Who are the 5 biggest wastes of talent in NBA history

[NBAplayoffs2001]

Discuss. :pimp:

[robert_shaww]

Melo Anthony
Allen Iverson
Grant Hill
James Harden
Vince Carter

[dr.hee]

Melo Anthony
Allen Iverson
Grant Hill
James Harden
Vince Carter

So you're just listing the few big name player you actually know?

Here are names that make more sense:

Derrick Coleman
Lamar Odom
Isaiah Rider
Vin Baker
Stephon Marbury
Shawn Kemp
Antoine Walker

[robert_shaww]

So you're just listing the few big name player you actually know?

Here are names that make more sense:

Derrick Coleman
Lamar Odom
Isaiah Rider
Vin Baker
Stephon Marbury
Shawn Kemp
Antoine Walker


coleman and baker in my opinion didnt have that much talent.

odom is nba champ and kemp had a good carrer...

isaiah rider and marbury are great picks (maybe could add sprewell also)

[Im Still Ballin]

jonathon bender

injuries

[dr.hee]

coleman and baker in my opinion didnt have that much talent.

:roll:

[Beastmode88]

robert shaw at it again.

[Rooster]

So you're just listing the few big name player you actually know?

Here are names that make more sense:

Derrick Coleman
Lamar Odom
Isaiah Rider
Vin Baker
Stephon Marbury
Shawn Kemp
Antoine Walker

This a good list.

Also

Steve Francis
Oliver Miller
Darius Miles
Roy Tarpley
Richard Dumas

[Nash]

Oden

[Unbiased_one]

Discuss. :pimp:

Len bias.

[JohnnySic]

Derrick Coleman. Could have been the best 4 ever, better than Malone and Barkley. Probably not better than Duncan but then Duncan is a center.

[SilkkTheShocker]

People that say Vince Carter are beyond stupid.

[hateraid]

What is the criteria? Is it injuries? Laziness? Death? Attitude?

Also Iverson should not be on any list he was all heart.

For me the biggest waste of talent was Shaquille O'Neal. He had potential to be the most dominant force and greatest player of all time. If he put the time in and kept peak physical condition no telling what he could have achieved. To me he is the combination of attitude and laziness.

Also Earl Manigault due to attitude.

[WolfGang]

I"m not old so I'll do recent history.

Brandon Roy
Danilo Gallinari
Hasheem Thabeet
Tracy Mcgrady
Jermaine O'neal

Edit: This could be a starting line up.

[Kingwillball]

Hmm Darius miles is one Jonathan Bender another. There have been plenty though like Greg oden, thebeet, kwame brown , darko milicic, sam Bowie ect

[dr.hee]

This a good list.

Also

Steve Francis
Oliver Miller
Darius Miles
Roy Tarpley
Richard Dumas

Thought about Miles as well. The thing with those hyper athletic prospects (think Stromile Swift) is that I'm just not sure whether their ceiling was actually as high as we might assume from looking at highlight clips.

I mean Derrick Coleman had a peak stretch of three years averaging about 25/13/4 in the postseason. Dude had everything and threw it away. Don't know how much talent guys like Miles/Swift actually "wasted" compared to those uber gifted players (Lamar Odom, Jamal Crawford). Just hard to say.

[Just2McFly]

len bias

[sejoon101]

As a Celtics fan for life, Len Bias...

^^^^^^^^^ Wizard? Mind = Blown

[deja vu]

How is Kemp a waste of talent?

[kamil]

So you're just listing the few big name player you actually know?

Here are names that make more sense:

Derrick Coleman
Lamar Odom
Isaiah Rider
Vin Baker
Stephon Marbury
Shawn Kemp
Antoine Walker

Shaq to an extent as well as he got fat from laziness. Dude could have been far more than what he already was.

Derrick Coleman is a fantastic, and potentially the best example.

[dr.hee]

How is Kemp a waste of talent?

Look at his career after getting traded to the Cavs. Weight problems, alcohol, cocaine...

[hateraid]

If we are going to take dying into consideration I'll say Reggie Lewis. He may have been Jordan's pure rival in the 90's. This guy scared Jordan both offensively and defensively.

[scm5]

Shaq to an extent as well as he got fat from laziness. Dude could have been far more than what he already was.

Derrick Coleman is a fantastic, and potentially the best example.

I was just about to post this.

If Shaq worked harder, he could have extended his career as well as been more dominant during the prime of his career. If he showed up night in and night out during Laker practices, I think even Kobe could have to defer to him.

