The predecessor of the NBA, BAA, was founded in New York on June 6, 1946, and the league had only eleven teams. Until 1949, the two major basketball organizations in the United States, BAA and NBL, merged to form the "National Basketball Association, abbreviated as the NBA."
This year, coinciding with the 75th anniversary of the founding of the NBA, in this period of time, there have been countless outstanding athletes such as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, etc., and the NBA official has also announced the selection of the 75 superstars in history recently.
Today, let's take stock of the NBA's five oldest living superstar players.
Fifth-placer, Oscar Robertson, 83 years old
Oscar Robertson (born November 24, 1938 in Charlotte, Tennessee) is a former American professional basketball player who plays as a point guard and nicknamed "Big O". He was drafted by the Cincinnati Royals (now the Sacramento Kings) in the 1960 Regional Draft in the 1st round as a champion.
Oscar Robertson
Oscar Robertson was the strongest triple-double king before Westbrook's death, and in 1961-62 he averaged a triple-double (30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds, 11.4 assists) throughout the season. He was named NBA regular season MVP in 1964, 12-time NBA All-Star, nine-time NBA All-Star, and six-time NBA Assists King.
On September 3, 1974, Oscar Robertson officially announced his retirement. He was the only superstar to grab an MVP in the 1960s when Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell monopolized MVP. In 1980, he was inducted into the Nye Smith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Fourth place, Jerry West, 83 years old
Jerry West (born May 28, 1938 in Chiriland, West Virginia) is a former American professional basketball player who plays as a guard and nicknamed "Mr. Key". He was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1960 NBA Draft at No. 2 in the 1st round and played for the Los Angeles Lakers in his career.
Jerry West
In the 1968-69 season, the 31-year-old West became the only player in the NBA's founding to win the NBA Finals MVP (FMVP) as a loser, and he won the only NBA championship of his career with the Lakers in 1972. In his 14-year career, West has been named to the NBA All-Star Team 14 times, to the NBA All-Star Team 10 times, to the NBA scoring champion in 1970 and the NBA assists king in 1972.
Jerry West with NBA Logo
At the end of the 1973–74 season, Jerry West officially announced his retirement. In 1983, the Lakers retired West's No. 44 jersey. In 1979, Jerry West was inducted into the Nye Smith Basketball Hall of Fame. It is worth mentioning that the NBA logo was designed through the image of Jerry West, so he got the nickname "LOGO Man" again.
Third place, Bill Russell is 87 years old
Bill Russell (born February 12, 1934 in Monroe, Louisiana) is a former American professional basketball player, coach, and center. In the 1956 NBA Draft, Bill Russell was selected by the St. Louis Hawks with the second overall pick in the first round to join the Celtics under a series of transfer operations by Arnold Auerbach.
"The Lord of the Rings" Bill Russell
Nicknamed "The Lord of the Rings" after 11 NBA championship rings in his playing career, he was the main center of the Boston Celtics in the 1960s, who won nine NBA championships in 10 seasons, including an eight-game streak. In 1966, Russell became the first black coach in NBA history. During Russell's tenure as player and coach, he won two more championships. In a 13-year career, Russell has been named NBA regular season MVP five times, named to the NBA All-Star Team 12 times, named to the NBA All-Star Team three times, and won the NBA Rebounding King four times.
On July 1, 1969, Bill Russell announced his retirement. In 1975, Russell was inducted into the Nye Smith Basketball Hall of Fame. In 2021, Russell was again inducted into the Nye Smith Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach.
Second place, Bob Petit, 89 years old
Bob Petit (born December 12, 1932 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana) is a former American professional basketball player who plays as a power forward/center. He was drafted by the Milwaukee Hawks (now the Atlanta Hawks) in the 1954 NBA Draft at No. 2 in the 1st Round, playing for the Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks for all of his career.
Bob Petit
He was named NBA Rookie of the Year in his rookie season, won the NBA championship with the Hawks in 1958, was named NBA regular season MVP twice, was named to the NBA All-Star Team 11 times, was named to the NBA All-Star Team 10 times, and was named the NBA scoring champion twice.
In March 1965, at the age of 32, Bob Petit announced his retirement in 1970, and Bob Petit was inducted into the Nye&W. Smith Basketball Hall of Fame. His No. 9 jersey was retired by the Hawks.
First place, Bob Cush, is 93 years old
Bob Cousy (born August 9, 1928 in New York, United States) is a former American professional basketball player who plays as a point guard. He was drafted by the Boston Celtics in the 1st round of the 1950 NBA Draft and played for the Boston Celtics all his career
Bob Cush
Bob Kushi carried forward the dribble behind him and is known as the originator of point guard. He also won the NBA championship 6 times, was elected the NBA regular season MVP in 1957, was selected to the NBA All-NBA Team 10 times, was elected the NBA Assist King 8 times, was selected to the NBA All-Star Team 13 times and won the NBA All-Star MVP twice.
At the end of the 1962–63 season, Bob Cush officially announced his retirement. However, in 1970, he played 7 games for the Cincinnati Royals as head coach. In 1970, Bob Cush was inducted into the Nye Smith Basketball Hall of Fame. His No. 14 jersey was retired by the Celtics.
Finally, I would like to say that although we do not have as many star-studded superstars as the United States, China is a country that has been exposed to basketball for a long time in the world. From the establishment of the men's basketball national team in 1917, to the domination of Asia in the 1970s and 1980s, and the landing of Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian and others in the NBA, the top eight of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, in this process, generation after generation of basketball people strive to present more than just basketball. When did the majority of fans and friends start watching and playing? Basketball is not our youth?