people think that’s weird,” Grinker said. “He’s very modest, maybe to a fault.”

Modest and unassuming off the hardwood, Manning was a potent offensive player during his prime in the pros. KU coach Bill Self echoed others when he said Manning would have become one of the all-time NBA greats if not for his injuries.

“Knee injuries prevented him from probably being a 10-time type All-Star,” Self said. “He scored (over 12,000) points as a pro and was never healthy. He would (have gone) down as one of the best.

“But to me, collegiately, he does go down as one of the best. We think of Bird, Jordan or Magic and the greatest players of what they accomplished in the pros, but when you break down what they accomplished in college, Danny’s career is up there with all those guys.”

Manning isn’t one to dwell on the past and what could have been. I asked him in 2008 how he felt about Brown and others once saying he was destined for NBA fame.

“I guess at times they’re nice to hear,” Manning said, “but the bottom line is things happen for a reason. I’m very happy with my career. Everybody has obstacles, everybody has journeys that have different turns. I enjoyed my journey. It’s just time for another phase in my life, which is coaching and moving forward.”

Manning, who completed his third year as Wake Forest head coach and led the Demon Deacons to the NCAA Tournament last March, enjoyed a superlative career at Kansas. A two-time consensus All-American and winner of the Naismith and Wooden Awards his senior season, Manning was also a three-time Big Eight Player of the Year.

He is KU’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder while owning the school record for most points in a single season with 942 his senior year, when he averaged 24.8 points per game. Manning’s jersey was retired in Allen Fieldhouse on Dec. 1, 1992, while he was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame on Nov. 23, 2008.

Manning departed Kansas establishing more than three dozen school, Big Eight and NCAA records. He ranks No. 2 all time among NCAA Tournament scoring leaders behind Elvin Hayes with 328 points, and became the only player since 1974 to win 1988 National Player of the Year and the NCAA Tournament MOP.

Brown, who constantly cajoled and demanded Manning to maximize his potential at Kansas and with the Clippers, believes his former star was one of a kind.

“(He’s) maybe the best example of how our game should be played,” Brown once told the Lawrence Journal-World. “He’s what college athletics is all about. He deserves every single thing he’s gotten.”

Indeed, he does. Manning was honored during the 75th Final Four in 2013 by being named to the All-Time Players Team, one of 15 former college greats selected.

Brown talked more about Manning in 2008 before he was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame.

“He had a great IQ,” Brown said. “He grew up with his dad (Ed), who was a pretty bright basketball player and the ultimate team guy. He taught Danny early on how to respect the game and how to play the right way. For a guy his size, in a lot of ways he played like a guard. 

“Everybody used to compare him to Magic, which is probably the highest compliment you can have. I think when they were doing that, they were talking about the fact how he made players better, just by doing the little things.

“I can’t imagine a college player ever being better than him or accomplishing more than he did,” Brown added. “He’s as good a college player as I ever saw.”

Manning has such fond memories of his collegiate career, especially that magical run the Jayhawks made in the 1988 NCAA Tournament when they came together and won their first title in 36 years.

He was truly dominant and averaged a whopping 27.2 points during those six games.

“There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about winning the national championship at Kansas,” Manning told Deadspin in 2013. “Not a day. Regardless of what I have going on, how traumatic, how upset I am, how disappointed, that always brings a smile to my face.”