9 Best sophomore seasons in pro/NBA history
The NBA, established in 1947-48 as what was then just a small inter-city fairs' league, has risen to become the best-spread sports league across the world. Although there are four major American sports that dominate their advertising and television markets, the NBA's following is much more global than that of the competing NFL, MLB and NHL.
The rise of television as a global entertainment tool coincided with the American rise in the league's popularity in the '80s, as the Bird-Magic duo were able to restablish the age-old West Coast and East Coast rivalry in good spirits. Michael Jordan's debut in 1984 changed norms over their head, both from a professional player's obligations' end and from the commercial end.
Nike paid a measly seven-year, $90 million but build an entire basketball brand out of the fiery Jordan personality, which is something players in the league even today are in awe of. His Airness is cashing cheques by the billion in the game that he loves the most, but his sophomore season was one that left some things to be desired. Here, we take a look at some phenomenal second-season display by legends of the league.
#1 Wilt Chamberlain
It's one thing to be part of an exhibition team that plays basketball for fun, but its quite another when said team is the damned Harlem Globetrotters, an outfit famed for making a mockery of their opponents en route to their wins.
This was Wilt's background before entering the NBA, and he did so to some tumultuous aplomb. In his rookie season, he won League MVP honours by averaging 37.6 points and 27.0 rebounds per game - mind-bogglingly high figures that only he ever succeeded in matching (although the pacing of the era was a bit too much to be considered pro in these times).
Wilt's second season also saw him put in another MVP-like shift for the Philadelphia Warriors, as he converted 50.9% of his field goal attempts while averaging 38.4 points per game and 27.2 rebounds per game. Although he mostly got edged out by the Celtics' superior talent, Wilt was recognized universally as his generation's most unstoppable single talent.