Remember that prediction that Cousy would be the last decisive winner in the poll? Well, I didn't know what I was talking about. It turns out that people really, really like Kevin McHale. McHale took down Dave Cowens 51% to 21%, with KG finishing with a strong third place showing despite only playing four seasons in green.
So, will today's battle come down to Cowens vs. KG? League MVP vs. DPOY? Or is this the poll where all-time greats like Tommy Heinsohn and Sam Jones -- with a combined 18 rings (!!) -- start to get some love? Also, I'd encourage everyone to do some research on today's entry into the poll, Bill Sharman. He's a forgotten man by many fans, but seven appearances on the All-NBA team should speak for themselves.
The tale of the tape (while with the Celtics):
Dave Cowens: 10 seasons, 2 titles, NBA MVP, Co-ROY, 7-time All-Star, 3-time All-Defense, 3-time All-NBA
Tommy Heinsohn: 9 seasons, 8 titles, 6-time All-Star, ROY, 4-time All-NBA, .Coach of the Year, 2 coaching titles
Kevin Garnett:4 seasons, 1 title, 4-time All-Star, DPOY, 1-time All-NBA, 3-time All-Defense
Robert Parish: 14 seasons, 3 titles, 9-time All-Star, 2-time All-NBA
Sam Jones: 12 seasons, 10 titles, 5-time All-Star, 3-time All-NBA
Bill Sharman: 10 seasons, 4 titles, 8-time All-Star, 7-time All-NBA
Those remaining:
00 Robert Parish
3 Dennis Johnson
5 Kevin Garnett
5 Bill Walton6 Bill Russell
7 Tiny Archibald
8 Antoine Walker
9 Rajon Rondo
10 JoJo White
12 Don Chaney14 Bob Cousy
15 Tom Heinsohn
16 Tom Sanders17 John Havlicek
18 Bailey Howell
LOSCY Jim Loscutoff
18 Dave Cowens
19 Don Nelson
20 Ray Allen
21 Bill Sharman
22 Ed Macauley
23 Frank Ramsey
24 Sam Jones
25 KC Jones
31 Cedric Maxwell32 Kevin McHale33 Larry Bird34 Paul Pierce
35 Paul Silas
35 Reggie Lewis
40 Dino Radja
43 Kendrick Perkins
44 Danny Ainge