Hoops

how many #1 draft picks can you name?

36. Damn.

Missed 1968, 70, 73(cannot believe I forgot that one), 77, and 81.

One self populated for me as I was typing another name, score!

Good work Moses and Vanexel - top scores with 36 apiece!

Johnny Sack fair point - my knowledge of him really began on the Celtics when he was past it. Just checked his stats and 91-92 really was a hell of a year for him! So I'll look on Pervis with a bit more sympathy now.

Fez, I was just stirring. In all honesty, I don't place a lot of value on who is the 'best' player. I think both Kobe and Pierce are exceptional players, but now that teams are allowed to play a quasi-zone, the ability of one player to dominate a playoff series is reduced a lot. As the Celtics showed, if you work hard on defence, you can make it almost impossible for a Lebron or Kobe to beat you by themselves. Which is good for the game in my view -I much prefer the way NBA basketball is being played these days to how it was through most of the 90s with too much isolation and one on one play.

Bowie had an unfortunate run with injuries but when healthy showed he was a decent player. I don't know if that makes him a bust.

Either Kwame or the Kandiman for me! Pervis Ellison was a complete bust back in the early 90s as well!

Whoops my bad it was the other way around. It is a friday

Kobe is not in Jordan's league least of all Bird, Magic, Chamberlain, Julius to name but a few. Heck i'd even take Charles over him. He is a selfish player who does not make anybody better on his team.

The worst number 1 pick in history was Sam Bowie who went number one ahead of Akeem #2 and Jordan #3.

I doubt many would agree with you there Playtime. First of all, Kobe has half the championships of Jordan.

Just to expand on that, Kobe has played 13 seasons. The great Bill Russell played 13 seasons and won 11 rings! He only had to contend with a monster called Wilt Chamberlain and some incredible Lakers and St Louis teams.

Moving right along there was a bloke called Magic who won 5, Kobe's ex team mate Shaq has 4 and hell even Bird had 3 championships in less time in the league than Kobe has had!

My final two points: How many rings has Kobe won without Shaq? And if Kobe is so good, how did Paul Pierce so easily outplay him in the finals last year when he had a chance to get no. 4?

I will agree with you that Iverson is a flawed player, but he was also a damn good player who was clearly a much surer bet when he was drafted than some highschool kid called Kobe Bryant!

Game times for next week: Rockets vs Sabres, 7PM at Hillcrest on August 6th (Saturday). The mens game is the same day, but the Warriors host the Sabres at 8:15PM at the Dome. Here are Colin Thompson's game reviews for the semi-finals last weekend: Sturt Sabres ended South Adelaide Panthers finals campaign with a narrow victory at Marion. The Panthers started the game aggressively scoring 21 to 5 in the first quarter. Tracey Braithwaite was in early foul trouble as the Sabres clawed their way back, reducing the half time deficit to eight points. Hannah and Monique Bowley led the revival. Intense pressure from the Sabres continued into the third quarter, with South still leading by 10 points half way through the term when Tracey Braithwaite fouled out. At the final break the scores were even and both teams fought out a thrilling final term. Brigid Bowley (17 points and 14 rebounds) and Monique Bowley (13 points and 13 rebound) each scored double doubles for the Sabres. Triple Halls Medal winner Vikki Kelson was the game high score with 21 points, 12 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists for the Panthers. In a tough, aggressive game Forestville Eagles defeated the Rockets at Hillcrest to advance to the Grand Final. Initially both teams found it difficult to score with tight defence, with the double teaming of Erin Phillips particularly effective in the first half. By half time the Eagles had established a break of five points. In the third quarter Erin Phillips started hitting shots and by the final break the Rockets only had a deficit of three points. The Eagles continued to play well as a team and maintained that break despite being under constant threat throughout. They were able to find the loose player more often than the Rockets and thus their shooting was superior (41.5% to 30.5%) as they kept Norths shooters under pressure. Jenni Screen (16 points at 66.7%, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals), Deanne Ranford (16 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists) and Cherie Smith (14 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals) were well supported by narelle lindsay, Kylie Newbold and Belinda Tredwell. For the rockets Erin Phillips was the game-high scorer with 22 points, 10 rebounds After an even first quarter Sturt Sabres exploded in the second term led by Tom Finkemeyer with 13 points. In the first quarter his counterpart Brad Bungey had put in 14 points for the Mavericks and he went on to produce a career-high 33 points. At the half time break the sabres had built a lead of 18 points which they blew out to 27 points at the final break. Darren Ng dominated the third term with 15 points. The final quarter was played out giving all players on both teams court time. Forestville Eagles moved into the Grand Final in a nail biting win on the buzzer against the Warriors. The game see-sawed throughout, with the Eagles establishing a good break in the first quarter only to see this reversed in the second quarter. The teams went into the half time break on level terms. The second half saw the two locked in a tough battle with the lead changing one way then the other. In the final quarter the Eagles exetended a lead to seven points only to be overtaken in the final minute, leaving Daniel Wilson to make a basket on the buzzer. For the Eagles Jason Dix was contained to 18 points and 12 rebounds by strong Woodville defence inside the keyway. Similarly Matt Elder was contained below his average for Woodville. He and Andrew Puddifoot (11 points and 13 rebounds) both produced double doubles.