John Havlicek: The Best All-around Player Of. from bette gatt's blog

This type of argument in itself can be beaten to death. Just like: Who is the best pop singer of all-time? What place makes the best pizza? What city has the best skyline? Who is the greatest all-around basketball player? All of these debatable, but they are still the staff of life for musicians, chefs, travel planners and of course, basketball fans. Since I don't really believe in being able to compare across generations, I won't go as far as to say John Havlicek is the greatest all-around player of all-time. However, my statement that he is the best of his era should ruffle enough feathers. The question immediately leads to numerous other questions. Does “greatest” mean “the most valuable?” If that's the case, Bill Russell wins hands down with his 11 championships (not to mention one injury-plagued near-miss) in thirteen years would be a good testimony to win that argument. But, in this case, I am looking at a more academic argument. By that I mean which player could, by using a variety of skills both cerebral and physical, contribute to winning the most games in different ways. While I can Toe Protectors sense the people already typing rebuttals for Elgin Baylor, Oscar Robertson and Jerry West, it should be clear to see that Havlicek is first in the class. At the time of his retirement, Havlicek had played the most games in NBA history. He was also the fourth leading scorer in the history of the NBA, trailing only Wilt Chamberlain, Robertson and West. When it comes to assists, he ranked 6th all-time, but impressive nonetheless as he was the highest of the non-lead guards. He also played in the most playoff games of all-time. In the end though, it was never about the numbers that defined Hondo. Tom Heinsohn coached Havlicek for seven years, but he never cared about his statistics. He considered having Havliceck in his prime (which was probably from 1967 to 1974) was like having the queen in chess. He could do anything. You could keep him on the bench and see how the game is going, then stick him in either at forward or guard. Or, when the luxury was no longer possible, start him up front and switch him to the backcourt as the game demanded. It was, in a way, like having two All-Star players in one. On top of all that, you never had to worry about taking him out of the game, due to his unrivaled fitness level. The key to his success though was not that he was just capable of playing two positions, but that he was a legitimate All-Star at both. He was arguably the best small forward who played in that era, combined with one of the steadiest, smartest and best passing guards who ever played.