Tag: Moses Malone

Where Rockets rank in updated list of 77 greatest NBA players of all-time

With 77 NBA seasons in the books, @HoopsHype issued an updated list of the greatest 77 players of all-time. Here’s where players with #Rockets ties were ranked.

The 2023-24 regular season is the NBA’s 78th overall, which means 77 seasons are in the books.

With that in mind, our friends at HoopsHype recently compiled an updated list of the NBA’s best 77 players of all time, complete with statistics and information through the 2022-23 campaign.

As one might expect, the Rockets are well represented. Along with many All-Stars over the years, they had three Most Valuable Player (MVP) award winners: Hakeem Olajuwon, Moses Malone and James Harden. Historically, Houston is among the league’s top franchises.

Granted, the Rockets haven’t won a championship since Olajuwon led them to their only two in the 1994 and 1995 NBA Finals. But the hope is that could change in the years ahead. If it does, perhaps a rising star such Jalen Green, Amen Thompson or Jabari Smith Jr. might crack an updated version of this list in a decade or so.

For now, with the start of 2023-24 training camp only days away, here’s a look back at where legacy Rockets stand on HoopsHype’s updated list of the 77 greatest players in NBA history.

Every Houston Rockets player who’s scored 50 points in a game

How many players have scored 50-plus points for the #Rockets in an NBA game? The list is shorter than you might think.

By almost any metric, the Houston Rockets are one of the NBA’s better franchises. In addition to representing the fourth-largest city in the United States, they are one of only 11 clubs to win multiple championships (1993-94, 1994-95) and they rank 11th among the league’s 30 franchises in all-time winning percentage (.515).

That winning clip, of course, was higher before this rebuilding run of the past three seasons, which allowed Houston to get three straight top-four draft picks. But after stockpiling first-round talent from those drafts and supplementing it with a new head coach (Ime Udoka) and key veterans (Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks and Jeff Green) in the 2023 offseason, a resurgence may not be far away.

Historically, the Rockets are a proud franchise, and they’re striving to return to their past glory. Since debuting as the San Diego Rockets in 1967-68, a wealth of basketball talent has passed through the club: Hall of Famers, MVPs and all-time greats.

Now, in this dull part of the offseason, we’re looking back at some of the history the Rockets have produced during their NBA years.

This edition looks at elite scorers. Per StatMuse, eight players have scored 50-plus points in a regular-season game for the Rockets.

Ordered by number of 50-point games, those players are:

Complete list of five Sixers who have taken home the MVP award

Here is a complete list of the 5 Philadelphia 76ers players who have won the MVP award.

The Philadelphia 76ers are one of the proud franchises in the NBA. Plenty of great players have represented the franchise and made their fair share of history.

More team history has happened in 2023. Joel Embiid was named the MVP of the league for the first time in his career. The big fella led the league in scoring for the second consecutive season at 33.1 points per game, and he scored 50-plus points in a game three times during the 2022-23 season.

Embiid earned 73 first-place votes. Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic had 15, and Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo had 12.

Embiid is the fifth player in Sixers’ history to win the MVP award and the first since Allen Iverson in 2001. The following is a list of the five players who have taken home the MVP award in the storied history of the Sixers:

76 greatest NBA players ever: Where Rockets rank in HoopsHype’s updated list

For the NBA’s 76th season in 2022-23, @HoopsHype has a fresh update of the top 76 players of all-time. Here’s where former Rockets came in, starting with Hakeem Olajuwon.

Edition one of the HoopsHype 75 went well enough that many people liked it better than the official NBA one, so our sister publication is doing another round. The catch is that they’re adding another player to make it a 76-deep list, since this is the league’s 76th season.

The main difference between this list and the official NBA75 one is that HoopsHype is giving modern-era players their flowers, to a larger extent. Egregious omissions from the official list, such as Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol, easily made it onto this ranking.

As was the case last year, HoopsHype held a team vote with the opinions of eight staff members, removed the highest and lowest rank for each, and awarded points from 76-1 for the rest.

Scroll on to see where former Houston Rockets were ranked, along with voting details, player accolades, and analysis from HoopsHype. You should check out the full HoopsHype list for all 76 updates.

Moses Malone ranked as best free agency signing in Sixers history

Legendary big man Moses Malone has been ranked as the best free agency signing in the history of the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Philadelphia 76ers have had a long history in the NBA since their inception ahead of the 1949-50 season. They started as the Syracuse Nationals before moving to Philadelphia before the 1963-64 season.