[scm5]

Oh also Mike Beasley and Andrew Bynum

[hateraid]

I was just about to post this.

If Shaq worked harder, he could have extended his career as well as been more dominant during the prime of his career. If he showed up night in and night out during Laker practices, I think even Kobe could have to defer to him.

:lol I feel so ignored.

But yes I do agree

[Kiddlovesnets]

Len Bias
Jay Williams
Brandon Roy
Greg Oden
Michael Beasley

[mark henson 123]

What is the criteria? Is it injuries? Laziness? Death? Attitude?

Also Iverson should not be on any list he was all heart.

For me the biggest waste of talent was Shaquille O'Neal. He had potential to be the most dominant force and greatest player of all time. If he put the time in and kept peak physical condition no telling what he could have achieved. To me he is the combination of attitude and laziness.

Also Earl Manigault due to attitude.

shaq o neal averaged 27 10 3 a game
won 4 nb titles and a gold medal
3 mvp titles
7 scoring titles
rookie of the year
your a idot troll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

he has own commercial
anyalast on tnt
and probably going to the hall of fame
he the greatest big man ever
your jeaous cause you cant dunk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:coleman:

[hateraid]

How is Kemp a waste of talent?

I'll take this as pure curiosity but the man was an absolute athletic specimen in Seattle. After getting traded it was clear he had no interest in staying in shape and playing the game. It would be like seeing Deandre jordan turn to Hibbert

[hateraid]

shaq o neal averaged 27 10 3 a game
won 4 nb titles and a gold medal
3 mvp titles
7 scoring titles
rookie of the year
your a idot troll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

he has own commercial
anyalast on tnt
and probably going to the hall of fame
he the greatest big man ever
your jeaous cause you cant dunk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:coleman:

So you think Shaq was the epitome of hard work and dedication?

[Uncle Drew]

Rasheed Wallace

[Micku]

Rasheed Wallace

Was just thinking about mentioning him.

[Velocirap31]

Len Bias, that's right.

[mark henson 123]

I was just about to post this.

If Shaq worked harder, he could have extended his career as well as been more dominant during the prime of his career. If he showed up night in and night out during Laker practices, I think even Kobe could have to defer to him.


at 35 shaq co:coleman: uldnt do anything else
he done enough already
shut up and quit talking about a guy performing at 35!
even Jordan couldn't perform at 40 stupid troll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ImKobe]

Marion IMO, he had crazy potential with his physical attributes and had some amazing seasons, but I've always thought he could have had a much better career than he did. Had a 22 & 12 season on 53/33/81 shooting. Those wasted years on medicore Heat teams & that season in Toronto IMO hurt his career, though the 2011 championship did make up for it, but it was won as a role player.

T-Mac - wasted his healthy years on bad Magic teams and the injuries in Houston...they had a solid team in 09

Sabonis - imagine if this guy played in the NBA during his prime..He had 5 straight .200+ WS/48 & 20+ PER seasons from ages 31-36

Marbury - this kid had all the tools as a scorer and he was a decent passer, but he wasn't motivated enough to win rings & have a great career, he cared more about the money and wasted his prime on some horrible Knicks teams

Arenas - same thing as Marbury, basically. Crazy good scorer, but should have worked harder on his passing and defense. Injuries obviously robbed him of longetivity

[hateraid]

Was just thinking about mentioning him.

I don't agree. I think with Rasheed this was the best you were going to get and he had a respectable prime in Portland. I don't think you could have got anything more out of him

[mark henson 123]

Michael Jordan at 40
couldn't go to the hole any more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
he was absolutely awful
that go for his pump fakes!
paul pierce block his shot one time
he told him to stop playing your too old
the wizards didn't make the playoffs both years
Jordan averaged a career low 20 a game
god he was awful!:coleman:

[mark henson 123]

[QUOTE=hateraid]So you think Shaq was the epitome of hard work and dedication?[/QUOT


so you could averaged 27 11:coleman: 3 in the nba and have your own shoe?

[hateraid]

So you think Shaq was the epitome of hard work and dedication?


so you could averaged 27 11:coleman: 3 in the nba and have your own shoe?


So you don't think if he put the time in he could have done better?

noone is debating Shaq's greatness, it's the exptent of his greatness that is being questioned

[mark henson 123]

len bias
dolmnique wilkins
Michael Jordan age 40
roy hibbert
gred oden
shawn Bradley
:coleman:

[mark henson 123]

So you don't think if he put the time in he could have done better?
he won 4 nba titles
how many titles have you won?????????????

