Welcome to this fantasy basketball edition of What If? This is where I look back a player's season before fantasy basketball became prominent in our society.
Today, we look back at Los Angeles Lakers Hall of Famer Magic Johnson's 1986-87 season. I'm using the default scoring for Sporting News and Yahoo! fantasy basketball games. So here's the scoring system for each:
SN Fantasy Basketball Default Scoring System:
Point Scored: 1 point each
Field Goal Missed: -0.5 points
Free Throw Missed: -0.5 points
Rebound: 1.5 points
Assists: 2 points
Steal: 2.5 points
Block Shot: 2.5 points
Turnover: -1 point
Triple Double: 10 points
Note: For those that are not familar with basketball, triple-double means reaching double digits in at least three of the following categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots.
Yahoo! Fantasy Basketball Default Scoring System:
Field Goal Attempt: -0.45 points
Field Goal Made: 1 point
Free Throw Attempt: -0.75 points
Free Throw Made: 1 point
3-Point Shot Made: 3 points
Point Scored: 0.5 points
Rebound: 1.5 points
Assist: 2 points
Steal: 3 points
Turnover: -2 points
Blocked Shot: 3 points
Here's the SN scoring total for Magic Johnson's 1986-87 season:
Points Scored: 1,909 = 1,909 points
Field Goals Missed: 625 = -312.5 points
Free Throw Missed: 96 = -48 points
Rebounds: 504 = 756 points
Assists: 977 = 1,954 points
Steals: 138 = 345 points
Blocked Shots: 36 = 90 points
Turnovers: 300 = -300 points
Triple Doubles: 11 = 110 points
Total SN Points: 4503.5 points
SN Points Per Game: 56.29
Johnson played in 80 games in 1986-87.
Here's the Yahoo! scoring total for Magic Johnson's 1986-87 season:
Field Goal Attempts: 1,308 = -588.6 points
Field Goals Made: 683 = 683 points
Free Throw Attempts: 631 = -473.25 points
Free Throws Made: 535 = 535 points
3-Point Shots Made: 8 = 24 points
Points Scored: 1,909 = 954.5 points
Rebounds: 504 = 756 points
Assists: 977 = 1,954 points
Steals: 138 = 414 points
Turnovers: 300 = -600 points
Blocked Shots: 36 = 108 points
Total Yahoo! Points: 3,766.65
Yahoo! Points Per Game: 47.08
Source: basketball-reference.com
Magic Johnson had his best scoring season in 1986-87 in route to winning his first MVP award. He ranked 9th in the league in points, 10th in points per game, 1st in assists, and 5th in made free throws on the season.
He had a season-high in points with 46 against Sacremento on December 23. He scored 40 points or more in a game three times on the season.
He had a season-high 20 assists in only 28 minutes of play against Denver on March 10. He reached double digits in assists in 60 of the 80 games he played including at least 15 or more in 25 of those contests.
The Lakers had an 11-game winning streak from the end of March into April when he had five of his triple-doubles during that stretch. He had seven of his 11 triple-doubles in the last two months of the season.
He led his team to the NBA Finals with a 65-17 record where they faced off against the Boston Celtics for the second straight year. With the Lakers up 2-1 in the series, Johnson hit the famous sky hook shot over Kevin McHale and out of the reach of Robert Parrish which was the key to the entire series. The Lakers won the series in six games, and Johnson was named NBA Finals MVP. He averaged 21.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 12.2 assists per game in the playoffs.
Johnson won three league MVPs, three NBA Finals MVPs, two All-Star Game MVPs, and won five NBA titles in eight tries during his career. He was also on the famous Dream Team at the 1992 Olympics, and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002.
If anyone wants to suggest a past player, you may do so by commenting. I only ask that we try to keep it before 1995. Also, statistics are tougher to find in the early era of the game because they weren't tracked as well. Just something to keep in mind.
Thanks for viewing, and be sure to check the Blog List of friends to the right of this page for more great reads out there!
Past What If? basketball posts:
Michael Jordan's 1988-89 Season
Patrick Ewing's 1989-90 Season
11/24/2008 10:38:00 AM
David Funk
2 comments:
He was one of the very best to ever strap on high tops.
Agreed Lester.
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