Re: Players' careers that have been tainted by injuries. Grant Hill - This guy was the closest comparison to MJ in the mid to late '90s. He was a triple-double threat, and he will never be the same after his reoccurring ankle injuries. It's a shame, this guy was an outstanding player that could have been teamed up with Tracy McGrady. Dajuan Wagner - He scored 100 points in a high school game. He had an unbelievable variety of offensive moves. He was quick, and he was active defensively, compared to Allen Iverson by a lot of NBA scouts. The kid had extreme health problems, though, and he had to get his colon removed. He signed a contract with Golden State a while back, but apparently they bought out his contract.Michael Dickerson - Cousin of David Wesley, this guy was a talented offensive player in his own right, playing for the Grizzlies. He was a lot like Ricky Davis is today, automatic jumpshot and good finisher around the rim. Good size for a SG. Too bad the groin injuries never went away.
Re: Players' careers that have been tainted by injuries. McDyess and Webber had injuries that limited them and kept them from a full career they could have had other wise. Those two come right off the top of my head. I will try and think of more in a bit. Jay Williams- from Duke and the Bulls- never even got a career going.
Re: Players' careers that have been tainted by injuries. Hopefully Shaun Livingston won't be added to that list.Definitely Penny though..that guy was beasty back then. I love watching old school footage of him.
Re: Players' careers that have been tainted by injuries. Yeah, I remember people saying Wagner was better than Penny..then he had the problems...I hope like hell people dont say the same about Derrick Rose. If something happens to him that ends his career...ima be pissed cause all of our(as in Memphis Tigers)greatest players will never get to show off.
Re: Players' careers that have been tainted by injuries. You can add Kenyon Martin and possibly even shaq to that list. In the last two seasons shaq has missed a ton of games, enough I think to qualify him for this thread.
Re: Players' careers that have been tainted by injuries. Jamal Mashburn anyone?? He could have had a hall of fame career, but knee and hamstring injuries kept him from playing in full 82 game seasons. He was only able to play 12 years in the NBA and unfortunatley never won a ring. He did average 19, 5 and 4 a game, but his numbers could have been much better without the injuries. He only had one season in his 12-year career in which he appeared in 82 games.
Re: Players' careers that have been tainted by injuries. Jonathan Bender - I know you guys think I'm crazy, but dude was Kevin Durant before Kevin DurantShawn Kemp - OK, he was also fat, but he was injured tooLarry Bird - He probably could've played a couple more year but he had chronic back problems
Re: Players' careers that have been tainted by injuries. If we're gonna talk like 20 years ago...Kevin McHaleHe was pre-injury the best post player in the game and nobody could guard him..then he had injuries and although he went to the hall of fame never played a full career healthy or as dominant as he was when healthy.
Re: Players' careers that have been tainted by injuries. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>You can add Kenyon Martin and possibly even shaq to that list. In the last two seasons shaq has missed a ton of games, enough I think to qualify him for this thread.</div>No Shaq doesn't qualify for this thread at all. Yes he missed a lot of games in the last 2 seasons but in alot of games he's played he is still showing that he is dominate. Especially this season when Wade went on the Ijuried list and everyone thought the Heat were going to miss the playoffs but Shaq got them back into first place without Wade with his dominace in the paint as well as ability to find the open man. Players like Grant Hill and Penny qualify for this thread because there careers were slowed down because of major injuries that perminitally made there states go down dramatically and drop them from being All Star Cailber to just roleplayer. I believe Hill would have been one of the top 3 players in the league for a long timetif he had never got hurt. I believe Hill at his best is a way better SF then Lebron James and Tracy McGrady ever will be.
Re: Players' careers that have been tainted by injuries. Ralph Sampson, Sam Bowie, Jonathan Bender, Dajuan Wagner, Michael Dickerson all come to mind.
Re: Players' careers that have been tainted by injuries. What about Ronnie Fields? For those of you who don't know who he is, he was KG's high school teammate. Some said he was better than Kobe in high school, but he got into a car accident and was never the same. He never made it to the NBA so he probably doesn't belong in this thread but just thought I'd mention him.
Re: Players' careers that have been tainted by injuries. Bill Walton. The Blazers won the title and he won the MVP in 77 but his career was devastated by foot injuries. How about Bobby Hurley and Jay Williams? Those two guys could've been perennial All-Star points but automobile and motorcycle accidents killed both their careers.
Re: Players' careers that have been tainted by injuries. Len Bias anyone? Even though he never played a game, he was supposedly better than Jordan...
Re: Players' careers that have been tainted by injuries. That wasn't an injury it was death COMPLETELY DIFFERENTZards means players who got drafted, performed well briefly and were plagued by injuries their entire career, resulting in them never fulfilling to maximum potential.
Re: Players' careers that have been tainted by injuries. What happened to Wagner? I heard a rumor that he had HIV, but I can't believe that.In Toronto, Vince Carter was often on the DL. But, it hasn't affected his game that much.Marcus Camby had a lot of injuries in the early part of his career. Same with Zydrunas Ilgauskus.
Re: Players' careers that have been tainted by injuries. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (SunnyD @ May 28 2007, 05:26 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>What happened to Wagner? I heard a rumor that he had HIV, but I can't believe that.</div><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Forced out of the league by debilitating health problems early into his career, he is currently making an NBA comeback after undergoing major surgery to remove his colon. His colitis condition was not amenable to medication and, after consulting with New York Knicks head coach Larry Brown, who referred him to a New York medical expert, Wagner underwent surgery to remove his entire colon on October 25, 2005 at Mount Sinai Hospital. He is currently in the stages of recovery and plans to return to the NBA as soon as he is able.On September 22, 2006 he signed a two-year contract with the Golden State Warriors. On November 20, two months after the former college star recovered from a serious illness to make an NBA comeback, the Warriors bought out his contract.</div>wikipedia.org
Re: Players' careers that have been tainted by injuries. Kevin Johnson. Before the injuries he was holding his own against the likes of Magic Johnson, John Stockton and Isiah Thomas. Between the 88/89 season through the 91/92 season KJ averaged 21.2 ppg, 11.1 apg, 1.7 spg on 50% shooting from the floor.
Re: Players' careers that have been tainted by injuries. I think Grant Hill takes the cake on this one. That guy looked like top 20 of all-time at one point.
