The American basketball player George Mikan, who has died aged 80, was the game's first superstar. His domination was so total that he brought about three rule changes, two of them designed to lessen his impact. It was Mikan's allure that made possible the creation of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and his popularity kept it afloat in its early years.
Basketball in the US in the 1940s was dominated by small, quick players who specialised in long-distance, set shots. At 6ft 10in, and weighing 245lb, Mikan was unusual in being tall and well-muscled without lumbering. A gentle giant off court, he was a fierce competitor on it, leading the league in fouls a record three times and famed for his sharp elbows, delivered at most players' head height.
Yet when Mikan, who was born in Joliet, Illinois, tried out for his high-school team - already 6ft 8in, awkward and self-conscious - the coach told him either to take off his glasses or hand in his uniform.
Mikan, near-sighted but fiercely proud and with a busy schedule of classes and work, quit.
He played in recreation leagues, but was rejected by Notre Dame University, Indiana, whose coach thought him too clumsy.
Instead, he attended a local Chicago college, DePaul, whose coach, Ray Meyer, saw beyond Mikan's awkwardness. Boxing drills, jump ropes and running helped build him up; Meyer also forced him to dance with the smallest girls at college socials, to improve his co-ordination.
Together, they developed what is still known as "the Mikan drill", tapping the ball off the backboard with left and right hands alternately.
He became virtually ambidextrous; his trademark sweeping hook shot - ball protected by his body and released at the apex of his arm's reach - was unblockable and equally effective with either hand. DePaul won the 1945 National Invitational Tournament title, the top prize in college basketball.
Mikan scored a record 53 points in one game, more than the entire opposition. His team-mates played a four-man zone, with Mikan under the basket swatting away shots; it forced college officials to ban goal-tending, or blocking a shot on its downward path to the hoop, which no one had previously considered possible.
He turned professional with the Chicago American Gears, of the National Basketball League, for the unheard-of salary of $12,000 a year. He then joined the NBL's Minneapolis Lakers, starting a dynasty which continued as the team moved to the Basketball Association of America in 1948, which merged into the new NBA in 1949.
The catalyst of each move was Mikan's box office appeal. "He literally carried the league," said Bob Cousy of the Boston Celtics."He gave us recognition and acceptance when we were at the bottom of the totem pole in professional sports."
In December 1949, the marquee over New York's Madison Square Garden read: "Tonight: George Mikan vs the Knicks".
The Lakers won seven championships in eight years. In 1949, they won the BAA title, despite Mikan playing with a cast on his broken wrist. When they lost in 1951, he played with a broken bone in his leg, held in place by a metal plate. He led his leagues in scoring six times, inevitably raising his average in the playoffs.
The NBA twice changed its rules because of Mikan. The Lakers' famous 19-18 loss to the stalling Fort Wayne Pistons in 1950 led to the 24-second shot clock and a faster game for fans. Mikan's skill around the basket also led to the key - the lane in front of the basket, where offensive players cannot remain - being widened from 6ft to 12ft.
Mikan retired in 1954, returning halfway through the next season as the Lakers struggled. A shadow of his former self, he finally quit in 1957 to become a coach. He then left basketball altogether to concentrate on his law practice.
His wife, Patricia, their four sons and two daughters survive him.
George Lawrence Mikan jnr, born June 18th, 1924; died June 1st, 2005
