NBA History: 25 former NBA stars you forgot dominated the league
By Cal Durrett
23) George Yardley
Despite being in the Basketball Hall of Fame, George Yardley is virtually forgotten nowadays. To the credit of basketball fans, he was a star back in the 1950s, during the first full decade of the NBA. Playing for the Fort Wayne Pistons and the Syracuse Nationals—later the Detroit Pistons and Philadelphia 76ers—over his seven-season career, Yardley was an elite scorer during his time in the NBA.
Yardley made the All-Star team six times in seven years and even won the scoring title in 1957-58. In fact, he was the first player in NBA history to score 2,000 points in a single season, proving that he was one of the best players in the league. While he was among the top offensive players during his era, Yardley only played until he was 31.
That was common back in the early days of the NBA and combined with Yardley starting his career in his mid-20s, it meant that he didn't play long enough to rank highly in all-time statistical categories. Fortunately, he had a strong enough career to make the Hall of Fame, but he isn't a household name.