Fansided

The NBA sidekick Hall of Fame

By Bryan Harvey

Lakers' (l to r) Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Kobe Bryant and Shannon Brown during the game. LA Lakers vs San Antonio Spurs at Staples Center on Apr. 12, 2011. (Photo by Lawrence K. Ho/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Lakers' (l to r) Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Kobe Bryant and Shannon Brown during the game. LA Lakers vs San Antonio Spurs at Staples Center on Apr. 12, 2011. (Photo by Lawrence K. Ho/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) /
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Photo by Vernon Biever/NBAE via Getty Images /

Bob Dandridge

Kareem’s career lasted two decades and included stints in two cities. His sidekicks, pieces to the puzzle and building blocks are probably too many to count, and yet the list of names mentioned in connection with his gracious sky hook rarely extends beyond his Los Angeles years and Oscar Robertson, his primary running mate in Wisconsin.

But the Milwaukee Bucks were more than a two-man team, which is also why they managed to be the primary rival to the Los Angeles Lakers led by Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain. The third-best player on those Milwaukee teams was Bob Dandridge, although some might argue for the likes of Jon McGlocklin or Lucius Allen.

In 1970-71, the Bucks won the NBA championship with the former Norfolk State Spartan as their third-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder. He was in just his second year in the league. He was in a good situation, but he was also a good player. At 6’6″ and 195 pounds, he would emerge as a 20 points per game scorer before he departed Milwaukee and landed in Washington.

With the Bullets, he would help Elvin Hayes and Wes Unseld find championship success as well, as the team battled the Seattle SuperSonics in two straight Finals. The year Washington won the franchise’s only title in 1978, Unseld won the Finals MVP. He was solid as granite, but the argument could easily be made that either Hayes or Dandridge outplayed him. After all, Dandridge led the team in assists, was second in scoring and was third in rebounding in the Finals against Seattle.

Of note, Kareem, Oscar, Hayes and Unseld would all be named to the NBA’s top 50 list, but not Dandridge, leaving him as one of the more underrated players to not one championship core, but two. The decade, by the way, is full of guys like Dandridge.

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