Best NBA Centers of the 1980s
Kareem achieved a lot during the 1980s but nothing compared to the 1985 NBA Finals. This was the return matchup against the defending champions Boston Celtics. In Game 1, at first glance it was 1984 all over again as the Celtics destroyed the Lakers and to add insult to injury, newspaper critics trash Kareem and calling him a washed up superstar. Game 2 was a wake up call for him as he was transformed back to the Kareem of old as he scored 30 points and led the Lakers to victory 109-102, then the Lakers won 2 out of 3 at the Forum setting up Game 6 AT Boston Garden. Instead of a Lakers funeral however, The Lakers found their mojo as Kareem scored 29 points and found his redemption and walked away as the Finals MVP as the Lakers beat the Celtics 111-100 and the Championship, and for Kareem his classic performance would earned him the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year.
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Patrick gets a bum rap for not leading the Knicks to the world championship. But when he arrived in New York in the fall of 1985, there was much hype for him to lead the Knicks back to the promised land after suffering through a bad 1985 season before he arrived. To his credit he was named NBA Rookie of the Year and played with passion and drove himself hard to be an All-Star and he was so many times and when it was all said and done, he became one of the NBA 75 greatest players of all time.
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