:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72280657/1133900.0.jpg "YouTube Gold: The Nice Hal Greer")
Hal Greer is a bit forgotten today, but he was an outstanding and fierce NBA guard.
The development of the NBA has been muddled at times. The guys come over today and sign huge contracts. Even the shoe stores are far bigger than the contracts handled by the likes of Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell.
TV coverage is in another galaxy now, and even high school gamers are getting plenty of camera time.
As such, some of the earlier stars who lacked the (excessive) presence of today’s game are naturally, albeit unfairly, overlooked. Many people would never guess that the first non-white player in the NBA was actually Japanese – Wat Misaka in 1947.
People even forget people like Hal Greer.
A native of Huntington, West Virginia, Greer chose to play Marshall for his home team. He was drafted by the Syracuse Nationals in 1958 and picked in the second round.
He was great right away, winning Rookie of the Year and launching a career in the Hall of Fame. And when Syracuse moved to Philadelphia in 1963, he was soon paired with Chamberlain, who had moved west when the Warriors left Philly for San Francisco, and in 1966-67 the Sixers were the only team to disrupt Boston’s incredible championship run (not counting) . the St. Louis Hawks in 1958 when Bill Russell was injured).
Often when you watch older videos you can’t imagine that some of these guys are playing today. And you see things that Greer would never get away with today, starting with ball handling, which is antiquated by today’s standards.
Still, he was clearly no plumber or firefighter, and his fierceness, athleticism and flair for the game are unmistakable. Greer was brilliant.
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