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Pro Wrestling

RAW vs. NITRO Week 2 (9/11/95)

Week 2

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Nitro: 9/11/95
Miami, FL

We’ve got a big name World Title match tonight, Hulk Hogan vs. Lex Luger!

I think it’s awesome that Bischoff put Luger in a Nitro main event immediately. Luger was all over WWF TV just two weeks prior.

This is the go home PPV for Fall Brawl ’95.

Mongo looks ridiculous with glasses.

Bischoff says that Vader has gown AWOL. I think Vader was just fired. Anyway, he’s out of the War Games match.

Sabu vs. Alex Wright

We’re not in ECW are we anymore Sabu?

Sabu takes Wright over the top with a frankensteiner.

Sabu uses a chair as a springboard…but Wright moves and Sabu leg lariats the railing!

Awesome backflip off the top from Wright…which transitions into a German Suplex.

Sabu gets the three on Alex Wright after a top rope victory roll…but Sabu continues the attack and drives Wright through a table!

Alex Wright wins by DQ in 3:58. Ref reverses the decision. Pretty fun 4 minute match with nice spots. Good showing off of Sabu and Wright.

Here comes Ric Flair!

Flair compares himself to Joe Montana and Arn Anderson to Lawrence Taylor. Uh…

Lex Luger comes out to tell Flair “he’s too much” and leaves. Ok?

What an odd segment that was. I mean the interview was fine…but the Luger cameo was what?

Sting vs. VK Wallstreet

Wallstreet is an absolute Million Dollar Man ripoff here.

Bischoff says that “Shawn Michaels beat the big guy with a superkick!” I’m sure Vince McMahon had a heart attack right there. HBK vs. Sid was the main event on RAW…which was taped on August 28th, 1995.

Bischoff says of Wallstreet: “It’s all about power, it’s all about money, and that’s why he’s in WCW”. You think Hogan said that about his contract negotiation?

A very heavy anti-WWF segment here. Bischoff points out Luger was wrestling for the WWF nine days ago but left because he wanted competition. Ouch.

Sting pins Wallstreet in 4:13. Crossbody off the top for the win. Too short for my tastes, but it was fine and the crowd was into it.

Bischoff makes sure that we watch Saturday Night for the debut of Disco Inferno!

Scott Norton vs. Randy Savage

Norton was treated as a big deal early on. No one remembers his debut on the first Nitro…and by this time next year he’d be wrestling Ice Train.

Savage is selling like a million bucks for Norton at least.

Randy Savage pins Scott Norton in 5:39. The Dungeon of Doom hit the ring, and Norton and The Shark bump heads and Shark falls on Norton’s legs. This let’s Savage drop the big elbow for the win. Pretty weird finish. Dungeon of Doom attack Savage as a precursor to War Games. Weird to build up Norton to have him lose right away though.

WCW World Championship: Hulk Hogan© vs. Lex Luger

Hogan does put Luger over like a million bucks here. Well, right until he survives the Torture Rack.

We get the Hulk Up as well. Crowd kinda died during it.

Hulk Hogan wins by DQ in 5:28. Dungeon of Doom ruins this one too. Hogan of course legdropped Luger…so much for putting him over.

Sting and Savage run in, but the DOD don’t attack Luger! Now Hogan doesn’t trust him. This would set up the untruthworthy Luger deal. Sting defends him. How didn’t this lead to the Megapowers vs. Sting and Luger?

Luger will be Vader’s replacement this Sunday! Well, at least that’s what Sting wants. Savage is against him. Hogan, the deciding vote, says yes. Savage is brilliant here.

A solid outing for Nitro again, but I thought some things missed this time around. I liked Sabu vs. Wright…but the reverse decision blows. I don’t think anyone thought Wallstreet was beating Sting…and the announcers decided to use that time to talk about the WWF anyway. Flair’s interview was there. Scott Norton was put over in losing, but he wasn’t really the right guy to draw anyway. Hogan vs. Luger…booked as a dream match and all, went a mere 5 minutes. I feel like they could have cut Sting vs. Wallstreet here. It may have been the best quality match involving a big name, but also the least important.

That being said…we still got a show full of nonstop action, and Hogan put on his working boots for Luger for 4 minutes and 45 seconds. Savage did too. It’s also a good sign that the Nitro rating barely moved…even though it was up against RAW this week.

For the record I am all for Bischoff giving away the RAW results.

TV Rating: 2.4 (-0.1)
Grade: B+

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RAW: 9/11/95
Canton, Ohio

Now that Vince saw what the competition was offering it was time to outshine them and own Monday Nights.

Oh wait…the show is taped.

Yes, taped back in August. Next week’s show is as well. Fun fact that Lex Luger was in a the dark match for this show.

The WWF is coming off a pretty awful Summerslam (a one match care if there ever was one, although The Kid vs. Hakushi was fine too). Now they’ve lost one of their main players, how will Vince respond? Despite a pretty good talent roster, somehow this meant more pushing for Mabel. No idea why.

The main event here is a match that was originally scheduled for Summerslam: HBK vs. Sid for the IC Title. Watching Nitro first though…Bischoff told us how that would turn out.

We have The Bulldog vs. Razor too. Two pretty big matches!

No idea why the WWF went to this terrible intro in 1995…especially when the classic RAW theme outright owned.

Razor Ramon vs. The British Bulldog

The Bulldog just turned heel on Diesel. Ramon just lost the IC title Ladder Match…and also had problems with Dean Douglas.

The Bulldog cutting his hair short was a great look for him.

This has been a solid back and forth contest so far. Good heat for Davey Boy.

Accidental ref bump…leads to Douglas attacking Ramon after Ramon had hit the Razor’s Edge.

Kid makes the save…and takes an awesome bump off the apron!

British Bulldog wins by DQ in 7:10. Kid comes off the top, but misses the Bulldog and hits Razor. Shouldn’t Razor win by DQ? Anyway, pretty good opening segment.

Vince interviews Kid and Razor, and it turns into an argument with Kid and Ramon when Vince says Kid cost Razor the match. Kid says last week (during tennis?) Razor cost him the match. He challenges Razor to a match for next week! He makes sure to point out he beat Razor the first time. Ramon accepts.

Weird poem from Todd Pettengill. Anyway, Yokozuna and Owen vs. Mabel and Mo next week I guess?

The Smokin’ Gunns vs. Rad Radford and The Brooklyn Brawler

No idea who’s winning this one.

Smokin’ Gunns win when Bart Gunn pins The Brawler in 2:46. It was an action packed 3 minutes at least. Did the Gunns ever name that sidewalk slam flying legdrop combo?

Goldust promo. No idea what he’s talking about…but who cares. It owns. References The Undertaker here, interestingly enough. The Goldust character is brilliant.

I like that they use the helicopter stock footage that would appear in The Rock’s 2003 heel titantron.

D.D.S. Isaac Yank’em vs. Scott Taylor

Two Attitude wrestlers here!

Awful chokeslam there. Funny what a long way that move has come for the future Kane.

Yank’em pins Taylor in 2:14. He wins with the DDS…which yes…is a DDT. How many people switched to Savage vs. Norton here?

In Your House hype. All the matches set already it looks like. It doesn’t look too bad!

WWF Intercontinental Championship
Shawn Michaels© vs. Sycho Sid

No one knows how to get a solid match out of Sid like Shawn does.

Shawn makes Sid look amazing here.

Awesome nip up from Sid, which led to a chokeslam.

Shawn Michaels pins Sid in 7:21. Three superkicks…one of them a real superkick, gets Shawn the win. Shawn bumps everywhere for Sid, and it leads to a very good match…even if it’s a bit short.

In retrospect, it’s odd that Vince allowed Shawn to do a striptease in the middle of the ring.

One last backstage interview with Diesel and HBK before we call it a night.

The show had a very good beginning and end, but it’s hard to care about any of that stuff in the middle. Thanks to Nitro, RAW squash matches would begin to be phased out. Unless you thought people were sticking around for The Brooklyn Brawler and Scott Taylor.

That along hurts the show enough. The 5 minute In Your House commercial is bothersome too. Nothing is built up (on RAW at least) yet a whole card is set already? Should I be watching Superstars instead?

Again…the opener and main were good.

TV Rating: 2.5
Grade: B

Weekly Review

Watching Nitro made me feel like WCW had so much talent they had to get in on the show. Watching RAW made me wonder why the WWF didn’t use all their top guys. Now that Nitro set that standard, RAW would have to catch up.

Even though Shawn vs. Sid was the better match in terms quality, Hogan vs. Luger was a huge deal with the WCW World Title on the line and everything. Nitro had an action packed show from top to bottom. RAW had a good start and good ending with stuff no one cared about in the middle.

Plus, Bischoff told you what would happen anyway…

Great start for Nitro ratings wise. First week of competition and they lose by merely 0.1. Not bad at all.

TV Ratings Score: 1-0 RAW

Grade Score: 1-0 Nitro

Pro Wrestling

RAW vs. NITRO Week 1 (9/4/95)

Reviewed 9/3/14

September 1995 Background

The latest…and biggest shot has been fired.

The WWF had been the major player in wrestling for a solid decade at this point. The NWA and WCW were always a distant second place until about 1994. Before then it was the WWF’s big gimmicky promotions against the top tier wrestling of WCW (note, each would have a little of the opposite in them). In 1994 though the tides had changed in a big way. The WWF had moved to becoming a more athletic wrestling show led by Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. WCW signed Hulk Hogan to an insane deal and suddenly looked gimmicky all around (and a lot like the old WWF). WCW would continue to sign away big talent from the WWF through 1994 and 1995, with men such as Hogan, Randy Savage and others all jumping ship.

And for some reason, Vince gave up on the athletic type and went back to the superman big man. 1995 this didn’t work. ”Big Daddy Cool” Diesel turned out to be the worst drawing WWF Champion of all time (not all his fault to be fair). WCW also kept the pressure on, running 10 PPV events in 1995 and forcing Vince to run an “In Your House” event each month. Reviews on the IYH events ranged from mixed to poor. 1995 was just a bad year for the WWF. Bad booking, competition on the way, and stars leaving to WCW.

WCW meanwhile hit some big peaks in 1994 when Hogan showed up. Hogan’s popularity did plateau rather quickly though. But with bigger star power overall (Flair, Sting, Savage, Hogan vs. Michaels, Bret, Diesel) Ted Turner famously asked Eric Bischoff “Hey Eric, what would it take to compete with WWF?” Bischoff joking said Monday Night primetime. And Turner gave it to him. The Monday Night War had begun.

For September, we would see that WCW smartly began on a date that the WWF would be pre-empted. WCW would hit upon some big moments right away and immediately change how each show would be booked.

Note, the show that has the best review the week prior will go first in the post, as insignificant as that actually is.

Week 1

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Nitro: 9/4/95
Minneapolis, MN

It should be pointed out that Nitro debuted at a time where RAW was pre-empted for two weeks. Pretty smart right off the bat.

Nitro intro video is pretty cool even today. Theme is great too.

Very odd that Nitro is coming live from the Mall of America.

Nitro already puts something on that was pretty unique and cool, which is the opening match.

Steve McMichael calls Bobby Heenan “Bobby the Stain” for the whole show. Ugh.

Jushin “Thunder” Liger vs. Flyin’ Brian

Cool cartwheel kick to start. Bischoff on commentary is really pumping Nitro up as something never seen before in big league wrestling.

Pretty bad timing as Jushin Liger climbs up to the top rope and Pillman just stands there and takes the moonsault.

Wooo, surfboard!

Decent high flying stuff from Liger, including a somersault off the apron. Maybe it hasn’t aged great, but it was pretty cool stuff for its time, even if the 1-2-3 Kid was doing just as good stuff.

Pillman gets a perfect dropkick on Liger coming from the top.

Top rope hurricanrana from Liger!

Tornado DDT from Pillman! Maybe it’s just a bunch of spots, but it’s a fun match.

