George Mikan: the First NBA Superstar.
July 20th 2007 15:07
As a historian of the game of basketball it is important to acknowledge
the trail blazers who created the stage in which players like Michael Jordan and LeBron James are able to shine. It is all too easy to forget in our own personal myopia that the world didn’t begin the moment we came onto this planet – there were many before us, and many more to follow.
Fans of NBA basketball do suffer from short term memory and are all too willing to forget the past, which is a tragedy really because the league has a wonderful history featuring a number of great players.
With our recent breakout of basketball nostalgia we may as well go way back in the day and talk about the first true superstar of the NBA – George Mikan.
Let’s begin as per usual the important stats of the very first, dominant big man to grace the NBA.
Name: George Lawrence Mikan Jr.
Date of Birth: 18/6/24
Died: 1/6/05
Height: 6’ 10”
Teams: Chicago American Gears, Minneapolis Lakers
Honours: Elected to Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (1959); NBA champion (1950, '52, '53, '54); Five-time All-NBA First Team (1950-54); Four-time NBA All-Star (1951-54); All-Star MVP (1953); One of 50 Greatest Players in NBA History (1996).
Before the bespectacled, and to be honest, rather nerdy looking, George Mikan broke into the league, basketball was considered a sport that was ill suited to the bigger man. A game that emphasised agility and speed seemed to be attributes that tall men were perceived to have lacked.
Mikan changed everything.
Breaking into the league in a big way, Mikan was able to tower above his much shorter opponents and dominate at will averaging 22.6 points throughout his illustrious career.
The Lakers were the first true dynasty, with Mikan the centrepiece. George was able to lead his team to six titles in seven years, whilst being named as the greatest player in the fist half of the 20th century by the league. George was quite simply the man!
Being bigger than all of his opponents, Mikan was a handful on both the offensive and defensive ends. Mikan was the original proponent of the ‘sky hook’ which he used to devastating effect.
In fact the dominance displayed by Mikan was so absolute that the NBA changed a number of rules to prevent him from making a farce of the game. The foul line was widened from six to 12 feet to keep him away from the basket, and the 24 second shot clock was implemented so teams wouldn’t hold onto the ball, while not attempting to score any baskets.
The big fella was pivotal in not only the art of centre position, but also making professional basketball visible and popular to the American public.
We’ll end today’s post with the words of his fellow teammate Vern Mikkelsen who summed up the man quite succinctly: “In our time, George was Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird all rolled into one…” (Barreiro, NBA Encyclopaedia)
Today’s video is of George Mikan in action.
George Mikan was badass. (NBAE/Getty Images)
Fans of NBA basketball do suffer from short term memory and are all too willing to forget the past, which is a tragedy really because the league has a wonderful history featuring a number of great players.
With our recent breakout of basketball nostalgia we may as well go way back in the day and talk about the first true superstar of the NBA – George Mikan.
Let’s begin as per usual the important stats of the very first, dominant big man to grace the NBA.
Name: George Lawrence Mikan Jr.
Date of Birth: 18/6/24
Died: 1/6/05
Height: 6’ 10”
Teams: Chicago American Gears, Minneapolis Lakers
Honours: Elected to Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (1959); NBA champion (1950, '52, '53, '54); Five-time All-NBA First Team (1950-54); Four-time NBA All-Star (1951-54); All-Star MVP (1953); One of 50 Greatest Players in NBA History (1996).
Before the bespectacled, and to be honest, rather nerdy looking, George Mikan broke into the league, basketball was considered a sport that was ill suited to the bigger man. A game that emphasised agility and speed seemed to be attributes that tall men were perceived to have lacked.
Mikan changed everything.
The Lakers have been blessed with some of the greatest big men to play the game. (Peter Read Miller/NBAE/Getty)
The Lakers were the first true dynasty, with Mikan the centrepiece. George was able to lead his team to six titles in seven years, whilst being named as the greatest player in the fist half of the 20th century by the league. George was quite simply the man!
Being bigger than all of his opponents, Mikan was a handful on both the offensive and defensive ends. Mikan was the original proponent of the ‘sky hook’ which he used to devastating effect.
In fact the dominance displayed by Mikan was so absolute that the NBA changed a number of rules to prevent him from making a farce of the game. The foul line was widened from six to 12 feet to keep him away from the basket, and the 24 second shot clock was implemented so teams wouldn’t hold onto the ball, while not attempting to score any baskets.
The big fella was pivotal in not only the art of centre position, but also making professional basketball visible and popular to the American public.
We’ll end today’s post with the words of his fellow teammate Vern Mikkelsen who summed up the man quite succinctly: “In our time, George was Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird all rolled into one…” (Barreiro, NBA Encyclopaedia)
Today’s video is of George Mikan in action.
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