1983
Reigning belt holder: Moses Malone (X2)
NBA Champion: Philadelphia 76ers
MVP: Moses Malone
Finals MVP: Moses Malone
Scoring champ: Alex English (28.4)
PER champ: Moses Malone (25.1)
The candidates:
Moses Malone: The league's most dominant had done all he could do for the Rockets, and in the summer of 1982 the reigning MVP became the NBA's first blockbuster free agent. The 76ers came knocking with a 4-year $13 million offer that the Rockets were not able to match, and so Moses also became the first sign-and-trade. For an offensively dominant Sixers team that was always soft on the interior, Moses was a natural fit. Finding himself suddenly on a team with 3 other all-stars, Moses's workload decreased, but his production stayed elite. Finishing 5th in the NBA with 24.5ppg and leading the NBA yet again by a 2.38 margin with 15.3 rebounds, Malone immediately became the alpha dog on a squad that included Julius Erving, Mo Cheeks and Andrew Toney. The Sixers surpassed any season in the Dr. J era and won a league-best 65 games, and Moses became the first player ever to win consecutive league MVPs playing for two different franchises. The playoffs were more of a formality for the Philly superteam zeroed in on its first ring. Malone averaged over 31 points and 15 rebounds in a 2nd round sweep of the knicks, 22 and 14 in a 5-game conference finals win over the bucks, and most importantly 26 and 18 in the Finals in a 4-game sweep against the same Lakers team that had beaten them 2 of the previous 3 seasons. Moses not only matched regular season and finals MVP trophies, but won his first ring as well.
Larry Bird: For the second straight season, Larry Bird established new career highs in scoring, rebounding, assists and FG%. Averaging 23.6 points, 11 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.9 steals while shooting 51.2% from the field, Larry once again made the all-defensive 2nd team. And, for all of these accomplishment, Bird's celtics regressed for the 2nd straight season. Winning 56 games was still good for 3rd best in the league, but they fell 9 games shy of the sixers within their own division. The Playoffs were an ugly struggle, with Bird needing to provide 26/9/9 to edge the lowly Hawks in a decisive game 3 just to advance out of the first round, then were swept out of the 2nd round by the Bucks. Bird's averages of 18.7 points, 11.7 rebounds and 6 assists were good but far below his standard.
Magic Johnson: Magic for the first time started to play point guard more often than not in LA's 2-PG system, and the defending champs were better for for it. Improving upon 1982, Magic won his first assist title with a 10.5 average, as well as providing 16.8 points and 8.6 rebounds. The Lakers improved in all area as well, winning 58 games, easily best in the western conference. The Lakers had only slightly more difficulty navigating the western playoffs this year, with Magic tearing through the Blazers to the tune of 17.4 ppg, 11.4 assists, 6.8 rebounds and 2.8 steals in a 4-1 win. The Spurs managed to take the Lakers to 6 games in the conference finals, but just like 1982, they had no answer for Magic, who averaged an 18/14/11 triple-double over six games, going just 1/6 from the field in the clinching game 6 but providing 16 assists and 15 rebounds to send the Lakers back to the finals. While Magic played well against Philly in the finals with 19 points, 12.5 assists and 7.8 rebounds, it wasn't nearly enough to take even one game from the Sixers, who held Magic to just 40% shooting and limited his teammates enough to beat them four straight times and slam the door on their season.
Alex English: A 2nd round pick that was a seldom-used backup in Milwaukee during the late 70s, the sweet-shooting small forward looked to be coming into his own in Indiana, before he was abruptly traded in 1980 to Denver for nostalgic fan favorite George McGinnis. The trade was a disaster for the Pacers but a gift to English, who fit Denver's high-octane offense like a glove. 1983 proved to be English's peak, when he averaged a league-high 28.6 points on better than 51% shooting, along with 7.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists, despite playing just 36 minutes per contest. English's efficiency rating of 24.1 was second in the entire league only to Moses Malone, and English was voted to the all-NBA first team for his spectacular season. English had his playoff moments too, skewering the Suns for 42 points and 9 rebounds in a deciding game 3 win to advance the Nuggets to the 2nd round. While English gave a good account in the 2nd round against the #2 seeded Spurs with 25.5 points and 7.3 assists, The defenseless Nuggets were exposed, as the Spurs capped off a 4-1 series win with a 145-105 thrashing in game 5.
