4) George Mikan (4/10)
4) George Mikan (4/10)
George Mikan was one of the greatest professional basketball players of all time and inspired a lot of rule changes, most because of his ability and size. When he was playing college basketball at DePaul University, he would take the position in the center of the zone defense and then swat away all shots before they reached the rim, which led to the NCAA to change the rules against goal tending.
This wasn’t the only rule change that was brought on by Mikan’s dominance in the sport, and once he turned professional the NBA widened the length of the lanes from 6 feet to 12 feet so that Mikan wouldn’t take position so close to the basket.
All the rule changes decreased his scoring rate, but he still remained one of the all time greats of the sport and in 1959 was inducted in basketball’s Hall of Fame.