u/WinesburgOhio

There are certain stats that pop the most in certain time periods. I'm talking about all types of stats, achieved by players, teams, or leagues, and achieved as averages, season totals, or career totals.

The two most obvious time periods for statistical peaks are the 1960s with things like seasonal rebounds/game (the top-34 rpg player-seasons ever all happened between '57-72) and career minutes/game (7 of the top-8 are players from the 60s) and average league-wide points/game (8 of the top-9 league averages are between '60-70), and also from the period over the last ~10 years with all the 3-point shooting records (by players, by teams, and by league averages) and shooting efficiencies (most of the top player FG% seasons ever) and triple-doubles (current guys make up the majority of season and career leaders).

What are other stats and their time periods that have specific peaks? I'm particularly curious about anything that peaked in the 1970s (not just the early-70s as an extension of the 60s), or from somewhere in the 20-ish years from the mid-90s to the mid-10s.

A few examples from other time periods:

• total assists in a season - 14 of the top-15 player-seasons happened from '85-95

• career fouls - almost all of the top players played at some point in the late-80s or early-90s

• league FG% - the top-12 seasons were the 12 seasons from '79-90

• league fouls/game - the top-4 seasons were the 4 seasons before the shot clock, '50-53

I've checked traffic maps occasionally this week, and haven't seen much insanity on the detoured routes. Similarly, I'm not seeing many "upset about insane traffic" posts this week.

Is it bad, or is it manageable due to some combination of a) people able to avoid it through planning, and/or b) the detours are working out better than expected?

Before 1985, the top two picks in each NBA draft went to the worst team from each conference/division. But for some reason, those two teams in '65, the Warriors in the West and the Knicks in the East, each got a second 1st round pick. The order at the top of the draft was 1 Warriors, 2 Knicks, 3 Pistons (next worst team), 4 Warriors, and 5 Knicks. There were 9 teams in the '65 season, so the other 6 made up the rest of the 1st round for a total of 11 picks (visualized). Due to territorial picks (*3 of them*), the top of the draft after those were 2 consecutive selections by the Warriors, including Rick Barry.

Why did the worst team in each division get second, bonus 1st round pick in the 1965 draft? I don't believe this happened any other year, so I'm curious why it happened then. This was the last draft with territorial selections, so I wonder if that had something to do with it.

It's common for fans to argue about which players should or should not be in the Hall of Fame.

It seems like most of the arguments I've heard center on adding more players who are "above" a line based on the worst players that are already in the HOF (ex: K.C. Jones, Michael Cooper), but I'm curious if some fans think more in terms of potentially excluding some players who are "below" a line based on the best players not in the HOF (ex: Tom Chambers, Larry Foust). Depending on how one views the argument, the results are quite different.

Obviously no one is advocating to actually remove players from the HOF, so I mean discussions and arguments about theoretically what should happen in a (more) perfect situation.

I think the US will be leading at halftime (with Balogun starting, obviously), Pepi will sub in at some point in the 2nd half, Belgium's defense will be more spread out and less settled since they'll be desperate to be more aggressive and score as the game clock marches toward 90 minutes, and in that extra space, Pepi will make a smart run behind a defender and knock one in.

I learned enough about Pepi the other day to believe in his ability to intelligently attack space around retreating defenders, plus press a lot to force bad Belgium passes out of the back, and finally get a goal this World Cup.

I know arguments can be had over who exactly is or isn't Native American (Eduardo Nájera?), but these are the players I'm aware of with known Native heritage. Yes, I know that Charles Barkley was found to be 14% Native by a DNA test on a talk show over a decade ago, but the type of test they did is hardly definitive, and it doesn't appear there is a known link between Barkley and any Native relatives or tribe. Major gratitude goes to u/TringlePringle for their assistance with this info.

Bob Harrison: Harrison was the primary SG during the Lakers' early run of titles with George Mikan. He was a 1x All-Star and a 3x champion, but he's most famous for hitting a half-court bomb of a buzzer beater to win Game 1 of the 1950 Finals. He was Hočąk, and he was open about his heritage during his playing days, including this tidbit from an article I've read: "While with the Lakers, Harrison served as president of the Minnesota-based North American Indian Society in 1951-52. Also during his time in Minneapolis, on a night when Harrison was honored by his team, a number of local tribes presented him with a deerskin jacket." He mentioned that he tanned dark, and once when he was in the Marines he was made to sit in the back of the train because they thought he was black.

Gene Conley: Conley was part of the Cherokee Nation, which he was connected to through his mother's side of the family. Conley was a 3x NBA champion with the Celtics ('59-61), but he was more famous as a 6-ft-8 MLB pitcher where he was a 4x All Star (including playing in both ASG's in '59) and a World Series champ in 1957 with the Braves.

