Was Prime Moses Malone "Ring Chasing" in 1982?

[jlip]

In the summer of 1982, Moses Malone was considered by many to be the best player in the game. He had won two of the previous four NBA MVP awards, was the best rebounder in the league, and finished second in scoring during the 1982 season. In 1981 he overachieved and led his team to the NBA Finals against the Celtics. In route to the Finals Malone

[jayfan]

Philly offered more than what Houston was willing to. Is that the case here?



.

[feyki]

No doubt .

[ArbitraryWater]

yea

only case similar

[97 bulls]

[QUOTE=jlip]In the summer of 1982, Moses Malone was considered by many to be the best player in the game. He had won two of the previous four NBA MVP awards, was the best rebounder in the league, and finished second in scoring during the 1982 season. In 1981 he overachieved and led his team to the NBA Finals against the Celtics. In route to the Finals Malone

[Doctor K]

Yes



Tho 16 Warriors >>>>>>>>>>> 82 76ers

The 76ers won 58 games (which is good but not 73) but never won a title before with Dr.J. They were always not good enough. Moses pushed them over the top. This would be more like KD joining the Clippers.

[La Frescobaldi]

Rox with Moses Malone did not overachieve.

It was a surprise but it wasn't like... what the Cavs just did, for example.

[houston]

yes it was

great players want to play with great players that always been the case

[NumberSix]

I don't see how this is even remotely similar to what Durant did. Durant left a great situation to join the team that beat him and his team. Where's the sport in that? The best player in the league did not leave to join the best team.

Here's examples comparable to what Durant did.

You can't please your wife so you bring in another man to help you.

You hunt for sport using a tank and GPS

You can't win a medal in the Olympics, so you compete in the Special Olympics

What Durant did is like Trump ditching the Republicans to be Hillary's VP.

[97 bulls]

What Durant did is like Trump ditching the Republicans to be Hillary's VP.

Exactly. You just won the internet.

[tmacattack33]

The Rockets did not knock the Sixers out of the playoffs in 1981.


So, you're about half way there. You found somebody who did one of the two things (1. Join a GOAT team 2. Join his opponents) that Durant did. Congrats. Keep searching.




(actually you are not exactly half way there, as 58 is not at all the equivalent of 73 wins...so, you are about 3/10th's of the way there, not 1/2)

[jlip]

This thread was not about whether Moses Malone did the same, identical thing as KD or even LeBron in 2010. It was simply about whether he was ring chasing in his prime. Was he seeking the "easy road" to a championship instead of building a strong title contender where he was?

[Gotterdammerung]

Jlip,
Moses Malone had played on weak teams his entire career, and only by overachieving, or going into supernova mode, could his team even go anywhere in the playoffs. He had his fill of losing, and decided to play for a bonafide contender in the Sixers.

At that point he already had enough accolades, was generally the best center in the league, and he knew he would be the reason the Sixers got over the hump (they had not won since 1967, and had lost three Finals (1976, 1980, 1982), and lost the Eastern conference Finals in 1981 to the eventual champion Celtics) because they did not have a true center to offset the Celtics' frontcourt or slow down the Lakers' Abdul Jabbar.

I think "ring-chasing" only applies to a veteran at the end of his career who goes to a championship contender like Karl Malone to the Lakers in 2003.

[jlip]

Jlip,
Moses Malone had played on weak teams his entire career, and only by overachieving, or going into supernova mode, could his team even go anywhere in the playoffs. He had his fill of losing, and decided to play for a bonafide contender in the Sixers.

At that point he already had enough accolades, was generally the best center in the league, and he knew he would be the reason the Sixers got over the hump (they had not won since 1967, and had lost three Finals (1976, 1980, 1982), and lost the Eastern conference Finals in 1981 to the eventual champion Celtics) because they did not have a true center to offset the Celtics' frontcourt or slow down the Lakers' Abdul Jabbar.

I think "ring-chasing" only applies to a veteran at the end of his career who goes to a championship contender like Karl Malone to the Lakers in 2003.

I agree with you and have absolutely no problem with what Malone did. It was the right basketball decision and actually strengthened his legacy. I'm just wondering how Moses Malone would be viewed in 2016 if he did the same thing.

[Odinn]

Philly played in 2 of last 3 NBA Finals before Moses' arrival. In that sense, yeah - it kinda look similar. But when we consider other things as well, the story isn't that similar IMO.

OKC had some quality besides KD. Moses led the Rockets to the NBA Finals all by himself. They had bunch of injured players in 1981. He needed to average 35+ ppg for b2b months so the Rockets could play in the playoffs(1982). http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=272312
After Moses' departure Houston won 32 less games ffs. I don't think OKC will suffer from something like that. They won the lottery due to his departure. The team was just Moses.

And when Moses went to Philly, there wasn't a unclear situation about who was the top dog.

To me, it was like KG joining the Celtics rather than LeBron joining the Heat or KD joining the Warriors. Moses didn't join a team with equally impactful player. That's why he won b2b MVP awards in different teams.