In the first part, I argued that the Hall of Fame criteria should be more selective, and that one simple criterion for admission is winning a CHIP. From the first article:

CHIP = The Clear Best Player on the Championship Winning Team


To win a CHIP, you need enough help from teammates to win it all, but if one of those teammates is too good, you split the credit. There are no split CHIPs. You need to be the Batman to the Robin, not one of the Wonder Twins. Wonder Twins can enjoy the satisfaction of a team victory, but to get the CHIP, you need to be driving the Batmobile!

To recap the methodology and criteria for earning a CHIP:

  • Measure Win Shares plus VORP, double for playoff games
  • Compare the second best player’s total to the first’s
  • The best player is Batman if his teammate (Robin) scores less than 81% of his total
  • If the second best player scores 81% of the first’s total or better, they are Wonder Twins
  • Only Batman gets the CHIP

Reviewing our examples: In the example of the 2024-25 Thunder, J-Dub’s score is only 49% that of Shai’s, a clear Robin performance. This makes Shai the Batman, earning him the CHIP.

Shai: 🪙

The 2013-14 Spurs had two relatively equal contributors, with Duncan easily clearing the Robin Threshold with 95%. Kawhi and Duncan were Wonder Twins here, splitting credit for the title, and neither getting a CHIP.

Applying this idea to the past 26 seasons of NBA basketball, we had 14 Batman/Robin seasons, and 12 Wonder Twin Seasons. Here’s a summary of the CHIPS winners for 2000-01 to 2025-26:

LeBron 🪙🪙🪙
Duncan 🪙🪙
Curry 🪙🪙
Wade 🪙
Dirk 🪙
Durant 🪙
Kawhi 🪙
Giannis 🪙
Jokic 🪙
Shai 🪙

That covers the most recent 25 years of NBA history. But what about the 25 years before that, the period between 1975-76 and 1999-2000? Will the model hold up?

Season by Season: 1975-76 to 1999-2000

Let’s go season by season, and see who was worthy of the CHIPS:

The mid-70s open with two Batman centers with Robin power forward sidekicks. Cowens and Walton win their only CHIPS.

Cowens: 🪙
Walton: 🪙

Wonder Twins Hayes and Unseld beat the Sonics and win the Bullets their only title. Then the Sonics strike back at the Bullets, with Gus Williams playing Batman.

Gus Williams: 🪙

A new era of NBA basketball begins, introducing Magic Johnson as Robin to Abdul-Jabbar’s Batman, and Larry Bird as Wonder Twin to Cedric Maxwell.

Kareem: 🪙

The Lakers and Sixers battle it out over the next two seasons, with Magic Robining Kareem, and then Moses doing the same to Dr. J for his only CHIP.

Magic: 🪙
Moses: 🪙

Bird wins two CHIPS with trusty sidekick McHale, with a Magic/Kareem Wonder Twins job sandwiched in the middle.

Bird: 🪙🪙

As Kareem fades, Magic grows into a dominant force, winning two more chips with Worthy and Byron Scott as Robins.

Magic: 🪙🪙

The Celtics/Lakers dominance finally comes to an end at the hands of the Bad Boy Pistons, team efforts led by Isiah, Laimbeer, and Dumars. No CHIPS given.

The Jordan era kicks off with a Three-peat, with archetypal Batman Jordan supported by archetypal Robin Pippen each of the 3 seasons. Jordan wins 3 CHIPS.

Jordan: 🪙🪙🪙

Air Jordan takes a chiller and gives someone else a turn, Olajuwon steps up to win 2 CHIPS.

Olajuwon: 🪙🪙

Jordan decides to play basketball again and wins 3 more. Pippen is his Robin for a 4th, 5th, and 6th time. Incredible.

Jordan: 🪙🪙🪙

Jordan retires again, and two new forces emerge in Duncan and Shaq. Duncan and Robin team up to beat the knicks, then Shaq claims Batman with Kobe still on the way up. Shaq gets a CHIP.

Shaq: 🪙

Cashing in the CHIPS

Counting up the CHIPS from this period, we have:

Jordan 🪙🪙🪙🪙🪙🪙
Magic 🪙🪙🪙
Bird 🪙🪙
Olajuwon 🪙🪙
Cowens 🪙
Walton 🪙
Gus Williams 🪙
Kareem 🪙
Moses 🪙
Shaq 🪙

The multi-CHIP stars define 80s and 90s NBA basketball greatness. Jordan’s amazing twin peaks career yields six CHIPS, and Magic, Bird, and Olajuwon cement their legacy as stars among stars. Moses, Kareem, and Shaq also join the pantheon with Batman seasons. Although Walton’s career was cut short by injury, his peak makes him a credible addition to this list.

Unlike with the first part, we see some soft spots in Cowens and Gus Williams. It raises the question if all CHIPS are created equal, or whether you need to treat each era differently. The late 70s was a weak period for the league, and I don’t think winning in an 18 (or 9!) team league is the same as with 30 teams. This will require its own investigation.