If you think John Stockton is a good point guard, if you think 'Magic' Johnson is good at passing, then put the two of them together you know what bob Kushi is like. (Tom Heinthorn)
It's hard to believe that such a seemingly thin old man would be one of the most legendary stars in the entire history of MLB basketball in the first 35 years.
But that's the way it is, the word thin has nothing to do with him, and Cousy's character is strong and tough in his bones has been evident since he was a child.
When he fell from a tree in his hometown in New York and broke his right arm, he did not rest as well as his classmates, because he felt that the fracture was a test, so Cush began to use his left hand to dribble, pass and shoot, and after a nine-month recovery period, Kushi's wind rating changed from a "defender with excellent ball sense" to a "good defender with a spiritual sense of left and right hands", when Cusi was not yet 14 years old.
In middle school, Cusi continued to beat opponents on the court with techniques and moves that had never been seen before at the time, and for a time became a topic of conversation in the entire Basketball community in New York, and Kushi's coach at the time, Glamude, immediately recalled Cush to the varsity team after seeing His performance as he played.
In 1946, basketball was in the late stages of the Obscurantist Era, when Cush had just entered Holly University, but he brought a new type of basketball technology into the world of college basketball.
However, Kusi's basketball career in college was not flat, because his out-of-place gorgeous style of play could not enter the eyes of the coach at the time, so Kusi's playing time was strictly required, but by mistake, the castration time gave Kusi more rest, which also made his energy on the court more concentrated, that year, Kusi, who was limited by the field and the field, still led the team to the Championship of the United States.
At this time, Cusi began to have the idea of entering the professional league after graduation, so his road to running for election was not smooth.
In 1950, after Bob Cush entered the NBA draft, the Boston Celtics took the lead in approaching Cush for trials and interviews, but "Cardinal" Auerbach dismissed him.
"We just have to be big, and small people like Kusi have no value," Auerbach commented.
With the bishop's refusal, Cush participated in the interviews of various teams, and finally, the Hawks won Cushy in the first round, which also made Cucis feel a lot, after all, he was selected, and he also completed his goal, but the good times were not long, and within a few hours after the Hawks chose Kusi, Cush was traded to the Chicago Stags.
"The Stags were on the verge of bankruptcy, and The addition of Cusi did not allow them to make it to the start of the league."
"Chicagoans haven't even seen this elf-like figure play a ball, which is their regret." (Chicago Newspaper)
Due to the collapse of the Stags, Cush can only anxiously wait at home for the league bosses' team players to draw, waiting for which team he will play for, on the day of the draw, Celtic boss Walter Brown got Cush in the draw, going around, Kushi still came to the Celtics.
"Red (Auerbach) can't do anything this time, Bob can play with confidence." Brown said after drawing lots.
In this way, Kusi finally began his career.
In the 1950–51 season, as the Only Cardinals rookie he didn't like very much, Cusi contributed 15.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 4.9 assists to the team, which changed bishops' impression of the little guard and laid the foundation for the choice of Bill Shaman the following year.
Shaman's addition gave Kusi more room to play, the combination of Kushi and shooter Shaman in the league at that time, Kusi has averaged 21.7 points and 6.7 assists per game, both of which can be said to be the highest level in the league at that time, and Kusi was also selected as the first team of the year.
In the 1952-53 season, Cusi won his first eight consecutive assists awards, when he averaged 7.7 assists per game, a rarity in slow-paced games before the offensive time limit was used, and the Celtics also achieved their best 46 wins since the team's founding and swept the Syracuses Nationals 2-0 in the division semifinals.
In the 1953-54 season, Cusi averaged 19.2 points and 7.2 assists per game in the regular season, sat on the assist king for the second consecutive year, and participated in that year's All-Star Game, in which Cusi won the amvp with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists, and in the game, Cusi's one turn back pass assist Russell performed four times, which also became a historical classic scene.
In 1956, Kusi began to show his offensive ability at the request of Auerbach, not always passing the ball, playing appropriately selfishly, and that year, Cussi did better than asked, He averaged 26.4 points per game and continued to maintain his performance as the league's assist king, in 1957, Cusi began to attack higher honors, this year, as the assist king, he led the team to the Finals, and seven games to win the St. Louis Eagles, Cusi also won the first championship of his career, yes, this season, Cusi is still the regular season MVP. In the 1958 season, although Cusi and the team broke the Finals, Cush had 24 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in the third game of the Finals, becoming the first player in the history of the Finals to get a triple-double.
