NBA Power Rankings: 30 Greatest Point Guards of All-Time
By Shane Young
19. Dave Bing
1966 – 1978
Franchises: Detroit Pistons, Washington Bullets, Boston Celtics
Career totals: 18,327 points, 5,397 assists, 3,420 rebounds
Career averages: 20.3 points, 6.0 assists, 3.8 rebounds
Shooting: 44.1 percent field goals, 77.5 percent free throws
Accolades: 7x NBA All-Star, 2x All-NBA First Team, 1x All-NBA Second Team, Rookie of the Year, 1x NBA Scoring Champion
Named one of the NBA’s 50 greatest players of all-time, Bing also fit one of those weird combo guards that could play both positions. He didn’t really have a label to him as a point guard, but his teams did call for him to run the offense.
Being one of the few point guards that had enough prowess to win an NBA scoring title, he led the league in scoring in just his second season as a pro. Bing averaged 27.1 points per game while scoring 2,142 points during the 1967-68 campaign to claim the achievement, but never could get the Pistons to a championship. Being in the playoffs for just five of his 12 seasons in the league didn’t look too impressive, but the blame shouldn’t fall on one player. It never should.
If there was a 3-point line available during this period, Bing would’ve benefited from the extra point. As much shooting as he did from mid-range and 20-feet out, you can’t tell me an incentive of putting one more point into a shot wouldn’t drive him to score more.
Bing became the mayor of Detroit at one point in time, and the entire city loved him. That’s where he spent nine of his 12 years in the NBA, and he’s undoubtedly in the top five of greatest Pistons to ever play.
Next: Check The Price