Brian Pillman pins Jushin Liger. Pillman gets a victory roll from the win. A fun little 6 minute match that wouldn’t be great if it was on PPV, but just fine for a TV show. Bischoff went right ahead in trying to get a good start for Nitro with something unique and he succeeded.

Sting promo. He’s gonna lock Flair in the Scorpion!

Hulk Hogan is promoting PASTAMANIA in the Mall of America! He hypes up the WCW Title match later in the show. PASTAMANIA is gonna run wild on Big Bubba brother!

WCW United States Championship
Sting© vs. Ric Flair

I’d almost be upset this wasn’t main eventing, but it makes sense as Hogan is Hogan.

One of the most historic moments in the entire war happens in the first show as Lex Luger walks down the aisle. Luger had just appeared at WWF Summerslam eight nights prior. No one in the WWF locker room knew it was happening. Want to complain about WWF no-competes these days, it was moments like this that caused them. This was absolutely brilliant from Bischoff.

Of course, Sting and Flair give him a look, since that’s who had history with Luger when he left in 1992. Another great thing about this moment is the less is more approach. All Luger did was just walk down the aisle. That was it. Big Luger chants too.

We get some typical Sting-Flair stuff, which is always great. Of course, it’s the shortened version, but that’s okay.

WCW’s star power was pretty much on display here. While the WWF did have big matches on RAW before this, you never really saw two top guys go at it (say, Bret vs. Shawn on RAW). Here, WCW could afford to do Sting vs. Flair since the roster was deep.

Arn Anderson is down here. This was a time that Anderson and Flair were not getting along.

I like how a great wrestler like Ric Flair had a finish that always seemed to get broken.

Sting retains by DQ. Arn Anderson just walks into the ring and breaks up the Figure Four. He proceeds to beat the crap out of Ric Flair. Good match, and it furthered the story for Anderson and Flair. Anderson got a huge reaction.

Scott “Flash” Norton confronts Bischoff, but is cut off by Randy Savage. Fans pop huge for this, I didn’t even remember this Norton moment to be fair. Savage wants to go right now, but it doesn’t happen. Still, really cool and another moment that showed anything could happen.

We get a Sabu hype video! Interesting Sabu didn’t get over in WCW. Probably cause he bought Mr. JL and Alex Wright every week. Still cool though.

We get some WCW Saturday Night hype. Then some Fall Brawl hype!

Michael Wallstreet debut promo. “I’m sure the IRS is going to be watching me real close.” Brilliant!

WCW World Championship
Hulk Hogan© vs. Big Bubba Rogers

Hogan vs. Bossman in 1995! It works though.

Hogan had actually been champion for some 13 months at this point.

We do get the announcement of Savage vs. Norton next week on Nitro! I’m actually excited for that one even though Norton would become a midcard guy.

Hogan looks better here than he did in WWF 1993, if that matters.

Oddly Hogan and the ref exchange words after Hogan gets his hair pulled by the ref. Interesting.

I always wondered how Hogan got away with heel moves like the double elbow foot eye rake deal.

The crowd is actually pretty dead for the Hulk Up.

Hulk Hogan retains by pin. But the pop huge for the pin. By the numbers Hogan match, but the Bossman sold for Hogan like a million bucks. Good main event considering who’s involved.
The Dungeon of Doom run in and attack Hogan…and Lex Luger runs in to fight them off! Hogan and Luger come back to back and nearly come to blows.

Luger challenges Hogan for a WCW World Title match, deriding the WWF in the process. He says some questionably true statements (“I’VE BEATEN WHO YOU’VE BEATEN”) and Hogan gives him credit…then offers him the title shot for next week’s Nitro! Sure, some words went wrong there (“I’ll shake your stinky palm” from Hogan and “you don’t have to wait till next week”, also from Hogan), but the whole segment was really effective.

This show was very good, and EXACTLY what WCW needed to kick off the Monday Night War. Vince probably watched this show and shit his pants, especially when Luger showed up. Now Vince had to go up against Hogan vs. Luger for the WCW Title next week. Serves Vince right for wasting Luger after he didn’t get over as the top guy in 93-94.

Not the best show, but a very good one that showcased a lot of great stuff for WCW. Historically, it’s one of the most important dates in pro wrestling history, and it laid the groundwork for RAWs you even see today, as this would be the end of squash matches against nobodies on Monday Night. Of course…that matters.

TV Rating: 2.5
Grade: A+

Weekly Review

RAW was pre-empted by the US Open and in fact had already taped all of their shows for the next two weeks. Nitro being live each week would put some serious pressure on the WWF to step up their game. The last RAW on August 21st, 1995 had MOM vs. two jobbers, the 1-2-3 Kid vs. The Brooklyn Brawler, The Undertaker vs. Tatanka, Jean-Pierre LaFitte vs. Scott Taylor (a nobody at this point) and Diesel and the British Bulldog vs. MOM. This show had Sting vs. Flair, Pillman vs. Liger and Hogan vs. the former Big Bossman. I mean…which show is the minor leagues again?

Nitro’s rating was also quite impressive. RAW had done (I am missing a source though) mid 2s to low 3s, so for Nitro to put up a rating in that range right off the bat was impressive.

The score remains tied at 0-0 here as there was no heads up battle…but next week will be a bigger story.

TV Ratings Score: 0-0

Grade Score: 0-0

Uncategorized

RDT Reviews Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

Big spoilers here…are you even reading this if you haven’t seen the film. Also, all Star Wars films have to invite comparison to the prequels…because inevitably any discussion of the Star Wars films invites such comparisons.

For years I thought this might have been the weakest Star Wars film of them all. Watching it again though, Return of the Jedi finally gives us the hero we’ve been waiting for in regards to Luke Skywalker and the result is a satisfying conclusion to the original Star Wars trilogy.

We start off right where we left off in Empire Strikes Back, with Luke, Leia, Chewy, Lando, R2 and 3PO heading to Tatooine to save Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt. Return of the Jedi is practically a two part act, with this being the first act. It’s quite an effective act as it establishes that this is now the established, prepared and most importantly confident Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker (despite what Yoda says later) who is ready to take down the Empire. Luke makes pretty quick work of the Hutts (random awesome point, it was cool to see Leia find an opening and take down Jabba herself instead of being rescued). It’s exciting to see Luke as the confident hero as in the previous two installments I wasn’t completely buying it (similar to the popular opinion about Anakin Skywalker becoming Vader in the prequels actually). Here, I buy it. There’s no whining or anything. It is as if the battle and loss to Vader hardened him. I don’t completely buy the path of how he got to this point, but now that he’s here it’s great to see. We tie another loose end as Luke visits Yoda, and Yoda confirms what Vader told Luke about being his father. Overall this is a brilliant first act that I just completely overlooked years ago watching this film.

I do think the film goes slightly downhill the rest of the way. The story is that the Emperor has coming to oversee the creation of the 2nd Death Star. He tells Vader, who unfortunately has been neutered as an amazing bad ass villain here that only together can they convert Luke to the dark side. The Rebels meanwhile have received information about the Death Star that gives them one last shot to destroy the Empire once and for all. Little do they know the Emperor is setting a trap to end the Rebellion once and for all. The second half here breaks up into two parts: Luke’s confrontation with the Emperor and Vader, and the battle on Endor. Before this we get the revelation that Luke and Leia are brother and sister, one of the weakest plot points in the entire saga and something that takes away from Luke a bit. In fact, pretty much everything that happens on Endor is weak and underwhelming (other than “god” C3PO. That was hilarious). The Ewoks taking out the Empire’s best troops takes a huge suspension of disbelief to get behind and I can’t do it, even if the Ewoks are supposed to be warriors. Just compare this conclusion to A New Hope’s and you’ll realize the seriousness is just gone.

But Vader and Luke’s confrontation? It’s great. While yes it is disappointing that Vader isn’t the monster he was in Empire, it is at least understandable here. He’s about to do a face turn (turning into a good guy) and the focus of evil needs to be on the Emperor. Since the Emperor is awesome himself, this is still perfectly fine. We finally get that emotion from Luke Skywalker I’ve waiting three films for when Vader threatens to convert his sister to the Dark Side. While I never once believed that Luke was going to turn, the entire sequence is well done.

There’s a lot of good in Return of the Jedi. It was a lot better than I remembered and tied up a lot of the loose ends from the first two films.

Pros:

+Luke Skywalker finally comes into his own and becomes the hero this franchise was sorely missing.

+A fitting conclusion to the saga. The story tied up quite nicely.

+The Emperor is awesome.

+”God” C3PO is awesome.

Cons:

-While the Emperor is awesome, it was disappointing to see Vader as basically a sidekick.

-95% of what happens on Endor is disappointing and underwhelming.

-Ewoks are terrible.

-The Luke-Leia brother-sister relationship was forced and put a value on the love for one another. I’d be more interested in Vader threatening to turn Luke’s friends to the Darkside as opposed to forcing a sibling narrative.

Overall, very good.

Grade: B+

 

Basketball

Top 100 Basketball Players Ever: #70-#61

#70: Adrian Dantley

top100dantley

Resume

NBA Rookie of the Year: (’77)

All-NBA 2nd Team: 2x (’81, ‘84)

All-NBA Rookie 1st Team: (’77)

NBA All-Star: 6x (’80, ’81, ’82, ’84, ’85, ‘86)

NBA Leader Points: 2x (’81, ’84)

NBA Leader PER: 1x (’84)

NBA Win Shares Leader: 1x (’84)

NBA WS/48 Leader: 1x (’84)

NBA Offensive Rating Leader: 2x (’78, ’84)

NBA Offensive Win Shares Leader: 4x (’81, ’82, ’84, ’86)

NBA Top 10 Points: 5x (’80, ’81, ’82, ’84, ’86)

NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 6x (’78, ’80, ’81, ’82, ’84, ’86)

Career NBA Points: 27th

Career NBA Offensive Rating: 119.8 (8th)

Career NBA Win Shares: 134.2 (30th)

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 66th

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 83rd

It’s easy to look at Dantley’s Advanced Metrics and conclude he’s one of the most underrated players in the history of the game. His Advanced States, especially compared to the player one spot higher than him on this list (and on Slam and Simmons lists as well). Dantley was a great offensive player in an era where offense was rampant. His style wouldn’t translate to today’s game as he was primarily a post-up player at 6’3”. You know how some like to dismiss the 1980s because “everyone was skinny and small”. Well, Dantley would actually be negatively affected by that difference because of the way he played the game.

There’s a second part about Dantley that hurts his ranking considerably. From all accounts he sounds like a bad teammate and someone that coaches and other players just didn’t want on their team. He was traded some five times in his prime (are great players traded that often?) often on 50 cents for the dollar. The Lakers pre-Magic dumped Dantley to Utah for a washed up Spencer Haywood. He’d average more points (28) than Utah had wins that season (24) while the Lakers won the title. Utah would follow with 28 wins the next season and 25 after that. Interestingly in 1983 they would go up to 30 wins…and Dantley only played 22 games that season. It look Dantley’s excellent 1984 season to get Utah to the playoffs finally. Three straight playoff seasons in the 40-45 win range seemed to help Dantley…except Utah sent him away for Kelly Tripucka (a scoring no defense forward) and continued on their 40+ win playoff streak (and better as the Malone-Stockton era began). Dantley got to play for a contender with the Pistons…and then he was traded for Mark Aguirre as he clashed with Isiah. Unsurprisingly, Detroit would win two straight titles. There’s too many negatives here to rank Dantley any higher, but he needs to be given credit for his great offensive numbers.

#69: Alex English

top100english

Resume

All-NBA 2nd Team: 3x (’82, ’83, ‘86)

NBA All-Star: 8x (’82, ’83, ’84, ’85, ’86, ’87, ’88, ‘89)

NBA Leader Points: 2x (’83, ‘86)

NBA Top 10 PER: 3x (’83, ’84, ‘86)

NBA Win Shares Leader: 1x (’84)

NBA Top 10 Offensive Win Shares: 4x (’82, ’83, ’84, ‘86)

Career NBA Points: 17th

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 65th

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 82nd

English was a lot more consistent than Dantley and his teams did better as well. Sure, it’s luck that English had less talent around him, but a big part of that is their attitude and being able to co-exist with their teammates and coaches. English was often part of one of the more potent offensive teams in the league: the 80s Nuggets.

