Paul Arizin was a high-scoring small forward who bridged the
George Mikan-Wilt Chamberlain eras.
Arizin came out of Villanova to play 10 NBA seasons – he missed
two years because of the Korean War – for the Philadelphia Warriors. He averaged
more than 20 points per game every year but his first. The two years lost to the
war hurt him significantly in my rankings. He led the league in scoring twice,
in 1951-1952 before he missed two seasons, then again in 1956-1957, the third season
he got back.
He had career highs in PER (25.5) and win shares (16.0) in
1951-1952, but his Warriors lost to the Syracuse Nationals 2-1 in the first
round of the playoffs. His best season in my system ended up being 1955-1956,
when the Warriors won the NBA title. In the playoffs that year, Arizin averaged
28.9 points and 8.4 rebounds over 10 games. His playoff PER was a stellar 24.2
and he led all players in playoff win shares with 2.2.
Chamberlain joined the Warriors in 1959-1960, but Arizin’s
role didn’t change. He averaged 22.3, 23.2 points and 21.9 points per game at
the ages of 31, 32 and 33, earning all-star berths all three years. In fact,
Arizin was picked for the all-star game all 10 of his NBA seasons. After the
1961-1962 season, the Warriors moved to San Francisco. Arizin, who was born in
Philadelphia, chose to leave than NBA rather than move to the West Coast. That
decision cost him even more points in my system. The missing war seasons and a
couple more years with the Warriors and Arizin might have been a top 50 player.
Instead, Arizin joined the Camden Bullets of the Eastern
Professional Basketball League. He played in the EBL for three years, winning
league MVP in 1963 and leading the Bullets to the EBL title in 1964.
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Paul Arizin
bio info
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Career
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1950-1962
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Games
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713
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Points
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22.8
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Rebounds
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8.6
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Assists
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2.3
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FG Pct.
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42.1%
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All-Star games
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10
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MVPs
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0
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NBA titles
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1
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Playoff seasons
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8
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Playoff games
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49
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Points
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24.2
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Rebounds
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8.2
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Assists
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2.6
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FG Pct.
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41.1%
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Hall of Fame
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1978
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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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345.54
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43rd
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5-year
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1,396.96
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59th
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10-year
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2,229.70
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79th
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Career
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2,229.70
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Not in top 100
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Paul Arizin
at his peak
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1955-1956
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Arizin
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Top 5
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Points
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PER
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21.3
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25.67
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Win Shares
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12.2
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14.97
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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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33.5
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37.23
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89.98
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Playoff PER
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24.2
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22.91
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Win Shares
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2.2
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1.97
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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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26.4
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25.54
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103.38
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Reg. Season Win %
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62.50
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62.50
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Playoff Win %
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70.00
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70.00
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MVP Voting (75 points)
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21/80
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19.69
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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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345.54
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Arizin’s 10 greatest seasons
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1955-1956
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345.54
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1951-1952
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310.04
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1959-1960
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264.66
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1957-1958
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249.68
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1956-1957
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227.02
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1961-1962
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220.90
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1960-1961
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177.45
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1950-1951
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168.19
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1958-1959
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145.69
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1954-1955
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120.50
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Career
winning percentage
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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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393
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330
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54.36%
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Playoffs
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21
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26
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44.68%
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