Which player from the 60s put up these these numbers in the 80s?

[jongib369]

Game Highs

1984
22 points 9-14, 10 rebounds,1 steal and assist.
Season high rebounds 17

1983
35 points 16-24(No other data for game)
(16 high rebounds with available data)

1982
31(No other data for game)
27 points 11-16, 8 rebounds

[Psileas]

Elvin Hayes.
Also managed a triple double in his second to last game, at 38+.

Definitely couldn't play in the 80's if he was in his prime doe.

[Im Still Ballin]

The old "if these 60's players could do this in the 80's, then they could do it in the 90's and 00's because the 80's guys did it in the 90's and even 00's!'

[jongib369]

Elvin Hayes.
Also managed a triple double in his second to last game, at 38+.

Definitely couldn't play in the 80's if he was in his prime doe.

[Kblaze8855]

The old "if these 60's players could do this in the 80's, then they could do it in the 90's and 00's because the 80's guys did it in the 90's and even 00's!'

Id say its closer to....they could do it in the 90s because they were playing people still in the league in the 90s. He was outplaying Robert Parish for years and Robert retired in 97. Hell Elvin was washed up and still starting over guys who were in the NBA with Dirk and Vince Carter. He was in his 30s and Rick Mahorn was his backup. Rick played till like....98 or 99.

[Psileas]

The old "if these 60's players could do this in the 80's, then they could do it in the 90's and 00's because the 80's guys did it in the 90's and even 00's!'

Prove the opposite.
It's been shown time and again that players can play at a decent/high level even 2 decades apart from their youth and only age prohibits them from doing it for longer. And it doesn't matter what decades we're talking about. Players from the "weak" 60's/70's have played at a high level in the "great" 80's/90's, showing how adaptive lots of NBA players really are, regardless of era.

[jongib369]

Id say its closer to....they could do it in the 90s because they were playing people still in the league in the 90s. He was outplaying Robert Parish for years and Robert retired in 97. Hell Elvin was washed up and still starting over guys who were in the NBA with Dirk and Vince Carter. He was in his 30s and Rick Mahorn was his backup. Rick played till like....98 or 99.

You bring up a good point with Hayes and Chief. I don't know their numbers myself, but with you saying that it gave me the idea to look at the draft history in the late 50s, 60s, and early 70s and find players that played the longest.

I've done this visually somewhat, but as an example I'd like to see how far I could 'link someone like Cousy. PosT what he put up against West, and or Robertson. Then show great to just good players those two went again't in the late 60s, early 70s, that went on to play 'well in the late 70s/early 80s and so forth.

[jongib369]

If anyone would want to help with said project PM me. Could focus on specific players

[LAZERUSS]

Elvin Hayes.
Also managed a triple double in his second to last game, at 38+.

Definitely couldn't play in the 80's if he was in his prime doe.

I won't bother looking up the topic now, but in it it was claimed that Hondo was a "mop-head" that would be a scrub today. In fact, I believe the clown claimed that anything before 1980 was useless. Even funnier, the guy had a screen name of CuterthanRubio. And he ripped Havlicek for missing so many shots in his career. With the name of Rubio in his user name.

Hondo was interesting because he played 16 seasons in his NBA career, and split them down the middle between the 60's and 70's. Why was he interesting? He is yet another "bridge" that played against players in the early 60's (probably quite a few them who had played in the 50's), and against players in the late 70's, who would go on to play well into the 80's (and even 90's...e.g. Parish.)

Furthermore, Havlicek shot considerably better from the field in the decade of the 70's, than he did in the decade of the 60's. In fact, if you put his 69-70 season in with his 70's numbers, he had a higher FG% EVERY season in the 70's, then he did in all of his 60's seasons.

He was also proof of just how much talent that Russell was paired with in his career. After Russell retired, Havlicek had his five highest scoring seasons, ranging from 22.6 ppg, all the way up to 28.9 ppg. Of course, he put up high scoring playoffs with, and without Russell, and it could be argued that he was Boston's best post-season player in at least Russell's last two years.

In addition to playoff seasons of 27.1 ppg, 27.4 ppg, and 27.4 ppg, Hondo also hung a 54 point playoff game. And in the final game of his career, and at age 38, he put up a 29-8-4 game.

In any case, if the game became much more competitive in the 70's, why was Havlicek just one more example of a player actually playing at a higher level in the 70's, than he did in the 60's?


I have said it before, but for those that rip other eras, I would like them to point out the EXACT year in which that era became better. Cuterthan Rubio claims anything before 1980 was pure trash. And yet, the first four MVPs of the 80's all played in the 70's. The first five scoring champs, all played in the 70's. The first six rpg leaders...all played in the 70's. And the first five FG% champs...all played in the 70's.

Artis Gilmore is another "bridge" whose career spanned 18 seasons. It began in the ABA, and then from the mid-70's on, in the NBA. Amazingly, he was considerably more efficient offensively in the 80's, than he was in the 70's. For instance, at age 27, and in the NBA, he averaged 18.6 ppg on a .522 FG%. His highest FG% season of the 70's was his last one (excluding his ABA high of .580), in 78-79, at .575. He blew that away in the 80's, putting up seasons of .595, .597, and then six straight seasons of .618+, with highs of .652 and .670. Incidently, in his .652 season, at age 32, he averaged 18.5 ppg...or nearly the same ppg (18.6) that he did at age 27, but on a MUCH higher FG%.

