"Little One" Knight Archibald, TA s rating of NBA 75 Big 67

When your nickname is "Tiny", people probably won't expect too much from you, let alone a unique great achievement. But as long as you do one thing - to become the only player in NBA history to lead the scoring and assists at the same time in a single season, anyone will forget those height and weight statistics. Nate "Little Little" Archibald not only did it, but also had more outstanding performances in his career. The report card of 34.0 points + 11.4 assists per game in the 1972-73 season is enough to write into history.

Achibold's nickname came from his father, who was later called "Big Tiny". In terms of height, Archibald is definitely not outstanding in the NBA - the official registration is 6 feet 1 inch (some people say he is at most 5 feet 11 inches, or even only 5 feet 10 inches), and weighs 150 pounds. In the 1970 NBA Draft, he was selected in the second round, with Bob Rannier, Rudy Tomjanovic, Pete Malawic, Dave Coins and Calvin Murphy all ahead of him. But long before small point guards such as Alan Iverson and Kyrie Irving proved that they could dominate the league, Archibald was one of the earliest and most outstanding small scorers in the NBA.

His efforts eventually won him a seat in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, and he ranked 67th among the 75 top stars in NBA history selected by the TA.

Archibald's legendary basketball career started with famous courts in New York City. He played from the Bronx in the 1960s and developed scoring and organizing skills in confrontation with many New York park courts—including the famous Ruke Park—and street players.

"I remember he always talked about legends on New York courts," said Cedric Maxwell, who was a teammate of the Boston Celtics with Archibald from 1978 to 1983. "He often mentioned his fellow players who played with the Destroyer Joe Hammond and Pieve Kirkland, who were all New Yorkers who played in Ruke Park. I was indirectly experiencing New York through him. I always talk to me about the various places I have been to in the summer. He took me to 'travel' 42nd Street countless times, even though I have never been there. "

After graduating from Deweet Clinton in the Bronx in 1966, Archibald's basketball road went to a completely different place from New York: Arizona Western College - this community college is in Yuma, just one step away from the U.S.-Mexico border. When he was in high school, he struggled academically and even thought about dropping out. It was not until his senior year led the team to win the Public School Sports League championship, which made the university become a little interested in him, but the four-year university still stayed away from him. The Arizona Western became an oasis of his basketball career, where he transferred to the University of Texas at El Paso, a school just changed its name from the Texas Western Conference, and it has been two seasons since the Miners won the NCAA Championship.

Later, academic struggles became a warm part of his growth story: after retiring, he returned to the University of Texas at El Paso, completed his bachelor's degree (only played for three seasons in college), and joined the Miners' coaching staff. During his retirement career, he has been deeply engaged in education, teaching in New York public schools, and earning a master's degree from Fordham University.

"I enjoyed my college career," Archibald said in an interview in 1987. "Not much score, but coach Don Huggins taught me a lot about the game."

But how did he play for legendary coach Huggins? It turned out that Huggins had a hard time convincing the big player to come to West Texas at that time, so he turned his attention to this "little one".

"He has made too obvious progress as a player," Huggins told the El Paso Times in 1985. "He is very quiet, shy, rarely shoots, and is always willing to pass the ball."

Archibald did not write assists on the Basketball-Reference page of the University of Texas, El Paso, but he can see that he averaged 20.0 points + 3.0 rebounds per game during his three seasons with the Miners. He scored 37 points in the only NCAA Championship against Utah State University, but the mediocre data of the university could not tell that he could set a historic record in the NBA later.

"We don't have a height advantage," Archibald told the El Paso Times. "There are no superstars on the team, but there are good players. Coach Huggins makes us good players better. Did you know that Huggins' players all look too short and too thin, or have one or another shortcomings, but he can always make everyone different. Players are selected to the NBA and find good jobs because of him."

Archibald is one of those players who were selected. He was picked up in the second round (after another small Hall of Fame defender Calvin Murphy) and joined the then-volatile Cincinnati Royals. NBA All-Star Power Forward Jerry Lucas was sent to the Warriors in the Western Conference after the 1970 season; and less than a month after Archibald was selected, Royals head coach Bob Cusey, the first great point guard in the NBA, broke up with Oscar Robertson (the team's greatest player, the next great point guard), and Big O was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks.

When playing with his backcourt partner Nom Van Leal, Van Leal led the league with 10.1 assists per game. Archibald's rookie averaged 16.0 points + 5.5 assists per game in the rookie season. The speed and agility he honed in college and the streets of New York began to show off in the NBA.

"The court is only about 45 to 50 feet," Archibald talked to the New York Times about his days playing at the Public School at 18 Morris Street in the Bronx. "Our game is survival, usually half-court attacking.. That was very different for me. I made a reputation by breaking through the basket and didn't have the chance to practice jump shots. ”

Although most of the guards who are about the same height as him are on the outside, "Little Buddie" has a fearless spirit and can always shuttle through the opponent's defense line to the basket, which quickly made him stand out and laid the groundwork for later breaking the record.

In the second season, Van Lill was traded back to the Chicago Bulls in 10 games (another deal that made Royals fans dissatisfied), and the team officially became Archibald's stage. He averaged 28.2 points per game, second only to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; he averaged 9.2 assists per game, third in the league. "Little Buddie" Star path is rising.

But soon, the team is moving. In March 1972, after 15 seasons in southwestern Ohio, the Royals announced their plans to move westward to Kansas City, Missouri. But the Kansas City Political Hall has only 21 days free next season, so the team had to find another home court, and finally found a place in Nebraska. "Kansas City-Omaha Kings" was born.

No one is satisfied with this arrangement. Players are dissatisfied with playing so many games away from the familiar Cincinnati area.

