Bob McAdoo was a member of the Braves for a little over four seasons in the 1970s, a dominant inside presence not many were able to slow down, much less stop.
While a good amount of the rookies selected near the top of the draft tend to take a few years to reach their potential, McAdoo — the second overall pick in 1972 — came out of the gates firing at will. He averaged 18.0 points per game in his first NBA season, but he was only just getting started.
In the following three years, the former North Carolina Tar Heel’s scoring average would never dip below 30 points a night. He’d go on to lead the NBA in scoring in each of those three seasons. Overall, McAdoo would average 28.2 points per game while in Buffalo, a truly elite mark.
Despite standing at a height more suitable for the perimeter at 6-foot-9, McAdoo did most of his damage around the rim. He could bully his way to the bucket for easy layups or step just outside the restricted area for a baby jump shot.
It was those multiple options which made him so difficult to stop because as the defender, you couldn’t give him much room to drive. Otherwise, he’d get an open shot. At the same time, pressuring him only created more ways for him to dupe the opposition on his way to a relatively uncontested layup.
Due to a career that tailed off as he exited his prime, McAdoo doesn’t have the point total to compete with some of the games greatest to ever do it. However, in terms of peak performance with the Braves, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer had a run that would suggest otherwise.