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They're all bad, but if I have to pick one I pick the one I was nearest to.
Len Bias. I was raised in New England, the Celtics were the "home" team.
It was a horrible tragedy.
Reading about Eddie Griffins sudden death (god rest his soul) made me think about other players who's career was cut short by a sudden death or addiction to drugs. Here's a few that I thought about. Which players in your opinion was destined for the HOF or greatness before tragedy struck?
Reggie Lewis - Lewis played alongside fellow Celtics greats like Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish. He became the sixth captain of the Celtics, taking over from Larry Bird. In his first and only year of leading the team, he brought the Celtics to the 1993 playoffs. In the first game of the playoffs against the Charlotte Hornets, his heart ailment (which would later claim his life) caused him to collapse.
Michael Ray Richardson - He would be named an all-star as a Net, being a member of the Eastern Conference all-star team that allegedly froze out Michael Jordan. In the 1984 playoffs, Richardson was spectacular, leading the Nets to a shocking upset of the defending champion Philadelphia 76ers. In the fifth and deciding game, Richardson scored 24 points and had six steals. While the Knicks showed mild improvement after trading Richardson, that improvement was short-lived, ending when King was felled by a devastating knee injury midway through the 1984-85 season. In 1986 NBA commissioner David Stern banned Richardson for life after Richardson violated the league's drug policy three times. Richardson's right to play in the NBA was restored in 1988, but Richardson failed two cocaine tests in 1991, though he disputed the results.[3]
David Thompson - Thompson made the NBA All-Star game four seaons, and reached his peak in 1978 season. On April 9, 1978, the last day of the regular NBA season, Thompson scored 73 points against the Detroit Pistons in an effort to win the NBA scoring le (he barely lost the scoring le to San Antonio's George Gervin, who scored 63 points in a game played later that same day). He also led the Denver Nuggets to the NBA playoffs, but they lost to the eventual Western Conference champion Seattle Supersonics. After the 1978 season, he was granted a record-breaking $4 million for five-years contract. That amount was more than any basketball player ever had previously been paid. However, from that point, injuries and persistent problems with substance abuse would trouble Thompson and to the significant detriment of the remainder of his NBA career, which came to an end after the 1983-84 season.
Shawn Kemp - Kemp's career peaked in 1995-96, when he led the Sonics to a franchise-record 64 wins and their first NBA Finals appearance since 1979. They faced Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, who were coming off an NBA record 72 wins. The Sonics, however, managed to push the heavily-favored Bulls to six games before losing.
Kemp played three seasons with the Cavaliers, where he battled weight problems and often appeared to lack the drive that made him such a force in Seattle. Despite this, he posted career-high numbers for points per game. He was then traded to the Portland Trail Blazers after the 1999-2000 season. The trade reunited Kemp with Bob Whitsitt, who had originally brought Kemp to Seattle. However, Kemp's play began to decline significantly. The last few years of Kemp's professional basketball career were riddled with problems stemming from his weight, as well as cocaine and alcohol abuse. His first season in Portland ended early when he entered drug rehabilitation.
Len Bias - Less than two days after being selected by the defending champion Celtics as the second overall pick in the 1986 NBA Draft, Bias flew in to Maryland from Boston at around 11:00 p.m., and ate crabs with some teammates and a member of the football team. He left at approximately 2 a.m. on the 18th, drove to an off-campus gathering, which he attended briefly before returning to his dorm at 3:00 a.m. Bias, who consumed large quan ies of cocaine at some earlier point, was talking with teammate Terry Long when he collapsed sometime between 6:25 and 6:32.[2] According to Bias's sister (who only had a secondhand account of the story)[3], the player was sitting on a couch and leaned back as though he was going to sleep, but instead began to have a seizure. Bias died of a cardiac arrhythmia, related to the cocaine overdose.
Drazen Petrovic - was a Croatian basketball player. A tireless shooter and prolific scorer, Petrović is arguably the most celebrated basketball player ever to emerge from Europe. He is considered the crucial part of the vanguard to the present-day mass influx of European players into the NBA. Dražen Petrović died as a passenger in a car involved in a traffic accident on the rain-drenched Autobahn 9 at Denkendorf, near Ingolstadt, in the German state of Bavaria, at approximately 17:20 on June 7th, 1993, four and a half months before his 29th birthday.
