This is the third part of a three-part series, with the first part defining the concept of a CHIP and looking at the seasons between 2000-01 and 2025-26, and the second part examining the seasons between 1975-76 and 1999-2000. In this article, we will investigate the earliest years of the NBA, the period between 1949-50 and 1974-75.
Review of the CHIP Concept
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:
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 51 seasons of NBA basketball, we had 33 Batman/Robin seasons, and 18 Wonder Twin Seasons. Here’s a summary of the CHIPS winners for the seasons 1975-76 to 2025-26:
| Jordan | 🪙🪙🪙🪙🪙🪙 |
|---|---|
| Magic | 🪙🪙🪙 |
| LeBron | 🪙🪙🪙 |
| Bird | 🪙🪙 |
| Olajuwon | 🪙🪙 |
| Duncan | 🪙🪙 |
| Curry | 🪙🪙 |
| Cowens | 🪙 |
| Walton | 🪙 |
| Gus Williams | 🪙 |
| Abdul-Jabbar | 🪙 |
| Moses | 🪙 |
| Shaq | 🪙 |
| Wade | 🪙 |
| Dirk | 🪙 |
| Durant | 🪙 |
| Kawhi | 🪙 |
| Giannis | 🪙 |
| Jokic | 🪙 |
| Shai | 🪙 |
Season by Season: 1949-50 - 1974-75
This leaves the early years of the NBA. This is a period where the league drops from 17 teams down to 8 then eventually builds back to 18, competes against a rival ABA, and where black players go from completely excluded to a majority of the league.
Let’s step through these initial seasons and see who were the Batmans, Robins, and Wonder Twins in the NBA’s early years. Who earned CHIPS?
After three BAA seasons, the NBA kicks off with 17 teams in 1949-50, then quickly slims down to 9 by 1953-54. Mikan is the Batman of this early period, winning four titles and three CHIPS, only interrupted by Rochester Wonder Triplets Arnie Johnson, Risen, and Wanzer.
Mikan: 🪙🪙🪙
A worn out George Mikan retires, and Dolph Schayes wins a CHIP for Syracuse, then Neil Johnston and Paul Arizin win as Wonder Twins for Philadelphia. A 22-year-old Bill Russell joins the Celtics, and supports Wonder Twins Sharman and Cousy to bring the first of many trophies to Boston. Then Hagan and Pettit slip one in for Saint Louis over the Celtics, while Russell is still on his way up.
Schayes: 🪙
Even in an eight or nine team league, this eight season run by Russell and the Celtics is an incredible feat. The six year Russell-Jones Batman-Robin run is particularly amazing, equalling Jordan and Pippen’s six Batman-Robin seasons. Black players now account for a third of the NBA.
Russell: 🪙🪙🪙🪙🪙🪙🪙🪙
Russell’s reign is finally brought to an end by Wilt in 1966-67. Then the Celtics win two more with Wonder Twins Howell and Havlicek joining Russell as team leaders. Walt Frazier and Willis Reed team up to give the Knicks their first title, and then second-year phenom Kareem Abdul-Jabbar puts in a Batman performance with sidekick Oscar Robertson to win it for Milwaukee. The league has grown to 17 teams.
Chamberlain: 🪙
Abdul-Jabbar: 🪙
35-year-old Wilt Batmans Gail Goodrich and 33-year-old Jerry West to bring LA their first title. Then Frazier, Havlicek, and Barry all win their only CHIPS for the Knicks, Boston, and Golden State. The recording of steals, blocks, and offensive/defensive rebounds means that VORP becomes available.
Chamberlain: 🪙
Frazier: 🪙
Havlicek: 🪙
Barry: 🪙
Cashing in the CHIPS
Counting up the CHIPS from the league’s first 26 seasons, this is what we get:
| Player | CHIPS |
|---|---|
| Russell | 🪙🪙🪙🪙🪙🪙🪙🪙 |
| Mikan | 🪙🪙🪙 |
| Wilt | 🪙🪙 |
| Frazier | 🪙 |
| Havlicek | 🪙 |
| Barry | 🪙 |
| Abdul-Jabbar | 🪙 |
| Schayes | 🪙 |
When it comes to winning, Russell is the titan of this period, walking away with 8 consecutive CHIPS. With little competition in the league’s mostly white period, Mikan is the dominant figure. Wilt and Kareem (with his CHIP from 1979-80) also join the multi-CHIP club. Frazier, Havlicek, Barry, and Schayes all win one CHIP, cementing their legacies as players who carried their teams to championships.
It’s difficult to know how to value these CHIPS against those earned in more recent eras. Mikan dominated the first few years of the league, but there were few players of note for him to compete against. Russell’s 8 titles in a row were an incredible acheivement, but the league did only have 8 teams. Towards the end of the period, CHIPS were won in a league splitting talent with the ABA. This needs a deeper look, but until I do that, these players beat whoever was in front of them, and a CHIP is a CHIP.