You can’t please everybody
In 1996, the NBA named its 50 greatest players on the occasion of the pro league’s 50th anniversary. The list went through a process of selection involving 50 voters composed of 16 former players, 13 from media and 21 team representatives, including coaches and general managers. Among the voters were Sen. Bill Bradley, Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, Julius Erving, Red Auerbach and media reps Marv Albert, Chick Hearn, Sam Goldaper, David DuPree and Pete Vecsey.
The final list included 11 active players, namely, Charles Barkley, Clyde Drexler, Pat Ewing, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, Robert Parish, Scottie Pippen, David Robinson and John Stockton. At that time, the dominant NBA teams were Chicago in the East and Utah in the West. The Bulls and Jazz faced off in the Finals that season and the next. Jordan was a shoo-in for inclusion but Pippen, Malone and Stockton probably owed their votes to the fresh memory of their showing that season, something you can’t ignore.
While the voting involved 50 experts, there were still many questions surrounding the acceptability of the final picks. Some fans said it was too soon for the likes of Pippen, Malone and Stockton to be named because several retired players were conspicuously snubbed. Former MVP Bob McAdoo, Bob Lanier, Artis Gilmore, Gary Payton and Alex English were among the players often mentioned by fans as deserving to be in the list but were excluded. The inclusion of Nate Thurmond, Paul Arizin and Pete Maravich was also questioned not because they weren’t deserving but because there were others who were more deserving. You really can’t please everyone. In any selection process where there is a multitude of choices, you’re bound to generate conflicting opinions particularly if it involves a popular sport like basketball.
It was no different in the selection of the PBA’s 40 greatest players. The PBA feted the top 40 in glitzy rites at the Resorts World Manila last Wednesday. Some fans and even retired players were disappointed that a few of their own choices were left out, meaning they felt there were those who didn’t deserve to be in the cast.
Of the 40 players, 11 are still active, namely Danny Ildefonso, Willie Miller, Asi Taulava, Eric Menk, James Yap, Kelly Williams, Jay-Jay Helterbrand, Mark Caguioa, Arwind Santos, Jayson Castro and Marc Pingris. Every MVP was automatically named to the top 40 list so that only 15 never claimed the award, namely, Francis Arnaiz, Hector Calma, Jerry Codinera, Bernie Fabiosa, Danny Florencio, Jojo Lastimosa, Lim Eng Beng, Samboy Lim, Ronnie Magsanoc, Manny Paner, Castro, Pingris, Kerby Raymundo, Chito Loyzaga and Marlou Aquino.
There were seven members of the selection committee headed by chairman Freddie Webb. The others were Robert Jaworski, House of Representatives chairman of the Committee on Games and Amusement Rep. Elpidio Barzaga, PBA chairman Patrick Gregorio, PBA vice chairman Robert Non, PBA Press Corps president Barry Pascua and this writer representing TV. The deliberations took over two hours with PBA commissioner Chito Salud, operations director Rickie Santos and media bureau chief Willie Marcial attending.
Since the PBA had previously named the 25 greatest players, the selection committee chose only 15 to bring up the cast to 40. Before the start of nominations, Webb said the 15 new players had to be not only great but also good, stressing the importance of a high moral character. It was agreed that only players with at least five years of playing experience would be considered and an MVP would be an outright pick. In the NBA’s list of 50 greatest players, the only MVP who wasn’t named was McAdoo and that raised a howl of controversy from fans. Surely, every MVP deserves a place in the list of any league’s greatest players unless he ruins his name down the road for whatever reason.
The selection committee had only five names to add because 10 MVPs were automatically listed. For the five slots, there were 21 nominees including Danny Seigle, Olsen Racela, Jeff Cariaso, Bal David, Terry Saldana, Noli Locsin, Jimmy Mariano, Abe King and Jun Papa. The committee reviewed the nominees, one by one. Both Webb and Jaworski had significant inputs on the character of some of the candidates since they were both players and coaches. After a lot of discussion, Webb called for a secret balloting. On the first pass, Castro and Pingris polled the most votes of six apiece with Loyzaga coming in next with five and Raymundo with four. Tied for fifth spot were Aquino, King, Seigle and Gary David with three votes apiece. In a tie-break balloting, Aquino took three votes, Seigle two and King and David one each. So it was determined that on the basis of a democratic process, the five non-MVPs to be included in the top 40 list were Castro, Pingris, Loyzaga, Raymundo and Aquino.
Some fans reacted by saying active players shouldn’t have been included. But that would be unfair. After all, there is a PBA Hall of Fame that includes players who have retired for at least five years. There have been five Hall of Fame enshrinements so far from 2005 to 2013 and 21 of the 40 inductees were players. The NBA’s list of 50 greatest players also included active players in 1996.
Other fans felt players like Nelson Asaytono, Yoyoy Villamin and Arnie Tuadles should’ve made the list of 40. But if they were included, who would’ve been excluded? Pingris or Castro or Loyzaga or Raymundo or Aquino? Surely, the fans of those five players would’ve disagreed vehemently if they were struck out. Again, you really can’t please everybody.