Here’s a clip of a pretty great behind the back assist from 1950.
Same source for this post, some rare clips from a game against the Pistons in 1952
mcelroytutoring
Best part is the mattresses behind the hoop
Rkenne16
Joker with more D
Letsgodubs
He had the left handed hook on lock. I can see why they call it the Mikan drill. More ambidextrous than some of the centers today.
Marco2169
Guy looks absolutely massive relative to others and still very nimble.
Always think old footage is so cool because the pace of play can be absolutely bonkers and the tactics arent nearly as fleshed out as today.
bearsquadz
kind of plays like Jokic with that touch/floater around the rim while staying on the ground
nj_legion_ice_tea
Wow, didn’t know he was so big
CountOff
Man those plumbers and firefighters he’s playing against sure look pretty tall and athletic lmao
HuonNyx
Teammates tanking his assists. Dropped it off to a wide open player on the wing in transition and he didn’t even look at the rim.
bsizzle13
Wow, there’s some WILD “of the era” stuff in here. The underhand free throws, the really can’t dribble with the left hand, but he’s a LOT more athletic than I imagined, and a pretty fluid shooter. I remember reading about how he towered over the league and always pictured a massive ground bound guy like Gheorghe Muresan, but I guess he’s pretty much just KD’s height/weight. Just happened to be like the Wembanyama of his time.
AtreusIsBack
I was shocked he slipped into the final 2 rounds of the NBA 75 year anniversary fantasy draft on TNT.
ionospherermutt
Never knew it was pronounced My-can, I’ve been saying Mike-n.
doctorfeelwood
Mikan had hella touch
Tokiroimaka
Oh shit he used to shoot free throws granny style? Thats badass
WhiskyDrinkinCowboy
Is it just me, or does this footage look like a more physical game than most of the footage from the early 60s to the 70s?
Andreitaker
still can’t believe they played basketball on those shoes
SpellingMisteaks
I swear I saw someone dunk in that clip
Kimber80
Wilt before Wilt
Akumetsu33
This is a great example of why Mikan was so successful, look how easily he keeps up with everybody, before him any big were just lumbering slow big men that barely could keep up the pace before getting gassed, much less play a full game.
Not to mention he was agile enough to maneuver around smaller players instead of barrelling into them.
It might sound just common sense today but there wasn’t a big man blueprint for Mikan to follow growing up so he had to figure out a lot of things himself.
Diligent-Fig-975
This is neat, thanks OP. Some of these slomos are hilarious though like on very basic passes haha
I_MARRIED_A_THORAX
My grandpa played against Mikan in college, maybe in the Navy too. He was an All American in 1951 and actually got drafted by the NBA but he didn’t go. He made more money working for his dad than he would have in the NBA! I wish I could find footage of him playing.
winston73182
Not bad for a plumber/fireman.
EcstaticActionAtTen
Those free throws are clean.
Drummallumin
There is absolutely no justification to rank guys like Bill and Wilt as top 10 without also ranking Mikan top 10. If you’re only judging by resume alone he’s GOAT tier. If you’re saying “well it was the 50s”, then why tf are you ranking Bill Russell that high?
djkhan23
Looks pretty good.
Nice post moves. Great bank shot. Sharp outlet passes.
AliFearEatsThePussy
he’s so Jokic-coded
Artimusjones88
Looked much more agile and athletic than I had in my mind.
Some of those blocks were pretty physical
yousonuva
He always looked like Joker from Full Metal Jacket. I bet he had an awesome war face.
ATLsShah
I’ve been watching basketball for 20+ years and this is probably the most I’ve seen of a Mikan clip. I’m impressed. He looks a lot better than i imagined.
mantaXrayed
Nimble AF
BruceBrownMVP
Dude celebrating with 45 seconds left in the video is great
Tearz_in_rain
‘Stunting’? Damn! We got some Gen X hip-hop lingo still kickin’ around the interwebs! LOVE IT!!!
