Today’s OKC Thunder and Their Historic NBA Counterparts
By David Ramil
#7 – Current Thunder Player – Anthony Morrow
Jake’s Historic Counterpart – Dale Ellis
Stats per 36 minutes:
Probably a little bit dicey to compare an active Thunder player to a guy who spent the majority of his productive NBA years in a Sonics uniform but the comparison is totally fair. Dale Ellis spent the late-80s as the pre-eminent deep threat in an NBA that was still pounding the ball into the paint. In fact, he was the NBA’s 3 point shootout champion in 1989 (all while shooting an obscene 48% from deep that same season).
Despite his success with Seattle, however, Ellis would jump from team to team, playing for eight different teams during his 17 year career. Compare that to Anthony Morrow who’s played for six different teams during his nine years in the NBA. However, much like Ellis, Morrow has managed to become a valuable ancillary piece on multiple playoff teams by carrying an obscene 43% career three point average despite never sticking with one offense for very long. It’s not unreasonable to assume that Morrow might approach that Ellis-ian 48% with another year with the Thunder under his belt.
Next: #6 - The Counterculture Cult Hero