English had a lot more success than Dantley as well, leading the Nuggets to the Western Conference Championship against the Lakers in ’85. In terms of pure statistics, English would be Carmelo Anthony’s end of career projection…although English has done better in the playoffs than Anthony.

#68: Bob Mcadoo

top100mcadoo

Resume

NBA MVP: 1x (’75)

NBA Rookie of the Year: (’73)

All-NBA 1st Team: 1x (’75)

All-NBA 2nd Team: 1x (‘74)

All-NBA Rookie 1st Team: (’73)

NBA All-Star: 5x (’74, ’75, ’76, ’77, ‘78)

NBA Leader Points: 3x (’74, ’75, ‘76)

NBA Rebounds Leader: 1x (’75)

NBA Win Shares Leader: 1x (’75)

NBA WS/48 Leader: 1x (’75)

NBA Offensive Win Shares Leader: 2x (’74, ‘75)

NBA Top 10 Points: 5x (’74, ’75, ’76, ’77, ‘78)

NBA Top 10 Rebounds: (’74, ’75, ’76, ’77, ‘78)

NBA Top 10 Blocks: (’74, ’75, ’76)

NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 4x (’74, ’75, ’76, ‘78)

Role Player for two NBA Champions: (’82 Lakers, ’85 Lakers)

Role Player for one Runner-Up: (’84 Lakers)

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 61st

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 46th

For a three year stretch, Bob McAdoo was the 2nd best player in the league behind Kareem. Interestingly his play fell off after injuries and he was never the same after 1978. McAdoo gets a bit of a bonus over other offense only players for two reasons: his MVP Award and his success as a role player on the Lakers in the 1980s.

McAdoo was simply unlucky. If he was able to play at full strength in the early 1980s he probably would have been a force.

#67: Tom Heinsohn

top100heihnson

Resume

NBA Rookie of the Year: (’57)

All-NBA 2nd Team: 4x (’61, ’62, ’63, ’64)

NBA All-Star: 6x (’57, ’61, ’62, ’63, ’64, ‘65)

NBA Top 10 Points: 1x (’60)

NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 1x (’62)

NBA Top 10 WS/48: 1x (’62)

NBA Top 10 Defensive Win Shares: 9x (’57, ’58, ’59, ’60, ’61, ’62, ’63, ’64, ‘65)

Either the 3rd or 4th Best Player on Eight Championship Teams: (’57 Celtics, ’59 Celtics, ’60 Celtics, ’61 Celtics, ’62 Celtics, ’63 Celtics, ’64 Celtics, ’65 Celtics)

Either the 3rd or 4th Best Player on one Runner Up: (’58 Celtics)

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 57th

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 68th

One of the primary exhibits in the “Russell played with a billion Hall of Famers” argument. In terms of what Simmons wrote about him, he sounds like this generations Manu Ginobili in regards to being someone who seems to be a great chemistry guy…but once in a while goes against the grain (which is why Pop gets on Manu…and apparently Auerbach got on Heinshon).

I don’t see how I can put him any higher. He was a big part of the Celtics dynasty with a bunch of all NBA 2nd Teams during the reign. Tough call. Russell thinks that he would be better than Bob Pettit if he had his head always in the game (we haven’t reached Pettit on this list yet). That’s pretty high praise, although it’s coming from a teammate. I’ll just go with a very good player that added to a great team and won a lot of titles.

#66: Tiny Archibald

top100archibald

Resume

All-NBA 1st Team: 3x (’73, ’75, ’76)

All-NBA 2nd Team: 2x (’72, ‘81)

NBA All-Star Game MVP: 1x (’81)

NBA All-Star: 6x (’73, ’75, ’76, ’80, ’81, ‘82)

NBA Points Leader: 1x (’73)

NBA Assists Leader: 1x (’73)

Only player to lead NBA in Points and Assists in same season.

NBA Top 3 Points: 4x (’72, ’73 ’75, ’76)

NBA Top 10 Assists: 7x (’71, ’72, ’73, ’75, ’76, ’80, ’81)

NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 3x (’72, ’73, ’75)

NBA Top 2 Offensive Win Shares: 3x (’72, ’73, ’75)

NBA Top 10 PER: 4x (’72, ’73, ’75, ’76)

NBA Career Assists: 21st

Starter for one Champion: 1981 Celtics

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 60th

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 52nd

Famously known for his 1973 season, where he lead the league in points and assists (and didn’t win MVP). While it’s an amazing feat and definitely notable, Tiny’s Kings were only 36-46 that year. Tiny gets a bonus because, like McAdoo, he was an excellent top player (the prototype for 2008 Chris Paul) early on and then his career went downhill. Only Tiny was still a very good player on his late Celtic years and even snagged an All-Star Game MVP.

His presence mattered a lot for those early 80s Celtic teams. The Celtics in 1982 had an 18 game winning streak that season and looked posed to at least make the Finals for the 2nd straight year. Tiny went down, and so did the Celtics.

#65: Pau Gasol

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Resume

NBA Rookie of the Year: (’02)

All-NBA 2nd Team: 2x (’11, ‘15)

All-NBA 3rd Team: 2x (’09, ’10)

All-NBA Rookie 1st Team: (’02)

NBA All-Star Game MVP: 1x (’81)

NBA All-Star: 5x (’06, ’09, ’10, ’11, ‘15)

NBA Top 10 Rebounds: 4x (’09, ’10, ’11, ‘15)

NBA Top 10 Blocks: 3x (’02, ’06, ’15)

NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 5x (’09, ’10, ’11, ’12, ‘15)

NBA Top 5 WS/48: 3x (’09, ’10, ’11)

NBA Top 10 Offensive Win Shares: 2x (’09, ‘11)

NBA Top 10 Defensive Win Shares: 3x (’06, ’11, ’15)

NBA Top 10 PER: 2x (’07, ‘10)

NBA Career Blocks: 28th

2nd Best Player on Two Champions: 2009 Lakers, 2010 Lakers

2nd Best Player on One Runner Up: 2008 Lakers

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): Not Ranked

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 96th

It’s easy to look at Gasol’s All-NBA Teams and not be impressed. It’s just as easy to forget that he played his entire career in the same league with Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and Dirk Nowitzki. He was THE reason that the Memphis Grizzlies gained any relevance whatsoever, and was quite unlucky early on in his career as the Grizzlies had a 50-50 shot at the #1 pick in the 2003 draft (LeBron). Gasol and LeBron playing with one another in their early years would have been absolutely ridiculous and is one of the great What-Ifs of all time.

Why is Gasol this high? For one he’s one of the few players who could happily co-exist as Kobe Bryant’s 2nd banana. Gasol thrived in the role and arguably became the top big man in the league from 2009 through 2011 (it’s forgotten now, but Kobe had a slow start in 2010 and everyone stated that Gasol was the best player on the team at that point, as well as a top 5 guy). It should be noted that post-Shaq Kobe never won a playoff series without Gasol. That’s shows Gasol’s importance. And then there is this. When the Lakers got Gasol for “nothing” (Marc Gasol turned out to be pretty good) the entire league, especially Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich started a shitstorm over it. Great coaches like Pop don’t complain unless the player involved is great. And even at that point, he knew Pau Gasol was great.

His 2015 resurgence in Chicago only helped his case. Also helping Gasol is obviously his ridiculous Advanced Metrics during the Laker title runs, as well as the fact that he was a better defensive player than anyone gave him credit for.

#64: Reggie Miller

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Resume

All-NBA 3rd Team: 3x (’95, ’96, ‘98)

NBA All-Star: 5x (’90, ’95, ’96, ’98, ‘00)

NBA Top 10 Points: 3x (’90, ’91, ’97)

NBA 3PTFG Leader: 2x (’93, ’97)

NBA Offensive Rating Leader: 3x (’91, ’93, ’94)

NBA Top 10 Offensive Rating: 14x (’90, ’91, ’92, ’93, ’94, ’95, ’97, ’98, ’99, ’00, ’01, ’02, ’03, ’04)

NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 7x (’90, ’91, ’93, ’94, ’95, ’97, ‘98)

NBA Top 10 WS/48: 5x (’91, ’94, ’95, ’97, ‘98)

NBA Top 10 Offensive Win Shares: 11x (’90, ’91, ’92, ’93, ’94, ’95, ’96, ’97, ’98, ’99, ‘00)

NBA Career Points: 18th

NBA Career 3PFG: 2nd

NBA Career Win Shares: 14th

NBA Career WS/48: 45th

NBA Career Offensive Win Shares: 7th

NBA Career Offensive Rating: 2nd

Best Player on One Runner Up: 2000 Pacers

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 63rd

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 54th

Reggie Miller is the perfect example of two things. Number one, he did one thing great (outside shooting that complimented his overall offense) and didn’t try to so anything he couldn’t. That thing was so transcendent that it offset the fact he wasn’t a good defensive player, wasn’t a good passer, or really wasn’t a good much of anything. Since Miller’s three pointer and outside shooting was so great though, he ended up being perhaps the most efficient offensive player in NBA History. This ties into #2. In the 90s, no one was talking about advanced metrics or efficiency. Other than his three point shooting, all of his stats appeared rather pedestrian. His peak year he put up a 24-4-4. For the most part he was a 20-3-3 guy. There’s no surprise that he only made a few all-3rd NBA teams when the league was weaker and only made sporadic All-Star game appearances. If he played today, we’d all be raving about how he might be the one of, if not the best offensive player in the game.

His teams did moderately well considering their best players throughout Miller’s first 11 years were Rik Smits (a quality center who didn’t sniff my Top 100), Jalen Rose (never an All-Star), Mark Jackson (a one-time All Star in the late 80s), Dale Davis (one time All-Star), Antonio Davis (a one time All-Star after his time in Indy) and washed up Chris Mullin. His late 90s/2000 teams were well built despite the lack of star power (Rose, Smits, Dale and Antonio Davis, Jackson at least gave tem depth), but it wasn’t exactly a murderers row. It didn’t matter to Miller as he managed to overachieve in the playoffs year in and year out. In 1995 he ripped the Knicks heart out with his famous 8 points in 9 seconds. He would lead the Pacers to a Game 7 loss against the Penny-Shaq Magic (although he didn’t play well in that Game 7). Miller’s Pacers would make the Conference Finals again in 1998 against MJ’s Bulls. This series is the closest Jordan came to losing in any of his six peak years. Miller hit 43% of his three pointers in a tight seven game series (including a winning three in Game 4) as the Pacers just fell short. Miller’s Pacers would make the Conference Finals again in 1999 and reach the NBA Finals in 2000. He almost led the 2002 Pacers to an upset over the 2002 Nets (the eventual Eastern Conference Champions). For someone without the “superstar resume”, Reggie Miller teams seemed to do pretty well. He wasn’t good enough to be the best guy on a title team, but give him on elite guy in his prime and who knows. Just look how close he got in 1998.

#63: Bill Sharman

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Resume

All-NBA 1st Team: 4x (’56, ’57, ’58, ‘59)

All-NBA 2nd Team: 3x (’53, ’55, ‘60)

NBA All-Star: 8x (’53, ’54, ’55, ’56, ’57, ’58, ’59, ‘60)

NBA Top 10 Points: 7x (’53, ’54, ’55, ’56, ’57, ’58, ’59)

NBA Top 10 Assists: 3x (’55, ’56, ‘57)

NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 4x (’53, ’54, ’56, ‘57)

NBA Top 10 Offensive Win Shares: 5x (’53, ’54, ’55, ’56, ’57)

Career Playoff FT%: 1st

Starter on Four NBA Champions: ’57 Celtics, ’59 Celtics, ’60 Celtics, ’61 Celtics

Starter on One Runner ’58 Celtics

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 53rd

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 70th

One of the tougher calls because his prime was in the 50s and he didn’t start winning until Russell showed up. He’s regarded as the first great shooting guard, and the best in the league until Jerry West showed up.  He was the first guy to really hit above 40% from the field consistently and 90% from the FT line. Being a part of multiple championship teams with his resume and the fact that he was the prototype statistically for shooting guards gets him 63rd. It’s a tough ranking to make, but it has to work for now.

