Post by Phil Jackson on Jan 11, 2015 18:05:02 GMT -6
Season 12 - #PlayerRank
Welcome to the second addition of ABCA PlayerRank, where we count down (almost) all of the players in the league, 450 to 1! This series of articles will be released in installments, and this article will countdown #450-51.
Methodology
Welcome to the second addition of ABCA PlayerRank, where we count down (almost) all of the players in the league, 450 to 1! This series of articles will be released in installments, and this article will countdown #450-51.
Methodology
We told each GM to do the following "Rate each player 1-10 based on this season only. Not potential, not age. This season's ability. There are 450 players (including some free agents). If your player is excluded, it is because they were a free agent at the time this list was compiled who was not on the original 450."
These suggestions were given as as guideline for the panelists.
Rating Description
10 A true franchise player - the best of the best
9 A near-franchise player, can he lead a team to a title?
8 An multple allstar-caliber player top 2-3 player on title team
7 A player who has talent to make an allstar team, but not really a star
6 A solid starter-caliber player on a good team
5 A "6th man" type talent ideally, but is often found starting
4 A high quality backup player, who you're happy to have in a rotation
3 A decent backup with some flaws but can give you some production
2 A reserve who has several deficiencies and ideally never plays
1 An end of the bench guy, probably shouldn't be on the roster Participants
Thank you to the following GMs for participating, you can all now claim 75PP.
- Athens
- Boston
- Chicago
- Harlem
- New York
- Tel Aviv
- Toronto
- San Francisco
- San Miguel
- Washington
Full Ranking #450-51
Stay Tuned for our next articles for the Top 50 Players in the ABCA! Below, please find a breakdown of the results from #450-51.
Aging Legends
Here we take a look at players formerly in the top 60 who now don't even crack the top 100. Some of these stars are far past the twilight of their careers, but because of the ABCA pension program, have remained in the free agency pool for years (Twyman, Howell, Heinsohn). Frazier and Volnov have held stead after impressive, but slightly underwhelming careers, given they had star potential. Wilt is still knocking around in the top 200, but given the big mans lack of quickness and weight, that's probably paying respects to a legend.
Biggest Risers
Seattle won two championships because of the list you see above. They had the biggest riser in absolute position who was active in season 6 and 12, moving an incredible 291 spots. Awtrey went from the 4th worst player in the league to a borderline top 100 player and the best shot blocker in the league. Seattle also benefitted from JoJo's rise from excellent fringe allstar to top 10 player status. In between seasons 6 and 12 he flirted with best player in the league status for a season or two. A few other nice finds were Billy Knight and Campy Russell for Madrid and New York, respectively, who have stuck around long enough to become valuable players.
Holding Steady
Much like the aging legends, we have a few top 50 players who have managed to stay in the top 100 after 6 seasons. Guys like Baylor, Shaffer, West, and Lucas are no longer franchise players, but they have proved their longevity at ages 32, 31, 32, and 33, respectively. We'll see if they can maintain their form longer than some of the counterparts on the above list.
What Could Have Been
Here's a look at some of the players who had so much potential but just never lived up to the hype. Chicago has two sitting on their bench in Silas and Goodrich, who both were viewed as Franchise players in the making when the season 6 poll was taken. Instead, their careers fell off sharply and they both because reserve level guys. George Gervin and his athleticm never panned out, and perhaps most disappointing of all, Moses Malone went from #14 in his second season to out of top 100 in what should have been the prime of his career from ages 21-26.
A Look Ahead
As we arrive at the top 25 players in the league currently, there are 5 distinct tiers of franchise players based on their ratings. We'll have a more detailed look at these players as we continue to countdown the best of the best in the ABCA today!
as to where other GMs have ranked players. Six seasons are an eternity for a life of an NBA player but still amazing to see how guys like Russell, Stokes and Chamberlain etc. have fallen and risers like Awtrey and JoJo. 
