Hoopscape - Sports Narration
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one of the greatest NBA players ever, frequently, ranked as a top five of his time by ESPN wasn't even the top five of his own draft pick with a draft position lower than guys like Greg Oden, Anthony, Bennett and Darko Milicic. Obviously none of the players in the initial list had a hall of Fame career like him. They all had remarkable careers in their own way. One was the first player ever banned by the NBA and another turned out to be the father of one of the greatest NBA shooters ever. Here we have their shocking story. So if you're new to the channel, welcome to hoops Cape here, we provide you with interesting videos and updates from the world of basketball today. We will provide you with all the information you need to catch up on regarding the players selected before Larry Bird and their backstory. First pick, Michael Thompson, Michael, Sweet Bells, Thompson was the first international number one pick in the 1978 draft at six ft tall. Michael was indeed a solid power forward who played seven seasons in Portland. His best season came in 19 81 when he averaged 20 points, 11 rebounds and three assists. Michael played half a season with the spurs before being traded to the Lakers in february of 91 Michael was a valuable member of the Showtime Lakers, serving as Kareem's back up and providing valuable minutes. Michael won two championships with the Lakers, the first in 87 against Larry Bird and the Celtics in Game six of that series. Michael had 15 points and nine rebounds and the Lakers won the championship in 88 beating the Detroit pistons in seven games. Michael continued to play the backup center roll until 91 when he retired. Michael took a job in sports entertainment and has been a Laker radio host since 2001. The Thompson name continues to grow in the N. B. A. As Clay, His second son is a four time NBA champion with the Warriors, Thompson goes inside and dunks. Michael was most recently in Maui for the Lakers Showtime reunion where the team most likely celebrated beating Larry in 1987 but Larry made sure to get three rings of his own second pick Phil Ford. The number two pick in the NBA draft was N. C. Double A legend Phil Ford to this day, Phil is still considered one of the best A. Cc point guards ever. Phil was the key to the U. N. C. Four corners offense with no shot clock in the N. C. Double A. U. N. C. Would space the floor and let Phil play one on one until the defense overcommitted back to the left outside. It was brilliant but incredibly frustrating for any college opponent he faced Phil Ford led U. N. C. Past rival N. C. State for the A. C. C. Title his freshman year and he was named A C. C. Athlete of the year in both his junior and senior years. Winning M. V. P. Is a great honor but it doesn't come close to the honor of winning the atlantic Coast Conference championship. He said during his time at U. N. C. He averaged 18 points, six assists, two rebounds and two steals per game. And he won a gold medal as the team's starting point guard in the 19 seventies. Six olympics Phil continued to build his legacy in the NBA with the Kansas City Kings, where he once had 26 points and 21 assists in his rookie season against the Bucks. He won rookie of the year, averaging 15 points and eight assists, two rebounds and two steals. When Phil had a career high 38 points against the Houston Rockets in 1981 he was forced to have surgery due to an eye injury that ended the season, Phil returned in 1982 but he was never the same player. He was moved to the nets and then to the Bucks. In the same season Phil finished his career with the Houston Rockets from 83 to 85 in 482 games, Phil averaged 11 points, six assists in one rebound. Meanwhile, Larry Bird was busy winning back to back league MVPs and NBA championships after retiring in 98 Phil came back to U. N. C. As an assistant coach and assisted in the team's N. C. Double A tournament victory in 93 Phil stayed on the U. N. C. Coaching staff until 1999. Afterward Phil for ford temporarily served as an NBA coach from 2004 to 2010 with the pistons, knicks and bobcats. Despite the fact that both Phil and Larry Bird had famous collegiate careers, fill Ford's NBA career paled. In contrast to the player selected four picks later. Third pick Rick, roby, florida native Rick Roby was a £611 powerful center who could score rebound and offer toughness to whatever team he played on in the championship game of his final season at UK. Rick earned N. N. C double A title with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Rick played just 43 games for indiana before being traded to the Celtics for small ford and All Star Billy night. What a blessing for Rick though as he played backup center for the Celtics for five seasons and was a member of the squad that defeated moses Malone and the Houston Rockets to win the 81 NBA championship. He said it is amazing and I'm just very happy that I was a part of it. Rick and Larry were good friends. They were able to get Birds signed. According to Rick in an interview, he stated the for first year we were roommates and then we decided after the first year we would get our own separate rooms. Larry and I became very close. He without a doubt was the greatest player I ever played with. But Rick was traded to phoenix in 1983 and missed the prime of Larry's dominance in the N. B. A. His role diminished and Rick retired in 1986. He played 493 games and averaged seven points and four rebounds in the nineties. He became a successful