And you can go player-for-player whose careers spanned the early 60's to the late 60's, and the vast majority shot higher, or even much higher by the end of the decade of the 60's. Same with those that spanned the 60's and into the 70's. Look up players like Baylor, Imhoff, Johnny Green, and so many others. Green went from a .436 shooter early in the 60's, to leading the league in the 70's. Imhoff had seasons in the early 60's as low as .314, and by the end of the decade was shooting .540.

Kareem played 20 years in the league, and split the decade of the 70's and 80's, right down the middle. Aside from his last two seasons, at ages 40 and 41, he outshot his best season in the 70's EVERY year in the 80's.

Oh, and as we know...a PEAK Kareem played against a full-time Thurmond in some 34 games. His high game against him was 34 points, and he had total of five of 30+. Furthermore, he shot an eye-popping .447 against him in those career H2H's.

And yet a 38-39 year old Kareem, in a span of 10 straight H2H games against a 22-23 year old Hakeem, hung six 30+ games, averaged 32 ppg overall, and hung games of 40, 43, and 46...on a combined .630 FG%. Hell, a 40 year old KAJ outscored a 24 year old Hakeem in their four H2H's, and outshot him from the field by a .567 to .403 margin.

And back to Gilmore. He too faced Hakeem in 10 straight H2H's in his '85 and '86 seasons, and averaged 24 ppg, on get this...a combined .677 FG%!

And a 33 year old Moses, who was way past his peak, outrebounded Hakeem in their H2H's in the 88-89 season...and in a year in which Olajuwon would lead the league in rpg.

And, of course, we know that Hakeem was either the first, or second best center of the 90's (albeit, I have Shaq ahead of him in that decade,. and clearly ahead of him all-time.) And speaking of Shaq, a peak Shaq hung his highest scoring game against Hakeem (a fading Olajuwon) with 37 points. Think about that...a 39 year old Kareem was hanging games of 40, 43, and 46 on Hakeem. And yet a peak Kareem's high game against a fading Thurmond, was only 34 points.

Robert Parish is another bridge. He played in the 70's and well into the 90's. He faced many great centers in his career, including Gilmore and Shaq. Guess whom he claimed was stronger?


In any case, the game of basketball has been around since the 1890's. It was played by colleges in the late 1890's. And there were professional teams in the 1920's. And the NBA was formed in 1946. And aside from the shot-clock, and the 3 pt shot (and a few much less significant changes), the game is being exactly the same way today, as it was in the 1900's. Same number of players, same size hoop, same court dimensions, and roughly the same ball. And the objects are also the same simple ones they were at it's inception...dribble, pass, shoot, rebound, and defend. It is played by kids as young as six, and as old as, well there are senior leagues out there.

And the reality is, the game has evolved SLOWLY. Of course, the 3 pt shot has made a dramatic change to the game, just as the shot clock did in the 50's. But take this stat with a grain of salt...today's NBA is shooting .756 from the FT line...which is what it shot in 1959 (and much higher in other seasons, including .773 in 1974.) And the average height of players has barely changed since the 60's. If we account for the difference in measuring without shoes, and with shoes on, it may very well be the same today, as it was in 1960.

And even with "globalization", where are the all the other Magic's, MJ's, Lebrons's, KG's, Dirk's, Bird's, Malone's, Kareem's, Shaq's, and Wilt's? Hell, a washed up Shaq, and as late as his 2009 season, hung a 45 point game. A 38 year old Duncan, who could barely dunk, had an 18-11 .589 post-season just last year.

And just a few years ago a 6-8 Kevin Love, who was certainly no athletic marvel, ran away with the rpg title, and did so in 35 mpg. And look no further than Ricky Rubio, who is an NBA starter, and is shooting .366 from the floor. Or a 6-5 3/4 Chuck Hayes starting at center for 82 games, and just a few seasons ago.

I would contend that players like a prime Elvin Hayes, and a prime John Havlicek would do quite well in today's NBA.

[Im Still Ballin]

No I'm not saying that in a negative light

I have no problem acknowledging the guys from the 60's

Their talents are clearly legit, and era overlap is proof of this. Two things right away I can pick apart that make a huge difference... Strength and conditioning programs, and rules.... Those guards weren't just that slow with the dribble... The palming laws and what not were different back then.

[Im Still Ballin]

I mean, Robert Parish

All-star 16/10 in 1990 at 36 years old

The best talents from the 60's are legit no matter what

Throw them in any era, they adapt to the strength and conditioning, they adapt to the rules. Bob Cousy would have been a hell of a player in the 80's and 90's. Wilt as I like to say, would be a larger David Robinson... Essentially a mix between Shaq and D-Rob. I have no problem seeing him put up 30+ points and 15 rebounds a game in the 90's.

[Im Still Ballin]

The efficiency increases from the 70's to the 80's can be explained by the Illegal defense rules, which were brought in before the 1981 season, with the intention to open up the paint and increase scoring. This was also supported by the first handcheck ban in 1979. The 70's IMO was by far the most ruthless, physical era of basketball.