"Who can be happy to play 61 'away games'? "The team forward and captain Tom van Alsdike told the Cincinnati Inquiry.

Some people started looking for agents and wanted the ABA team to move to Cincinnati; NBA Players Union lawyer Larry Fleisch also said that this multi-city schedule may make players "refuse to participate in next season's game" - the Golden State Warriors wanted to put Oakland and San Diego half last season, but they were rejected by the players.

Look at the Royals fans - or the remaining fans, who have long been disheartened by the team's core trading core and missed the playoffs for five consecutive seasons, and they were far away. Some even think that they are better off.

"This team is too unsuccessful," Jack Randall told the Inquiry. "Cincinnati needs to be tied to a successful team like the Bengals. ”

The Royals were not empty-handed when they moved west. The sophomore defender was blocked outside Madison Square Garden because his security guards didn't believe he was an NBA player; he was not selected as an All-Star, but was selected as the NBA's second team after famous defenders such as Jerry West and Walter Frazer.

It is such a team that cannot even decide on the home city. Left-handed Archibald is about to usher in a legendary season - leading the scoring and assists list, unprecedented and no one comes later.

In the 1972-73 season, Archibald set these historic data:

Average 34.0 points per game, setting a defender at the time Record;

averaged 11.38 assists per game, second only to Big O's record 11.48;

910 assists per season, setting an NBA record;

18 scored 40+, with the most defenders;

3 scored 50+, and it is also the highest defender;

14 consecutive assists were double-digit, league record;

3 assists were 20+;

accounts for 30.8% of the team's total score of 8,822 points;

accounts for 42.9% of the team's total assists 2,118 times;

averaged 46.0 minutes, ranking first in the league.

Kings are in Cincinna The financial situation in the last few seasons was tight, and in Kansas City and Omaha, it attracted a total of about 262,000 fans. Part of this was because of the newness of the NBA team, and the other part was Archibald, the Kansas City Star called him the "team sign" - the wonderful performance of Archibald, the "Kansas City Star" called him "the team's signature". "Little Bit" was selected as the All-Star for the first time in his career, and entered the NBA's best team, ranking third in MVP voting, second only to Boston's Dave Coins and Abdul-Jabbar. But despite his performance against the sky, the Kings were still 36 wins and 46 losses, and were at the bottom of the Midwest Division and did not make the playoffs.

In the 1974-75 season, Archibald tasted the playoffs for the first time, but the Kings were in the West The semi-finals were eliminated by the Bulls. Before the 1976-77 season started, he was traded to the New York Nets, but only played 34 games due to foot injury; next season he was traded to the Detroit Pistons, and his Achilles tendon was torn before he even played.

Another year, he was traded to Boston, where he regained his career. When he first arrived at the Celtics, he was overweight and tried hard to lose weight after his injury to restore his body shape. Maxwell said that although the speed was a little slower, his basketball wisdom was even more prominent.

"What impressed me the most was his determination to lose weight," Maxwell said. "He came to train every day, wear loose clothes, run non-stop, and never stopped. At that time, I knew that this guy was serious and really wanted to recover and return to his peak. "

"He became particularly clever later," said Maxwell, "the most important thing about Nate was that he was too smart. He plays like playing chess, and the person who defends him is still in the checker stage. ”

At the Celtics, Archibald's role has gone from a former team star to a more important role player. Over the years, the talent accumulated by Boston's Cardinal Auerbach has become the cornerstone of the Larry Bird era—the young Indiana State star joined the second year of Archibald's visit to Boston, and the two won the championship in his third season.

"(Celtics) are like the old western "The Golden Three Detachers"," Archibald said in 2016. "Before Larry (Bird), Kevin (McHale), Robert (Parish) came, the team was like that 'ugly' character. Everyone will ask, "Who is the difference between good and bad?" ’In fact, it’s not good or bad. But with them, everything is better. I don't have to score more points at all, I just need to control the game and pass the ball to the right person. I really hope there are ten basketballs so that everyone can be fed. That feeling is great. ”

In 1981, Celtics won the championship season, Maxwell remembered a game against the Sixers: Archibald was defended by Morris Chicks, and he knew he would miss it with one shot, and instinctively chased him up, rushing to the basket before the big man - much earlier than the players' conventional rebounding advantage. Maxwell said that this not only reflects Archibald's basketball wisdom, but also the instinctive origin of a common game stage.

In 1981, Archibald averaged 13.8 points + 7.7 assists, with a shooting percentage of nearly 50%. Maxwell said he would use "Silent Storm" to describe Archibald - the nature of this New Yorker Introverted and easy-going, but once you lock in the target, you can dominate the game.

Although injuries make you worse than before, Archibald can still break through layups, even if you get hit in the game. Just like other small point guards can always break through body limitations to achieve success, Maxwell said that Archibald's persistent rush to the basket can still be seen in small guards such as Irving and Ja Morant.

"Always hitting the basket, and if you are knocked down, you stand up," Maxwell recalled. "You have to know how intense the confrontation was at that time. The opponent would deliberately knock you away in the air and tell you 'Don't come up again'. But he didn't mean to go. I think now when Iverson and Kyrie Irving, they all have the shadow of Nate Archibald when they hit the basket and completed the attack with confrontation. This spirit has been passed down to this day. ”

Career data:

Games: 876 games, average: 18.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, 7.4 assists, shooting percentage: 46.7%, free throw percentage: 81.0%, victory contribution value: 83.4, player efficiency value: 18.0

Honors:

Five times selected as the NBA All-Star, six times selected as the All-Star, NBA Championship in 1981, Hall of Fame in 1991, NBA 50 Superstar in 1996; NBA 75 Superstar in 2021