The Backbone of Basketball

While watching the most recent Dream Team win the Olympic gold medal, I found myself reflecting on the history of professional basketball, with specific focus on 15 pioneer players who, in my view, make up the backbone of the pro game – tying the past to the present.

The 15 men, all Hall of Famers, played a vital role in transforming the NBA from a semi small city (Rochester, Syracuse, and Fort Wayne) and regional operation to major league status.  When the last two of these legends, Jerry West and Oscar Robertson, retired in 1974, the group had laid the foundation for the NBA to develop into a global brand.

 “Team Backbone”

(and the entry year of each player)

·         1947, George Mikan

·         1948, Dolph Schayes

·         1950, Bob Cousy,  Bill Sharman and Paul Arizin

·         1954, Bob Petitt

·         1955, Maurice Stokes

·         1956, Bill Russell and Tom Heinsohn

·         1957, Sam Jones

·         1958, Elgin Baylor and Hal Greer

·         1959, Wilt Chamberlain

·         1960, Jerry West and Oscar Robertson

Bill Reynolds, author of such acclaimed basketball books as Fall River Dreams and Cousy, notes that many on this list were a generation ahead of themselves in their skill-set.  For confirmation, witness Elgin Baylor gliding through the air.

Each Backbone member developed a unique and, in most cases, remarkably creative style of play that caused fans to want to come back for more.  (Has there ever been a more creative athlete than Bob Cousy?) What made their collective innovation all the more striking is that many were, to a degree, self-taught.   In those days, there were no individual shooting coaches, no personal trainers to aid in strength and quickness development, and very few summer basketball camps where fundamentals were introduced.  The game was young, coaching expertise was evolving, and ingenuity was welcome from all comers – players and coaches alike.

Many “Backbone” members have made significant contributions to basketball that went beyond their on-court performances.  Bob Cousy was the founding President of the NBA Players Association, and he was succeeded by Celtics teammate, Tom Heinsohn.  Heinsohn went on to coach the Celtics to two World Championships and draw acclaim as a broadcaster.  He is even an accomplished artist whose works are regularly displayed throughout New England.  Bill Sharman became a Hall of Fame Coach for the Los Angeles Lakers, and Jerry West had an illustrious career as General Manager of the Lakers, putting together championship teams featuring the likes of Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Shaquille O’Neal.  And most every Backbone member made U. S. State Department goodwill trips abroad to teach and grow their game.

Several  “Backbone” members  have made noteworthy contributions to the cause of social justice.  Cousy,  Russell and Robertson have all published acclaimed books that focused not only on basketball but societal issues, notably race.

When the 15 “Backbone” members were laying the foundation for future success of the NBA, a lack of funding permeated the league.  There was no national television contract, sell-outs were a rarity (and generally associated with a Harlem Globetrotters double header), and travel was coach class at best – no such thing as charter planes in the early days. 

The compensation of “Backbone” members was, by today’s standards, meager. Consider Russell, who led the Celtics to 11 World Championships in his 13 year career.  Due to a master stroke by Celtics coach and general manager, Red Auerbach, “The Green” obtained the draft rights to Russell by trading two future Hall of Famers, Ed Macauley and Cliff Hagan, to the St. Louis Hawks, who held the number two pick in 1956 draft.  So why did the Rochester Royals, who held the number one pick, select Duquesne’s Sihugo Green over Russell?  Because Russell’s first year salary demand included a $25,000 signing bonus, which the Royals deemed too high!

But despite challenges, financial and otherwise, the group was united in their desire to raise their sport to a place of prominence on a domestic and international scale.

Despite being good friends off the court, Russell versus Chamberlain was one of the most memorable matchups in the history of pro basketball

If Magic, Michael and Bird applied the high gloss finish to pro basketball , it was 15 splendid players who used their collective nerve and sinew to create the texture and grain.

Meritocracy at Its Best

“General Managers are starting to understand that minority coaches can organize, prepare, and teach just as well as anybody else.  I think our whole society is learning that.”   Lionel Hollins, Head Coach, Memphis Grizzlies

Watching the NBA playoffs brings to mind a mark of progress and the key role of a father and son in making the progress become reality.

One of basketball's first iconic figures was Joe Lapchick, a Hall-of-Famer who starred for the original Celtics and coached the New York Knicks and St. John's University. It was Joe Lapchick who signed Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton to a Knicks contract in 1950, making Clifton the first African-American to join an NBA team.

Throughout his distinguished career, Coach Lapchick made a point to foster opportunities for African-Americans in basketball as players and as coaches. His son, Richard, Founder and Chair of the DeVos Sport Business Management Program at the University of Central Florida, is one of our nation's leading civil rights and sports activists. Richard has dedicated his life to bringing about equality in sport and society. The annual Racial and Gender Report Card issued by the DeVos Program is the most influential assessment of the professional and amateur sports leagues as well as sports organizations in the United States.

Of the thirty NBA head coaches, 14 are African-American. Portland Trail Blazers’ Kaleb Canales is the league’s first Mexican-American head coach and the Miami Heat’s coach Erik Spoelstra is Filipino-American.  Seven of these coaches led their teams to the 2012 Playoffs.

The likes of Doc Rivers of the Boston Celtics and a future Hall-of-Famer,  Mike Brown of the Los Angeles Lakers, and Mike Woodson of the New York Knicks remind us of what can happen when able professionals are given the opportunity to lead.