1984
Reigning belt holder: Moses Malone (X3)
NBA Champion: Boston Celtics
MVP: Larry Bird
Finals MVP: Larry Bird
Scoring champ: Adrian Dantley (30.6)
PER champ: Adrian Dantley (24.6)
The candidates:
Moses Malone: The NBA's most dominant center followed up his dream 1983 with a nightmare 1984 in which just about everything went wrong. Battling a laundry list of injuries, Moses and his sore knees still led the NBA in rebounding at a healthy 13.2, still averaged 22.7 ppg, but his FG% fell to just 48.5% and his sixers superteam battled injuries along with him, as they finished just 52-30, albeit still good enough for the 3rd seed in the east. Then, the playoffs happened. Despite Moses playing through pain and averaging nearly 22 points, 14 rebounds and 2 blocks, the defending champion sixers managed to lose three straight home games against the lowly New Jersey Nets, and were booted from the playoffs in the first round.
Larry Bird: After four years of coasting along as one of the elite, Bird made his first real run at the throne in 1984. With Tiny Archibald replaced by Dennis Johnson, Bird assumed point forward responsibilities, and he finally showed the full arsenal, jumping his averages to 24.2 points, 10.1 rebounds and 6.6 assists, not only leading the Celtics back to the top of the league with 62 wins, but also earning his first MVP award. Bird dominated the postseason as well, averaging 30.6 points, 10/6 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 2.7 steals against a tough Knicks team that took Boston to the limit before Bird KO'd them with a 39/12/10 triple-double in game 7. The Conference finals against the Bucks was less of a contest, with Bird averaging 27/10/6 in an easy 5-game rout. The historically competitive finals against the rival Lakers were ultimately the Larry Bird show as well, with him providing clutch performances in all the key games: 29 points and 21 rebounds in a must-win game 4 in LA, 34 and 17 in the pivotal game 5 back in Boston, and 20 and 12 in the clinching game 7. For his performances throughout the series, Bird was awarded his first finals MVP to go along with his 2nd ring.
Magic Johnson: 1984 was Magic's best season to date. With Norm Nixon traded, the ball now entirely belonged to Magic, and he ran showtime to near-perfection, spearheading the showtime offense to the tune of 17.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and a career-best 13.1 assists, leading LA to the league's 2nd-best record with 54 wins, racking up a league best 12 triple-doubles along the way. The playoffs were more of the same, with Magic racking up triple doubles in each of the first two rounds against the Kings and Mavericks, and dishing out a playoff-record 24 assists in the clinching game 6 against the suns to set up a finals matchup with Boston. While Magic's finals averages were superb (18 points, 13.6 assists, 7 rebounds and 2 steals), what left a bigger mark was the one finals record he left behind: 31 turnovers, many of them coming at critical moments, most notably in games 2, 4 and 7 as the Lakers blew an early series lead to the Celtics in a 4-3 finals collapse.
Bernard King: Much like Alex English, Bernard King was another high scoring SF that bounced around the league early, from the Nets to the Jazz to the Warriros, before finally finding a home with the Knicks, a defensive minded team in bad need of a primary offensive option. Bernard provided that and more in his 2nd season in NY, scoring 26.3ppg, 5th best in the league, on an absurd .572 shooting clip. King was so dominant for the Knicks that his production landed him on the all-NBA first team, and he camein 2nd in league MVP voting to Larry Bird. And he was even better in the playoffs. Entering as a slight underdog to the high-octane Pistons, King put all his firepower on display, posting back-to-back 46-point efforts in games 2 and 3, 41 more in game 4 and 44 points in the decisive game 5 to edge the Pistons in OT. His 42.6ppg series average set an NBA record, and he did it on better than 60% shooting. Even against a much deeper, more defensive minded Celtics squad, nothing really fazed King. He hit 17/25 for 43 points in a game 4 win to tie the series, and 16/25 for 44 more points in game 6 to tie it again, Game 7 was more a function of King running out of gas than anything, as he managed 24 points but simply did not get enough touches to carry them on the road in the Garden.