#62: Dave DeBusschere

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Resume

All-NBA 2nd Team: 1x (’69)

NBA All Rookie 1st Team: (’63)

NBA All-Defensive 1st Team: 6x (’69, ’70, ’71, ’72, ’73, ’74)

NBA All-Star: 8x (’66, ’67, ’68, ’70, ’71, ’72, ’73, ’74)

NBA Top 10 Rebounds: 3x (’66, ’67, ’68)

NBA Career Rebounds: 40th

3rd Best Player on Two NBA Champions: ’70 Knicks, ’73 Knicks

3rd Best Player on One Runner ’72 Knicks

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 46th

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 76th

In terms of usefulness to a championship team, he’s a superior, tougher 70s version of 2010s Chris Bosh (and enough to get the nod over him despite the 70s thing). Only made six All-Defensive 1st teams because they didn’t start recording them until 1969. Was regarded as perhaps the toughest guy in his era and was a huge reason the Knicks won two championships in the 70s. Was a bit unlucky as well, as DeBusschere regularly took and made shots that would have given him three points ten years later.

#61: Robert Parish

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Resume

All-NBA 2nd Team: 1x (’82)

All-NBA 3rd Team: 1x (’89)

NBA All-Star: 9x (’81, ’82, ’83, ’84, ’85, ’86, ’87, ’90, ’91)

NBA Defensive Rating Leader: 1x (’79)

NBA Top 10 Rebounds: 8x (’79, ’82, ’84, ’86, ’87, ’89, ’90, ’91)

NBA Top 5 Blocks: 3x (’79, ’81, ‘82)

NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 3x (’81, ’83, ’84)

NBA Top 10 Defensive Rating: 7x (’78, ’79, ’81, ’82, ’83, ’84, ’86)

NBA Career Points: 26th

NBA Career Rebounds: 7th

NBA Career Blocks: 10th

NBA Career Games Played: 1st

Starter on Three NBA Champions: ’81 Celtics, ’84 Celtics, ’86 Celtics

Bench Player on One NBA Champion: ’97 Bulls

Starter on Two Runner-Ups: ’85 Celtics, ’87 Celtics

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 59th

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 67th

“Chief” was the reliable, solid big man for the 80s Celtics. Parish’s career is tough to rank as well, considering he was always good to very good but never great. He knew his role for the 80s Celtics team and played accordingly. He shot 54% for every Boston season in the 80s. He provided very good defense year in and year out. He also brought it when it counted, coming up with a 23-19 in Game 7 vs. Milwaukee in 1987, and even put up a throwback performance in Game 5 against Indiana with a 21-8.

His consistency was eerie, putting up a 15-9 twelve times in his career, then getting close to that another three times. You could call him the poor man’s Tim Duncan in that respect.

Pro Wrestling

RDT Reviews Summerslam ’99

WWF Summerslam ‘99
August 22, 1999
Minneapolis, MN

There’s an argument to be made that right here, at this point, we were at the highest level the WWF would ever be. RAW Ratings were out of orbit. PPV buys were huge. The WWF was beating down WCW Nitro so badly Eric Bischoff was weeks away from losing his job. Vince McMahon was only a couple of months away from the WWF going public. Some argued that Stone Cold Steve Austin was a level above what Hulk Hogan was in the 80s. Other WWF stars began to transcend wrestling. The Rock was climbing fast toward megastar status. Mick Foley wrote a New York Times Best Seller. To say the WWF was riding high here was an understatement.

But there were some cracks in the armor as well. Stone Cold’s body had slowly begun to betray him. The Undertaker’s knees were going out on him. Foley’s body was pretty much at the point of done.

Would Summerslam ’99 be a continuation of the dominance the WWF had shown over the last year and a half…or would the wheels begin to fall off here?

The Card

We go over a year and a half of The McMahons screwing Stone Cold to explain why Jesse Ventura is our referee tonight.

Ventura and Triple H go face to face right away in the back. Ventura lays down the law, and HHH says he’ll break every rule.

We get some Y2J after that with ”Harold” Finkel. Jericho was hilarious in his early WWF days.

Intercontinental Championship and European Championship
D’Lo Brown (Both Champs) vs. Jeff Jarrett

Jarrett comes out with Debra and wow at Debra. Jarrett gets awesome heat when he sends Debra to the back…and then D’Lo brings her back out!

I don’t want to spoil it here, but there’s some really smart booking going on. JR on commentary brings up that Jarrett doesn’t want to win by countout when D’Lo was on the outside…just as Debra was looking to help D’Lo up.

The crowd is super hot for D’Lo. Huge reaction on the running powerbomb.

Jeff Jarrett pins D’Lo Brown to win both titles in 7:28. Debra and Jarrett distract the ref…allowing Mark Henry to run in and betray D’Lo with a guitar shot. Jarrett gets the win…and it turns out Debra, Jarrett and Henry were all on the same page! Jarrett would hand the European title to Henry. Fun opener with a good story and a great crowd! Strange how both men wouldn’t have much of a WWF career left. Jarrett would bolt for WCW in two months…D’Lo sadly accidentally paralyzed Droz, and was never the same.

Michael Cole interviews a wooden Edge and Christian. Of course, both would end up being great on the mic.

Tag Team Turmoil

The winner of this would become the #1 Contender to the Tag Team Title.

Edge and Christian begin against The New Brood…Matt and Jeff Hardy.

Something the Attitude Era did was create stars. Matt and Jeff were outright jobbers until 1999.

Fun start, although the match so far is a bit slow considering the four men in the ring.

Screw the start. Edge spears Jeff Hardy by jumping off the barricade just as Jeff was jumping off the other side. What? Matt comes off the top to the outside with a moonsault for good measure.

Christian pins Matt to eliminate the Hardys…and Mideon and Viscera are next. Can’t we just have the Hardys again?

We last saw Viscera at Summerslam when he was Mabel and in the WWF Title match. Crazy how much changed in four years.

I always thought Vis’s spin kick was awesome.

Viscera accidentally avalanches Mideon, then Edge and Christian double dropkick Vis out. Spear to Mideon, and Edge gets the pin. Prince Albert and Droz are next.

Not much here…Edge gets the Downward Spiral for the win. Acolytes, the favorites, are next.

The Hollys come out early, and Bradshaw takes out Christian with the Clothesline From Hell and we get a heel vs. heel finale. What a disappointing finish. I like both teams, but running it with one face team (E and C) means they needed to get to the end.

The Acolytes win when Faarooq pinned Hardcore Holly in 17:27. The Hollys argue and that leads to the spinebuster. This was fun with Edge and Christian…but after that who really cared?

I’m pretty sure the whole Al Snow think jumped the shark when he started talking to other things other than Head.

Road Dogg here…but it’s Y2J time!

Jericho was crazy over. The crowd goes nuts for the countdown.

Jericho wrote in Undisputed that this was his first great segment…and he’s 100% right. Jericho’s absolutely awesome here.

This would lead to Jericho’s WWF debut match at Smackdown…which was a bit of a let down (as was Jericho up to Survivor Series).

Hardcore Championship
Big Bossman© vs. Al Snow

One of the most creative starts to a match…Al Snow jumps up on the set and dives onto Bossman as soon as he goes through the curtain. Nice!

Road Dogg does an on the scene commentary that’s more annoying than not to be honest.

Bossman just grabs a random guy’s crutch to hit Al Snow. That’s a great heel move.

Match goes all the way across the street into a bar. Have to say, this is pretty fun. Maybe I just haven’t seen one of these in a while.

Al Snow pins Bossman to win the title in 7:25. Bossman takes a shot a Road Dogg and Road Dogg responds with a nightstick shot to Bossman to let Snow win the title. For some reason The Blue Meanie and Stevie Richards attack Snow. Hell if I remember why.

Women’s Championship
Ivory© vs. Tori

I think Tori’s pretty bad as a wrestler, so I don’t have high hopes here.

Eat your heart out Cesaro…Ivory with a big swing!

Ivory retains by pin in 4:11. Some weird finish with a flying sitting drop. Ivory tries to disrobe Tori, but Luna makes the save.

Lion’s Den Match
Ken Shamrock vs. Steve Blackman

While I didn’t realize it then, Shamrock being this far down the card should have been a sign that he wasn’t long for the WWF (this was actually his last PPV match).

The Lion’s Den is a UFC style octagon.

I don’t really like the idea of this match. A No DQ match would have been fine.

Ken Shamrock wins by KO in 9:05. A few Kendo Stick shots take Blackman out and the ref counts him out. I didn’t really like this at all. I don’t even remember what else Blackman did until “Head Cheese” in early 2000. If Shamrock was leaving, he should have put Blackman over.

”Love Her or Leave Her”
Shane McMahon vs. Test

Is Test wins, Shane stays out of Test and Stephanie McMahon’s relationship. If Shane wins, Test and Steph break up. No option for “Steph marries HHH instead though”.

Test opens by taking Shane down with tons of aggression. Where was that during the rest of Test’s career?

The Mean Street Posse get their own couch in the crowd! This matters because Test tosses Shane into all three of them which was a pretty funny spot.

Did Shane just bust out a Sky Twist Press? Holy hell!

I believe this was the debut of the flying Shane elbow off the top through the Announcer’s Desk…and it’s pretty awesome. A perfect hit.

Patterson and Brisco come out and own the Posse. Brisco with an awesome street sign shot!

Test pins Shane McMahon in 12:14. I would have bet money after this one that Test was set for multiple World Titles in his future. Somehow…this was the peak of Test. He only went downhill from here. In retrospect, Shane’s “richest backyard wrestler” shtick probably carried this. Nonetheless, this match was really good. In a lame twist, Shane would ignore this stipulation on Smackdown.

World Tag Team Championship
Kane and X-Pac© vs. Big Show and Undertaker

I never really got into the whole Taker controlling Big Show deal when Show chokeslammed Taker through the ring once, but whatever.

I did enjoy the Kane-X-Pac tag team though, if just for Kane’s character development. It gave him something past being Undertaker’s brother…even though it didn’t completely work and ultimately weakened Kane’s character. At least they took a chance and tried.

Lawler with a great line: “I’ll never forgive that idiot X-Pac for taking this monster and making him a human being.” Not a bad point there.

Kane debuts the “road” jersey here, which is a look he should have went with for the rest of his career honestly.

I think it was obvious at the time that Taker and Show were winning…and I think having the Acolytes win earlier was supposed to give fans the idea Kane and Pac were winning.

One of the bigger surprises of the match is Kane playing face in peril. Match is surprisingly working since we have Big Show, Kane and 1999 Undertaker in here.

Undertaker just turned X-Pac into a wishbone. Ouch.

Undertaker and Big Show win the title in 12:00. Big Show actually gets the chokeslam, but Show does a one foot on the chest cover and Taker is livid when Pac kicks out. Taker shows him how it’s done with a Tombstone. So much better than it had any right to be. Multiple stories worked out here concurrently. X-Pac forced a tag late to try to prove he could hang with the three monsters. Undertaker continues to “teach” the Big Show. Well done all around.

Kiss My Ass Match
The Rock vs. Billy Gunn

Billy Gunn brings a”full-sized” lady for the Rock to kiss on the ass when he loses.

Rock is megaover, of course.

The first half of this is pretty dull. Some fighting down the ramp but nothing really inspiring going on.

It does pick up back in the ring, especially with a nice neckbreaker counter from Gunn.

Pretty good set-up for the Fameasser…but the match goes downhill after that.

Gunn brings in the woman, but Rock counters and Gunn’s face goes in her ass. Great.

The Rock pins Gunn in 10:11. Rock Bottom, People’s Elbow. That goodness that’s over. Match was getting kinda good too. Gunn would be back in the midcard with the Outlaws in a few weeks (and was a good guy for some reason again right after this).

