Players who can dominate a game without scoring

[deja vu]

Past and present. Who are they?

I can only think of Bill Russell, Magic and Kidd.

[oarabbus]

Kendall Marshall

[Cocaine80s]

rondo

[Kvnzhangyay]

Bird, Bron, and pretty much every other nba great cuz well... thats what makes them great

[livinglegend]

Rashard Lewis ( without scoring, rebounding or passing)

[DFish24]

Kobe Rodman Game 7 2010

[finchyyy]

Bird, Magic

[LongLiveTheKing]

Bron

[AnaheimLakers24]

kobe shot 6/24 an still won a game 7
rodman esque

[fpliii]

Mutombo

[AboutBuckets]

Ben Wallace
Dennis Rodman
John Stockton

[Rubio2Gasol]

Wasn't around to watch Russel, but by your definition any great rim protector.

For me, to dominating a game as an individual is all about taking over offensively. Defense is always going to be a huge team effort.

[MellowYellow]

It is impossible to dominate a game without scoring, no matter what else u do if you dont put the ball in the hole you cant win the game.

[Real14]

Bron
not tonight:roll:

[Milbuck]

Ben Wallace
Dennis Rodman
John Stockton
Came here to mention these exact 3 guys, especially Rodman.

Rodman was just a different breed of player, he's almost the perfect answer to the question. Steve Kerr on Open Court was talking about Rodman once, he mentioned how Rodman got this really strange satisfaction from the games where he would have 0 points and 20 rebounds. It was just a giant middle finger to the way basketball players were marketed and advertised. He just relished the thought of being unlike anyone else. It's why he's one of my favorite players of all time.

[deja vu]

It is impossible to dominate a game without scoring, no matter what else u do if you dont put the ball in the hole you cant win the game.
What if a player has 0 points, 15 assists and 15 rebounds plus a couple of blocks and steals. Would you say that he's not dominant?

[LongLiveTheKing]

not tonight:roll:
cause he didn't even get to play

[ImKobe]

Durant

[GODbe]

Kobe/Durant

[SHAQisGOAT]

Magic, Bird, Bron, Russell, Wilt, Jordan... And I'm talking about REALLY dominating, here.

Bird might just be the best at that though... Didn't need to overhandle the ball or handle it much to make his impact felt (probably lowest rate of usage for a superstar doing those types of things), elite passing/playmaking even right after receiving the ball or off of offensive rebounds, knew how and had the talent to adjust his game to any type of defense or to mesh with any type of teammate, terrific off-ball offense too, was big on the boards, his team D was great, he was always hustling and playing agressive af, cluch as hell on both ends, true leader knowing when to step down and when to step up... plenty of times the boxscore didn't even show how dominating he was in a certain game, and plenty of times he was the main responsible for the win even when scoring little or not scoring on great efficiency.

[LAZERUSS]

Past and present. Who are they?

I can only think of Bill Russell, Magic and Kidd.

Obviously you don't know anything about Wilt's career. He could put up a 3 pt, 30-10-10 game, even late into his career.

He could turn Kareem into a useless shot-jacker in his biggest games, as well. (In their two series clinching games, Wilt held Kareem to 23-60 shooting, or .383.)

[kshutts1]

Is this to be taken literally? Without scoring a single point?

If it is, then I'd say only Wallace and Rodman. Otherwise, Pippen definitely needs to be in the mix. He's definitely in the top 5 all time, too. Honestly can't believe he has not been mentioned yet... again, if the title is not to be taken literally.

[NZStreetBaller]

Carmelo Anthony!! I think ive read the title wrong

[PickernRoller]

Kobe.

[JUDGE WITNESS]

kendrick perkins

[bizil]

When I think this question, I IMMEDIATELY think of Big O, Bird, and Magic. Their blend of versatility and really putting the triple double on the map. But I feel the following players are also SPECIAL because they are also world class or close to it defenders on top of the rebounding and passing:

Wilt
Russell
Kareem
Walton
West
MJ
Pippen
Lebron
Kidd
Kobe
Grant Hill
Wade
KG
Duncan
Robinson
Hakeem
Hondo
Payton
Frazier

And for small guards I give props to Isiah, Paul, Stockton, and Rondo.

[MellowYellow]

What if a player has 0 points, 15 assists and 15 rebounds plus a couple of blocks and steals. Would you say that he's not dominant?

A very good roleplayer performance, but that is not dominant at all. If you aren't scoring then you aren't a threat, end of story. If this so-called player could score then they could get even more stats and it would open up the game not only for their teammates but also themself.

[Smook A.]

Alot of players can dominate without scoring. Past and present

One that comes to mind is Ben Wallace. He dominated the paint by grabbing every single rebound, and his defense... just too good. He was just a great athlete who could defend, grab rebounds and block shots

Another guy is Dennis Rodman. Him and Ben Wallace are really similar. Both can dominate without scoring by grabbing rebounds and playing elite defense. If the basketball was near him, whether careening off of the rim or in an opponents hands, Dennis Rodman snatched it. That's what I loved about him. He brought alot of hustle and was a huge part of the Bulls' championship run from 1996-1998.

