Cyde Lovellette was a pioneering big man who was the first player
to win an NCAA championship, Olympic Gold Medal and NBA title.
Lovellette was a 6-9 center who would step outside to shoot.
In the George Mikan era, a center rarely ventured away from the basket. The
versatility allowed him to thrive playing alongside Mikan and the two won the
1953-1954 NBA title together. It allowed him to continue to be an effective scorer
even after Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain came along, making the game more
athletic.
Lovellette was an efficient big man, topping 20.0 in PER his
first eight regular seasons and three times in the playoffs. He topped 8.0 in
win shares in a season six times. Lovellette played for four franchises in 11 years
and his teams advanced to the playoffs 10 times. He was a member of three NBA
title teams, although to be fair, he played little part in the 1962-1963 and
1963-1964 titles with Boston.
In my system, his best statistical season is an anomaly. He
averaged 8.2 points and 5.8 rebounds for the NBA champion Lakers in just 17.4
minutes per game. That calculated out to a 20.7 PER and 5.2 win shares. In the
playoffs, he averaged 10.5 points and 9.7 rebounds in just 20.4 minutes per
game, which was a 27.0 PER. The high PERs and high winning percentages, along with
the fact that VORP and Box +/- can’t be calculated backwards that far, made it
his best season in my system.
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Clyde
Lovellette bio info
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Career
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1953-1964
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Games
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704
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Points
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17.0
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Rebounds
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9.5
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Assists
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1.6
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FG Pct.
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44.3%
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All-Star Games
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4
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MVPs
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0
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NBA titles
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3
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Playoff seasons
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10
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Playoff games
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69
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Points
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14.0
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Rebounds
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8.1
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Assists
|
1.3
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FG Pct.
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41.6%
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Hall of Fame
|
1988
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Top 100
rankings
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||
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Points
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Top 100 ranking
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1-year
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293.36
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100th
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5-year
|
1,390.56
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62nd
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10-year
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2,438.25
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56th
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Career
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2,523.69
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86th
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Clyde Lovellette
at his peak
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|||
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1953-1954
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Lovellette
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Top 5
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Points
|
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PER
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20.7
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25.23
|
|
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Win Shares
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5.2
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14.44
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|
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Box +/-
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NA
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NA
|
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VORP
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NA
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NA
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Total Advanced Stats
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25.9
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39.67
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65.29
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Playoff PER
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27.0
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27.68
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Win Shares
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1.3
|
2.12
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|
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Box +/-
|
NA
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NA
|
|
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VORP
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NA
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NA
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Total Advanced Stats
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28.3
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29.80
|
94.95
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Reg. Season Win %
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63.89
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63.89
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Playoff Win %
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69.23
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69.23
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MVP Voting (75 points)
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0
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0
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Playoff MVP (25 points)
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0
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0
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Total Score
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293.36
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Lovellette’s 10 greatest seasons
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1953-1954
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293.36
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1954-1955
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285.16
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1958-1959
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273.46
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1955-1956
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270.80
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1959-1960
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267.77
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1956-1957
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249.34
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1960-1961
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244.08
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1963-1964
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198.45
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1957-1958
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195.26
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1962-1963
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160.56
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Career
winning percentage
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|||
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W
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L
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Pct.
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Regular Season
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407
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297
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57.81%
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Playoffs
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34
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35
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49.28%
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