WWF Championship – Jesse Ventura is the Special Referee
Stone Cold Steve Austin© vs. Triple H vs. Mankind

There was a pretty convoluted story to even get to this point that had Chyna as the #1 Contender. Less said the better. I don’t even know storyline wise why Mankind was added either, although backstage there were two possible reasons (I’ll get into that later). According to the video, Mankind won it from Chyna. Works I guess. HHH and Mankind then did the pinning one another at the same time deal (which a variation was used for Summerslam 2000 as well) to get our triple threat.

In case anyone was wondering, Stone Cold was still the most over man in wrestling by far. His pop is nuts.

THe early Austin-Mankind partnership is a nice flashback to their tag title run two years prior.

The story begins…HHH whacks Austin in the knee with a chair.

Mick Foley, nutcase that he is, decides to bust out his somersault crack smash off the apron…and he misses. Jeez Mick.

Ventura refuses to count for HHH after HHH uses a chair. Ventura’s a great ref here. As a bonus, Ventura tosses a middling Shane McMahon, and adds the quote “that was for your old man you bastard!”

Mankind wins the title when he pinned Austin in 16:24. HHH gets the Pedigree, but Mankind knocks him away and hits a Double Arm DDT on Austin for the shocking win! HHH proceeds to destroy Austin’s leg with a steel chair. For all intents and purposes, the HHH Era began right here…and the Stone Cold Era as we knew it was over.

Match was really fun all in all. Mankind’s title win is the result of either one or both of these scenarios: Austin didn’t want to job to HHH and/or Ventura wanted to raise the hand of a face at the end. I believe it’s the latter, especially since Austin goes down to HHH at No Mercy ’99 (and No Way Out 2001). HHH would beat Mankind for the title the very next night.

A really up and down PPV, but I definitely enjoyed the ups. I liked the opener. I liked most of the tag turmoil. Jericho was fun. The Hardcore Title match was fun. Test vs. Shane was very good as was the main event. I didn’t care for Shamrock-Blackman or Rock-Gunn though.

Historically, somehow this PPV is forgotten. It’s crazy because again, this is basically where the HHH Era begins and the Austin Era ends. Sure, Austin would still be in the main event until Survivor Series, and his 2000 comeback was entertaining, but Summerslam 1999 was the end of Stone Cold as THE MAN. From each point forward you could either argue The Rock (who’s late surge stole him many Most Popular Wrestler of the Year Awards) or HHH as the man.

Overall, this was still enjoyable.

Final Grade: B

Other (DC, Marvel, Disney etc.)

RDT Reviews Pixels (2015)

Probably big spoilers here…although I will try not to make it too bad

The lead up to Pixels was a roller coaster. When Patrick Jean made the short film Pixels in 2010, it was downright awesome. Old school video games attacking the world? That’s money waiting to be printed. As a result we have a feature film in 2015 of the same name. When I first saw the trailer for Pixels I was agog. The potential was limitless. If this movie succeeded, and really, the idea sells itself, this could open doors to perhaps distributers looking monetize video game franchises into film. What video game fan doesn’t want to see a Nintendo Cinematic Universe? The trailer even looked awesome. We just needed Pixels to succeed. It just had one obstacle: Adam Sandler.

Now I haven’t completely followed Sandler’s career and the last thing I remember seeing him in was 2006’s Click, which I recall enjoying at the time. But critics and movie goers have had enough of Sandler. More recently, Jack and Jill, starring Sandler, was regarded as one of the worst films of all time (I haven’t seen it). So everyone was over Sandler at this point. As the reviews for Pixels came in (the drop of the roller coaster) I feared the worst. 18% on Rotten Tomatoes.  Critically panned everywhere. Calls for Adam Sandler to retire. Nintendo tweeted that fans should go see Pixels and got tons of negative responses. I felt like I needed to see Pixels, mainly because I’m a video gamer.

Truth be told…Pixels gets a bad rap. Don’t get me wrong, there’s some bad (even awful) stuff here…but there was definitely some good as well.

Let’s talk about Sandler’s Sam Brenner. First question: if you were told an actor had to play an underachieving middle aged electronics installer in a film that doesn’t take itself remotely seriously who would you pick? Sandler right? So at least he fits the part. His shtick is tired for sure. Some of his jokes downright missed. But he does occasionally get a good line in and I don’t think he’s terrible at all. He’s just there. If you’re sick of Sandler at this point you probably hate him here. That’s fine.

Kevin James’ President Will Cooper also isn’t great, pretty much because they went with the stupid president path which just dates the film since George W. Bush hasn’t been in office for seven years. But…I will say that I think they also were making fun of potential Presidential candidate Chris Christie here, which again, is merely okay.

For the most part, Peter Dinklage’s Eddie Plant is played so over the top it’s great. Definitely the best character in the film.

Josh Gad’s Ludlow is very hit or miss. It’s more miss, but he does have his moments.

Michelle Monaghan in reviews was referred as one of the bright spots of the film, but her Violet Van Patten wasn’t anything special.

So let’s get to the plot. Back in 1982 there was an Arcade Game contest to which Plant defeated Brenner in the finals where Donkey Kong was played. It was said that the footage from the tournament would be sent to outer space so that life forms perhaps could see intelligence from Earth. Before you claim how ridiculous that idea is, you find a way for aliens to send video games to attack Earth and let me know how much sense it makes. It should be noted that this entire opening sequence is pretty awesome and captures what playing games in arcades was like. We get to the present time where Brenner is hired to install a TV and PS4 for a kid, and they get into a discussion about games and patterns. For some reason the kid goes into his mother’s personal life, and in one of the weaker moments of the film Sandler and the mother, Van Patten, share a moment drinking in a closet. It doesn’t work at all.

We see the first attack on the Island of Guam…by Galaga. It’s a bit of a shame that Galaga isn’t part of the climax later (I think Galaga and Centipede should have been switched) but it’s still pretty cool. The President makes a call to his Colonel, who we find out is Van Patten, and his best friend who happens to be great at video games, Brenner. While there’s another really weak joke attempt during this sequence, Cooper confirms what he thought…that Galaga attacked Guam. Brenner happens to find Ludlow, who’s a conspiracy nut, and Ludlow shows Brenner old 80s footage that’s doctored with alien voices that warns of the next attack. Cooper ignores this, as he believes the press would further laugh at him. Arkanoid attacks India (there’s a scene during this that I thought was at first stupid…but then I laughed realizing if this actually were to happen someone would probably do this…you’ll have to see for yourself), which is another cool sequence. The video games warn the U.S.: they are down 2-0 and if the Video Games get up 3-0, Earth will be destroyed.

From that point it’s up to Brenner and Ludlow to train the military to learn how to fight any classic arcade game…monster (?). But when the time comes, the military is overwhelmed by Centipede before Brenner and Ludlow take over and win. I was surprised at this, as reviews stated that it made no sense that the characters good at the games would actually do the fighting. But, here, the military tried and couldn’t keep up with the patterns…so I can actually by the idea of the gamers coming in and taking over.

We find out what happened to Eddie Plant and he has some funny and not so funny demands in exchange for his help (funny one: no more taxes). His character would provide an interesting twist later in the film that I won’t spoil here. We move onto the Pac-Man battle, which is a pretty awesome sequence and definitely the high point of the film. It logically doesn’t make sense (because Brenner is good at patterns…but he’s the ghost and Pac-Man has no pattern). Of course eventually we get to the finale, which the trailer pretty much gave away. The Donkey Kong sequence is pretty great too though.

Pixels tells a pretty solid story considering the premise, and all of the video games look absolutely great. Some of the running gags do have a pretty good payoff (Ludlow’s dream love, for example), but some aren’t just bad, they’re terrible. I’ll give this one away but for some reason we have Q*Bert peeing himself after being afraid, which was just unnecessary and not funny at all. Most of the comedy misses, and like in this case, misses badly.

But it’s not an 18% film. Definitely better than that. Maybe it’s a straight nostalgia money grab. But at least it pays respect to the great games involved.

 

Pros:

+The video game attackers look incredible, and each scene is awesome.

+Peter Dinklage is the only character that’s funny more often than not.

+Some funny gags.

+Story is better than it has any right to be.

+Opening sequence of the film is well done.

Cons:

-Some really unfunny gags.

-Sandler and James’s time has past.

-Love story is uninspiring and clichéd.

-Can’t stress enough about the unfunny stuff.

-An unfortunate waste of a great idea.

We probably aren’t getting the Nintendo Cinematic Universe out of this unfortunately. But I did have a good time watching, and I guess that’s what counts.

Grade: C+

 

Pro Wrestling

RDT Reviews WWE Summerslam 2008

WWE Summerslam 2008
August 17, 2008
Indianapolis, IN

2008 was shaping up to be a very good year.

Everyone just seemed to be hitting their stride. Triple H had been a solid top face. Edge an amazing heel. Everything didn’t feel booked around John Cena for the first time in years…which also worked wonders for Cena. Chris Jericho and JBL, both coming off huge layoffs and rough comebacks, had gotten back into stride and were entertaining top guys again. Undertaker somehow became one of the best, if not the best worker in the whole promotion. Jeff Hardy was being groomed for the top, although he made some mistakes along the way. CM Punk surprisingly was at the top, at least kind of as he was the World Champion although in the middle of the pack still. Even someone like Mark Henry was suddenly realizing his potential with his strong run as ECW World Champ.

A lot of awesome stuff was happening…and it built up to a pretty good looking Summerslam.

Could WWE keep a good year going?

The Card

We get a promo of the big main event, which is the presumed blow off of the pretty awesome Edge vs. Undertaker feud.

Jeff Hardy vs. MVP

This was still part of Hardy’s “punishment” after getting a wellness strike before Wrestlemania 24 and losing out on his shot at winning MITB. He would get past this and be on top soon enough though.

It’s astonishing to me that MVP didn’t work out in WWE. He was one of the most entertaining heels in the whole promotion at this point.

There are huge “MVP” chants, which is surprising as Hardy was one of the most popular stars in WWE at the time.

MVP pins Jeff Hardy in 10:21. Shelton Benjamin appears at ringside and Hardy takes him out, but that distraction leads to Hardy missing a Swanton and MVP hitting the Drive-By for the win. I pretty surprising result, as Hardy would be on the fast track to the World Title shortly after this. Really good match.

Santino and Beth Phoenix interview by Maria. Santino just recently dumped Maria for Beth. Santino really found his way as a comedy heel here.

WWE Intercontinental and Women’s Championship Match
Kofi Kingston (IC Champ) and Mickie James (Women’s Champ) vs. Santino and Beth Phoenix

Until the New Day run, I swear Kofi was the same exact character for six years.

Michael Cole says that RAW GM Mike Adamle made this “Adamle Original” match. That was one awful part of 2008, GM Mike Adamle.

Santino takes a monkey flip from Mickie, and even that’s hilarious.

Santino jumps in Beth’s arms to avoid a Kofi dive. Just great stuff.

The Mickie vs. Beth stuff is awesome. Beautiful hurricanrana.

Tornado DDT from Mickie to Santino!

Beth Phoenix and Santino win the titles when Beth pinned Mickie in 5:45. Glam Slam wins it. Great for what it was. Depending on how you felt about the IC Title this was either a travesty or awesome. Since the US Title seemed to be the serious title (Benjamin was the Champ at this point I believe) this was more than fine.

Shawn Michaels makes his way out the ring to announce his retirement with his wife Rebecca. HBK was slammed into the Jeri-Tron 5000 by Chris Jericho, which is one of the best heel turns ever done in my opinion. This led to an eye injury that led to HBK’s retirement here.

At least until Chris Jericho shows up. Jericho, who had begun doing the whole suit and tie thing and, as amazing as Edge was at this point, was the best heel in the business. Jericho demands that HBK admit that Jericho is the reason he is retiring. HBK fires back that Jericho needs to live with the fact that he’s not Shawn Michaels.

