Average Joe of the Day: John Salley – Miami Heat

There is a 100% chance that John Salley just committed a foul in this 1993 Upper Deck card. He has that “Who me?” look even though he just elbowed someone in the nose.

Salley was most known for his time in Detroit as a member of The Bad Boys but his best statistical seasons were with the Miami Heat. He set a career high in 92′-93′ with 6.1 boards per game to go with a very pedestrian 8.3 points. More importantly, especially to this card, he set a career high with 3.8 fouls per game that season. Knowing that should alleviate any doubt on whether he just committed a foul in this card or not.

That 92′-93′ Heat team sure was a gem. They finished 5th in the Atlantic Division with a 36-46 record and didn’t make the playoffs (shocking because that should be good for a seven seed in the East some seasons). What I really like is who was on that team. Baby Jordan, Bimbo Coles, and our man Rony Seikaly (which gives us another great opportunity to show you a pic of Seikaly’s ex-wife). Ya they had Glen Rice and Steve Smith when they were both good but who wants to see a bunch of B list Stars when you can see the next Michael Jordan play. Side Note: Did you know that in Harold Miner’s first two seasons he only took a total of 15 three point shots? This was surprising to me considering he was a 6’5″ guard who averaged more than five three point attempts per game in college and was supposed to be a scorer. 

Salley won four NBA Titles in his career: 3 with the Pistons and 1 with the Lakers. The title with the Lakers shouldn’t really count because Salley only gave them 1.6 points and 1.4 boards per game while shooting 36% from the field and only averaging 6.7 minutes per game. The Lakers beat teams by an average of eight points per game that year so having Salley and his 1.6 points was by no means necessary. He did what Karl Malone and Gary Peyton couldn’t do…jump on a good team and ride their coat tails to a ring. For this we say kudos to you John Salley. In the history books you have four more championships than Charles Barkley and Dan Marino and that’s awesome.