The stat sheet: the postseason - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

Basketball Digest, May, 2002

.250

The worst mark for a team that's payed in more than one Finals is the Washington Bullets' 5-15 (.250) record.

.444

The Los Angeles Lakers' 123-154 (.444) payoff road mark is the best of any team.

.627

The only player to shoot 60%-plus in his payoff career is James Donaldson (.627).

.632

Glen Rice shot 12-of-19 from the arc in the 2000 NBA Finals, giving him the best three-point field-goal percentage (.632) in NBA Finals history (minimum 10 made).

4

Four franchises are winless in payoff series. The Cleveland Rebels (0-1), Sheboygan Redskins (0-1), and St. Louis Bombers (0-3) are defunct, while the 0-5 Minnesota Timberwolves are active--although not so much come the payoffs.

14

Michael Jordan owns 14 of the top 48 single-game best scoring totals in NBA playoff history, more than any other player.

19

Magic Johnson owns 19 of the top 36 single-game best assists totals in NBA playoff history, more than any other player.

26

Tom Sanders has more playoff disqualifications, 26, than any player in history. In 1967, Thurmond nabbed a spot on the all-time Finals rebounding list.

30

Bob Cousy's 30 free throws made (in 32 attempts) in the Boston Celtics' 111-105 quadruple-overtime win vs. the Syracuse Nationals on March 21, 1953 are the most in NBA payoff history.

30.3

Allen Iverson's stellar postseason run in 2001 vaulted him into MJ territory; only Jordan's 33.4 ppg is higher among career payoff scorers.

31

Nate Thurmond, with 31 rebounds in the San Francisco Warriors' 141-135 overtime loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on April 14, 1967, is the only player other than Bill Russell or Wilt Chamberlain in the top 19 single-game rebounding efforts in Finals history. The 76ers' Chamberlain gathered 33 rebounds in that game vs. Thurmond.

36.3

Rick Barry's 36.3 ppg is the highest Finals career scoring average of all time.

102

Phil Jackson's postseason winning percentage (.738) is 102 percentage points higher than that of the second-best coach in history, Butch van Breda Kolff (.636)

116

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's career Finals blocks are more than twice the number of the second-best Hakeem Olajuwon's 54.

155

Pat Riley leads all coaches in history with his 155 playoff wins. Jackson (141) is the only other coach with more than 100.

201

Last season Scottie Pippen joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (237) as the only players in history to participate in more than 200 playoff games.

347

The Lakers' 347 playoff wins are 43 more than any other team (and their 201 playoff losses are 75 more than any team.)