Former Lakers Star George Mikan Dies

Discussion in 'Los Angeles Lakers' started by JWohl, Jun 2, 2005.

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  1. JWohl

    JWohl JBB Lovin the BCS

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    <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. ? George Mikan, professional basketball's first dominant big man, who led the Minneapolis Lakers to five NBA championships, has died, family members said Thursday. He was 80.

    Six-foot-10 with thick glasses, Mikan was so effective as a center at DePaul that he forced the NCAA to adopt the goaltending rule.

    Mikan had suffered from diabetes and kidney failure. One leg was amputated several years ago, and he recently was hospitalized for six weeks for treatment of a diabetes wound in the other leg. He also underwent kidney dialysis three days a week.</div>
    espn.com
     
    JWohl, Jun 2, 2005
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  2. Shapecity

    Shapecity S2/JBB Teamster Staff Member Administrator

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    Sad to hear Mikan passed away, but after watching a segment on him on ESPN, he was definitely suffering. He was the first NBA Superstar, and the first of many Laker greats at the Center position.

    R.I.P. George
     
    Shapecity, Jun 2, 2005
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  3. DMKfromTPL

    DMKfromTPL JBB JustBBall Member

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    Yep, no more suffering for big george.

    Before wilt, kareem and shaq there was Big george....RIP
     
    DMKfromTPL, Jun 2, 2005
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  4. Mamba

    Mamba The King is Back Staff Member Global Moderator

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    R.I.P.

    It's sad to see anybody go, but in a sense, atleast he isn't suffering anymore...
     
    Mamba, Jun 2, 2005
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  5. jbbAce

    jbbAce JBB JustBBall Member

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    R.I.P. Mr. Mikan

    Even though I never saw an entire game of his, I still respect him immensely. Imagine how it'll be when Kareem or Magic go..
     
    jbbAce, Jun 2, 2005
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  6. Mr. J

    Mr. J Triple Up

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    R.I.P. George. His legacy will live on forever and basketball players will never forget the Mikan drill.
     
    Mr. J, Jun 2, 2005
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  7. Heat4Life

    Heat4Life JBB JustBBall Member

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    RIP to George Mikan
     
    Heat4Life, Jun 3, 2005
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  8. kobimel

    kobimel Hapoel

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    RIP George Mikan

    You revolutionized the game.
     
    kobimel, Jun 3, 2005
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  9. bbwtrench

    bbwtrench BBW Member

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    Rip
     
    bbwtrench, Jun 3, 2005
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  10. Skiptomylue11

    Skiptomylue11 JBB JustBBall Member

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    RIP George Mikan
     
    Skiptomylue11, Jun 3, 2005
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  11. Proof

    Proof NFLC nflcentral.net Member

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    May he Rest In Peace.
     
    Proof, Jun 3, 2005
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  12. Shapecity

    Shapecity S2/JBB Teamster Staff Member Administrator

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    <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">George Mikan, a giant of the early days of the National Basketball Assn. who led the Minneapolis Lakers to five championships as he transformed the role of the "big man," has died.

    Mikan, 80, died Wednesday in a Scottsdale, Ariz., rehabilitation center where he was being treated for diabetes and kidney failure, relatives said Thursday. He had lost a leg in recent years to diabetes.
    Mikan ? who was 6 feet 10 and 245 pounds ? barely qualifies as a big man compared with stars of today like 7-foot-6 Yao Ming or 7-1, 325-pound Shaquille O'Neal. But he entered a world of 6-foot-6 centers and showed that a post player not only could be mobile, he could be high-scoring.

    With a virtually unstoppable hook shot and elbows that put to rest any idea that the bespectacled center was mild-mannered, Mikan three times led the NBA in scoring. He averaged 28.4 points in 1951 ? a season in which the Lakers averaged less than 83 a game.

    NBA Commissioner David Stern called him the league's "first true superstar." He was selected one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history in 1996 and once voted the greatest of the first half of the 20th century.

    Mikan's dominance forced the sport to adapt to him. The NCAA introduced a goaltending rule to keep him from swatting away shots with impunity at DePaul in the 1940s, and the NBA doubled the width of its original 6-foot "key" in the early '50s ? it is now 16 feet across ? to blunt his force at the offensive end.

    Mikan was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1959, and his influence continued long after his playing days ended. From 1967 to 1969, he was the first commissioner of the American Basketball Assn., in which he approved the use of a telegenic red, white and blue basketball, and he later advocated larger pensions for early NBA players.</div>

    George Mikan, 80; Minneapolis Laker Legend and NBA's 'First True Superstar'
     
    Shapecity, Jun 3, 2005
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