[hateraid]

he won 4 nba titles
how many titles have you won?????????????

5 all together

[MiseryCityTexas]

Brian Grant easily. This guy used to compete against Dennis Rodman for rebounding titles, and at one point, he even started over prime Rasheed Wallace in his career. Grant instantly became a lazy bum after Portland gave him the max.:facepalm His years in Miami, and LA were horrendous.

[mark henson 123]

5 all together
he won three with kobe on 2000 2001 2002

and one with wade in 2006
that's four

did you graduate high school?:coleman:

[SilkkTheShocker]

Brian Grant easily. This guy used to compete against Dennis Rodman for rebounding titles, and at one point, he even started over prime Rasheed Wallace in his career. Grant instantly became a lazy bum after Portland gave him the max.:facepalm His years in Miami, and LA were horrendous.

So much wrong this post. :eek: :facepalm :wtf: :hammerhead:

[Mass Debator]

Brian Grant easily. This guy used to compete against Dennis Rodman for rebounding titles, and at one point, he even started over prime Rasheed Wallace in his career. Grant instantly became a lazy bum after Portland gave him the max.:facepalm His years in Miami, and LA were horrendous.
When he got to Miami, he started hanging out with Dolphin's Ricky Williams and smoked pot too often.

Actually, I don't know, but it's possible. He looked the part. :pimp:

[MiseryCityTexas]

So much wrong this post. :eek: :facepalm :wtf: :hammerhead:


How am I wrong? I'm stating facts. Brian Grant actually lead the league in rebounding in one of them seasons in the very early 2000s, and was one of the top rebounders, in the mid to late 90s. You really don't know what the **** you're talking about. Brian Grant used to have his own commercials for Sega Dreamcast and everything back in the day.

[Mass Debator]

How am I wrong? I'm stating facts. Brian Grant actually lead the league in rebounding in one of them seasons in the very early 2000s, and was one of the top rebounders, in the mid to late 90s. You really don't know what the **** you're talking about. Brian Grant used to have his own commercials for Sega Dreamcast and everything back in the day.
Actually he only had 1 season over 10 rebounds and that was a 10.2 average...

[hateraid]

he won three with kobe on 2000 2001 2002

and one with wade in 2006
that's four

did you graduate high school?:coleman:

You asked how many championships I've won and I said 5. Did you not comprehend your own question?

[MiseryCityTexas]

Actually he only had 1 season over 10 rebounds and that was a 10.2 average...

He still had a couple of seasons where he averaged 8 and 9 rebounds per game also which was not bad, and was also a pretty good post offensive player also. It's just all that money Portland and Miami gave him just turned him into a lazy piece of shit.

[VengefulAngel]

Might be controversial but Shaq.


His laziness wasted his own talent.

[Mass Debator]

He still had a couple of seasons where he averaged 8 and 9 rebounds per game also which was not bad, and was also a pretty good post offensive player also. It's just all that money Portland and Miami gave him just turned him into a lazy piece of shit.
He was actually diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. I think you should give him a break. I enjoyed him on the Heat, but we all knew he wasn't going to be like a Rodman or even a Zo...

[MiseryCityTexas]

He was actually diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. I think you should give him a break. I enjoyed him on the Heat, but we all knew he wasn't going to be like a Rodman or even a Zo...


The guy started over Sheed Wallace in Portland for a reason. He was a solid post defender, was a hard worker, and solid rebounder. All Sheed wanted to do in the Portland years was camp out at the three point line and jack up threes all day, and catch alley oops. Portland eventually ended up trading Sheed anyway after they let Grant walk because he was a pretty bad rebounder for a guy his size even though he was a pretty good offensive player and shot blocker. Sheed's attitude was another reason why Portland got rid of him.

[JonatanRey]

The first two that came to my mind were Arenas and A. Bynum.

[moaz]

Roy Tarpley
(he was still playing somewhere in 2006 :oldlol: )

[Legends66NBA7]

Connie Hawkins
Chris Washburn
Darius Miles
Michael Beasley
Michael Ray Richardson

I didn't use ones that had nagging or many injuries in their careers. There are cases like Gilbert Arenas with the guns and Bynum who is a locker room cancer. Players like Jonathan Bender, Greg Oden, Brandon Roy, etc... they were just unfortunate or in Bender's case they were overvalued. Len Bias is also a good suggestion, but we'll never know. You could even throw in someone like JR Smith too.

And for naming guys like Shaq, Vince, T-Mac, etc... :biggums: ... far from wastes.

