Hoops Habit
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NBA: Milwaukee Bucks On Verge Of Rare Feat

By Phil Watson

Mar 30, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Milwaukee Bucks head coach Jason Kidd talks with forward Ersan Ilyasova (7) in the third quarter of their game against the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena. The Hawks won 101-88. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 30, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Milwaukee Bucks head coach Jason Kidd talks with forward Ersan Ilyasova (7) in the third quarter of their game against the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena. The Hawks won 101-88. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports /
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Elvin Hayes works the ball against Cleveland Cavaliers guard Jim Cleamons in 1976. (This work is in the public domain in that it was published in the United States between 1923 and 1977 and without a copyright notice.)
Before his days with the Bullets, Elvin Hayes (11) led the NBA in scoring as a rookie while helping the second-year San Diego Rockets reach the playoffs. (This work is in the public domain in that it was published in the United States between 1923 and 1977 and without a copyright notice.) /

1968-69 San Diego Rockets

Like the Phoenix Suns on the previous slide, the San Diego Rockets in 1968-69 rose from 15-67 expansion team to 37-45 playoff squad in their second season.

The expansion Rockets relied on power forward John Block and small forward Don Kojis for the bulk of their production, but both missed large chunks of the season with injuries.

But San Diego landed the top overall pick and took Houston star Elvin Hayes, who led the NBA in scoring at 28.2 points a game as a rookie and also grabbed 17.1 rebounds a game while playing out of position at center, but somehow lost both MVP and Rookie of the Year honors to Wes Unseld of the Baltimore Bullets (13.8 points, 18.2 rebounds).

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2 Houston Rockets international players that never played a single minute
2 Houston Rockets international players that never played a single minute /

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    • Kojis remained a terrific second option at 22.5 points per night and Block put up 15.3 points and nine boards, while point guard Art Williams—the legendary Hambone himself—put up a career-best 6.6 assists a game.

    The Rockets finished fourth in the Western Division, four games ahead of the Chicago Bulls, and drew the second-place Atlanta Hawks in the division semifinals as the NBA somehow seeded the playoffs 1-3 and 2-4.

    The teams split the first four games on home court before the Hawks took a 112-101 decision in Game 5 and then closed out the series at the San Diego Sports Arena with a 108-106 victory in Game 6.

    Hayes averaged 25.8 points a game in the series and Kojis put up 20.2, while third-round pick Stu Lantz closed his rookie season by averaging 13.5 a game against the Hawks.

    But Atlanta had Lou Hudson and Zelmo Beaty at better than 20 a night, while Bill Bridges, Joe Caldwell and Mahdi Abdul-Rahman all averaged better than 15 a game.

    Next: Lakers Bounce Back