Rider v DEN in 96: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcOv...
12.03.2026 12:38
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Hollander POTD JR Rider. SG from UNLV taken 5th in 93 by MIN. Great leaper/scorer but was hard to deal w/at times. Had 19+ ppg 4x. Traded to POR in 96, he was still good but was flipped to ATL in 99. Quickly flamed out in ATL, LA + DEN before career ended in 02 at age 30.
Boxscore here: www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/19...
Was Bam's game a farce? Sort of but Wilt's 100-point game was too. Ridiculous games are fun every once in a while. Deep dive on Wilt's 100 here: hoopsanalyst.com/wilts-100-po...
Hollinger POTD Martynas Andriuskevicius. Lithuanian C was drafted 44th in 05 by ORL traded on draft day to CLE. Very thin & raw, played only 9 minutes as a rook. Was seriously injured in a practice brawl & never played in NBA after 06. Played abroad thru 2019. Now works as a coder.
Greg and his brother Dave were PAC-10 starters:
www.sfgate.com/sports/artic...
Bonus Hollander POTD Greg Butler. 4 year starter at Stanford was drafted 37th by NY in 88. Was Pitino's human victory cigar, playing only 4 mpg in 33 games as a rook. Played a few more games w/NY & LAC thru 91 before dropping out of the NBA. Now coaches hoops in Connecticut.
McMillian is Columbia's best NBA player still. They were good but only made the Tourney his sophomore year (67-68) on a team with two future pros...
Hollander POTD Jim McMillian. Brooklyn kid starred at Columbia + then drafted 13th by LAL in 1970. Famously replaced an injured Elgin in 71-72, helping spur big streak. Traded to BUF in 73 + was solid still. Wore down by 76. Left NBA for Italy in 79 at age 30. Died in 2016. RIP.
Perhaps more impressive, Bam broke the 40 FTA level. Here's the 30+ club coming into tonight:
The 70+ point club entering tonight:
I had totally forgotten the LBJ/Melo All-Star controversy from 03-04. Brand did have better stats than both of the rookies. The west was insanely deep at forward, though Brad Miller was a bit below Brand that season...
Hollinger POTD Elton Brand. Duke PF was drafted 1st in 1999 by CHI. Won co-ROY & was 20/10 machine. After 2 yrs, traded to LAC. where he was anchor for 1st LAC team to win a playoff series & 2x all-star. Injured in 2007 & never the same. Still lasted til 2016 as vet guy.
Wolfs compared: www.sports-reference.com/stathead/tin...
McCormick scoring 27 on the Bad Boys: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhP-...
Bonus Hollander POTD Tim McCormick. Michigan C was drafted 12th in 84 by SEA via trade. After a few decent yrs went to PHI where he was solid starter (13 ppg, 7.5 rpg) then traded to NJ & HOU quickly after. Settled into back up role thru 92. Now, a TV analyst.
Lowest FT rate for players with usage rate greater than 17.5% and 30 mpg:
Carr singing good night to the 76ers: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2v7K...
Hollander POTD Austin Carr. Mr. Cavalier was a scoring SG from Notre Dame became 1st pick w/CLE in 71. Scored 20+ ppg his 1st 3 yrs+ then was support guy as team improved. Fell off in 79-80+ let got to DAL in expansion draft in 80 and retired. Has been TV guy for CLE for yrs.
Really WAS, which was in win-now mode, should've traded the Kwame pick for Elton Brand but MJ & CHI were not really on speaking terms. For fun, I had ChatGpt sim the out come of the trade that could've been:
Hollinger POTD Kwame Brown. HS star was taking 1st by WAS in 2001. Struggled early w/MJ's "tough love." This bio notes that he "will never live up to the superstar hype...but he's becoming a pretty good player." Peaked at 11 ppg, 7.5 rpg in 03-04. Was solid bench guy thru 2013.
Walker grabbing 17 boards against Magic: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnGa...
Bonus Hollander POTD Darrell Walker. Arkansas G was drafted 12th in 83 by NY. Great defender but wasn't a scorer. Feuded w/Hubie & went to WAS. Averaged close to triple-double in 89-90 (9.5 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 8.0 apg). Also played w/DET & CHI thru 93. Later coached TOR.
More Abdul-Rauf: bsky.app/profile/hoop...
Abdul-Rauf hitting 10 3s for LSU at Tennessee: www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6V8...
Hollander POTD Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf. LSU star drafted 3rd in 90 by DEN. Started slow but won MIP in 92-93. Very quick release + excellent FT shooter. D + passing weren't great but had very nice 4 yr run which ended due to his anthem protest. Basically out of NBA by 1998.
Hollinger POTD Matt Barnes. UCLA F was drafted 46th by CLE via MEM in 02 but waived. Played in minors til making NBA w/LAC in 04. Not a star but played hard & did most things well. Broke out w/GS in 06-07 & was a regular thru 17, peaking at 10 ppg. Was quite a feisty player.
In 90-91, Kenny Smith got 5 mvp vote points for how well he played when Hakeem was out with a fractured orbital bone. Kyrie and Jaylen Brown somehow have zero career MVP votes for now.