[Psileas]

4 pages in and not a single mention of Ralph Sampson...Or even Sabonis. :rolleyes:

[StephHamann]

spanoulis top 3 player in the world and he didn

[MiseryCityTexas]

4 pages in and not a single mention of Ralph Sampson...Or even Sabonis. :rolleyes:


Shit while we on it might as well throw Lionel Simmons, and Billy Owens's names in there.

[dr.hee]

4 pages in and not a single mention of Ralph Sampson...Or even Sabonis. :rolleyes:

Sabonis and Sampson not mentioned? Here are two explanations for you:

a) These damn youngbloods never even heard of Sabonis and Sampson! That's kind of the feel good version to stroke your ego...I mean your basketball knowledge has to be incredible if you came up with these 2 names all on your own.

b) "Wasting talent" could also be more related to players not working hard enough to maximize their potential. Both Sabonis and Tarpley were more restrained by injuries than their unwillingness to put in work or other personal issues. Just compare them to other names mentioned already. Maybe you'll notice a difference between Sabonis/Sampson and Rider/Coleman/Kemp...

Just pick the one you like better :cheers:

[Legends66NBA7]

4 pages in and not a single mention of Ralph Sampson...Or even Sabonis. :rolleyes:

As I mentioned in mine, Sampson was ruined by injuries over time. Sabonis was injuries and politics from the Soviets.

I was really aiming for players who just wasted their talents from drugs, suspensions, laziness, off court problems etc...

[AirFederer]

Shaq is not a waste of talent :facepalm Nor Kemp.

Marbury had NO bball IQ at all, so no loss.

So I'll go with Bias

[ImKobe]

4 pages in and not a single mention of Ralph Sampson...Or even Sabonis. :rolleyes:

I mentioned Sabonis you dumb fk, l2read

[ImKobe]

Shaq is not a waste of talent :facepalm Nor Kemp.

Marbury had NO bball IQ at all, so no loss.

So I'll go with Bias

bball IQ doesn't equal talent...I'd consider talent to be physical tools and the feel for the game, IQ is something players gain while playing in the NBA, Marbury lived purely off his talent as a scorer to get the big bucks, just like AI.

[Psileas]

Sabonis and Sampson not mentioned? Here are two explanations for you:

a) These damn youngbloods never even heard of Sabonis and Sampson! That's kind of the feel good version to stroke your ego...I mean your basketball knowledge has to be incredible if you came up with these 2 names all on your own.

Actually, many posters here have really not heard of Sampson. And many of the ones who have, still don't know how hyped his talent had been.
As for the knowledge part, this is still a classical "not requiring much knowledge" topic. Exactly because you don't have to be a basketball librarian, having nobody mention either strikes as negative. Trust me, if I wanted to stroke my ego, I'd have lots of more obscure names to mention.
Hey, let's kick it up just a notch: Has anyone mentioned Lloyd Daniels? Yeah, right.


b) "Wasting talent" could also be more related to players not working hard enough to maximize their potential. Both Sabonis and Tarpley were more restrained by injuries than their unwillingness to put in work or other personal issues. Just compare them to other names mentioned already. Maybe you'll notice a difference between Sabonis/Sampson and Rider/Coleman/Kemp...

OP's instructions: "Discuss". So, it seems we're not exactly restrained to think in just one way.
Now...Tarpley? Tarpley was disaster personified. Injuries have nothing to do with him. Coleman's and Kemp's headcases aren't even as bad as Tarpley's, let alone worse. Tarpley has been punished by the NBA 3 times due to substance abuse, getting lifetime ban the 3rd. If you're so talented and get banned for life, you're a big time waste.
Sabonis wasn't exactly the most hard-working person, either. His dislike of practices is famous. And even if he were, he's still a waste of talent, if anything, just due to the fact that he lost 10 years of NBA career, not just due to injuries, but also because in the mid-80's, you still couldn't become a pro and retain the right to participate in National Team events.

[Fiddlesticks]

Josh Smith

[GODbe]

Gonna have to go with LeBald. All that athleticism and he only panned out to be a homeless mans Scottie Pippen. Give Kobe his athleticism from the start and he'd put up prime Wilt like stats in this era.

[BoutPractice]

Can you really consider Ralph Sampson a complete failure, though, as "disappointing" as he was? I understand that he was seen as the next Wilt and all, but he was still a multiple all-star even with his weird game that didn't take full advantage of his physical gifts + injuries. Same with a TMac or Yao, while we're on the topic of the Rockets... they could've done even more but they still accomplished more than 99% of NBA players.

