And on the other side, a risky move that didn’t pay off… drafting Darko #2, ahead of Carmelo (who was considered the consensus #2 pick, having just dominated in the NCAA tourny as a freshman).
And not only him, but also taking him over the next two picks - Chris Bosh and D.Wade.
second Jerry West said it in the heat of the moment literally right after losing in the Finals to Celtics in 1969 and it reflected badly on both Wilt and West.
Did he? I was always under the impression that he said it at the Finals MVP Award Banquet, which was like three days after the series concluded.
EDIT: Yep, looks like my memory was correct - here is the quote in an AP newspaper article from May 9, 1969: https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=P_JNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pYoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7256,969871
As others have noted, Simmons Book of Basketball is a great start. The biggest downside is that it has a very frat boy vibe to it. A lot of sexual inuendo jokes, a sprinkle of fart jokes, a ton of 80s and 90s pop culture references.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s worth reading, but when I read it in my 20s I found it hilarious and captivating, but when I read it again in my 40s I found parts of it to be a bit cringey.
The Free Darko book mentioned is another good one, it’s like the exact opposite of BoB - rather than references to Melrose Place, there are references to 1600s French literature and rap, for example. It’s also got a pretty cool form factor - big colorful pages, unique artwork, etc. - whereas BoB is more mass paperback form factor (thin pages, black and white, small text, few visual elements).
If you are looking for ABA specifically, or for 50s/60s NBA, there are two good oral hitory books by the same author (Terry Pluto): Tall Tales (about the NBA) and Loose Balls (about the ABA).
Finally, if you like talking hoops history here on Reddit, check out /r/VintageNBA
He also had a lot of turnovers, top 10 in three seasons, and actually led the League one year.
Interestingly, he never made an All NBA Team, even though he finished second in MVP voting in one year.
Making All NBA as a center back then was tough, with just two teams and guys like Wilt and Russell always taking a spot or two.
Not unlike Kevin Durant and Devin Durrant.
but Mark Eaton for real
Not saying he couldn’t ever block Kareem’s skyhook, but coincidentally, Kareem broke the all time scoring record with a skyhook shot over Mark Eaton’s outstretched fingers.
He is also a professional BBQ sauce chef - https://elmoresmithbbqsauce.com/