SEASON 36 SUMMARY AND POST-SEASON PREVIEW

MBA SEASON MARKED BY SURPRISES, CLOSE RACES
The competition for playoff spots was, as usual, extremely tight, with the surprise team being the defending champion Oklahoma City, which lost Hall of Fame center Max Payne, but retained first in the West. Home teams were never more dominant, winning a record 34 (68 percent) of the games.



MIX OF OLD AND NEW TOP INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS LISTS
Rookies Vic Hitler of Houston and Magnus Dragonhof of Chicago were, respectively, the top scorers and rebounders in the MBA, punctuating the talent influx this season's newcomers had on the league.
In a season replete with superb rookies, Hitler, the 6-7 forward of the Iguanas, was not projected to be a star. But all he did in addition to winning the scoring title with 19.2 points per game, was capture the Rookie of the Year award and the Most Valuable Player in the MBA. He was the sixth rookie to ever win the regular season MVP and the sixth to win a scoring title.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma City's do-everything guard Lemon Jell-o won the steals title for the fourth consecutive season and picked up his first 3-point shooting championship.



FIRST TIMERS DOMINATE ALL MBA TEAM
Two rookies made the first team All MBA squad, just the third time a pair of newbies made the prestigious list. Only L.B. Damned of San Jose has ever made the All MBA team prior to this season.
The MVP vote was a close one, and featured two members of the Houston team finishing in the top three point-getters.





POSITION RANKINGS
Hall of Fame guard Ching-Chong Chung of San Jose showed he can still play in his 11th season, registering the biggest single-season jump in position rankings, going from 16th in the league last season to 7th this season for his new team.
The center position featured half the league starters scoring excellent campaigns, with rookie Dis Reflexia of Seattle and second-year man Naceg Gecan both finishing ahead of 11th season Hall of Famer Max Payne of Charleston. Rookie Magnus Dragonhof of Chicago finished in the upper half, tying for fourth place with steadily improving veteran Wayan Garuda of Sacramento. The cards of the pair who tied for fourth best center are so similar they could be brothers from another mother.


TEAM AND INDIVIDUAL STATS FROM THE FOUR PLAYOFF TEAMS
There are no clear-cut favorites among any of the Season 36 playoff teams. Charleston vs the hard-charging Seattle and Oklahoma City vs. Houston are as close to even matches as we can remember in this league.
Only Seattle, with its three rookie starters, is without a franchise championship in this quartet.
If I had a gun to my head and was told to pick a champion, I would say Charleston. But really, it's anyone's guess.