When Johnny Green was a first-round draft choice, he received $2,000 as a bonus. Rookies now are getting more than an entire team’s payroll used to be.
Author Archives: bobkuska
The Book on NBA Players, 1970
There it is. A scouting report on the NBA entering the 1969-70 season.
Which Game is Better: College or Pro? 1990
No one is about to argue the relative abilities of college and NBA players. Still, there is a certain unpredictability to the college game that the NBA, in the end, can never seem to generate.
Cedric Maxwell: A Late-Bloomer Who Made Good, 1981
Much has gone into the making of Cedric Maxwell, the very efficient power forward for the Celtics who emerged as one of the NBA’s superstars with his brilliance in the playoffs.
Don Nelson: Respect, 1991
Nelson’s mind, always active, always involved, sometimes moves in surprising directions.
Earl Strom: NBA’s Oldest Referee Does It His Way, 1982
Earl Strom officiates with his whistle in his hand. His partner, Joe Gushue, wore his on a lanyard. Strom suggested that Gushue remove the lanyard before they reach the exit, so that fans couldn’t get such an easy hold of him.
Bill Willoughby: Playing One-on-None, 1990
Trouble with agents, trouble with coaches, trouble with people to whom he gave his trust has accompanied Willoughby throughout his basketball career like a persistent little sister.
Red Holzman: A Humpty-Dumpty Situation, 1968
Holzman knows the game of basketball. And he probably knows it better now than back in 1957, when St. Louis fired him after a losing record.
Rap with Earl Monroe, 1972
As far as me changing the style of play of basketball, I think my style is basically just the style of about every Black player in America today. As you know, most Black players are, more or less, playground players, and this is just about the basic style that I play.
Philadelphia 76ers: A Touch of Class, 1968
Pat Williams is a 28-year-old promotional whiz kid the 76ers stole out of the Philadelphia Phillies’ farm system.
From Way Downtown 