Bl00dshot
Bless this YouTube channel
CosmicCoder3303
He was a pretty ambidextrous shooter. Also, another granny style free throw shooter. Amazing, no one prominent’s tried that since Barry who led the league using it
notaged
I like how they try not to travel. Now days they dont give a f***
37 Comments
Bro wasn’t so bad
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Xb-BKQyYO4o
Here’s a clip of a pretty great behind the back assist from 1950.
Same source for this post, some rare clips from a game against the Pistons in 1952
Best part is the mattresses behind the hoop
Joker with more D
He had the left handed hook on lock. I can see why they call it the Mikan drill. More ambidextrous than some of the centers today.
Guy looks absolutely massive relative to others and still very nimble.
Always think old footage is so cool because the pace of play can be absolutely bonkers and the tactics arent nearly as fleshed out as today.
kind of plays like Jokic with that touch/floater around the rim while staying on the ground
Wow, didn’t know he was so big
Man those plumbers and firefighters he’s playing against sure look pretty tall and athletic lmao
Teammates tanking his assists. Dropped it off to a wide open player on the wing in transition and he didn’t even look at the rim.
Wow, there’s some WILD “of the era” stuff in here. The underhand free throws, the really can’t dribble with the left hand, but he’s a LOT more athletic than I imagined, and a pretty fluid shooter. I remember reading about how he towered over the league and always pictured a massive ground bound guy like Gheorghe Muresan, but I guess he’s pretty much just KD’s height/weight. Just happened to be like the Wembanyama of his time.
I was shocked he slipped into the final 2 rounds of the NBA 75 year anniversary fantasy draft on TNT.
Never knew it was pronounced My-can, I’ve been saying Mike-n.
Mikan had hella touch
Oh shit he used to shoot free throws granny style? Thats badass
Is it just me, or does this footage look like a more physical game than most of the footage from the early 60s to the 70s?
still can’t believe they played basketball on those shoes
I swear I saw someone dunk in that clip
Wilt before Wilt
This is a great example of why Mikan was so successful, look how easily he keeps up with everybody, before him any big were just lumbering slow big men that barely could keep up the pace before getting gassed, much less play a full game.
Not to mention he was agile enough to maneuver around smaller players instead of barrelling into them.
It might sound just common sense today but there wasn’t a big man blueprint for Mikan to follow growing up so he had to figure out a lot of things himself.
This is neat, thanks OP. Some of these slomos are hilarious though like on very basic passes haha
My grandpa played against Mikan in college, maybe in the Navy too. He was an All American in 1951 and actually got drafted by the NBA but he didn’t go. He made more money working for his dad than he would have in the NBA! I wish I could find footage of him playing.
Not bad for a plumber/fireman.
Those free throws are clean.
There is absolutely no justification to rank guys like Bill and Wilt as top 10 without also ranking Mikan top 10. If you’re only judging by resume alone he’s GOAT tier. If you’re saying “well it was the 50s”, then why tf are you ranking Bill Russell that high?
Looks pretty good.
Nice post moves. Great bank shot. Sharp outlet passes.
he’s so Jokic-coded
Looked much more agile and athletic than I had in my mind.
Some of those blocks were pretty physical
He always looked like Joker from Full Metal Jacket. I bet he had an awesome war face.
I’ve been watching basketball for 20+ years and this is probably the most I’ve seen of a Mikan clip. I’m impressed. He looks a lot better than i imagined.
Nimble AF
Dude celebrating with 45 seconds left in the video is great
‘Stunting’? Damn! We got some Gen X hip-hop lingo still kickin’ around the interwebs! LOVE IT!!!
Bless this YouTube channel
He was a pretty ambidextrous shooter. Also, another granny style free throw shooter. Amazing, no one prominent’s tried that since Barry who led the league using it
I like how they try not to travel. Now days they dont give a f***
He sure did got some hoes