To me a waste of talent would be someone like Darko, a "total train wreck" not "could've done more" - he definitely had great potential, the mental aspect of the game is what caused his downfall... If you want to loosen the criteria a bit, the two biggest recent examples would be Andrew Bynum and Andrea Bargnani.

[JellyBean]

Chris Washburn
Kwame Brown
Vince Carter
Stephon Marbury
Steve Francis
Shawn Kemp
Bill Walton
Tracy McGrady
J.R. Rider
Jerry Stackhouse
Pervis Ellison
Kerry Kittles
Sabonis
Darius Miles
Royce White
Robert Swift

I know the thread said five but man I started thinking....and that is scary. :oldlol:

[SHAQisGOAT]

Shaq is still top10 all-time and showed one of the GOAT peaks, I would never call that a waste of talent


Len Bias - drugs leading to death; he was 6'8 with long arms, incredible physique even before the pros, athletic af, had good fundamentals with footwork and IQ, already a good jumpshot that was virtually unblockable because he jumped out of the gym and released at the peak, could rebound and play D, unselfish.. watching his college highlights, dude could've been a monster, even challenging MJ for best player, also extending Bird/McHale's career, even "making" them win more, but we'll never know though..

Derrick Coleman - weight gain, laziness, tendency to get injured, low IQ, team cancer.. shame because that ***** had lots to offer, really big and very athletic, could finish inside with either hand, could post-up, could shoot and had good range, banged inside on the boards, could pass, played D.. tremendous potential/talent just wasted, at least still got to show what he could do on the court

David Thompson - still got to show how great he was, athletic freak with lots of skill, similar to MJ (smaller and before Mike).. injuries and drug issues basically killed his career in his mid-20's

Ralph Sampson - hyped af in college, he was crazy tall, extremely athletic and had skills even with perimeter quality.. lots of potential but you can say never the right attitude or mind toughness, then constant injuries struck and he was done

Shawn Kemp - don't know if I should mention him because he still had plenty of really good seasons and got to show how much of a baller he was but lots of off-court shit that you know about, "took him out" when he was still young and in his prime

Stephon Marbury - to sum it up: lots of talent that he got to display, never the right attitude on and off the court, never the right mentality, lack of basketball IQ; could've been greater, in terms of play and career... Steve Francis was similar

Bill Walton - he still had a better career than most even if extremely short, also got to show how amazing he was and such a young age, I'd call it waste because he could've definitely been top15 and maybe even top5 center of all-time, already terrific and still very young... and on that same not I can mention Avrydas Sabonis, even a "bigger waste" because he never got to show his prime in the NBA

Connie Hawkins - "blackballed" 1st then injuries later... dude still showed he could really play, in the early 70s.. cut from that Baylor/Erving mold, great all-around SF that was extremely athletic (with huge hands) and made a living at the rim

Pete Maravich - had a pretty good career and got to show his peak/prime, which included displaying "flashes" of greatness countless times.. just gonna include him here because he had all the talent, all the skill in the world but he was never even close to maximize it, or say use it the right way, his "mind" was on the opposite spectrum of his talent; at his best he didn't have good enough teammates though, not close, then got injured before hitting 30 y.o.. imo he could've been at least top30 with the right type of mentality and taught how to play the game collectively

Marvin Barnes - nicknamed "Bad News", you just know what he was about.. lots of off-court stuff kept him from being a superstar in the league, I'm talking about gang shit, attacking teammates, carrying guns drug use, pimping bitches on the side.. check some ABA games to see what he could do, pretty tall and athletic, could shoot the ball and create his own shots, played D and was great on the boards

Micheal Ray Richardson - drug problems basically got him kicked out of the league.. still got to show just how good he was, during some seasons; pretty good scorer, great defender, really good passer, could rebound at good level, athletic, just really good all-around, dude could ball

Earl Manigault - gotta mention him because lots of pros from those days said dude was the real deal, Kareem even called him the best he ever seen; said to have ridiculous athleticism to go along with great skill.. never got into the league mostly because of drugs

Edit: also Roy Tarpley because of addiction, Brandon Roy because of injury, so on..
oh and also gotta mention Bob McAdoo, who at 24 was already MVP and 3x scoring champion amongst other "things", then got constant injuries and become a journeyman, still got to win rings with LA as a good contributor; even at such a young age, dude was already a certified beast, terrific player

[NBAplayoffs2001]

Shaq is still top10 all-time and showed one of the GOAT peaks, I would never call that a waste of talent


Len Bias - drugs leading to death; he was 6'8 with long arms, incredible physique even before the pros, athletic af, had good fundamentals with footwork and IQ, already a good jumpshot that was virtually unblockable because he jumped out of the gym and released at the peak, could rebound and play D, unselfish.. watching his college highlights, dude could've been a monster, even challenging MJ for best player, also extending Bird/McHale's career, even "making" them win more, but we'll never know though..

