Why Couldn't He Last Thread
Dajuan Wagner, a great scorer, followed his career since grade school. Illiness and nagging injuries derailed him
Jay Williams- Should have never got on the Bike. The best college point guard in the last 15 years easily.
Drazen Petrovic- One of the greatest shooters to ever play the game. The ultimate competitor, he didnt fear Jordan, Drexler, Miller or anybody for that matter. I had the privledge of seeing him play in person on two occassions and he was the truth.
Shaun Livingston - Had supreme height and passing ability for a PG. That injury was probably the most gruesome I've seen I've been watching the NBA. H's still currently playing for Charlotte, and has a solid year for Washington in 09-10, but his knee is still bothering him, and he could've been special if the injury never occured.
Greg Oden is on his way too.
Do you guys think their tall, skinny frame had anything to do with their knee injuries? I know thats not always the case (ie Durant), but I think read somewhere online that Bender's height (7'0) combine with his athleticism and quickness, put a ton of pressure on his knee which wasnt strong enough to support it. Livingston had that nasty injury, but do you guys think it has anything to do with his height and lack strength/muscle on his legs, much like Bender?
Len Bias
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DGVlXxG2Pk
and even though Greg Oden is still very young i whish he never got those injuries he could have been one of the most dominating players in todays game
+1 for the drazen petrovic mention...he was something special and it is a damn shame his life was taken so soon
i am going to go with priest lauderdale...he was a tourist attraction at 7'4'' 338 lbs. and if only he had developed an offensive game...
After the NBA lockout Shawn Kemp's career was essentially over because he was so out of shape. His poor conditioning combined with him being very overweight sapped all of his incredible athleticism and robbed us of one of the most exciting players during that era. Another player is Vin Baker who was an excellent player until alcohol and conditioning issues completely derailed his once promising career. Baker was a 20-10 guy who could also give you a couple of assists a game along with at least a block and steal, he was an a 3 time allstar if I remeber correctly then he just fell off the map, attempting several comebacks with a couple of teams, but he just couldnt make it happen.
Imagine what could have been if Reggie and Len had both been alive and played on those Celtic Teams, it would have ben scary. They were selected in back to back drafts and the Celtics still had Bird, McHale, Parrish and DJ it would have totally extended the Celtics dynasty, its amazingly sad that both died so young from heart complications.
I'm go old school on yall and mention Keith Lee of Memphis State in the 80's...If it wasnt for the bad knees he most certainly would've been an all star...1 of the smartest college ball players i've ever seen..I think he played just 2 seasons in the nba...
Len Bias-He was a great player more in the mold of Dominique Wilkens than Jordan..His overall game wasnt as good as Jordans..
Drazen Petrovic-Was on the verge of becoming an all star..
Jay Williams of Duke -Despite what you might hear now..But after his rookie year, the Bulls werent too impress with him..Before his accident ,they were trying to trade him.. He showed promise as a rookie,but they were expecting more than 9 points a night from a guy that was the 2nd pick in the draft..
@GottaFeedTheFam: Not to be insensitive, but I wouldn't call a cocaine overdose "heart complications". It is a tragedy to see that immense talent wasted though. I always thought Len Bias could have been the Bird to Jordan's Magic (or vice versa), as a great rival was the only thing Jordan didn't have in his career (unless you count every other franchise player in the NBA during his career with the Bulls).
I'd say Maurice Stokes is a damn shame too.
@mess.eee
I don't know about Livingston's situation, but Bender said he used to do stupid ish growing up in Mississippi. Like jumping off of roofs, balconeys, etc. He thinks that had something to do with his knees messing up later on down the line.
Who really knows though. I mean, you'd think that being skinny/lean would put less pressure on a player's knees.
you guys mentioned alot of good ones
but I really liked
Sean Williams- I think he could have been a good player, athletic shot blocker, had a limited offensive game but i think if he would have matured and not done stupid sh!t he could have developed and really helped the nets. He looked like a steal at the time but then he messed up, I really hope we see him back soon though.
