In the spirit of the top 10 players of all time thread I thought it would be nice to recognize the great players that had their career cut short by injury, off the court issues or tragedy. Ralph Sampson (Knees and weight issues) Len Bias (Coke) Reggie Lewis (death) Grant Hill (repeated ankle injuries) D Rose (Knees) Michael Ray Richardson (Coke) Spencer Haywood (Coke, Knees) John Drew (Coke) Drazen Petrovic (Death) Sam Bowie (feet) All these guys were all star caliber players and a couple could have been all time greats.
Not a lot of sympathy on my part for those who wasted their careers because of drugs, but while you're listing them, don't forget John Lucas. One of the greatest athletes in history (great at basketball and tennis). I wish we could've seen Grant Hill in his prime because we missed that part of his career. Andrew Toney was a GREAT shooter who had his career cut short by a foot injury. Charles Barkley calls him his greatest teammate ever and Chuck played with Dr J, Moses Malone, Dan Marjle and Kevin Johnson. Mitch Kupchak was one of the best PFs in the league until he tore up his knee.
Sometimes drugs are "self medication" for other undiagnosed issues. Pretty common among people with undiagnosed High Functioning Autism Spectrum disorders. I wouldn't judge them as all users by choice. John Drew was diagnosed on the Autism scale years after his career was "wasted" for example.
Greg oden Penny Bynum Maybe not top 10 but i think they would have much better and longer career if therw wasnt for injuries.
Shaq Because he was fat and didn't work hard. Could've owned a few all time records if he had Kobe's work ethic. Bernard King. Pre-Jordan Dominant scorer injured in his prime. Karl Malone: After getting caught chasing Indian girls, he just quit when he still had plenty in the tank. I feel like i just went off topic....
I think that's a good one for a couple reasons even though on the surface looking at on paper stats he looks fine after the injury. He was before my time by a little bit (I was born in 84, his major injury was '85), but the 30 For 30 film Bernie & Ernie really opened my eyes to how good he was, because I knew almost nothing about him before that, as he isn't mentioned among the greats very often, where if not injured he probably is. So that's one major point, the injury cost him 2 years of his prime. I think I remember in the film that he was also told by multiple doctors that he'd never play again. He did play again though, and even though not with the Knicks and missing 2 years, and maybe on some bad Bullets teams, apparently he was so good that he built back up to levels he shouldn't have been able to. Played 81 games in '89, 82 games in '90, and averaged 28 ppg in '91 at age 34 in 64 games. So if he could do that, what could he have done had that injury not happened and he remained in NY?
Great pick. He has his first couple of seasons and then the injury. Never close to the same. IMO, he didn't deserve the top 50 player of all time recognition. People were basing it off college and what could've been instead of actual accomplishments. Shaq got crap for not being deserving "at that time" and I agree with them. But Shaq, in 96, had already scored more points than Walton did in his career. Plus he purposely failed a physical with us to sign with those guys and help them win a title.
grant hill for me. people forget just how good he was with detroit in the 90s and he was only getting better by the time his foot injury basically killed his career. if he had stayed healthy i have no doubt we'd be talking top 15-20 all time bynum too. such a shame his knees broke down on him at such an early age. he could've been a star for years if he had stayed healthy and had the right work ethic
Here mine no order. Tracy McGrady Bill Walton Grant Hill Penny Hardaway Brandon Roy Greg Oden Andrew Bynum Jay Williams Ralph Sampson Bernard King
I remember him having some outrageous games. Like 35 points and 15 rebounds and he'd do that for a week or so and then come up positive. Not sure what he was taking, but it definitely had him playing at a HIGHer level. I was all for the Tarpley trade for Worthy. Glad I was wrong, which I usually am when these trades or non-trades are announced.
Shawn Kemp. I don't think he understood how long the lockout was going to be. Swelled up to 300 lbs and was never the same.