Derrick Coleman - weight gain, laziness, tendency to get injured, low IQ, team cancer.. shame because that ***** had lots to offer, really big and very athletic, could finish inside with either hand, could post-up, could shoot and had good range, banged inside on the boards, could pass, played D.. tremendous potential/talent just wasted, at least still got to show what he could do on the court

David Thompson - still got to show how great he was, athletic freak with lots of skill, similar to MJ (smaller and before Mike).. injuries and drug issues basically killed his career in his mid-20's

Ralph Sampson - hyped af in college, he was crazy tall, extremely athletic and had skills even with perimeter quality.. lots of potential but you can say never the right attitude or mind toughness, then constant injuries struck and he was done

Shawn Kemp - don't know if I should mention him because he still had plenty of really good seasons and got to show how much of a baller he was but lots of off-court shit that you know about, "took him out" when he was still young and in his prime

Stephon Marbury - to sum it up: lots of talent that he got to display, never the right attitude on and off the court, never the right mentality, lack of basketball IQ; could've been greater, in terms of play and career... Steve Francis was similar

Bill Walton - he still had a better career than most even if extremely short, also got to show how amazing he was and such a young age, I'd call it waste because he could've definitely been top15 and maybe even top5 center of all-time, already terrific and still very young... and on that same not I can mention Avrydas Sabonis, even a "bigger waste" because he never got to show his prime in the NBA

Connie Hawkins - "blackballed" 1st then injuries later... dude still showed he could really play, in the early 70s.. cut from that Baylor/Erving mold, great all-around SF that was extremely athletic (with huge hands) and made a living at the rim

Pete Maravich - had a pretty good career and got to show his peak/prime, which included displaying "flashes" of greatness countless times.. just gonna include him here because he had all the talent, all the skill in the world but he was never even close to maximize it, or say use it the right way, his "mind" was on the opposite spectrum of his talent; at his best he didn't have good enough teammates though, not close, then got injured before hitting 30 y.o.. imo he could've been at least top30 with the right type of mentality and taught how to play the game collectively

Marvin Barnes - nicknamed "Bad News", you just know what he was about.. lots of off-court stuff kept him from being a superstar in the league, I'm talking about gang shit, attacking teammates, carrying guns drug use, pimping bitches on the side.. check some ABA games to see what he could do, pretty tall and athletic, could shoot the ball and create his own shots, played D and was great on the boards

Micheal Ray Richardson - drug problems basically got him kicked out of the league.. still got to show just how good he was, during some seasons; pretty good scorer, great defender, really good passer, could rebound at good level, athletic, just really good all-around, dude could ball

Earl Manigault - gotta mention him because lots of pros from those days said dude was the real deal, Kareem even called him the best he ever seen; said to have ridiculous athleticism to go along with great skill.. never got into the league mostly because of drugs

Edit: also Roy Tarpley because of addiction, Brandon Roy because of injury, so on..
oh and also gotta mention Bob McAdoo, who at 24 was already MVP and 3x scoring champion amongst other "things", then got constant injuries and become a journeyman, still got to win rings with LA as a good contributor; even at such a young age, dude was already a certified beast, terrific player



Very thorough, thank you. :applause:

[JohnFreeman]

Len Bias

[WillC]

The man in my avatar, who nobody will recognise despite an NBA award being named after him.

[Real14]

Oden
Lebron
Rose
Sam Bowie
Eddie Curry

[D-FENS]

Derrick Coleman
Chris Webber
Stephon Marbury
Antoine Walker
Michael Ray Richardson
Roy Tarpley
Eddy Curry

[To4]

Tyrus Thomas!!!!

[crawdaddy4ou]

Marbury

If you count injuries,

Kittles
Penny

[tanner892]

Tracy McGrady
Vince Carter
Steve Francis
Allen Iverson
Wilt Chamberlain

[Pra]

No mention of Latrell Sprewell!?

[MC Gusto]

6 pages and no Eddie Griffin mention...

[allball]

Glenn Robinson
Penny Hardaway
Michael Ray Richardson
Derrick Coleman
Andrew Bynum