Roy Tarpley - is an American former professional basketball player, who was notable during his career for being banned from the NBA. He starred at the University of Michigan, and in 1986 he was selected by the Dallas Mavericks with the seventh pick of the NBA Draft. Tarpley made the NBA All-Rookie Team in his first season and seemed destined for success until his career was cut short in 1991, when he was expelled from the league for violating the NBA's drug-use policies. He returned to the Mavericks briefly in 1994 but was again banned for drug use. Another problem Tarpley had was that he was very injury prone, missing a lot of games due to nagging injuries. He holds career averages of 12.6 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. He has also played for Aris BC, Olympiacos and Iraklis in Greece. He also won the European Cup in 1993 with Aris BC Salonica.
Dajaun Wagner - He played one year of college basketball at the University of Memphis before being drafted with the sixth overall pick of the 2002 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Often compared to Allen Iverson for his scoring ability, he had a promising rookie season averaging 13.4 points per game but was hampered by injuries and health problems thereafter. He averaged a career low 4.0 points in only 11 games played during the 2004-05 season, and was hospitalized for ulcerative colitis. The Cavaliers did not exercise their option on his contract for the 2005-06 season and subsequently Wagner was out of the league.
Sharone Wright - is an American professional basketball player currently with the EiffelTowers 's-Hertogenbosch. He was selected 6th overall in the 1994 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. Wright played four NBA seasons with the 76ers and Toronto Raptors. His best year as a professional came during his rookie season with the 76ers when he appeared in 79 games and averaged 11.4 points and 6 rebounds per game.
He played collegiately at Clemson University from 1990 until 1994. In addition to his NBA career and his career in Europe, he has played professionally in South Korea. His career in the NBA was cut short by a car accident.
Honorable mention: Hank Gathers, Chris (birdman) Andersen, Jason Collier, Malik Sealy, Stanley Roberts, Demar Johnson
Last edited by LakeShow; 08-23-2007 at 02:11 PM. Reason: Griffin
They're all bad, but if I have to pick one I pick the one I was nearest to.
Len Bias. I was raised in New England, the Celtics were the "home" team.
It was a horrible tragedy.
Last edited by duncan228; 08-23-2007 at 03:32 PM.
I never saw Bias play, those of you who did, what kind of impact do you think he would have had as a pro?
I only saw clips of him, but the hope in Boston was off the charts.
I don't remember any media saying anything but how incredible he was and what an immediate impact he was going to have.
The Celtics would have been Champs for a few years with Bias. He and Bird would have been a great combination.
Don't know about Championships, but with Bird's back starting to decline by '87-'88 Bias would have been a vital part of that team.
Don't forget about Grant Hill
You're right. Forgot about him. I also couldn't remember the guard who was in a motorcycle accident not too long ago.
True, all i remember was hating the fact that the Celtics were able to draft him.
Or Penny
Don't forget about Ralph Sampson. If Ralph and Hakeem stayed together, the Bulls probably would have a tough time doing those 3-peats.
Jay Williams, that guy was gonna be bad ass.
You guys are all right. If i look at injuries I would also chose,
Antonio Mcdyess
Chris Webber
Jayson Williams
Yeah thats him.
Man, Dyess was a freak before he destroyed his kness, no telling how good he would have been
Hint: Amare able to play some D.
ralph sampson
Earl "The Goat" Manigault should be there also.
Bobby Hurley
Vin Baker
Brad Daugherty
Yeah Bobby Hurley...my favourite player on those Duke teams....
What about Richard Dumas.....
Big. He would have won at least one le with Bird. If the Celtics would have still acquired Reggie Lewis two years later...damn. Bias, Lewis, Bird, McHale, Parish. Wow.I never saw Bias play, those of you who did, what kind of impact do you think he would have had as a pro?
McDyess would have dominated the league had he not got injured.
McDyess was like Amare with a better outside shot, footwork, low post game, defense, and maybe even more athletic. I once heard that he could grab a quarter off the top of the backboard before he got injured.
That's a perfect description of his game. He was for real. I Hated to see him get injured.
grant hill gets my vote
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