Today’s Sportstat: April 23, 2020
Is Ben Wallace the worst free throw shooter in NBA history?
Ben Wallace was a four-time All-Star and was first team All-Defense in the NBA five times. He twice led the league in rebounding and was second on two more occasions. In his 16-year NBA career with five different franchises, he was known as a tenacious rebounder and defender. He was, however, a terrible free throw shooter… maybe the worst in league history.
Of all players who attempted 500 or more career free throws, Wallace had a career free throw percentage of .414, the worst among those players. He never made 50% (or higher) of his free throws in a season, and actually had six seasons where his free throw percentage was under .360.
Here’s a look at the 12 players who had career free throw percentages under .500 (minimum of 500 career free throws attempted).
Ben Wallace, 1997-2012, .414
Lou Amundson, 2007-16, .444
Chris Dudley, 1988-2003, .458
Andre Drummond, 2013-20, .461
DeAndre Jordan, 2009-20, .474
Eric Montross, 1995-2002, .478
Steven Hunter, 2002-10, .485
Greg Kite, 1984-95, .486
Ken Bannister, 1985-91, .492
Darvin Ham, 1997-2005, .494
Dan Gadzuric, 2003-12, .498
Adonal Foyle, 1998-2009, .499
If we drop the minimum attempts to 100 career free throw attempts, there are four players who had a worse career free throw percentage than Wallace. Kim Hughes (1977-81) had a career .333 percentage from the charity stripe, followed by Joey Dorsey (2009-15) .375, Lorenzo Wlliams (1993-2000) .377 and Jerome Lane (1989-93) .379.
Of all Bucks players who attempted 500 or more career free throws with the team, Dan Gadzuric is/was by far the worst free throw shooter. He had a career .504 percentage in free throws with the Bucks. He is followed by John Henson .572, Andrew Bogut, .574, Alton Lister, .575 and Ervin Johnson, .586.
Of Bucks players with a minimum of 100 free throw attempts with the team, Joel Przybilla tops the list as the worst free throw shooter with a .419 percentage.
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Today’s Sportstat: April 4, 2020
Who’s the best one-season player in Bucks history?
In college basketball circles, it’s called “one-and-done.” In professional sports, there doesn’t seem to be a catchy term, but the concept is still the same… a player spends one year with a team before he moves on to the next team.
In the 50-year history of the Milwaukee Bucks, they have had their share of players who have spent just one year with the team and then moved on to the next stop. But have there been any players who had exceptional years in their one-year stop in Milwaukee?
To answer that question, let’s first start with some numbers. Here is a look at the players who had the most points, rebounds and assists in only one season with the Bucks. For example, Richard Jefferson played only one year in Milwaukee and scored 1,607 points. That’s the most points by a player who had just a one-year career in Milwaukee.
Points-800 or more (only one season with Bucks)
1,607-Richard Jefferson, 2009
1,194-Ruben Patterson, 2007
1,023-Wayne Embry, 1969
979-Ken Norman, 1994
938-Swen Nater, 1977
843-Fred Hetzel, 1969
825-Lindsey Hunter, 2001
805-Corey Maggette, 2001
Rebounds-400 or more (only one season with Bucks)
865-Swen Nater, 1977
778-Jamaal Magloire, 2006
672-Wayne Embry, 1969
500-Ken Norman, 1994
473-Fred Hetzel, 1969
440-Ruben Patterson, 2007
436-Benoit Benjamin, 1996
435-Bob Boozer, 1971
410-John Block, 1972
Assists-200 or more (only one season with Bucks)
252-Phil Ford, 1983
243-Keyon Dooling, 2011
232-Ruben Patterson, 2007
225-Freddie Crawford, 1970
225-George Thompson, 1975
222-Lindsey Hunter, 2001
222-Ken Norman, 1994
206-Gary Payton, 2003
So, based on these numbers who would you choose as the best one-season player in Bucks history? To help you make a selection, here’s my choices for eight players who should be considered for this honor. There’s a short narrative about each of these players and their time in Milwaukee. I am listing them in alphabetical order. (Listed in parenthesis is the only year they played in Milwaukee.)
(PPG-Points per Game, RPG-Rebounds per Game, APG-Assists per Game)
Wayne Embry, 1968-69: This season was Embry’s last in the NBA as a player. He came to the Bucks in the 1968 expansion draft from the Cincinnati Royals. He averaged 13.1PPG and 8.6RPG. He averaged over 30 minutes per game in 78 contests for the Bucks. He was the last center for the Bucks before Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. A 1999 inductee into the Basketball Hall of Fame, Embry was the first African-American GM and team President.