Jericho goes for a punch…and decks Rebecca. Jericho is in shock, as is HBK. After reading Jericho’s 3rd book, it turns out Jericho accidentally decked her for real. While horrifying, it added so much to this segment and the entire segment is pretty incredible. While I don’t like how he won it, there is no surprise in the fact that Jericho was given the World Title shortly after this. This continued a pretty amazing feud (although I actually don’t like their Unforigiven match) which led to a fantastic ladder match at No Mercy ’08.

ECW World Championship
Mark Henry© vs. Matt Hardy

Mark Henry owned here at this was the peak of Matt Hardy’s popularity. Neither would actually maintain it, although Henry would return to form in 2011.

Matt Hardy wins by DQ in 0:31. Must have been short on time. Tony Atlas pulling out Matt to cause a DQ though just further shit on what the ECW Brand was though. Sadly, something similar would happen with the ECW World Title next year too.

World Heavyweight Championship
CM Punk© vs. JBL

Punk had won the title from Edge using MITB, and JBL felt he was an undeserving champ. Punk probably wasn’t ready for the World Title yet, and as described on his documentary, this was a really a midcard feud with the World Title involved, although JBL and Punk were both pretty good at this point.

Just a fun big man vs. little man match here. Feels like an IC Title Match though.

CM Punk retains by pin in 11:09. GTS gets the win. A little short, but very good. It was a solid, clean victory for Champ Punk and one of the better JBL matches. Just a shame it was stuck in the midcard.

WWE Championship
Triple H© vs. The Great Khali

I thought it was pretty weird for Khali to get one more shot at the top here. This would be the last time though, as Khali became the comedic “Punjanbi Playboy” in October and never gave up that role.

HHH does his best here. Khali dominates with nerve holds and his chops and such, and HHH makes the most out of it, selling for Khali, making him look like a million bucks.

HHH retains the title in 9:18 by pin. Probably Khali’s 2nd best match. Give HHH tons of credit, it’s good considering who his opponent is. This was the end of any main event run for Khali, who soon became a comical babyface.

John Cena vs. Batista

The story is that this came from a miscommunication from a Tag Match, but that was a set-up for the obvious “dream match” scenario.

The promo video really pushes the whole idea of Batista and Cena being the top guys in the company and finally colliding. Interestingly though, this isn’t the main event. I think this was because Batista wasn’t really at his peak here and had been cast aside on Smackdown. Peak Batista is from 2005 through mid 2007, then again in early 2010.

Batista using the Figure Four is a nice touch with Flair’s retirement back at Mania.

I like that Batista is busting out moves we don’t normally see from him. A Figure Four before, and now a variation of a rear naked choke.

Awesome counter: Cena goes for his top rope legdrop on a bent over opponent, only Batista turns it into a Batista Bomb. And it’s not even the finish!

Batista pinned John Cena in 13:44. The 2nd Batista Bomb wins it cleanly. Not a surprising finish as Batista was the one that needed a little re-establishing, and a clean win over Cena was the perfect solution. Both of these guys also showed great chemistry that would be seen again a couple years later. I don’t think anyone was expecting a great match here, but that’s what they got.

Hell in a Cell
The Undertaker vs. Edge

If Jericho vs. HBK wasn’t your 2008 Feud of the Year, then this was. Taker and Edge had brilliant matches at Wrestlemania, Backlash and a classic at One Night Stand. Edge won that last won for the title that “retired” the Undertaker…but a vengeful Vickie Guerrerobrought The Undertaker back.

I will say the Edge-Vickie marriage was just something that didn’t really work, but Edge was so good it pretty much didn’t matter. There was also a brilliant segment in the lead-up where Edge beat up Mick Foley in Foley’s last great WWE segment.

Some real creative stuff early on using the ring steps. Snake eyes from Taker, then an Edge dropkick and spear with Taker sitting next to the steps.

This is a flat out a great brawl. Bonus points for Edge invoking what he did to Mick Foley before dropping an elbow with a chair off a ladder onto Taker.

A big surprise…Edge spears Taker through the Cell! I believe this was the first time in six years that the Hell in a Cell participants went outside the Cell.

In a ridiculously dangerous spot, Edge jumps off one table and spears Taker through the other one. Just sick.

In a brilliant callback, Edge whacks Taker with a TV camera. He did the same at Survivor Series ’07.

The brawl keeps on and eventually Taker gets the upperhand and puts an epic beatdown on Edge. Poor Edge gets whacked with the camera, goes flying through the tables and Is the recipient of a vicious con-chair-to. Talk about a feud ender.

The Undertaker pinned Edge in 26:40. Tombstone finished it off. Really a TLC match in a Hell in a Cell match…but it was a great match nonetheless and the last great Cell match until Wrestlemania XXVIII. It was weird at the time that there was no blood or anything…but really it was just a sign of the times as blood would become a thing of the past. A great ending to a great feud. As long as we ignore the hokey post-match beat down where Taker chokeslams Edge through the ring and then lights the hole on fire. We can just ignore that if that’s okay (don’t worry, Edge would show up three months later at Survivor Series and win the World Title).

This is a pretty awesome show all around. Everything except the short ECW World Title match basically hit. CM Punk showed he can be a great World Champion (not that WWE let him run with it or anything…we’d have to wait a year for that), HHH showed he can actually get a good match out of the Great Khali, the two main events were great AND we got that whole HBK-Jericho segment. This is as close to an A+ as you can get without getting one…but it feels like it just comes short. This might have not been the best Taker-Edge match or even Cena-Batista match…and historically, Punk got nowhere.

Still a great show though.

Final Grade: A

Other (DC, Marvel, Disney etc.)

RDT Reviews Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

Big spoilers here…are you even reading this if you haven’t seen the film. Also, all Star Wars films have to invite comparison to the prequels…because inevitably any discussion of the Star Wars films invites such comparisons.

Without a doubt, Star Wars changed the way we look at big blockbuster films. It’s crazy looking back that George Lucas didn’t have a ton of confidence in his film and thought he was going to get killed by Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind. While perhaps it hasn’t aged beautifully, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope was a special effects masterpiece that launched the careers of several stars (Harrison Ford, for example) and made more money than any other movie at that point.

But let’s be honest, that doesn’t mean it’s the greatest film of all time or anything. In fact, it may be the most overrated. Looking at the critical acclaim the film has received in every way, as well as it’s revered state among most Star Wars fans only shows just how overrated the film is.

I had some pre-conceived notions about A New Hope before watching it again for this review, since truthfully I didn’t entirely enjoy it when I was younger. I found it rather boring and I didn’t see much in Luke Skywalker, our main protagonist, to get invested in. I felt the same way on both accounts watching the film again.

The film begins with the evil Empire, led by Darth Vader, hunting down several members of the Rebellion who have stolen integral plans of the Empire’s moon-sized weapon, the Death Star. The best that Princess Leia can do is send the plans and a message with a droid named R2D2 to another planet where Obi-Wan Kenobi resides. After that we get an unnecessary argument between R2 and fellow droid C3PO, splitting the two. They end up captured and reunited, and it’s really one of the more pointless and slower starts to a film I’ve ever seen.

They eventually get bought by Luke Skywalker and his aunt and uncle. Luke stumbles upon the message for Kenobi, and knows a Ben Kenobi himself. We learn a little bit about Luke’s dream of one day being a Jedi like his father and Kenobi’s past as a Jedi Knight himself. Kenobi tries to convince Luke to come with him to follow him and follow his dream, although Luke declines as he feels tied at home. Luke’s aunt and uncle are killed though, and we come upon one of the first problems with Luke Skywalker. Other than a two second bowing of his head, he seems to not be all that concerned that his family as just brutally murdered and joins Kenobi on his quest.

On the Empire side of things, I think it’s well known that Darth Vader is one of the best film characters in cinema history. I don’t buy him as particularly a great villain though, and some of the interactions here with Grand Moff Tarkin, the commander of the Death Star show why.  While Vader definitely shows his dominance at times, there are other moments where it seems like Tarkin is running the show on the Death Star. Luckily, that’s rectified near the end.

The film picks up when we’re introduced to Han Solo, a smuggler/pilot looking to make money however he can in order to pay back from debts. Ford’s Solo outshines Mark Hamill’s Skywalker on pretty much every level. Eventually, they are picked up by Death Star and Solo and Skywalker look to rescue Princess Leia while Obi-Wan looks to help anyway he can…and confront Vader. Our heroes end up in a pretty ridiculous situation…without the droids our New Hope would have been crushed in a garbage disposal…while Kenobi faces off with Vader. Vader kills Kenobi in front of Luke’s eyes…and we finally get some emotion out of Luke that isn’t whining or complaining.

Getting to that point, Luke Skywalker complains about everything. Watching them film he actually reminded me of Robin in Batman and Robin. So I don’t continue to harp on the weakness of Skywalker, it’s also worth noting that his fascination with Leia is pretty creepy considering what would happen with the rest of the series.

Anyway, the film does end on a strong note, although the pacing is messy. The Empire tracks Skywalker, Solo and Leia to the Rebel base, and the race is on. The Rebels send attack fighters to exploit a weakness in the Death Star while the Empire look to destroy the planet the Rebels are on. With some “help” from Kenobi, Luke gets in the final blow at the last minute with a Han Solo assist…and the Rebels win for now. The Death Star blows up (Vader wasn’t inside) and the Luke and Han are given medals at the end. The entire ending sequence is the first time we can believe in Skywalker as a top hero…although I’m unsure how we got that to that point.

There’s a lot to analyze with Star Wars and there is more good than bad for sure. But the bad is often ignored for whatever reason. I often laugh at some of the comments about the prequels in regards to the terrible dialog in those three films (a fair criticism) while wondering where those comments are when it comes to a New Hope. There’s an especially cringe worthy statement from Leia to Tarkin that made me wonder if Lucas wanted to base Leia off of spoiled English royalty. C3PO is also quite annoying here, which surprised me because I remember at one time thinking C3PO was funny.

Pros:

+Han Solo, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Chewbacca, R2D2 and Darth Vader are all great characters.

+For 1977, this was a technical masterpiece.

+Great third act.

Cons:

-There’s nothing inspiring about Luke Skywalker at all.

-Tarkin is a good character, but unfortunately his presence holds Vader back.

-Downright boring opening.

-Dialog misses at some parts

For its historical significance and the pros listed I can’t put the film too low, but’s worth repeating that this is one of the most overrated films in cinema history.

Grade: B-

 

Other (DC, Marvel, Disney etc.)

RDT Reviews Iron Man (2008)

Big spoilers here…I mean the film has been out for seven years now…

I’m sure Marvel looked at Batman Begins and wondered “how can we do that?” While Marvel has had a part in many of the films involving their characters (obviously), this was the first full production from Marvel Studios and only Marvel Studios. And they would one-up the DC Comics Dark Knight Trilogy with the idea to connect all of their main characters and weave them into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

While Iron Man technically isn’t the Marvel Comics counterpart to DC’s Batman (you can argue that would be Steel), the message was there…that Marvel is on the big screen now in direct competition to DC and Batman (and Christopher Nolan’s trilogy). Iron Man has to be a hit for this to really work and Marvel delivered for sure.

The first twenty minutes of the film is fantastic. We quickly get an idea of who Tony Stark is and why he in fact becomes Iron Man. It’s done so well that we don’t really need a long backstory. The message is clear: Tony Stark realizes the weapons he’s created are doing more harm than good, and after a traumatic experience of being captured and made to create more of these weapons, he realizes he should use his resources to defend the world. Considering the direction the Marvel Cinematic Universe has went, this is an impressive start considering Tony’s still trying to do everything he can to defend the world. Stark’s partner, Obadiah Stane, of course isn’t exactly about to just let Tony Stark change the entire direction of the company at a moment’s notice. Also brilliantly done in the film is show Stane’s power. When it’s revealed he tried to overtake Stark Industries by having Stark captured and killed, Stane kills many of the Ten Rings (the group that captured Tony) members when they make demands. For most of the film Stane is a great villain.

