Players & Legends Series: David Bing David Bing, #21 Born: 11/24/43 in Washington, D.C. High School: Spingarn (Washington) College: Syracuse (1966 All-American) Drafted: Detroit Pistons, 1966 (second overall) Transactions: Traded to Washington Bullets, 8/28/75; Signed with Boston Celtics, 9/28/77 Height: 6-3 Weight: 185 lbs. NBA Honors: Elected to Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (1990); All-NBA First Team (1968, '71); All-NBA Second Team (1974); Rookie of the Year (1967); J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award (1977); One of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History ('96). David Bing,to those who know the name brings forth images of one of his era's most complete players. A guard whose athletic ability coupled with his mental aptitude made him almost impossible to stop. Always known as a thinking man's basketball player,Bing was as much a leader on the court as off the court. Many people only remember Bing as the 1968 NBA scoring champion (27.1 ppg) but few actually realize how complete a player he was. His explosive first step allowed him to drive by most defenders of the day and his jumping ability allowed him to get in where the action was under the basket. His scoring averages may bring forth the image of a shoot first player but Bing was an exceptional team player,always trying to keep everyone involved with timely passes and accurate screens. To get to the player Bing was to become you have to go back to Syracuse University and the summer of 1965,his junior year. That summer,Bing has said,helped him become a more complete basketball player because of his playground games with and against Bill Bradley. While not exceptionally athletically gifted,Bradley really knew how to play the game. He thought everything out,letting his mind make up for his lack of athleticism. It was said that he didn't just know where he was supposed to be at any given time he knew where his team mates were supposed to be as well. Bing absorbed Bradley's mental approach to the game along with his repetitive shooting drills. By the time the summer was over Bing started to approach the game not only athletically but mentally as well and it showed the next two years in his college game. As a college senior Bing's game flourished,being the 5th leading scorer in the nation with 24.8 ppg this undoubtedly helped in Detroit's decision to select him 2nd overrall. His impact was immediate with the Detroit Pistons his on-court abilities and off-court leadership thrust him into the forfront of the franchise and won him the 1967 NBA Rookie Of The Year award. His second season showed his true abilities as he scored 2,142 points (27.1ppg) to lead the league in scoring outscoring giants of the game such as Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain. Bing's feat was the first time a guard has led the league in scoring 20 years enough to nudge Jerry West from his spot on the All-NBA first team. Bing continued to dazzle the leaque with his explosive scoring (Bing average 20 or more points in 7 of his 12 seasons) but in 1972 a detached retina almost ended his career. Although he was 27 and in the prime of his career his injury severely limited his vision so Bing redoubled his dedication to being a student of the game. Most people with the same injury would have elected to miss the season but Bing persevered and made it back for half of the '72 season. The next year Bing used a better understanding of the game to make up for his declined vision to average 22ppg and 7apg. Bing himself says that his injury helped make him an even better,more well rounded player. During his tenure in the NBA,David Bing was not only one of the game's best players but one of it's leading citizens winning the 1977 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award for his many contributions off the court. Despite sporting some good teams(52-30 in 1973) and having the talents of Bing and such luminaries as Bob Lanier the Pistons never could get over the play-off hump often getting bounced in the first round by lesser teams. Frustrated by Detroit he requested a trade and was sent to the Washington Bullets for a first round draft choice. During his tenure with his hometown Bullets he had one more moment to shine as he won 1976 NBA All-Star MVP honors but the rest of the time was marred by frustrations with the coaching and increased problems with his vision. His played suffered and his ppg sank to a career low of 10.6 ultimately earning his release. Not ready for retirement,Bing worked hard to regain as much of his pre-Washington form as possible and found a home with Boston for one season as a third option guard with a 13.6 ppg average. David Bing retired after the season with Boston. Few who saw him play will forget his explosiveness or all-around game or the images of him driving to the basket,hanging in the air to allow the defense to collapse before kicking it out to one of his teammates for an easy 2 Nor will they forget any of his many memorable battles with Oscar Robertson,Jerry West and many of the other top guards of the day. His exploits on the hardwood ultimately landed him a spot in the Hall Of Fame in 1990,and a spot on the NBA's 50 Greatest Players list. "If Dave weren't the captain, he'd still be the team leader." - Otto Moore "Dave is the perfect example of professionalism, class, dignity, and humanity." - Oscar Robertson Here is a link so everyone can get a look at Dave Bing's career stats. David Bing Career Stats (Thanks to the NBA Encyclopedia and NBA.com for the stats and quotes)
Nice read. Dave was truly a class act. I always wondered why he and Bob Lanier never got further in the playoffs than they did. Those Pistons teams seemed to have more star power(in terms of superstars) than the Bad Boys Pistons who were actually successful. I think Dave still ranks as one of the top 3 guards in Detroit history, no small feat when considering the great guards who have donned Pistons jerseys.
Magic Johnson awlays gives pub to Dave Bing as he was a idol of his growing up. Not hard to figure out why either.
Nice one Black Widow. You seem to have great knowlege of the history of the NBA. Keep it up, I enjoy reading them.
He was one of my fav Pistons, he was always consistent in my eyes. I was sorry to see him traded, like the time when DJ was traded to the Celtics although I liked having DJ there, he was Bird's buddy. Thanks for reminding me of him, I never saw much of him, but he had great defensive capabilities I sort of thought of him like "Clyde" a.k.a. Walt Frazier. Both were fast, tenacious and one heck of a shooter, each had their own distinct style. He brought both ferocity and class on the court. He truly is one of the greatest! Look forward to your next old school candidate Black Widow.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Rudeezy:</div><div class="quote_post">Nice one Black Widow. You seem to have great knowlege of the history of the NBA. Keep it up, I enjoy reading them.</div> 'Preciate it man...I just like to share the things that I love about the game..the old school players got us to where we are and IMO still deserve some major shine. I'm not much of a writer but I try to put together all the stuff in my head with stats and numbers into something not too hard to scope out. Course time is a big factor...Usually I'm workin' but with a new kid I hadda burn some vacation time to help care for the little fella...it's given me some extra time to sit and clog up Justbball. But I'm glad some peeps like it...I'm workin on a couple more now and when I get 'em done I'll put 'em up.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Magic Johnson:</div><div class="quote_post">He was one of my fav Pistons, he was always consistent in my eyes. I was sorry to see him traded, like the time when DJ was traded to the Celtics although I liked having DJ there, he was Bird's buddy. Thanks for reminding me of him, I never saw much of him, but he had great defensive capabilities I sort of thought of him like "Clyde" a.k.a. Walt Frazier. Both were fast, tenacious and one heck of a shooter, each had their own distinct style. He brought both ferocity and class on the court. He truly is one of the greatest! Look forward to your next old school candidate Black Widow.</div> Man I have some old reel-to-reel films my dad had when he used to help coach a team..they some film of Bing...Jerry West..Wilt...Pistol Pete..Big O....I wish I knew how to convert those over to digital type format so I could put 'em up so everyone could enjoy 'em.
NBA Draft 1970.....Enter one 6'11" 265lb former All American from St Bonnaventure..............#1 pick........Mr Bob Lanier!! Scramble him together with Mr Dave Bing and the result was a think of beauty!!...............Mr Inside and Mr Outside!! Acouple of the games enduring greats.....Both men a credit to the game............True Hall Of Famers...............Tank