Phil Jordon: He was a decent center from '59-62, and his biggest claim to fame was that he did NOT play in the game where Wilt scored 100 points. Jordon was the Knicks' starting center in '62 --and their only regular starter taller than 6-ft-6-- but he drank an entire case of beer the night before the game and sat out "sick", so the already awful Knicks who had a horrible front court had no chance against the Warriors and Wilt who had a historic day of stat hoarding. Jordon is often named as the first Native player in league history, but this confusion seems to be because he was the first player easily identifiable to most people as Native.

Gary Gray: Gray was part of the Delaware Nation while growing up in Oklahoma. He played sparingly for the Royals during the '68 season, and was then selected by the Bucks in the 1968 Expansion Draft, but he never played beyond that 1 season in Cincinnati.

Sonny Dove: Dove's mother was Mashpee Wampanoag and after he had a fantastic college career at St. John's, he was the #4 pick in the 1967 draft by the Pistons (1 pick before Walt Frazier). He played sparingly with Detroit for 2 years, then he went to the ABA's Nets for 3 seasons ('70-72), averaging 14 ppg and 8 rpg during his first 2 seasons in NY. His career ended early due to a bicycle accident, and he went on to earn his degree and announce St. John's games until his death in 1983.

John Starks: I've read Starks referred to as "Oklahoma born-and-raised Muscogee (Creek) Nation athlete John Starks". He had an insane backstory that led to his NBA career (4 different colleges, spent a couple years in 2 leagues that both collapsed, and the Knicks were forced to keep him in '90 when he got injured during a pre-season practice while attempting a dunk on Ewing) who went on to be a beloved Knick who played with fiery passion and shot a ton of 3's. He was named an All Star in '94 when NY went to the Finals, was All-D in '93, and the '97 6th Man of the Year.

Bison Dele: According to Wikipedia, "he was of African-American and Cherokee descent." He was a decent rebounder and finisher near the hoop, but he's most well known as a player for winning a ring with the '97 Bulls; Chicago signed him late in the season after Toni Kukoc's injury, providing plenty of good playoff scoring as a reserve plus some timely offensive rebounding (99.9% of hoops fans who weren't Bulls fans in 1997 aren't aware of how important Dele's impact was on that championship). He had an extremely interesting personal life, playing multiple instruments, being an avid adventure traveler, flying planes, and dating Madonna, but his biggest headlines were made for his bizarre disappearance and presumed murder at sea in 2002.

Cherokee Parks: He was named after the Cherokee tribe of his great grandmother. As a player, he is most well-known for his college days at Duke where he backed up Christian Laettner during the '92 championship season, the year of the famous Duke-UK game. As a pro, he played for 7 franchises in 9 seasons.

Ron Baker: Baker is a Citizen Potawatomi Nation tribal member and Navarre family descendent who attended Wichita State on a Potawatomi scholarship, joining the Shockers basketball team as a walk-on before honing his shooting to become a key player on their unexpected run to the 2013 Final Four. Despite going undrafted, he played for 3 seasons in the NBA.

Kyrie Irving: Irving is well known to modern NBA fans and is easily the best player on this list (9x All Star, '12 ROTY, '14 ASG MVP, '16 champion). His mother was a Standing Rock Sioux and lived on a reservation before being adopted at a young age. She later died when Kyrie was 4 so he didn't have a connection to this part of his heritage for most of his life, but Kyrie and his sister Asia both joined the tribe at a naming ceremony in 2018.

Delonte West: In a 2009 interview, West said he's part Piscataway and that his "REDZ" tattoo is short for "Chief Redz" due to his red hair. He had a 9-year NBA career, most notably as the streaky-scoring SG on the '09 Cavs who went to the ECF. West has had some well-documented, post-career mental health issues.

Aaron Gordon: According to an interview before his rookie season, Gordon has an Osage Indian great-great-grandfather who was 7 feet tall. Gordon is an athletic and versatile PF with injury issues. He's known for his phenomenal performances as a close runner-up in the 2016 and 2020 Dunk Contests, both of which he arguably coulda/shoulda won, and for his key role on the 2023 champion Nuggets.

Lindy Waters III: Waters has a very close connection to both his Kiowa and Cherokee roots. He is from Oklahoma, played at Oklahoma State, and after a year in a couple small pro leagues, he made it to the NBA in February of 2022 with the Oklahoma City Thunder. He went to the 2026 Finals with the Spurs.

