SIX STATS you might not know about… the 2010-11 NBA season
Derrick Rose... Image via Wikipedia
“SIX STATS…” is a bonus feature of Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ and is published every Friday.
1. The Dallas Mavericks were a first-time NBA champion last season. They were the third first-time champ in the last 13 years; Miami in 2005-06 and San Antonio in 1998-99.
2. Derrick Rose was the league MVP last year. He became the 16th former Rookie of the Year to eventually win the MVP honor. The others: Bob Pettit, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Willis Reed, Wes Unseld, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Dave Cowens, Bob McAdoo, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, David Robinson, Shaquille O’Neal, Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan and LeBron James.
3. Steve Nash won his fifth assists title in 2010-11. That ties him with Jason Kidd for fourth most assist titles in league history. John Stockton won nine titles; Bob Cousy, 8, and Oscar Robertson, 6.
4. The Chicago Bulls won the Central Division by 25 games over the Indiana Pacers. It was the third time in four years that a team has won a divisional title by 25 games. The other two: Cleveland in 2008-09 and Boston in 2007-08.
5. Paul Pierce became the 37th player in league history to score 20,000 points. He became the third Boston Celtics player (John Havlicek and Larry Bird) to score all of his 20,000+ points with the Celtics.
6. Another Celtic, Ray Allen passed Reggie Miller for the career lead in three-point shots made, 2,612 (Miller had 2,560). Last season Allen shot .444 from the three-point arc, the best percentage of his 15-year career. He also had his best field goal percentage of his career last year shooting .491 from the field. Allen is a career .399 percentage shooter from the arc; his career three-point percentage at home is .399 and .399 on the road.
Basketball scoring leaders… by birth state!
Michael Jordan... Image via Wikipedia
Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a biweekly blog published every Wednesday and Sunday with a bonus “SIX STATS…” posting every Friday.
Can you imagine a list of professional basketball’s greatest scorers and the list does not include Michael Jordan? Well, here’s that list. Jordan was born in New York state, but he is not the player born in the state of New York who scored the most points in their professional career. Jordan ranks second behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for most points scored by players born in the state of New York.
Following are the 50 states and the player born in that state who scored the most points in their professional basketball career.
ALABAMA: Charles Barkley… ALASKA: Mario Chalmers… ARIZONA: Paul Silas… ARKANSAS: Scottie Pippen… CALIFORNIA: Reggie Miller
COLORADO: Chauncey Billups… CONNECTICUT: Calvin Murphy… DELAWARE: Joey Graham… D.C.: Adrian Dantley… FLORIDA: Artis Gilmore
GEORGIA: Dale Ellis… HAWAII: Cedric Ceballos… IDAHO: Luke Ridnour… ILLINOIS: Dan Issel… INDIANA: Larry Bird
IOWA: Kirk Hinrich… KANSAS: Alvan Adams… KENTUCKY: Cliff Hagen… LOUISIANA: Karl Malone… MAINE: Jeff Turner
MARYLAND: Sam Cassell… MASSACHUSETTS: Bill Laimbeer… MICHIGAN: George Gervin… MINNESOTA: Kevin McHale… MISSISSIPPI: Spencer Haywood
MISSOURI: Jo Jo White… MONTANA: Phil Jackson… NEBRASKA: Bob Boozer… NEVADA: Ricky Davis…. NEW HAMPSHIRE: Matt Bonner
NEW JERSEY: Shaquille O’Neal… NEW MEXICO: Bill Bridges… NEW YORK: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar… NORTH CAROLINA: Walt Bellamy… NORTH DAKOTA: Mark Landsberger
OHIO: John Havlicek… OKLAHOMA: Ron Boone… OREGON: Mike Newlin… PENNSYLVANIA: Wilt Chamberlain… RHODE ISLAND: Marvin Barnes
SOUTH CAROLINA: Alex English… SOUTH DAKOTA: Mike Miller… TENNESSEE: Oscar Robertson…. TEXAS: Grant Hill… UTAH: Tom Chambers
VIRGINIA: Moses Malone… WASHINGTON: John Stockton… WEST VIRGINIA: Jerry West… WISCONSIN: Latrell Sprewell… WYOMING: Kenny Sailors
Of the players on the above list, six were active during the 2010-2011 season: Joey Graham, Luke Ridnour, Kirk Hinrich, Shaquille O’Neal (although he has since officially announced his retirement), Mike Miller and Grant Hill.
A pair of current Celtic players are within 3,000 career points of overtaking players from their birth state: Ray Allen is 2,993 behind Reggie Miller for players born in California; Kevin Garnett is 2,290 career points behind Alex English for most points by a player born in South Carolina.
Sports Stats 'on Tapp' 