State of Indiana All-Time NBA Starting Five

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,940]

Just for fun.

One of those links you find at the bottom of a webpage to the 10 best, 10 worst, etc., kind of stuff.  This one was captioned:  Each State's All-Time NBA Starting Five   The basic criteria was born and raised not where they played college ball.  Therefore, Isiah Thomas doesn't make the list because he was from Illinois (he is on the IL list of course).  Mike Conley could have made the list (he didn't) even though he went to OSU. 

 

Indiana

Jeff Teague, Gordon Hayward, Larry Bird, Shawn Kemp, George McGinnis

Total of 19 All-Star appearances, 5 NBA/ABA championships

The Hoosier State has a strong tradition in basketball and it is no surprise their all-time NBA is impressive as well.

Jeff Teague gets the nod at point guard and though he may only have one All-Star appearance so far, 12.5 points and 5.0 assists per game give you an idea of why he deserves a spot. Scott Skiles is the only other Hooiser that should be considered, but I believe by the end of Teague’s playing days — and if the Atlanta Hawks continue to be successful — he’ll be the clear choice.

Another active player gets the next mention for team Indiana as Gordon Hayward. He may normally be a small forward, but there is too much talent in the state not to make players adjust. Hayward has been proving himself to be one of the league’s better players with 16.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. He’s only gotten better each season and we’ll have to wait to see how much he peaks before the end.

You knew Larry Legend was coming, and of course Bird is on team Indiana. Bird was the best trash talker, not because the words were so brutal, but because he backed it up. Strangely he never was a leader in any statistic during his career but he was near the top in points, rebounds and assists consistently. Thanks to advanced statistics like win shares, plus-minus and PER in particular, where he still sits in 18th all-time, we know that Larry Bird is one of the greatest to play the game from any state, much less in Indiana.

George McGinnis and his six All-Star Game appearances as well as two ABA titles comes up next of the Hoosier State. In fact, those two titles came with ABA version of the Indiana Pacers if you needed more “Indiana-ness” for McGinnis. 21.8 points and 11.8 rebounds per game averages for McGinnis aren’t too shabby either.

Rounding out the list for Indiana is Shawn Kemp. The Rain Man is best known for his time with the Seattle SuperSonics and lives there now, but he was born and raised in Indiana. Kemp and the Sonics were a force to be reckoned with from 1993 to 1997 while he made a total of six All-Star games in his career. Kemp averaged 14.6 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per a game.

Grade: A

 

[Jam 278]

Where is Oscar?

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,940]

Where is Oscar?

Very good because I wondered also and he's far superior to Teague IMO.

[Alford Bailey 12,246]

Oscar, where you been? Outside shooting baskets.With that rusty ol tin can? A BASKETBALL!

 

 

Anybody remember this??