Even the smaller storylines are done well. We get a lot of plot development from Pepper Potts and her relationship with Tony without taking up tons of screen time and narration to explain it. S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson even makes an appearance, looking to gain info about Stark and Iron Man for the Avengers Initiative. Stark’s best friend Colonel James Rhodes is also established as someone who looks to keep Stark in check when he can.

If there’s one part of the film I don’t like, it’s what Stane does toward the end. He quickly goes from someone just looking to overtake the company to someone who becomes mad with power. Once he gets control of his own suit, the Iron Monger, it makes you wonder just what Stane’s motivation suddenly is. It’s disappointing to see a cunning business man go crazy just like that.

It’s worth noting that Iron Man feels a lot darker than later MCU films would be. There’s not a whole lot of comedy, although the bits that are intended for that work too (although, I’m pretty sure Stark would have died when one of his tests go wrong and he crashes into a wall). I find this to be quite refreshing as it helps us feel the dilemma and pain Tony Stark goes through as he realizes what his weapons have done to people all over the world.

The cast hits everywhere. Robert Downey Jr. is so good that it can be debated he’s as much Tony Stark as Hugh Jackman is Wolverine. Gwyneth Paltrow works as Pepper. Terrence Howard, although not long for the role, is good as Rhodey. I also bought into Jeff Bridges’ Obadiah Stane.

It should also be pointed out that the end credits sequence was a huge deal at the time and left no questions about where Marvel was headed.

Pros:

+Cast hits their marks, especially Downey as Iron Man.

+Efficient and great character development.

+Great story…you really believe in Tony Stark.

+Obadiah Stane is a good villain…for most of the film.

+Subtle moments that looking back made you realize the MCU was going to be a huge deal.

Cons:

-Stane’s motivations don’t really jive with the rest of the film.

A pretty great start to the Marvel Cinematic Universe for sure.

Grade: A

 

Basketball

Top 100 Basketball Players Ever: #80-#71

#80: Lenny Wilkens

top100wilkens

NBA All-Star Game MVP: 1x (’71)

MVP Runner-Up: 1x (’68)

NBA All-Star: 9x (’63, ’64, ’65, ’67, ’68, ’69, ’70, ’71, ‘73)

NBA Top 10 Points: 1x (’69)

NBA Assists Leader: 2x (’70, ’72)

NBA Top 10 Assists: 12x (’63, ’64, ’65, ’66, ’67, ’68, ’69, ’70, ’71, ’72, ’73, ’74)

NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 1x (’68)

NBA Top 10 Offensive Win Shares: 2x (’67, ’68)

NBA All-Time Assists: 12th

2nd Best Player on two Runner-Ups: (’61 Hawks, ’64 Hawks)

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 71st

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 72nd

A strange resume for sure. Wilkens was once runner-up for MVP…but also never made an All-NBA Team. His advanced stats (dubious for the 60s admittedly) don’t blow anyone away. What stands out is that random runner-up for MVP and his assists totals.

You know who he reminds me of? Jason Kidd. Now Kidd is obviously a lot more revered than Wilkens considering Kidd’s been All-NBA Team many times. But that’s the reason Kidd is about 40 spots higher. Lenny Wilkens seemed like another very good player stuck in the Russell Celtics era. He had two early cracks at the title but the Hawks couldn’t get it done. Nothing wrong with that. Lenny would eventually win a title with the ’79 Sonics as a coach and has won like a billion games. Not bad.

#79: Earl Monroe

New York Knicks vs. Milwaukee Bucks

NBA Rookie of the Year: (‘68)

All-NBA 1st Team: 1x (‘69)

All-NBA Rookie 1st Team: (’68)

NBA All-Star: 4x (’69, ’71, ’75, ‘77)

NBA Points Runner-Up: 1x (‘69)

NBA Top 10 Points: 3x (’68, ’69, ‘70)

Starter on one NBA Championship Team: ’73 Knicks

2nd Best Player on one Runner-Up: ’71 Bullets

Role Player on one Runner-Up: ’72 Knicks

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 67th

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 47th

My first instinct is to go with Earl “The Pearl” being overrated because he had a cool nickname and he played on the famous Knick teams of the early 70s. His resume doesn’t quite stack up with the guys around him on this list at all.

Here’s the thing. When Monroe was great…he was elite. He outright invented a move (spin move) and was unstoppable until knee injuries. He still played a part in three straight NBA Finals…although he didn’t win in ’71 and got outplayed by Gail Goodrich in ’72. He played a role in the ’73 Knicks title, which helps. His career as a productive player wasn’t over yet either, as he made All Star teams in 1975 and 1977, as the league was adding talent post ABA merger.

Maybe he should be lower, but this is one of those where reputation is going to outweight the resume. And no one really has anything bad to say about Earl “The Pearl”.

#78: Tony Parker

top100parker

NBA Finals MVP: 1x (’07)

All-NBA 2nd Team: 3x (’12, ’13, ‘14)

All-NBA 3rd Team: 1x (’09)

All-NBA Rookie 2nd Team: 1x (’02)

NBA All-Star: 6x (’06, ’07, ’09, ’12, ’13, ‘14)

NBA Top 10 Assists: 1x (’12)

NBA Top 10 PER: 2x (’09, ’13)

NBA Top 10 Offensive Win Shares: 1x (‘13)

NBA Top 10 WS/48: 1x (’13)

2nd or 3rd Best Player on three Championships Teams: (’05 Spurs, ’07 Spurs, ’14 Spurs)

Starter on one Championship Team: (’03 Spurs)

2nd Best Player on one Runner-Up: (’13 Spurs)

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): Not Ranked

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 139th

Tony Parker made a great case for himself after 2011, where he suddenly looked like the real best player on the Spurs. This shouldn’t have been such a shock as while the Spurs were starting to look and feel old, Parker had hit his prime. Unfortunately a disappointing 2015 just as suddenly makes Parker look washed up and probably prevents him from moving up to this list.

Truth is, Parker has been a very good player for almost all his career. He definitely lucked out on landing with the Spurs…I don’t think he even has half the career he ended up having without that stroke of luck…but he definitely had talent. As early as 2003 Phil Jackson wrote in his book how Parker would give the Lakers fits on screen rolls. Even early on in his career, Parker was playing at a high level in the playoffs.

The 2003 Finals was a different story, although I believe it’s a story that showed that Tony Parker could be great. The main storyline leading up to the 2003 Finals between the Spurs and the Nets was that Jason Kidd’s contract was expiring…and the Spurs were one of the top teams to land him. There were interviews with Parker asking if he would take a back-up role to Kidd during the finals no less (I remember Parker saying he’d beat him out for the starting job). Anyway, as Parker struggled towards the end of the finals, that controversy only grew stronger and only went away when Kidd re-signed with the Nets. Parker took that slight and turned it into a very good career, and from 2004 on, I’d even argue you might want to have Parker than Kidd.

#77: Chris Webber

top100webber

NBA Rookie of the Year: (’94)

All-NBA 1st Team: 1x (’01)

All-NBA 2nd Team: 3x (’99, ’02, ’03)

All-NBA 3rd Team: 1x (’00)

All-NBA Rookie 1st Team: (’94)

NBA All-Star: 5x (’97, ’00, ’01, ’02, ‘03)

NBA Top 10 Points 2x (’00, ‘01)

NBA Rebounds Per Game Leader: 1x (’99)

NBA Top 10 Rebounds: 2x (’99, ’00)

NBA Top 10 Blocks: 1x (’94)

NBA Top 10 PER: 3x (’00, ’01, ‘02)

NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 1x (‘00)

NBA Top 10 WS/48: 1x (’02)

NBA Top 10 Defensive Rating: 3x (’01, ’02, ’03)

NBA Top 10 Defensive Win Shares: 3x (’00, ’01, ’03)

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 72nd

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 80th

There are similarities to Tracy McGrady in terms of being a once-in-a-lifetime talent who didn’t pan out by not working on his game. Chris Webber was given every single thing a big man could ever want. Explosive power. Great passing. Good size. Good leaping ability. Webber had everything. Yet Webber’s college career might have messed him up mentally to the point where this once-in-a-lifetime talent never reached his sky high potential.

First, let’s look at Webber’s college career. As the centerpiece of the Fab Five, Webber was dominant. While Michigan’s loss to Duke in the 1992 Championship game hurt, it will never be forgotten how Michigan lost the 1993 Championship game on Webber’s infamous timeout. With 19 seconds left and Michigan down by two, Webber grabs a missed free throw. He first gets away with a travel before dribbling straight into a trap. Webber then calls timeout when Michigan has none, leading to a technical and costing Michigan a last chance at the National Championship. One must wonder how much this affected Webber in the NBA, especially in his playoff battles with the Lakers. When it came to the clutch, Webber never wanted to be the man and came up short each time. I think some of that can be traced back to this 1993 NCAA Championship.

The 2nd piece of Webber’s college career is the behind the scenes piece. As ESPN’s 30 for 30 on the Fab Five documented, the Fab Five were not happy about how Michigan made tons of money promoting them, yet as NCAA amateurs they couldn’t receive a penny of it. Thanks in big part to Michael Jordan, future NBA players were now about their brand and getting theirs. As Jack McCallum put it in his Dream Team book, it was the era of “the fully hatched superstar”. After being used by Michigan (a story that gets a lot worse with the Ed Martin scandal) in his mind, Webber went out to the NBA and did what was best for him as a brand.

This meant bad things for Webber early on. While unlucky to be traded from Orlando to Golden State (since he could have played with Shaq), he was still quite lucky to play for coach Don Nelson. Nelson and Webber clashed though, and Webber got out after one year, a shame since Webber was the perfect fit for Nellie-ball.

After toiling away on the Wizards for a few seasons (and getting seriously injured for the first time) Webber was dealt to the Kings and immediately put them on the map. One of Webber’s best accomplishments is being able to be a competitive top power forward in a league with Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett (and later even Dirk Nowitzki). Webber would never reinvent his game though, and when Garnett surpassed him, it was easy to think that Garnett had become what Webber was supposed to be.

The Kings with Webber also have a legitimate gripe as arguably they should have been the 2002 NBA Champions…something that would have altered Webber’s legacy greatly. The Lakers were heavily favored by the referees in both Games 3 and 6 for sure of the NBA Finals and there’s video evidence of it and everything. With that being said the Kings still had home court in Game 7. And they came just short. Officiating and all, one big Webber 40 point explosion and the Kings still pull off the title (yes, they were beating the 2002 Nets).

Injuries continued to sap Webber’s effectiveness to the point where the Kings were arguably better without him (something that proved to ultimately be false in the long run, but in 2004 seemed true as they went 55-27 and Webber only played 23 games). The Kings looked to move to Peja Stojakovic as their top guy. The Kings dealt Webber to the Sixers in the middle of the 2005 season and haven’t won a playoff series since. Webber finally changed his game enough to at least have one 20 PPG season with the Sixers, although his efficiency had gone. He never developed a reliable three point shot or even outside shot. Some forgettable stints followed and that was that.

Sure he was unlucky in some spots. Sure he got screwed in 2002. But he still had the talent to be a top 30 guy and that’s on him.

#76: David Thompson

top100thompson

ABA Rookie of the Year: (’76)

All-NBA 1st Team: 2x (’77, ’78)

All-ABA 2nd Team: 1x (‘76)

All-ABA Rookie 1st Team: (’76)

NBA All-Star Game MVP: 1x (’79)

ABA All-Star Game MVP: 1x (’76)

NBA All-Star: 4x (’77, ’78, ’79, ‘83)

ABA All-Star: 1x (’76)

ABA Points Runner-Up: 1x (’76)

NBA Top 10 Points: 4x (’77, ’78, ’79, ’81)

ABA Top 10 Steals: 1x (’76)

ABA Top 10 Blocks: 1x (’76)

ABA Top 10 PER: 1x (’76)

NBA Top 10 PER: 1x (’78)

NBA Win Share Leader: 1x (’78)

ABA Top 5 Win Shares: 1x (’76)

NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 2x (’77, ’78)

NBA Top 5 WS/48: 1x (’78)

ABA Top 5 WS/48: 1x (’76)

ABA Top 5 Offensive Rating: 1x (’76)

NBA Offensive Rating Runner-Up: 1x (’78)

Best Player on one ABA Runner-Up: ’76 Nuggets

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 70th

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 63rd

Sadly, David Thompson is one of the poster boys for the cocaine era of the NBA. In Thompson’s case it may be the biggest waste of a career in professional basketball history due to substance abuse. Thompson was arguably the NBA’s best player in the late 70s (depending how you feel about Bill Walton) and had surprisingly taken that title from Julius Erving. Thompson had a great 1978 season where his Nuggets just couldn’t get by the Sonics in the Western Conference Finals.