real estate agent in Kentucky and still works in the industry to this day. Fourth pick Michael Ray Richardson, the fourth selection for just a brief stretch of his career, Michael Ray Richardson was projected to be new york's walt Frazier, who in case you were unaware was one of the best players of all time. Like walt, Michael could make his own shot past rebound and perimeter defense with the knicks, he averaged 15 points in his second season, six rebounds, three steals and 10 assists. He made the All Star team every year after his debut season with the knicks, becoming just the third player in NBA history to lead the league in both assists and steals. Michael was dealing with substance abuse at the time and his career was on the decline. In 1982 he was traded to the Warriors in exchange for Bernard King. However, he only played 33 games before being traded to the New Jersey nets In 1984 Michael submitted himself to rehab and played 48 games with his new team. However, in 1985 Michael bounced back that season, averaging 20 points, five rebounds, eight assists and three steals. He won the NBA come Player of the Year award was chosen for his fourth All Star team and won the NBA Steel championship once again. But his career ended suddenly. Richardson was then banned by the NBA. It was reported on news that today is a sad one. Michael. Ray Richardson player of the New Jersey nets has been dismissed from the N. B. A. Under terms of the anti drug agreement between the league and its players association. The moment crushed him yet, Michael didn't give up. He played 14 seasons in the Euro League where he continued to get buckets and earn a living in 2002. He finally retired from playing and returned to coaching from 2004 to 2014. He coached two minor league basketball teams in the C. B. A. And one NBL team in Canada. He led the team to multiple championships within the respective leagues. Although Michael was the first player banned by the NBA, he didn't let that define him today. Michael lives in Oklahoma and puts on youth clinics with his longtime friend and teammate, Otis Birdsong. Fifth pick Purvis short. Prior to Larry's arrival, Purvis short was the final player selected credit to Purvis though, since he was still a fairly reliable player in his day. Golden State. You failed on this one and you will have to wait another 35 years until you choose an NBA winner, Purvis, who stood six ft seven was endowed with unbelievable skills and an unlocked rainbow jump shot that allowed him to put up absurd numbers. In 1984 and 1985 he scored a career high 50 nine points in one game, ranking among the top 10 scoring performances in NBA history at the time. He also had 57 46 point games that season and ended the year with an average of 28 points per match. Purvis Short had just one season, his second to last in which he didn't average double digits and points even when he took on lesser roles and fewer minutes. Despite the fact that Purvis was never chosen an all star, it was very challenging to compete with players like Larry Bird who scored 60 points against the hawks while playing the same position just a few months after Purvis and was at the same position while Purvis was an underrated player over his 12 seasons in the NBA, he was still a model professional and highly respected by his coaches and peers in the same season that Larry averaged 28.7 points per game along with 10 rebounds and six assists. Purvis short wound down his career with the Rockets than the nets. When he retired. He was appointed vice president of an NBA program that AIDS players in coping with some of the difficulties of the NBA lifestyle. He is still in that position. As of this video, he's the director of the NBA players Association and continues his work in supporting NBA players on and off courts, Purvis short deserves his flowers as it's tough to shine when you're the last guy to be drafted before Larry Bird. How the Celtics picked Larry Bird. The absurd thing is that everyone concurred that Larry ought to have been selected first in 1978 while Bird had domine college basketball averaging 30 points, 13 rebounds and four assists. Selecting him was a risky move because he was only a junior and had made it clear to NBA teams that he would not forego his senior season. Plus signing him would require a huge contract. As a result, the indiana Pacers traded their first round pick to the Portland's Trail Blazers and chose rick roby. While the boston Celtics took a chance and selected Bird at number six. When Larry's draft rights were about to expire, the Celtics ultimately managed to cap his interest just a few weeks before Larry was first clearly uninterested. But finally, just a few weeks prior to Larry's draft rights, expiring the Celtics pulled off a deal of three and a quarter million over five years, the largest rookie contract in all of sports. And Larry accepted and for an entire decade, he dominated the league. He kept winning championships MVPs and more first time all NBA awards than you can count. Larry redefined trash talk like the time. He told Xavier Mcdaniel that he was going to hit the guy Game winner in his face. We can't really hold these NBA teams responsible for not selecting Larry Bird because even Larry didn't think he would join the team that selected him in 1978. However, sometimes you have to take a chance for the sake of it and the Celtics did just that. So here's all the information about the talented NBA players drafted before Larry Bird. 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