Therefore, the franchise has made numerous transactions in its history.

When it comes to free agency, the Sixers have made some good moves and  some bad moves. Sixers Wire is focusing on a list of the best free agency moves made by each team put together by HoopsHype.

HoopsHype ranks the great Moses Malone as the best signing in Sixers history:

So for those who believe players have too much power these days when it comes to free agency or demanding trades, just realize this sort of thing has been happening for decades, though certainly not as publicly as today.

Regardless, Malone joined what was a stacked Sixers team, featuring Julius Erving, Maurice Cheeks and Bobby Jones, and the team ran away with the 1983 championship. Malone also won league MVP that year, his first with Philadelphia, and Finals MVP for his efforts in the championship series.

Malone’s stats with the team were robust as he averaged 23.9 points, 13.4 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks while shooting 47.8% from the floor. He also was named an All-Star four times while winning an MVP and a finals MVP while being named to multiple All-NBA teams. His time with the Sixers was  terrific and it’s why the No. 2 is retired at the Wells Fargo Center.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01f5k5xtr64thj7fw2 image=https://sixerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

[listicle id=67094]

[lawrence-related id=67239,67235,67182]

Ranking the top five centers in the history of the Philadelphia 76ers

Here is a ranking of the top five centers who have played for the Philadelphia 76ers.

The center position on a basketball team needs to be the anchor on the defensive end and provide post play on the offensive end. The Philadelphia 76ers have had many players do a solid job of both.

The center spot has continued to evolve and these big men are now as skilled as they come. They can work in the post, step out and drill a jump shot or take a guy off the dribble — like Joel Embiid.

Sixers Wire ranks the top five centers in Sixers history just as we have done for the other four positions:

The Denver Nuggets have signed two-time …

The Denver Nuggets have signed two-time MVP center Nikola Jokić to a multiyear contract extension, KSE Vice Chairman Josh Kroenke and General Manager Calvin Booth announced today. Jokić was named the 2021-22 KIA NBA MVP, becoming the 13th player in NBA history to earn back-to-back MVP’s and the first center to do so since Moses Malone in 1982-83. He was the first player in NBA history to average 25+ points, 13+ rebounds and 6+ assists for an entire season and he also became the first player in NBA history to record at least 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 500 assists in a single season. Joker became the first Nugget in franchise history to be named the league’s Most Valuable Player after his stellar 2020-21 campaign earned him that distinction.

Nikola Jokic officially named MVP

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić has been named the 2021-22 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player, the NBA announced today. This is the second Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award for Jokić, who also earned the honor last season. He becomes the 13th player to win the award in consecutive seasons, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Stephen Curry, Tim Duncan, LeBron James, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Moses Malone, Steve Nash and Bill Russell.

Nikola Jokic officially named MVP

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić has been named the 2021-22 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player, the NBA announced today. This is the second Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award for Jokić, who also earned the honor last season. He becomes the 13th player …

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić has been named the 2021-22 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player, the NBA announced today. This is the second Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award for Jokić, who also earned the honor last season. He becomes the 13th player to win the award in consecutive seasons, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Stephen Curry, Tim Duncan, LeBron James, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Moses Malone, Steve Nash and Bill Russell.

Source: NBA.com

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

StatMuse @statmuse
Stat leaders among the top 5 MVP finalists:
PPG — Embiid
RPG — Jokic
APG — Luka
SPG — Jokic
BPG — Embiid
FG% — Jokic
+/- — Booker pic.twitter.com/2Ob9rCrdSE – 6:47 PM

Tim Bontemps @TimBontemps
NBA MVP voting results:
Jokic: 65 1st place votes, 875 pts
Embiid: 26 1st place votes, 706 pts
Giannis: 9 1st place votes, 595 pts
Final ESPN MVP straw poll results:
Jokic: 62 1st place votes, 860 pts
Embiid: 29 1st place votes, 719 pts
Giannis: 9 1st place votes, 593 pts pic.twitter.com/MhP7nmjlvS – 6:46 PM

