ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, October 30, 1996 TAG: 9610300058
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NEW YORK
SOURCE: Associated Press
Some were so good their nicknames alone bring back memories: Wilt. Dr.J. Cooz. Magic. Pistol Pete. Pearl. Hondo. Tiny.
Some simply were big, as in Big E and Big O.
Others needed or need no more mention than their first names: Michael. Charles. Larry. Hakeem. Shaquille. Scottie.
Then there were those who played before the NBA became a multibillion-dollar industry: George Mikan. Bob Pettit. Paul Arizin. Hal Greer. Bill Sharman.
Tremendous basketball players, all of them.
And on the 50th anniversary of the NBA, the league announced Tuesday they were among the 50 chosen as the greatest to play the game. (Complete team in Scoreboard.)
The announcement of the team kicked off the NBA's 50th anniversary celebration. The team was chosen by a panel of 50 former players and coaches, current and former general managers, team executives and media.
As a group, the 50 players accumulated 107 NBA championships, 49 Most Valuable Player awards, 17 Rookie of the Year honors, 447 All-Star selections and 36 scoring titles.
Vote totals were not released, and the 50 players were announced alphabetically rather than being ranked.
As for who was the best of all, five players who can make a stake to that claim - Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, George Mikan and Julius Erving - were on hand for the announcement and diplomatically ducked that particular question.
``I don't think there is one,'' Russell said. ``Nobody could ever play better than Oscar. Period. There are guys who could tie Oscar, but not beat him. Same thing with Bird, Magic, Jordan, Mikan, Pettit. To say who was the best player is impossible.''
Chamberlain, who scored 100 points in a March 2, 1962, game and averaged 50.4 points and 25.7 rebounds that season, has heard the topic discussed countless times.
``Personally, I'm a bit tired of the question. It's up to the fans to decide who in their opinion is the best player,'' Chamberlain said.
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