How great was Thompson in 1978? He scored 73 in the final game of the regular season to try to win the scoring title (similar to David Robinson’s 71 point game 16 years later), only he was so hot early fans thought he was going for 100. Thompson was merely 23 years old at the time. Everything fell apart in 1979 when he injured his knee in Studio 54 in New York City…and the aforementioned cocaine problems.

I might rethink this one in the future as he only played 509 career games and was only elite for four seasons. That’s the thing though, unlike someone like Webber, Thompson was elite at for a portion of his career. You know you’ve done something influential in your career when Michael Jordan selects you to induct him into the Hall of Fame. As Simmons put it, “Skywalker” was the Intellvision to Jordan’s Playstation 2. That’s pretty good for the late 70s.

#75: Jerry Lucas

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NBA Rookie of the Year: (’64)

All-NBA 1st Team: 3x (’65, ’66, ’68)

All-NBA 2nd Team: 2x (’64, ‘68)

All-NBA Rookie 1st Team: (’64)

NBA All-Star Game MVP: 1x (’65)

NBA All-Star: 7x (’64, ’65, ’66, ’67, ’68, ’69, ‘71)

NBA Top 10 Points: 2x (’66, ‘68)

NBA Top 10 Rebounds: 8x (’64, ’65, ’66, ’67, ’68, ’69, ’70, ’71)

NBA Top 10 PER: 6x (’64, ’65, ’66, ’68, ’69, ‘71)

NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 4x (’64, ’65, ’68, ‘72)

NBA Top 5 WS/48: 3x (’64, ’72, ‘73)

Role Player for one Championship Team: ’73 Knicks

Starter on one Runner-Up: ’72 Knicks

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 64th

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 38th

I have to admit I was quite skeptical of SLAM’s ranking. Here’s the deal with Jerry Lucas. He put up big stats in a league with a couple of elite centers and no real bigs other than that (a big reason why Oscar put up his insane stats). He was one of the best two power forwards in the league, but PF was a diluted position. He was Oscar’s 2nd option on a bunch of Royals teams that failed to win anything. He went to the Knicks and started for a Finals team…although he took on less of a role in 1973 and the Knicks promptly won the title. He also wasn’t regarded highly at all, as he was once traded for Jim King and Billy Turner (one all-star total there) and another time for Cazzie Russell (another one time all-star).

Still, it’s hard to look past that resume. For the first six seasons of his career he averaged a 19-19. And he was a part of two Finals teams. His rankings on both Simmons and SLAM’s lists make it hard to really drop him. But reading Simmons, even he seems skeptical. So I don’t know. This feels right.

#74: Pete Maravich

Pete Maravich shoots

All-NBA 1st Team: 2x (’76, ‘77)

All-NBA 2nd Team: 2x (’73, ‘78)

All-NBA Rookie 1st Team: (’71)

NBA All-Star: 5x (’73, ’74, ’77, ’78, ‘79)

NBA Points Leader: 1x (’77)

NBA Top 10 Points: 5x (’71, ’73, ’74, ’75, ‘77)

NBA Top 10 Assists: 2x (’73, ’75)

NBA Top 10 PER: 3x (’73, ’74, ‘76)

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 68th

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 60th

One of the most famous basketball players of all time was someone clearly ahead of his time. Maravich was an offensive savant, making crazy passes that one would have never thought possibly and hitting jumpers from all over the floor. He scored 68 with this style of play in 1977 and managed three other 50 point games that season as well.

It should be mentioned that Maravich did all of that in addition to averaging 24 PPG for his career…without a three point line. Can you imagine a jump shooting guard scoring all those points without a three point line? The thing was practically made for him (in his last year when he was beyond washed up, he took 15 three pointers and made 10). He averaged 31.1 PPG in 1977. Compare that statistic with players and take away a point for each three pointer they made a game. I’d guess that Maravich would be someone who hit minimum 3 threes a game. That right there is 34 PPG.

Of course, whether or not a player can actually win as the best player on his team that way is debatable. The Pistol couldn’t win anything. He gets overrated historically for the highlight reel plays for sure but it hasn’t really been until 2015 that outside shooting teams can make all the difference. In the 1970s…with no three point line? No chance. Still, the Pistol was great at one point for sure.

#73: Chris Bosh

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All-NBA 2nd Team: 1x (‘07)

All-NBA Rookie 1st Team: (’04)

NBA All-Star: 10x (’06, ’07, ’08, ’09, ’10, ’11, ’12, ’13, ’14, ‘15)

NBA Top 10 Points: 2x (’09, ‘10)

NBA Top 10 Rebounds: 1x (‘09)

NBA Top 10 PER: 2x (’08, ‘10)

NBA Top 10 Offensive Rating: 1x (’06)

3rd Best Player on two Championship Teams: ’12 Heat, ’13 Heat

3rd Best Player on two Runner-Ups: ’11 Heat, ’14 Heat

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): Not Ranked

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 171st

Chris Bosh made a choice. Either be a 22-9 guy on .500 Raptors team or be a role player on a title contending team every year. He chose the latter. There was a lot of hate toward Bosh, but there’s no question that he was an integral part of the Heat four year run. Without Bosh the Heat fall to the Pacers in Round 2 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals. Many fans who hate LeBron and the Heat would complain that Miami created a super team…but at the same time Chris Bosh sucked. Well which one is it? It can’t be both.

You should sacrifice individual statistics for team glory. That’s why Robert Horry is on this list. And that’s why Bosh is on this list. On any given night that D-Wade was hurt and LeBron needed a second weapon, Bosh was there. It remains to be seen what the post LeBron Heat look like with Bosh. Year one didn’t look that great and Bosh was hospitalized midway through…but 2015-2016 will tell us a lot. It’s a chance for Bosh to climb through this list, let’s see if he can do it.

#72: Dwight Howard

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NBA Defensive Player of the Year: 3x (’09, ’10, ’11)

All-NBA 1st Team: 5x (’08, ’09, ’10, ’11, ‘12)

All-NBA 2nd Team: 1x (’14)

All-NBA 3rd Team: 2x (’07, ’13)

All-NBA Defensive 1st Team: 4x (’09, ’10, ’11, ’12)

All-NBA Defensive 2nd Team: 1x (’08)

All-NBA Rookie 1st Team: (’05)

NBA All-Star: 8x (’07, ’08, ’09, ’10, ’11, ’12, ’13, ’14)

NBA Top 5 MVP Voting: 4x (’08, ’09, ’10, ’11)

NBA Rebounds Leader: 6x (’06, ’07, ’08, ’09, ’10, ’12)

NBA Blocks Leader: 2x (’09, ’10)

NBA Top 5 Rebounds: 10x (’05, ’06, ’07, ’08, ’09, ’10, ’11,’12, ’13, ‘14)

NBA Top 10 Blocks: 4x (’07, ’08, ’09, ’10, ’11, ’12, ’13, ’14)

NBA Top 10 PER: 4x (’09, ’10, ’11, ‘12)

NBA Defensive Rating Leader: 3x (’09, ’10, ’11)

NBA Top 10 Defensive Rating: 6x (’07, ’08, ’09, ’10, ’11, ’12)

NBA Defensive Win Shares Leader: 4x (’08, ’09, ’10, ’11)

NBA Top 10 Defensive Win Shares: 7x (’07, ’08, ’09, ’10, ’11, ’12, ’13)

NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 4x (’08, ’09, ’10, ’11)

NBA Top 5 WS/48: (’09, ’10, ’11)

NBA Career Rebounds: 34th

NBA Career Blocks: 25th

NBA Career Defensive Win Shares: 58 (28th)

Best Player on one Runner-Up: ’09 Magic

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 78th

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 86th

This whole time we thought that Dwight had the potential to be the next Shaq…only in reality Dwight was the evolutionary Dikembe Mutombo. That’s not a bad thing. Dwight gets this high on the list due to his great defensive resume and the fact he took the 2009 Magic to the NBA Finals. Perhaps you’re thinking this isn’t high enough for Dwight then. Here’s the counterpoint to that.

Dwight Howard dominated the NBA at a time where there was a dearth of top centers. Shaq was just about done and Andrew Bynum couldn’t stay healthy. Interestingly Yao Ming had tons of success against Dwight (Yao averaged 24-10, 56% FG with a 7-2 record vs. Dwight’s 12-10, 46% FG in head to head matches), but he couldn’t stay healthy either. But then the Joakim Noahs and Marc Gasols showed up and Dwight starting having back problems. He hasn’t been the same since 2011 really, and now it suddenly looks like the league has passed him by. Remember, teams like the Thunder and Cavs would add players like Kendrick Perkins and washed-up Shaq just to be able to single Dwight.

It doesn’t change that he had a legit argument for the 2011 MVP, or that he led the Magic to the 2009 NBA Finals. It doesn’t change that Dwight Howard at one point was dominant. It just means he was great for a short period time, never got better offensively (which would help him tons now) and is probably at best a #2 or #3 guy on a title team. Which still isn’t that bad. Like many others though, he should be better.

#71: Dennis Rodman

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NBA Defensive Player of the Year: 2x (’90, ‘91)

All-NBA 3rd Team: 2x (’92, ‘95)

All-NBA Defensive 1st Team: 7x (’89, ’90, ’91, ’92, ’93, ’95, ‘96)

All-NBA Defensive 2nd Team: 1x (’94)

NBA All-Star: 2x (’90, ‘92)

NBA Rebounds Leader: 4x (’92, ’93, ’94, ‘98)

NBA Top 10 Rebounds: 10x (’89, ’90, ’91, ’92, ’93, ’94, ’95, ’96, ’97, ‘98)

NBA Top 10 Offensive Rating: 2x (’89, ’90)

NBA Top 10 Defensive Rating: 9x (’88, ’89, ’90, ’91, ’92, ’95, ’96, ’97, ‘98)

NBA Defensive Win Shares Leader: 1x (‘92)

NBA Top 10 Defensive Win Shares: 5x (’90, ’91, ’92, ’94, ’98)

NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 1x (‘92)

NBA Career Rebounds: 22nd

NBA Career Defensive Win Shares: 54.5 (38th)

Role Player on two NBA Championship Teams: ’89 Pistons, ’90 Pistons

Starter on three NBA Championship Teams: ’96 Bulls, ’97 Bulls, ’98 Bulls

Role Player on one Runner-Up: ’88 Pistons

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 69th

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 48th

One of the most destructive defensive players in NBA history. He was one of the first guys who could guard anyone from small point guards to centers. He gave Karl Malone fits in the 1997 and 1998 NBA Finals and played great in the 1996 NBA Finals as well, including 19 boards in the clincher. Despite being pretty much crazy in all aspects of his life, he got along well with two NBA teams known for having competitive personalities (the Bad Boy Pistons and the Post-Baseball Jordan Bulls).He only submarined one potential Champ, which was the 1995 Spurs (not joining huddles, missing/showing up late to practices, even showing up late for games). The good far outweighs the bad here.

His rebounds prowess was also quite incredible. It seemed like Rodman could grab a rebound from absolutely anywhere. Unlike guys like McGrady and Webber, it looked like Rodman made the most of his physical talent and left it all out on the court (most of the time). Did it help being teammates with Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan? Of course. But you can’t argue with results.