Eurohoops @Eurohoopsnet
OFFICIAL: Nikola Jokic voted #NBA #MVP for the second straight season
eurohoops.net/en/nba-news/13… – 6:46 PM
Adam Mares @Adam_Mares
Jokic is the best. That was great. – 6:45 PM
Rob Peterson @ShotDrJr
And Jokic’s place in the Naismith Hall of Fame is secured. – 6:44 PM
Callie Caplan @CallieCaplan
Luka Doncic: Year 4, No. 5 in MVP voting behind Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Devin Booker.
Luka and Booker both got 1 second-place vote but Booker got 8 third-place votes to Luka’s 0. pic.twitter.com/rtNccIdPzF – 6:44 PM

Michael Singer @msinger
Nikola Jokic earned 65 first-place votes (875 points overall) Joel Embiid had 26 first-place (706 points overall). Giannis Antetokounmpo had 9 first-place votes (595 points overall). – 6:43 PM
TJ McBride @TJMcBrideNBA
This Jokic MVP interview in front of his horse stable is elite, legendary, mesmerizing, and any other adjective you want to throw out there. What a joy. – 6:42 PM
John Schuhmann @johnschuhmann
Jokic is awesome.
Let us cherish him. – 6:41 PM
Ohm Youngmisuk @NotoriousOHM
Asked if he considers himself a long shot who won MVP, Jokic agreed while sitting in front of a horse and stable in the middle of the night: “If it’s not me, who is it. I’m coming from this city (Sombor)… from this stable basically.” – 6:41 PM
Sean Grande @SeanGrandePBP
Jayson Tatum finished 6th in the MVP voting, we’ll see if that’s a harbinger for the All-NBA 1st team.
The Jokic win wasn’t as close as a lot of people thought it would be. pic.twitter.com/pWookfa9xT – 6:40 PM

Gordon Gross @GMoneyNuggs
Laughing my ass off at Jokic doing exactly what all of us thought he was doing: harness racing his horses, doing this acceptance interview with the stable dog hacking up a hairball nearby. – 6:40 PM
Mike Vorkunov @MikeVorkunov
Nikola Jokic, MVP. He took 65 of 100 1st place votes. It’s the first time the top 3 are all international players. pic.twitter.com/XKhCXztZfu – 6:39 PM

Michael Scotto @MikeAScotto
Nikola Jokic is the NBA MVP. He’s the 13th player to be MVP in consecutive seasons, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Stephen Curry, Tim Duncan, LeBron James, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Moses Malone, Steve Nash and Bill Russell. pic.twitter.com/JVDpcqGYFw – 6:38 PM

Steve Aschburner @AschNBA
Here are the balloting results for the 2021-22 NBA Most Valuable Player Award won by Denver’s Nikola Jokic, again. pic.twitter.com/raNFMSI05D – 6:38 PM

Michael Singer @msinger
Nikola Jokic on the MVPs via @NBAonTNT: “When I’m old, fat and grumpy, hopefully I’m gonna remember (the awards).” – 6:37 PM
Christos Tsaltas @Tsaltas46
It’s official. Nikola Jokic is the 2022 NBA MVP of the season. Joker won the trophy for second straight season! #MileHighBasketball #Jokic #NBA75 pic.twitter.com/nrILYRicPW – 6:36 PM

Michael Singer @msinger
That’s Michael Malone, Ogi Stojakovic, Josh Kroenke and others from the #Nuggets contingent at the horse stable to celebrate Nikola Jokic’s B2B MVP. – 6:36 PM
Cody Taylor @CodyTaylorNBA
The NBA has officially announced Nikola Jokic as the Most Valuable Player. The full voting results: pic.twitter.com/ejc23Z9rjj – 6:35 PM

JD Shaw @JShawNBA
Full voting results for the MVP award. Behind Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid finishes second, Giannis Antetokounmpo third: pic.twitter.com/MOSvbrLXVD – 6:35 PM

Katy Winge @katywinge
A Sombor Surprise 🥺
Josh Kroenke, Tim Connelly, Coach Malone, Felipe (head strength and conditioning coach), Oggy (director of player development), all made the trip to Sombor to deliver Nikola Jokic his MVP award.
You could see it in the video, Joker was emotional. – 6:35 PM
Ohm Youngmisuk @NotoriousOHM
Nikola Jokic receiving his second MVP trophy at a Serbian horse stable is just perfectly Joker. – 6:35 PM
Howard Beck @HowardBeck
As expected, Nikola Jokic has won MVP for the 2021-22 season. pic.twitter.com/k6QToIs1Dd – 6:35 PM

