Post by Handsome Pete on Jul 6, 2021 19:26:34 GMT -5
By far the biggest mystery box of a draft class we've seen so far in 6.0, the 3013 draft class covers everyone to enter the league from Jesus's birth through the 1955 NBA draft. Outside of Sap, none of us was around for these players' careers, so we can be forgiven if our first reaction was "who?" more than "Hooray!". In shout, we quickly recognized that there are some heavy hitters and sim league legends of past that many basketball diehards and Sporcle regulars might recognize. Guys like Bob Cousy, Paul Arizin, George Mikan, and Dolph Schayes provide enough star power to hang with any other draft class of recent memory.
The real joy of this class comes from not just the star power at the top, but the depth throughout. I can guarantee that no other draft class in 6.0 will have as many real life HOFers to choose from. The number of players inducted in the hall of fame who played all or almost all of their careers before the BAA/NBA's inaugural season in 1946? A whopping 41!!!
Even better, these guys have crazy backstories, played for barnstorming teams both legendary and ridiculous, had some truly laughable proportions compared to modern players, and yet have been deemed worthy of sharing the hall with guys like Michael, Magic and Larry.
After some initial digging when the class was announced, I decided it would be fun to present these guys and some of the career highlights presented on the Naismith HOF website. I hope you enjoy learning about them the way I did, and that some of them might find their way into the draft class alongside the early NBA pioneers.
To make this more digestible, I found it was easiest to group the guys into a few different buckets: Innovators, Black Barnstormers, College standouts, Future Coaching Greats, Interesting Nicknames, and "Big" Men & "Big" Scorers. A lot of guys crossed into multiple categories but I put everyone into one bucket only because it's my article and I do what I want. This first update will cover the first two categories, and I will continue to update this season as I have time to work on it.
So now, for your perusing pleasure, may I present to you:
The real joy of this class comes from not just the star power at the top, but the depth throughout. I can guarantee that no other draft class in 6.0 will have as many real life HOFers to choose from. The number of players inducted in the hall of fame who played all or almost all of their careers before the BAA/NBA's inaugural season in 1946? A whopping 41!!!
Even better, these guys have crazy backstories, played for barnstorming teams both legendary and ridiculous, had some truly laughable proportions compared to modern players, and yet have been deemed worthy of sharing the hall with guys like Michael, Magic and Larry.
After some initial digging when the class was announced, I decided it would be fun to present these guys and some of the career highlights presented on the Naismith HOF website. I hope you enjoy learning about them the way I did, and that some of them might find their way into the draft class alongside the early NBA pioneers.
To make this more digestible, I found it was easiest to group the guys into a few different buckets: Innovators, Black Barnstormers, College standouts, Future Coaching Greats, Interesting Nicknames, and "Big" Men & "Big" Scorers. A lot of guys crossed into multiple categories but I put everyone into one bucket only because it's my article and I do what I want. This first update will cover the first two categories, and I will continue to update this season as I have time to work on it.
So now, for your perusing pleasure, may I present to you:
The Pre-NBA Hall of Fame (Update 1)
Innovators
(from left to right: Dutch Denhert, Hank Luisetti, Ed Wachter, Stretch Murphy, Laddie Gale, Ed Krause, and Nat Holman)
Black Barnstormers
(from left to right: Sweetwater Clifton, Charles Cooper, John Isaacs, Goose Tatum, Zachary Clayton, Pop Gates, Cumberland Posey)
(from left to right: Dutch Denhert, Hank Luisetti, Ed Wachter, Stretch Murphy, Laddie Gale, Ed Krause, and Nat Holman)
Black Barnstormers
(from left to right: Sweetwater Clifton, Charles Cooper, John Isaacs, Goose Tatum, Zachary Clayton, Pop Gates, Cumberland Posey)