In the 1958-1959 season, the Greenshirts began their eight-game winning streak, and Cush was the absolute offensive launch point for this team, and from this year on, Cusi left his mark on the stage of the final while winning the assists king:
In the 1962-63 season, Cush helped the Celtics to a 58-22 record, ranking first in the East, and in the sixth game of the Finals, with 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Cush sprained his left ankle, but after processing, in the last 5 minutes of the game, Kushi returned to the court with an injury, and his final control of the ball ensured that the Celtics won the Lakers 112-109 to win the championship again.
'It was like the ball was glued to his hand, and I saw him dribbling with his left hand, his center of gravity getting lower and lower, and he got rid of the two opposing players. in Bill Russell
It was the Celtics' fifth consecutive championship and a perfect end to Cusi's career, with Cusi officially announcing his retirement at the end of the season.
When he retired, Kusi was 35 years old, and one morning that year, Kushi's phone rang, and a man's voice came from the other end, paying a high tribute to Kusi:
"The NBA game will leave a mark on your excellent skills and desire to win."
Cush is a superstar who has scored 16,955 points, 6,945 assists and 80.3 percent of his free throw shooting in his career, but the call is still a great honor.
"It was a call from President Kennedy, and I was flattered."
"It also shows that everything I did was getting the results I wanted."
It also shows that Cusi's contribution is not only on the pitch, but also that Cusi is an ordinary person with a tough attitude, leadership temperament and respect for others.
In 1950, when the Celts competed in Charlotte, North Carolina, which was then segregated, his teammate Chuck Cooper was denied reception at the hotel because he was black.
When Cush learned of the news, he directly issued a statement refusing to stay in the hotel, he insisted on leaving by night train with Cooper, and when he learned that the reason was because Cooper could not use the same bathroom as the Caucasians, Cush was devastated and expressed his feelings to the media about the sensation at the time:
"I'm ashamed to be white."
This non-racist behavior made the racists in Boston extremely disgusted, but because Cush was white, they vented their anger on Bill Russell.
However, Russell did not resent Cousy, on the contrary, Cushy was very concerned about Bill Russell, who was often hurt by racial discrimination, and even now, he himself and his wife have maintained a long-term friendship with Russell.
Later, after learning that Russell's own apartment had been maliciously graffitied, Cush drove there that night and took Russell and his family to his home.
In addition to opposing discrimination, Cush also has great respect for the players of various teams, at that time, some players' lives were not properly guaranteed, so in 1954, Cusi began to prepare for the establishment of the NBA Players Union (NBPA), he told the idea to Celtic owner Walter Brown, after learning of Kusi's idea, Walter Brown immediately expressed his support and began to raise meetings and statements.
Immediately, Cush began to contact the representative players of each team, except for The Fort Wayne, whose boss was a die-hard anti-union organizer, and all the representative players he contacted responded to him enthusiastically. The players' union was also formally formed, and Kushi became president of the first players' union, and in 1958, Kusi's teammate Tom Heinthorn took over as a player representative.
To this day, the players' unions are showing their place on the NBA stage.
As a ball controller and passer, Cush's ideas and movements are ahead of his contemporaries.
In their day, point guards used their right hand to hold the ball halfway through the field and then throw the ball to the big man on the inside, but Cousy was a different person, he could dribble with both hands, he could pass the ball from the back and send the ball to his teammates without looking at people.
During the Celtic dynasty, the offense was managed by him, and his shooting choices and defense may not be good, but he brought revolutionary changes to the position of point guard, and he made basketball more pleasing to the eye.
Columnist Bill Simmons also said: "People never suspect that Dr. Naismith invented basketball, but Kushi made the sport an art." ”
These are the praises that Bob Kushi deserves.
As the NBA celebrates its 25th and 35th anniversaries, Cousy was chosen as the great star of the time, and as the NBA goes through 50 years, Kusi's name still shines brightly, being selected as one of the fifty greatest stars of all time, and his name will forever be engraved on the milestones in the development of basketball.