Fred Hetzel, 1968-69: Another expansion draft player that played on the original Bucks team. The all-purpose forward averaged 15.9PPG that was third best on the team (it was the second-highest in his six-year NBA career) and grabbed 8.9 RPG that was third best on the team and the highest of his career. He was traded to the Cincinnati Royals after only 53 games with the Bucks that season.
Lindsey Hunter, 2000-01: A three-point specialist, Hunter teamed with Ray Allen that year with the Bucks to give them a potent 1-2 punch from beyond the three-point line. He averaged 10.1PPG that year and was a top reserve for the team. He came to the Bucks from the Detroit Pistons in a trade and was then traded by the Bucks to the L.A. Lakers after that season for Greg Foster. Hunter won an NBA title with the Lakers that season.
Richard Jefferson, 2008-09: He started all 82 games for the Bucks that season. Ended the year averaging 19.6PPG, 4.6RPG and 2.4APG. He was second to Michael Redd in scoring that season. He led the Bucks in three-pointers and three-point attempts that year and was third on the team in rebounds. He was traded to the Bucks from the New Jersey Nets and then almost a year to the date was traded by the Bucks to the San Antonio Spurs. Played 17 years in the NBA.
Jamaal Magloire, 2005-06: A rebounding machine, Magloire led the Bucks in rebounding that year with 9.5RPG (second highest of his career) and also tallied 9.2PPG. He was the Bucks starting center that season starting all 82 of the team’s games. He came to the Bucks in a trade with the Hornets and then was traded to Portland by the Bucks in the off-season for three players. He had a career-high 22 rebounds in a game with the Bucks.
Swen Nater, 1976-77: He was originally drafted by the Bucks in 1973, but decided instead to take his talents to the ABA. He played in the ABA until 1976 and then came to the Bucks in 1976. He led the team in rebounding that season with 12RPG and averaged 13 PPG. At the end of the season he was traded to the Buffalo Braves for a first round draft choice that later became Marques Johnson.
Ken Norman, 1993-94: His numbers that season were 11.9PPG, 6.1RPC and 2.7APG. He was second on the team that year in minutes played. The University of Illinois standout played six seasons with the Clippers and then signed with the Bucks as a free agent. He was traded to the Atlanta Hawks for Roy Hinson in the off-season after his year in Milwaukee. He started 75 of the 82 games that season for Milwaukee.
Ruben Patterson, 2006-07: He started 53 of 81 games for the Bucks that season. He had his best year as an NBA player with the Bucks averaging 14.7PPG, 5.4RPG and 2.9APG. His 31 minutes played per game that year was the high of his career as was his 55% field goal percentage. He left the Bucks after the season for the L.A. Clippers, but played only 20 games and was then waived. He never played again in the league.
So, who is your choice? Or is there someone not mentioned that should be considered? Let us know your opinion.
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Today’s Sportstat: March 23, 2020
Truth or fiction? LeBron James is leading the NBA in assists
One of the more interesting storylines in the NBA this season has been LeBron James and his assist numbers. Yes, that is LeBron James leading the NBA in assists per game, 10.6, and most assists this season with 636.
To put this in perspective, James has never led the league in assists during his 17-year career, however, he has seen his name in the Top 10 in several seasons. His 10.6 assists per game this year is the highest of his career (his previous high was 9.1 assists per game in 2017-18) and his 636 assists this season is 111 shy of his career mark of 747 in 2017-18, but if the NBA season had not been put on hold due to COVID-19 there’s a good chance he would have exceeded that number this season.
Let’s not forget that James is doing all this at the age of 35 (he turned 35 on December 30).
Let’s dig a little deeper into James’ assists numbers for this season.
- If he ends this season with 10 or more assists per game, he will become only the second player in NBA history to average 10 or more assists in a season at age 35 or older. The other player is Steve Nash who averaged 11.0 assists per game at age 35, 11.4 at age 36 and 10.6 at age 37. The only other player to average 9.0 or more assists in a season at age 35 or older was Jason Kidd in 2009-10 when he averaged 9.1 assists per game at age 36.
- With 636 assists and 1,344 points this season, James becomes the fourth player in NBA history to have 600 or more assists and 1,000 or more points in the same season at age 35 or older. Lenny Wilkins did it in 1972-73, John Stockton did it in 2001-02, Steve Nash did it twice, in 2009-10 and 2010-11, and James this season.
- There have been 98 players in league history who have totaled 600 assists and 1,500 points in a season (any age). James and Lenny Wilkens are the only two players on this list to reach these numbers at age 35 or older; both were 35. The youngest on the list is Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks who in his rookie season this year has amassed 653 assists and 1,549 points. He is 20 years old.
