I always knew of Lafayette Lever and the teams he played for and a career ending/altering injury etc, but i never really thought about his stats or style of play. I honestly don't really remember watching a game of his ever and there's really not much footage of him on YouTube(highlights do not tell the full story) and he's rarely mentioned along with great PGs. Anyway, I remember being shocked when i checked out his raw stats. Dude had 4 amazing seasons for Denver of 18.9 ppg 46% fg, 8.9rpg, 7.5apg, 2.5spg, 2.1tov To get about 9 rebounds and 8 assists as a point guard is crazy(i know he played sg 3 of those 4 seasons-but it was really a 2 pg team trying to recreate the Pistons model with Isiah and Dumars). Low Turnover rate, high Ast%. Surprisingly only getting 2 all star appearances during those 4 years. Those are superstar stats today. Does anyone remember how good he actually was? Is he more like another Denver PG- Michael Adams who was really overrated IMO? Lever never had the Usage% that Adams had his 2 best seasons and they were on the same team with Alex English(sounds like a great team but only one good 54 win season). Who's closest to him today in terms of play style? Lowry? I know Lever was much bigger and stronger than Lowry, i'm just talking strictly play style. Sort of a bull dog run at you type of pg? I understand 80s wasn't focused on the 3pter much, but seems if Lever took at least 3 per game, he'd be at least at 35% which would help him attack even better today. Am i off on this comparison? How were his handles? Slow shot release or quick? Very athletic or just a hard blue collar worker? Selfish, stat padder? When and how did he injure himself? Tell me about some games you remember of him or just your memory of him as a player.
Not an easy player to compare, I suppose kind of like Rondo with an offensive game and no attitude. Doug Moe in Denver used to run it up and down all the time so his stats are probably a bit inflated due to pace but he was a very good player.
More like a fat Rondo. Not as good of a play-maker, but better scorer and all-around player. Same college as Harden.
One of my favorite players of that era. Saw him many times as I was a Rocket season ticket holder. Comparisons are tough ... none come to mind immediately. The thing about Fat that stood out most to me was his exceptional rebounding as a guard. I remember him more as a shooting guard/combo guard than a pure point guard. He was a triple double machine and above average defensive player as well.
Mid range shooter - OUTDATED obsolete skill. No comparisons are valid (jk) Lever had a "nose for the ball" as much as anyone. He rebounded exceptionally well, and he was also exceptional in defensive passing lanes getting steals and deflections without overplaying. There were many good guards during Lever's peak. Simple numbers game takes away focus. Then he had a short peak. Also had other good players on his teams where wasnt a "1st" option Comparison: A scoring way lesser passing Jason Kidd. Can rebound and start own break, can get steals. Contributed with scoring instead of true point guard intangibles.
He's a better rebounder than LeBron James, from 12 to almost 14 Total Rebound Percentage. Incredible. Those are PF and C TRB%'s
