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01-26-2007, 12:08 AM
At 397 consecutive games and counting, he always shows up for work
By Peter May - THE BOSTON GLOBE
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
He doesn't remember when — or where — it all began.
For the record, it was Cleveland, on Feb. 28, 2002. Bruce Bowen, just back from breaking a finger, started that night for the San Antonio Spurs in a 114-107 overtime loss.
He has started every game since; Monday was No. 397 in a row.
The consecutive-game streak is No. 1 in the NBA. Both Morris Peterson of Toronto and Joe Johnson of Atlanta entered this season with longer streaks, but both have missed time. Not Bowen. He's as sure a thing as there is.
"It's absolutely incredible," said Bowen's coach, Gregg Popovich. "He's a skinny little dude. I mean, look at the bird legs and the skinny arms. That's what's amazing.
"Most of the time, he's out there guarding the best player on the other team. He plays a gazillion minutes because while that guy is out there, he is, too. The minutes he plays, the body he has, and the number of games in a row just amazes me."
What's just as amazing is that you would have had a hard time picturing Bowen in any kind of streak. He played 91 games for the Boston Celtics in two seasons, then was let go. But Pat Riley got a hold of him (for the second time) and he became a starter on the Alonzo Mourning/Tim Hardaway Miami Heat teams before landing in San Antonio, where he has started every game he has been able to play.
The only hiccup in his otherwise perfect attendance record as a Spur: the broken bone in his middle right finger. It happened in the first quarter of a Jan. 9, 2002 game in Boston. Bowen left the game and returned in street clothes, along with a cast. The Spurs were 11-12 in the 23 games he missed and 47-12 in the 59 games he played. The next year they won the first of two championships with Bowen as a starter. They won again in 2005 and are in the thick of things again this season.
When Bowen started his streak, David Robinson, Steve Smith, and Terry Porter were some of his teammates. Tony Parker was a rookie. The Spurs still played in the Alamodome, Tim Duncan was an 80 percent free throw shooter, and Popovich had a buzzcut.
"I have always prided myself on being able to do things on a nightly basis," Bowen said. "My grandfather used to work for the City of San Francisco water department and I saw that he was always working, in the rain, in the fog, in the cold. He went to work every single day."
source:
http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/stories/other/01/24/24bowen.html
By Peter May - THE BOSTON GLOBE
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
He doesn't remember when — or where — it all began.
For the record, it was Cleveland, on Feb. 28, 2002. Bruce Bowen, just back from breaking a finger, started that night for the San Antonio Spurs in a 114-107 overtime loss.
He has started every game since; Monday was No. 397 in a row.
The consecutive-game streak is No. 1 in the NBA. Both Morris Peterson of Toronto and Joe Johnson of Atlanta entered this season with longer streaks, but both have missed time. Not Bowen. He's as sure a thing as there is.
"It's absolutely incredible," said Bowen's coach, Gregg Popovich. "He's a skinny little dude. I mean, look at the bird legs and the skinny arms. That's what's amazing.
"Most of the time, he's out there guarding the best player on the other team. He plays a gazillion minutes because while that guy is out there, he is, too. The minutes he plays, the body he has, and the number of games in a row just amazes me."
What's just as amazing is that you would have had a hard time picturing Bowen in any kind of streak. He played 91 games for the Boston Celtics in two seasons, then was let go. But Pat Riley got a hold of him (for the second time) and he became a starter on the Alonzo Mourning/Tim Hardaway Miami Heat teams before landing in San Antonio, where he has started every game he has been able to play.
The only hiccup in his otherwise perfect attendance record as a Spur: the broken bone in his middle right finger. It happened in the first quarter of a Jan. 9, 2002 game in Boston. Bowen left the game and returned in street clothes, along with a cast. The Spurs were 11-12 in the 23 games he missed and 47-12 in the 59 games he played. The next year they won the first of two championships with Bowen as a starter. They won again in 2005 and are in the thick of things again this season.
When Bowen started his streak, David Robinson, Steve Smith, and Terry Porter were some of his teammates. Tony Parker was a rookie. The Spurs still played in the Alamodome, Tim Duncan was an 80 percent free throw shooter, and Popovich had a buzzcut.
"I have always prided myself on being able to do things on a nightly basis," Bowen said. "My grandfather used to work for the City of San Francisco water department and I saw that he was always working, in the rain, in the fog, in the cold. He went to work every single day."
source:
http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/stories/other/01/24/24bowen.html