Reigning belt holder: Moses Malone (X2)
NBA Champion: Philadelphia 76ers
MVP: Moses Malone
Finals MVP: Moses Malone
Scoring champ: Alex English (28.4)
PER champ: Moses Malone (25.1)
The candidates:
Moses Malone: The league's most dominant had done all he could do for the Rockets, and in the summer of 1982 the reigning MVP became the NBA's first blockbuster free agent. The 76ers came knocking with a 4-year $13 million offer that the Rockets were not able to match, and so Moses also became the first sign-and-trade. For an offensively dominant Sixers team that was always soft on the interior, Moses was a natural fit. Finding himself suddenly on a team with 3 other all-stars, Moses's workload decreased, but his production stayed elite. Finishing 5th in the NBA with 24.5ppg and leading the NBA yet again by a 2.38 margin with 15.3 rebounds, Malone immediately became the alpha dog on a squad that included Julius Erving, Mo Cheeks and Andrew Toney. The Sixers surpassed any season in the Dr. J era and won a league-best 65 games, and Moses became the first player ever to win consecutive league MVPs playing for two different franchises. The playoffs were more of a formality for the Philly superteam zeroed in on its first ring. Malone averaged over 31 points and 15 rebounds in a 2nd round sweep of the knicks, 22 and 14 in a 5-game conference finals win over the bucks, and most importantly 26 and 18 in the Finals in a 4-game sweep against the same Lakers team that had beaten them 2 of the previous 3 seasons. Moses not only matched regular season and finals MVP trophies, but won his first ring as well.
Larry Bird: For the second straight season, Larry Bird established new career highs in scoring, rebounding, assists and FG%. Averaging 23.6 points, 11 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.9 steals while shooting 51.2% from the field, Larry once again made the all-defensive 2nd team. And, for all of these accomplishment, Bird's celtics regressed for the 2nd straight season. Winning 56 games was still good for 3rd best in the league, but they fell 9 games shy of the sixers within their own division. The Playoffs were an ugly struggle, with Bird needing to provide 26/9/9 to edge the lowly Hawks in a decisive game 3 just to advance out of the first round, then were swept out of the 2nd round by the Bucks. Bird's averages of 18.7 points, 11.7 rebounds and 6 assists were good but far below his standard.
Magic Johnson: Magic for the first time started to play point guard more often than not in LA's 2-PG system, and the defending champs were better for for it. Improving upon 1982, Magic won his first assist title with a 10.5 average, as well as providing 16.8 points and 8.6 rebounds. The Lakers improved in all area as well, winning 58 games, easily best in the western conference. The Lakers had only slightly more difficulty navigating the western playoffs this year, with Magic tearing through the Blazers to the tune of 17.4 ppg, 11.4 assists, 6.8 rebounds and 2.8 steals in a 4-1 win. The Spurs managed to take the Lakers to 6 games in the conference finals, but just like 1982, they had no answer for Magic, who averaged an 18/14/11 triple-double over six games, going just 1/6 from the field in the clinching game 6 but providing 16 assists and 15 rebounds to send the Lakers back to the finals. While Magic played well against Philly in the finals with 19 points, 12.5 assists and 7.8 rebounds, it wasn't nearly enough to take even one game from the Sixers, who held Magic to just 40% shooting and limited his teammates enough to beat them four straight times and slam the door on their season.
Alex English: A 2nd round pick that was a seldom-used backup in Milwaukee during the late 70s, the sweet-shooting small forward looked to be coming into his own in Indiana, before he was abruptly traded in 1980 to Denver for nostalgic fan favorite George McGinnis. The trade was a disaster for the Pacers but a gift to English, who fit Denver's high-octane offense like a glove. 1983 proved to be English's peak, when he averaged a league-high 28.6 points on better than 51% shooting, along with 7.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists, despite playing just 36 minutes per contest. English's efficiency rating of 24.1 was second in the entire league only to Moses Malone, and English was voted to the all-NBA first team for his spectacular season. English had his playoff moments too, skewering the Suns for 42 points and 9 rebounds in a deciding game 3 win to advance the Nuggets to the 2nd round. While English gave a good account in the 2nd round against the #2 seeded Spurs with 25.5 points and 7.3 assists, The defenseless Nuggets were exposed, as the Spurs capped off a 4-1 series win with a 145-105 thrashing in game 5.