Magic Johnson and John Stockton were also 2 guys that I can think of. When they had bad scoring nights, they would just pass the ball and end the game with like 20 assists. They both gave their teammates easy looks. Magic would grab the rebound, run the fast break and dish the ball out to a cutting big man. John Stockton would rarely turn the ball over and not to mention he was great at stealing the ball.

Hakeem Olajuwon is one of the 4 players in history to record a quadruple-double. Thats crazy. Hakeem was dominant on the defensive end. In my opinion, he was just the most skilled and complete center in the history of the league.

There is a reason why Dikembe Mutumbowas known for his amazing defense. Mutombo has 4 defensive player of the year awards. Same as Ben Wallace. I think he's the purest shot blocker ever.

There are alot more guys but these are just a few

[Perfect]

Prime Andre Kirilenko

[sportjames23]

Bird, Bron, and pretty much every other nba great cuz well... thats what makes them great


Wut? :oldlol:

[PickernRoller]

Lebron's stan oldest excuse in the book: Lebron doesn't need to drop 30 pts or 40 pts to impact the game.

Nikka drops 7 and becomes as useless as dirty toilet paper.

[annbafan]

It is impossible to dominate a game without scoring, no matter what else u do if you dont put the ball in the hole you cant win the game.

You still can assist, block, rebound, steal... and all of that can lead to a score.
I don't know if 'domination' is the best word for that, but some players can definitely have a huge impact on the game without scoring.

[MellowYellow]

You still can assist, block, rebound, steal... and all of that can lead to a score.
I don't know if 'domination' is the best word for that, but some players can definitely have a huge impact on the game without scoring.

True, you can definitely have a huge impact on a game without scoring. But dominant is not possible without scoring. How are you gonna get assists if you can't draw the defense by scoring yourself. No matter how good your defense is, good offense will beat good defense. Blocks and steals aren't gonna happen every time down the floor and you can only affect so much with defense and rebounding, which is more of a team concept than an individual trait.

[pastis]

dirk nowitzki

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/steve-nash-george-karl-and-others-on-dirk-nowitzki-and-the-unguardable-play/

incredible what he as for an impact on the game even not scoring. the whole defense of the opponents is so focused on him

Erik Spoelstra: “It’s the Dirk Nowitzki effect on their offense. As a defense, you absolutely overreact to every situation he’s in -- or even that he’s not in -- and then you lose all sight of your team defensive rules"

[annbafan]

How are you gonna get assists if you can't draw the defense by scoring yourself.

Like Lebron does. The idea is that you are a great scorer like Lebron, but you also can make an impact using other skills you have. Of course if you can't score then no one will care much about you on defense hence you can't dominate.

[iamgine]

Past and present. Who are they?

I can only think of Bill Russell, Magic and Kidd.
So many...

Hakeem, Pippen, Nash, Lebron, etc.

Just because they can score, doesn't mean they can't dominate a game without scoring.

[Psileas]

I can make a whole team out of them:

Magic Johnson
Jason Kidd
Bruce Bowen (doesn't even need to produce stats)
Michael Cooper (doesn't even need to produce stats)
Larry Bird
Scottie Pippen
Dennis Rodman
Kevin Garnett
Bill Russell
Wilt Chamberlain
Wes Unseld
Bill Walton

[funnystuff]

Lebron's stan oldest excuse in the book: Lebron doesn't need to drop 30 pts or 40 pts to impact the game.

Nikka drops 7 and becomes as useless as dirty toilet paper.
Must of missed the clutch 3 he had to tie and the block that gave the Heat second wind.

[AintNoSunshine]

Kobe Rodman Game 7 2010


When has Rodman ever throw up 18 bricks in one game:wtf:

[MellowYellow]

Like Lebron does. The idea is that you are a great scorer like Lebron, but you also can make an impact using other skills you have. Of course if you can't score then no one will care much about you on defense hence you can't dominate.

Well then that means that they are dominating by scoring, and by being a scoring threat. I fail to see how someone can dominate a game without scoring but still score, those are two contradictory statements. I have never seen Lebron dominate a game without scoring, usually when he has an off game he doesn't score efficiently and thus is in fact not dominant.

[Pointguard]

Magic was the only one I can think of that could do it purely offensively without scoring. If a player on his team was hot, or if the defense had a weakness, Magic would milk the cow at a level beyond all other players.

Bird was alone on the next tier.

Kidd also had this way of making a weak offensive team perennial winners while not being a great defensive team, sobeit, they were consistently good at D. Nash could keep a flow of offensive waves coming at you.

There are the all around players with great defense: Russell, Wilt, Unseld, Walton, Hakeem, Jordan (though we really don't know because he always scored), Pippen, KG, Lebron (thanks Psileas). These guys were so good that you didn't know which way they were going to beat you.

Defensively, Mutombo, Ben Wallace and KG made opposing teams change their whole schemes and still not have it work.

Shaq exhausted and dominated opposing teams practice time with his presence alone.