- Oscar Robertson holds the league record for most seasons with 600 assists and 1,500 points in the same season. He did it 10 times in his Hall of Fame career. Gary Payton, Isiah Thomas and Russell Westbrook each had six such seasons and Stephon Marbury had five.
- The Bucks have had two players reach 600 assists-1,500 points in the same season. Oscar Robertson did it in 1970-71 when he had 668 assists and 1,569 points. The other player was Sam Cassell in 1999-2000; in that season he had 729 assists and 1,506 points.
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Today’s Sportstat: March 9, 2020
The last 20 games of the NBA season: Which team is the best over the past three years?
The NBA’s best team (record-wise), the Milwaukee Bucks, was 53-9 on Friday, March 6 before they played the Los Angeles Lakers. They were starting their last 20-game stretch in this season.
A loss to the Lakers that night and another loss to the Phoenix Suns two days later meant the Bucks had started the final 20-game stretch with a 0-2 season.
Fortunately, the Bucks have already secured a playoff spot for this season. For other teams, however, the final 20-game stretch is where they will make a push for not only a spot in the playoffs, but a high seed to gain home court advantage.
Over the past previous three NBA seasons (2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19), there were three teams that won 70% or higher of their last 20 games in each of those three seasons… 60 games in total over three campaigns.
Topping the list were the Houston Rockets who went 44-16 (.733) in the last 20 games of the season in the last three years. Two fellow Western Conference teams followed the Rockets: Utah at 43-17 (.717) and Portland at 42-18 (.700).
Here’s a look at how many games each NBA team won in the past three seasons in the last 20 games of the campaign… 60 games total.
44: Houston
43: Utah
42: Portland
41: Toronto
40: Golden State
38: San Antonio
37: Boston
36: Denver, L.A. Clippers, Miami, Milwaukee, Oklahoma City
34: Philadelphia
31: Indiana
28: New Orleans
27: Brooklyn, Charlotte, Cleveland, Detroit
26: Orlando
25: Washington
24: Minnesota
23: Sacramento
22: Atlanta
21: Chicago, L.A. Lakers
20: Memphis
18: Dallas
15: New York
14: Phoenix
Only one team, the 1996-97 Utah Jazz, won 19 of their last 20 games of a season. Seven teams won 18 of their last 20, the most recent of those teams being the 2017-18 Philadelphia 76ers. Last season the Rockets won 16 of their last 20 games, the most of any team in the NBA. Portland and San Antonio were next with 15 wins in their last 20 games last season.
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Today’s Sportstat: February 27, 2020
NBA Buzzer-Beaters: Who is the king of the last-second shot?
Ever wonder who the greatest clutch shooter is in NBA history? Is it Michael Jordan? Kobe Bryant? Someone else?
One of my favorite websites is sports-reference.com and their affiliate sites for specific sports like football, basketball and baseball. I use these websites quite often as I research sports stats.
Recently, sports-reference.com noted that they had researched every “buzzer-beater” in NBA history and it was now posted on the basketball-reference.com website. They came up with a comprehensive list of every “buzzer-beater” in NBA history, 772 shots to be exact. They defined a “buzzer-beater” as “successful shots taken with the shooter’s team tied or trailing which left no time on the clock after going through the net.”
The chart lists the player who made the shot, the date, opponent, type of shot (free throw, two-point shot, three-pointer), who assisted on the shot, and the distance of the shot. This is an impressive undertaking.
My curiosity was piqued about which player was listed most often on the list of 772 buzzer-beaters. Here’s the list of 22 players who had four or more career buzzer-beaters in their NBA career.
9-Michael Jordan
8-Kobe Bryant, Joe Johnson
7-Gilbert Arenas, Vince Carter, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce
5-Andre Iguodola, Dwyane Wade
4-Greg Ballard, Larry Bird, Carl Braun, Monte Ellis, World B. Free, Rudy Gay, Bill Laimbeer, Chuck Person, Jerry Stackhouse, John Stockton, Jerry West, Moe Williams
Any surprises?
For Milwaukee Bucks fans, the team had 33 buzzer-beaters (and was the victim of a buzzer-beater 26 times). Six players had two or more buzzer-beaters… leading the way was Sidney Moncrief who had three buzzer-beaters with the Bucks. He was followed by five players each who had two buzzer-beaters in a Bucks uniform: Andrew Bogut, Marques Johnson, Khris Middleton, Brian Winters and Mo Williams.
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