Reigning belt holder: Moses Malone (X3)
NBA Champion: Boston Celtics
MVP: Larry Bird
Finals MVP: Larry Bird
Scoring champ: Adrian Dantley (30.6)
PER champ: Adrian Dantley (24.6)
The candidates:
Moses Malone: The NBA's most dominant center followed up his dream 1983 with a nightmare 1984 in which just about everything went wrong. Battling a laundry list of injuries, Moses and his sore knees still led the NBA in rebounding at a healthy 13.2, still averaged 22.7 ppg, but his FG% fell to just 48.5% and his sixers superteam battled injuries along with him, as they finished just 52-30, albeit still good enough for the 3rd seed in the east. Then, the playoffs happened. Despite Moses playing through pain and averaging nearly 22 points, 14 rebounds and 2 blocks, the defending champion sixers managed to lose three straight home games against the lowly New Jersey Nets, and were booted from the playoffs in the first round.
Larry Bird: After four years of coasting along as one of the elite, Bird made his first real run at the throne in 1984. With Tiny Archibald replaced by Dennis Johnson, Bird assumed point forward responsibilities, and he finally showed the full arsenal, jumping his averages to 24.2 points, 10.1 rebounds and 6.6 assists, not only leading the Celtics back to the top of the league with 62 wins, but also earning his first MVP award. Bird dominated the postseason as well, averaging 30.6 points, 10/6 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 2.7 steals against a tough Knicks team that took Boston to the limit before Bird KO'd them with a 39/12/10 triple-double in game 7. The Conference finals against the Bucks was less of a contest, with Bird averaging 27/10/6 in an easy 5-game rout. The historically competitive finals against the rival Lakers were ultimately the Larry Bird show as well, with him providing clutch performances in all the key games: 29 points and 21 rebounds in a must-win game 4 in LA, 34 and 17 in the pivotal game 5 back in Boston, and 20 and 12 in the clinching game 7. For his performances throughout the series, Bird was awarded his first finals MVP to go along with his 2nd ring.
Magic Johnson: 1984 was Magic's best season to date. With Norm Nixon traded, the ball now entirely belonged to Magic, and he ran showtime to near-perfection, spearheading the showtime offense to the tune of 17.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and a career-best 13.1 assists, leading LA to the league's 2nd-best record with 54 wins, racking up a league best 12 triple-doubles along the way. The playoffs were more of the same, with Magic racking up triple doubles in each of the first two rounds against the Kings and Mavericks, and dishing out a playoff-record 24 assists in the clinching game 6 against the suns to set up a finals matchup with Boston. While Magic's finals averages were superb (18 points, 13.6 assists, 7 rebounds and 2 steals), what left a bigger mark was the one finals record he left behind: 31 turnovers, many of them coming at critical moments, most notably in games 2, 4 and 7 as the Lakers blew an early series lead to the Celtics in a 4-3 finals collapse.
Bernard King: Much like Alex English, Bernard King was another high scoring SF that bounced around the league early, from the Nets to the Jazz to the Warriros, before finally finding a home with the Knicks, a defensive minded team in bad need of a primary offensive option. Bernard provided that and more in his 2nd season in NY, scoring 26.3ppg, 5th best in the league, on an absurd .572 shooting clip. King was so dominant for the Knicks that his production landed him on the all-NBA first team, and he camein 2nd in league MVP voting to Larry Bird. And he was even better in the playoffs. Entering as a slight underdog to the high-octane Pistons, King put all his firepower on display, posting back-to-back 46-point efforts in games 2 and 3, 41 more in game 4 and 44 points in the decisive game 5 to edge the Pistons in OT. His 42.6ppg series average set an NBA record, and he did it on better than 60% shooting. Even against a much deeper, more defensive minded Celtics squad, nothing really fazed King. He hit 17/25 for 43 points in a game 4 win to tie the series, and 16/25 for 44 more points in game 6 to tie it again, Game 7 was more a function of King running out of gas than anything, as he managed 24 points but simply did not get enough touches to carry them on the road in the Garden.
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