Michael Singer @msinger
It’s official: Nikola Jokic is your back-to-back MVP.
denverpost.com/2022/05/11/nik… – 6:33 PM
Brian Mahoney @briancmahoney
NBA MVP to be announced today on TNT’s pregame show at 6:30 p.m. EDT. Will feature an interview with Nikola Jokic. – 5:07 PM
Salman Ali @SalmanAliNBA
It’s not “virtuous” to not want the MVP award. Most of the time it’s disingenuous. Everybody wants it.
Steph wanted it, Giannis wanted it, Jokic wanted it. These players have nothing to gain by saying that they want it because it’ll inevitably be labeled “selfish”. – 12:27 PM
Keith Pompey @PompeyOnSixers
‘I’m not mad’: Joel Embiid shrugs off losing MVP to Nikola Jokic and vows to focus on winning a championship with Sixers inquirer.com/sports/sixers-… via @phillyinquirer – 8:38 AM
Justin Grasso @JGrasso_
Joel Embiid congratulates Nikola Jokic for winning MVP. Says there is “no right or wrong” for the winner. He mentioned that he figured he wasn’t going to win weeks ago #Sixers – 10:50 PM
Tim Bontemps @TimBontemps
Joel Embiid congratulates Nikola Jokic on winning MVP, says there was no wrong answer and that he, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Devin Booker all had deserving cases to win. – 10:50 PM
Dave Early @DavidEarly
TNT really pushing this narrative that Embiid may be just moping and sulky from Jokic winning MVP. No sources cited but some consistent spec. pic.twitter.com/293U5w8dee – 9:20 PM

Duvalier Johnson @DuvalierJohnson
Imagine the timeline if Nikola Jokic ever played this poorly in a playoff game. – 8:48 PM

More on this storyline

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid finished in second place with 706 points (26 first-place votes). Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo finished in third place with 595 points (nine first-place votes), followed by Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker in fourth place with 216 points and Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Dončić in fifth place with 146 points. -via NBA.com / May 11, 2022
This is the first time that both the top three and four of the top five finishers in voting for the Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award are international players, with Jokić (Serbia), Embiid (Cameroon) and Antetokounmpo (Greece) comprising the top three and Dončić (Slovenia) joining them in the top five. -via NBA.com / May 11, 2022

Sixers star Joel Embiid reacts to making history in win over Pacers

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid reacts to making history in a win over the Indiana Pacers.

PHILADELPHIA–Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid put on another huge performance on Saturday in a 133-120 win over the Indiana Pacers and in the process, the big fella made history.

Embiid had 41 points on a very efficient 14-for-17 shooting, he knocked down two triples, and he had 20 rebounds in the win. The 41 points ensures that Embiid will average at least 30 points per game on the season and that means history for the star big man.

Embiid will be the first center to average 30 points in a season since Moses Malone in the 1981-82 season with the Houston Rockets. Malone averaged 31.1 points per game that season.

“Well, that’s the challenge for next year,” laughed Embiid. “So, next year, I gotta come out and average more than him, but it’s great. Obviously, he’s a legend and it’s great. Especially as a big in this era, it’s been a long time. It’s been, what, 40 years? So it hasn’t been done. That’s something that I think is great.”

In a league that is now so predicated on small-ball and play from the guards, it is impressive to see a big man actually do something like this.

“I hope guys coming up more, especially bigs coming up, are able to do even more, and like I said, I think the biggest thing with me is that I feel comfortable with it because I feel like I didn’t force anything,” said Embiid. “I feel like I just played within the flow of the offense.”

Embiid has had to do a lot in the 2021-22 season. The Sixers had to deal with the Ben Simmons saga earlier in the season and the big fella had to be the leader out there on the floor every single night. He has stepped up to the challenge, but he didn’t make it about him. He was looking for his offense within the flow of what they ran.

“Before we had James (Harden),” Embiid continued. “Obviously, I had a much larger role in the offense whether it was playmaking or scoring and since we added him, I try to share the load which has been great. Great stats and I guess I’m happy about it.”

Embiid and the Sixers have one game of the regular season on Sunday against the Detroit Pistons.

This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01eqbvq570kgj8vfs7 image=https://sixerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

[listicle id=62433]

[lawrence-related id=62430,62427,62424]