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Even so, Mikan was as dominant in his day as any big man ever has been. He led the Lakers to those three straight titles and won five championships — two with the NBL — in his brief career before retiring to make a better living as a lawyer. Only the Celtics, with eight straight, have won more consecutive titles. And only two teams — Jordan’s Bulls twice and Shaq’s Lakers — have equaled three straight.
How important was Mikan? After he retired, the Lakers went downhill so fast, by 1960 they had moved to Los Angeles.
There isn’t a lot of film of Mikan, and because he played several years before the NBA was even formed in 1949 and just six years after that, he’s faded from memory. It didn’t help that he played in Minneapolis, which was pretty much a backwater, for the original Lakers, instead of in New York or another big city.
It doesn’t help that what footage there is shows a man who looks gangly by today’s standards wearing thick glasses that make him look a bit geekish. The look was deceiving; Mikan was as rough as he was tall, three times leading the league in fouls. (He shot nearly 80 percent from the line, proving that it is possible for centers to shoot free throws.) He also suffered ten bone breaks during his career, winning one championship with a cast on his wrist and playing another one with a broken leg.
He also didn’t go for slam dunks. Neither did Wilt or Russell, for that matter. They just went up and dropped the ball through the hoop without feeling the need to be violent about it. None of the old centers hung on the rim after scoring, either — it wasn’t necessary.
It also didn’t help Mikan’s memory when, in 1957, the year after he retired, Bill Russell joined the Celtics and led them to a championship. Two years later, Boston would start a run of eight straight that established Russell as the greatest center ever. And, in 1960, Wilt Chamberlain, the first dominant seven-footer, permanently relegated Mikan to the status of just another big man.
After Wilt, there was Kareem and now there is Shaq. And with every new big man, Mikan became even more distant in memory.
But nine years ago, the NBA still remembered him well enough to put him on its team of the 50 best players in the 50-year history of the pro game.
And Kevin Garnett, who has learned about Mikan while playing in Minnesota, is wise enough to say that the modern game of post basketball started with Mikan.
Others have been better, but Mikan was the first. He didn’t just define the role of the modern center, he invented it.
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