MarJon Beauchamp: Beauchamp is a descendent of both the Mission Indians and the La Jolla Band of Luiseno Indians. His backstory is unique and truly inspiring. He was houseless while growing up, went to multiple high schools in Seattle and Arizona, bypassed college to train for the 2021 draft but the gym he was training at shut down due to COVID-19, then he played 12 games at a CC and a season for the G League Ignite, and after success with the Ignite he was drafted 24th overall by the Bucks in 2022. He wore #0 to remind himself that he "came from nothing".

Chance Comanche: Comanche played in a single NBA game with the Trail Blazers, a 56-point loss on the final day of the '23 season. His paternal grandfather was fully Native, so Comanche is one-eighth Choctaw and one-eighth Comanche. Most NBA fans who have heard of him are only aware that he and his girlfriend were arrested in December of 2023 for the kidnapping and murder of a woman in Las Vegas; their trial is expected to begin in 2026.

Most fans seem to think Pepi will start vs. Belgium on Monday, and there has been a lot of "he's played like crap this WC and is knocked off the ball too easily" pessimism about this. What reasons are there to be optimistic about a Pepi start without just being a dumb fan with rose colored glasses?

I'm one of those US fans who pops in every four years, so I don't know what I'm talking about, so what follows is just me repeating some things I've read/heard elsewhere. I'm happy for far more knowledgeable fans to confirm or deny any of these items, plus add anything else.

1) He's barely played with Pulisic so far, and it seems like he's an opportunistic striker who will benefit from prolonged and/or first-half minutes with Pulisic. Pepi can slip into scoring spots when defenses are paying attention to a ball-dominant problem like Pulisic. Speaking of which ...

2) Pepi made a really good run against Australia that helped cause the own goal. When Balogun gets the ball on the left wing and takes off, forcing the defense to sprint back, Pepi waits a second or two before sprinting toward the goal. It appears that he's reading the defense and intelligently choosing where to run because he starts out going left of the defender, then cutting back to his right, the defender has to slow down and adjust his own path because of what Pepi did, and a split second later that defender kicks the own goal, with Pepi right behind him ready to tap it in if the ball made it to him. That type of run appeared to create a lot of value for the US in that sequence despite never touching the ball.

3) He presses opposing defenses a lot, and considering how hot/cold Belgium's offense and general play has been so far, Pepi could force multiple bad passes/clearances out of the back, which could help jump-start a scoring sequence/opportunity for the US.

Beat Paraguay by 3 in 1930. Same in 2026.

Beat Belgium by 3 in 1930. Time to repeat history, again.

I'm looking to hire a collections agency for a personal debt. It was agreed to in writing, he started paying it which further shows he agreed to it, then stopped after a couple payments, and I sent him a certified letter demanding it be paid off or it could go to collections - that he got and signed for.

Any ideas of specific collections agencies to approach to handle going after a personal debt?

Hi! I'm a basketball historian who examines the context, nuance, and impact of players' careers, and I enjoy discussing under-rated historic players or lesser-known reasons for a team's success. My book, Who's Who in Hoops History: Profiles of the 500 Most Noteworthy NBA & ABA Players of the 20th Century, was recently published and is available on Amazon.

I research players, franchises, eras ... really anything related to NBA and ABA history. I look for connections and influences that might not be part of the common narratives, and I'll never shy away from singing the praises of Bill Russell, Bob Dandridge, or Isiah Thomas.

If you have any questions that are relevant to basketball history and/or my book, fire away, and I'll answer them as best as I can. Thanks in advance!

Darryn Peterson was born and raised in Canton, Ohio, which is about 20 miles south of Akron. Peterson spent his first two years in high school at an Akron-area private school, his older brother played football at a big-time high school program in Akron, and their father played for the Akron Zips. Most fans know that Akron is where two modern legends were born, but here's a fuller list of talented players born in Ohio's 5th-largest city (population around 190k).

• LeBron James - future HOF-er

• Steph Curry - future HOF-er

• Nate Thurmond - HOF center, 60s/70s

• Gus Johnson - HOF forward, 60s/70s

• Bobby Jones - HOF forward, 70s/80s

• Chuck Noble - 1x All-Star

• Steve Johnson - 1x All-Star

• Chuck Share - 1950 #1 overall draft pick

• Alvin Robertson - 4x All-Star, 1986 DPOTY, from nearby Barberton

• Ed Sadowski - elite pre-NBA center in 1940s

I'll add that Thurmond and Johnson were teammates for two years at Akron's Central High School, the only time that two future HOF-ers played together in high school. Also, the 4 largest cities in Ohio--Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Toledo--collectively are the birthplaces of zero Hall of Famers.

BTW, I'll be doing an AMA on this sub tomorrow at 11am EST. I'm a basketball historian with a recently published book profiling 500 historic NBA & ABA players.