Hoops Habit
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Each State’s All-Time NBA Starting Five

By Ben Gibson

Jan 26, 2014; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels mascot waves a flag before the game at Dean E. Smith Student Activities Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 26, 2014; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels mascot waves a flag before the game at Dean E. Smith Student Activities Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Aug 8, 2014; Springfield, MA, USA; Six-time NBA all-star Mitch Richmond is inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame during the 2014 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony at Springfield Symphony Hall. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 8, 2014; Springfield, MA, USA; Six-time NBA all-star Mitch Richmond is inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame during the 2014 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony at Springfield Symphony Hall. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports /

Florida

Vernon Maxwell, Mitch Richmond, Tracy McGrady, Otis Thorpe, Darryl Dawkins

Total of 14 All-Star appearances, 4 NBA/ABA championships

Florida kicks things off with Vernon Maxwell and his two NBA titles. He played a pivotal role in Houston’s 1994 and 1995 titles while averaging 16.2 points and 4.3 assists per a game. He led the league in made three-pointers in 1991 and 1992. Not a bad start for Team Florida.

Mitch Richmond had six All-Star appearances while finding his way on to the 2001-02 Los Angeles Lakers championship team before retiring. Though he was only a small part of that team, he averaged 21 points a game in his career while making five All-NBA teams. Richmond shot better than 40 percent from beyond the arc and ranks 62nd all-time in the league’s three-point percentage.

Tracy McGrady stands 6’9″ but had the game of a much smaller player. Even Kobe Bryant said as much. McGrady began to make his name with the Toronto Raptors but it was with the Orlando Magic and Houston Rockets he became the player we came to love. It was with the Magic we saw the seven-time All-Star level talent he was, averaging 28.1 points and seven rebounds a game.

McGrady continued to flourish with the Rockets and made three more All-Star games, but injuries hampered the tail end of his career and took away what could have been his prime seasons.

The Sunshine State’s frontcourt includes Otis Thorpe and his NBA championship with Houston, as well as one All-Star appearance. He was an iron-man with 542 consecutive games played and held career averages of 14.0 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, totaling over 17,000 points and 10,000 rebounds before he left the game.

Darryl Dawkins rounds out the list and despite never making an All-Star game, he deserves a spot as much as anyone else on this list. Chocolate Thunder shot 57.2 percent from the field in his 13-year career while averaging 12 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocks a game.

He played in the NBA Finals three times but unfortunately for him and the Philadelphia 76ers, they never came out on the right side of things. Dawkins built his career on being an excellent defender while knowing when to take his shots. We can also thank Dawkins for the NBA adopting breakaway rims after he shattered two backboards in the 1978-79 season.

Grade: A-

Next: Georgia