Marcus Williams- Looked like the sucessor of Jason kidd, looked like he was developing really well under kidd, displaying flashy passes again looked like a steal but he was never in shape and he jumpshot was inconsistant.
Yeah, i forgot about Ralph Sampson...He was the most talented athletic 7 foot center i've ever saw...If he had came out his jr. year when the Lakers had the 1st overall pick And played with Magic that would've been video game type of stuff...
One of the more underrated players of the last 20 years; Brad Daugherty.
One of the most skilled big men I have ever seen. He was a prodigy, averaging 23 minutes per game as a 16 year old freshman at North Carolina! And dominating competition with 20.2 PPG, 9 RPG and a 65 FG% as a 20 year old senior.
In his best season in the NBA he averaged 20.2 PPG on 57% shooting from the field and 80% shooting from the line, 10.2 RPG and 4.4 APG. Over his entire 8 year career he averaged 19 PPG, 9.5 RPG, and 3.7 APG and made 5 All-Star teams despite playing during the most competitive era for centers ever. Unfortunately back injuries cut short his career while he was in his prime at the age of 28.
Eddie Griffin-R.I.P.
Desmond MAson,Wayne Simien,Chris Taft,Hassan Adams
@IndianaBAsketball-Do you remember them saying how Indy expected Bender to be a Durant type with his game. Only slightly more athletic and tall?
@Mess.ee-I do honestly think that their skinny frames with terrific athleticism had something to do with it. Penny Hardaway as well. The reason I feel this way is because my older brother used to always say that same thing for quite sometime. I personally was a pretty good athlete around 19yrs old. I was able to dunk off of oops, and had terrifc end to end speed mixed with great body control thanks to years of skateboarding. I went up in the air going full speed for a fake shot to wrap around pass and came down the exact way Livingston did. I tore my MCL ultimately. The next time my brother saw me after that, he said, I told you skinny guys who are great athletes are more likely to get knee injuries, just like your boy Penny.
Super good call on Bobby Hurley. He had an awful time adjusting to the league in his rookie year before the car crash, but arguably top five PG in NCAA all time.
As far as Sabonis goes, he was way past his prime when he finally made it over to the NBA. His best years were in Europe. I mean, Bill Walton was raving about this guy many years before he ever suited up for the Blazers.
Because Durant's game is what they expected of Bender. I believe it was like Durant's 2nd year when they said that his play was what they expected Bender to become.
http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/185175/Pacers_Expected_Bender_To_Be_Like_Durant
Perhaps. But at the same time he could potentially have also gotten injured in college and have never made a single NBA contract. He def had some major potential though that's for sure.Curry I'm not sure ever had the desire to ever become more than he was. It's not as if he didn't sjow he could play. After all he was once a 20ppg scorer. Miles though, I 100% agree with you about. College would have helped him tremendously. One thing I've noticed about the highschool players who went straight to pros and never really made it genuinely are guys who never had their hearts fuly in the game. Guys who were more athletes that could ball than just guys who loved the game of basketball.
You can just tell a difference between guys like Kobe,LBJ,KG,Dwight,CJ Miles,Andray Blatche,Andrew Bynum and Monta Ellis in comparison to talents such as Gerald Green,Darius Miles,Kwame Brown,Korleone Young,Ndudi Ebi,Eddy Curry, and James Lang.
Who is your fav former NBA player that you loved whose career did not last that long due to injuries, contract buyouts etc.
Let's keep their memories ALIVE!!!!
www.youtube.com/watch D-Miles mix to help bring back those memories
My long lost player is D-Miles.....I really don't know where to begin, because I believe he is 29 now. I would have never thought he would be out the league by 26 or so. Miles had so much talent not to be a guy who does not get mentioned anymore. Aside from Iverson he helped changed the game for me in the aspect of style & individuality.
R.I.P D-Miles