One’s view on “how great an achievement is” is oftentimes always the subject of debate. Many use different kinds of measurements to back an argument: championship won, leading a team, clutch baskets, analytics, eye test, and many more others.
One measuring tool, however, puts an undeniable conclusion whenever it is used because it provides an objective result. This is the beauty of stats.
While we often cannot compare athletes for who they are and what they do in their fields, stats will give us the ability to measure their feats and somehow quantify what they have achieved in their field. I am a stat guy and I find appreciation in sports feats when they are presented in absolute values.
This week features somebody’s feat, an exact opposite of Bill Russell’s, winning 11 rings, how an achievement will shine if we apply individual statistics and not championships.
Oscar P. Robertson was the first round draft pick of the defunct Cincinati Royals in the 1960 draft. He made his debut in the NBA on October 19, 1960. He played combo-guard, more often at the point, at a height of 6’5”. He was big for his position and was primed for scoresheet filler.
He did not disappoint in his rookie year. He quickly disproved unbelievers and established himself as somebody who can be a consistent statsheet filler when he almost averaged a triple-double for the entire season.
Robertson averaged 30.5 points, 10.1 rebounds and a 9.7 league-leading assists. He, however, failed to have his impact felt as the Royals finished in the cellar after the season.
In his second season, he did the unthinkable and entered his name in the NBA record books when he averaged double digits in at least three statistical categories.
During the 1961-62 season, he played a total of 79 games and averaged 30.8 points per game, 12.5 rebounds per game and 11.4 assists per game, making him the only player in NBA history to do so, as of date
But again, while he improved the Royals finish by advancing to the Eastern Division Finals, his Royals were ousted by the Boston Celtics team led by Bill Russell in a seven-game series.
For the next three years, he averaged near triple doubles: 28.3ppg, 10.4rpg, and 9.5apg in 1962-63; 31.4 ppg, 9.9rpg and 11.0 apg during 1963-64; and 30.0 ppg, 9.5rpg and 11.0 apg during the 1964-65 season. In his first five years, he averaged 30.3 points, 10.4 rebounds and 10.6 assists per game.
His team record accomplishment, though, were not as pretty. In the 1962-63 season, they defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the Eastern Conference post season but were again ineffective against the Celtics. They were eliminated in the first round of the 1963-64 and 1964-65 post seasons.
If we ignore the facts regarding team placings, Robertson, in his first five years, should have be a demigod in the basketball world. Although he would eventually be slowed down by age and finished his career with an average of 25.7 ppg, 7.5 rpg, and 9.5 apg, his feat during his first five years is something that only another Magic Johnson, Jason Kidd or Lebron James type of players could hope to catch.
By: ARMANDO M. BOLISLIS
