The NBA has been sending players to the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame since 1959, when George Mikan entered. Who are the 50 best players not enshrined?
(Updated Sept. 5, 2019) — The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame: For a professional basketball player, it is Mecca, the place of the highest honors, a shrine for those generally accepted to be the best of the best, particularly for NBA players.
According to the Hall’s website, a player must be fully retired for three years before being eligible for enshrinement. This change was made in December 2017.
So who are the 50 greatest players in NBA history who don’t have a spot in Springfield, Mass.?
In April, the 2019 induction class was named and in terms of NBA players, it was sort of a cleanup of a bunch of worthy candidates who had been waiting for a very long time.
This year’s player inductees include:
- Carl Braun, a star from the early days of the NBA with the New York Knicks
- Vlade Divac, the longtime Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings big man who was one of the league’s European pioneers
- Bobby Jones, a defensive standout from the Philadelphia 76ers from the late 1970s and early 1980s.
- Sidney Moncrief, winner of the first two Defensive Player of the Year awards and a two-way threat for the Milwaukee Bucks for more than a decade.
- Jack Sikma, who helped lead the Seattle SuperSonics to their only NBA title
- Paul Westphal, an All-NBA performer with the Phoenix Suns who picked up a championship ring as a young reserve with the Boston Celtics
To be considered for this list, a player has to have already achieved eligibility by this year.
So next year’s group of first-time eligibles — a star-studded group that includes three recently retired legends in Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett — are not included here.
Other players eligible to be considered for the first time in 2020 includes Elton Brand, Chris Bosh and Amar’e Stoudemire, so we might be discussing these players for awhile.
The Hall inducted its first class in 1959 and included one of the first NBA superstars, Minneapolis Lakers center George Mikan and the current building in Springfield has been open since 2002.
So you may be wondering: Why Springfield?
Springfield was chosen because the game was first played on the campus of Springfield College when a physical education teacher named James Naismith showed the new game to a class of 18 students, according to the Hall’s website.
The NBA and its predecessor, the Basketball Association of America, have been around since the BAA’s launch in 1946 and its subsequent merger with the National Basketball League in 1949.
And with that, our list of the 50 greatest NBA players not in the Hall of Fame begins.
Danny Manning is one of the NBA’s most poignant “what if” stories, yet still did enough to perform at a high level for much of his 15-year career.
Manning suffered a severe knee injury just 26 games into his rookie season and it was three years before he was back to 100 percent again.
After leading Kansas to an unlikely NCAA title in 1988, Manning was the No. 1 overall pick by the moribund Los Angeles Clippers later that year.
He broke out in his fourth season, playing in all 82 games and leading the Clippers to their first playoff berth since the franchise left Buffalo, ending a 16-year postseason drought.
He was a 20-point a game scorer each of the next two seasons before a stunning trade at the 1994 deadline sent him to the Atlanta Hawks for Dominique Wilkins.
Manning played just 26 games with the Hawks before signing with the Phoenix Suns and reinventing himself as a reserve, taking Sixth Man of the Year honors in 1997-98.
Injuries and age slowed him from there as he faded through five more years, jumping to five different teams before retiring in September 2003.
In 15 seasons, he averaged 14.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals in 27.4 minutes per game on 51.1 percent shooting, but in his Clipper prime, he put up 19.1 points, 6.4 boards, 3.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.1 blocks in 34.0 minutes a night, shooting 51.8 percent.
Toni Kukoc was already a Euroleague star by the time he decided to come to the NBA and the Chicago Bulls in 1993.
The Bulls had used a second-round pick in 1990 to obtain the rights to the then-Yugoslavian star and he played primarily a complementary role once he came to the NBA as a 25-year-old, serving mostly as a playmaking small forward for Chicago’s second unit during three title runs.
Kukoc still wound up playing 13 seasons in the NBA. He was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers during the 1999-00 season, was swapped to the Atlanta Hawks in a deadline deal in 2001 and finished his career with four years as a reserve with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Kukoc was Sixth Man of the Year with Chicago’s iconic 72-win NBA championship team in 1995-96, averaging 13.1 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 26.0 minutes per game while shooting 49 percent overall and a solid 40.3 percent on 2.7 3-point attempts per game.
His NBA career numbers don’t leap off the page — 11.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.0 steals in 26.3 minutes per game over 846 games — but his impact as one of the early European players to come to the NBA and deliver the goods, as well as his record in Euroleague and international play, should earn him consideration.
The Philadelphia Warriors drafted point guard Larry Costello from Niagara in the second round of the 1954 NBA Draft, but his true impact would not be felt until later.
Costello was limited to 19 games as a rookie in 1954-55 and sat out the entire 1955-56 season — missing out on the Warriors’ championship run — while completing his U.S. Army obligation.
In October 1957, the Syracuse Nationals were in the market for a point guard and purchased the contract of Costello from the Warriors.
It was a heckuva deal for both parties.
Costello was an All-NBA selection in 1960-61, while also leading the NBA in free-throw shooting in 1962-63.
In 1963, Costello returned to Philadelphia when the Nationals franchise was relocated there and once again was the NBA’s best free-throw shooter in 1964-65 before retiring from the NBA and playing minor-league ball for the Wilkes-Barre Barons in the Eastern league
Costello returned to the 76ers as a backup in 1966 and finally earned his lone ring as the 76ers dethroned the Boston Celtics — who had won eight straight titles — en route to winning the franchise’s second championship and its first since 1955.
In May 1968, Costello was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks in the expansion draft and opted to retire — and become the new club’s first head coach.
In a 12-year career, Costello averaged 12.2 points, 4.6 assists and 3.8 rebounds in 30 minutes a game, shooting 43.8 percent from the floor and 84.1 percent from the foul line.
Costello would coach the Bucks into their ninth season in the NBA before he resigned in November 1976 after the team got off to a 3-15 start.
During that time, the club was 410-264, making the playoffs six times, reaching the NBA Finals twice and winning the title in 1970-71.
He was back on the bench in 1978 when he was hired by the Chicago Bulls, but lasted just 56 games into the season before he was fired in February with a record of 20-36.
In 10 seasons, his career record was 430-300 and his teams were 37-23 in the playoffs.
The last two-handed set shooter in the NBA, Costello died from cancer in December 2001 at the age of 70.
Little about Bill Laimbeer’s collegiate career at Notre Dame indicated he was a future star.
As a junior on the Fighting Irish’s 1978 Final Four team, he averaged 8.1 points and 7.9 rebounds in 22.6 minutes per game, playing behind senior Dave Batton. As a senior, he started, but averaged just 20.5 minutes per game.
When he signed to play in Italy after being selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1979 NBA Draft, it was easy to assume Laimbeer would fade into oblivion.
Turns out he was just getting started.
Laimbeer signed with the Cavaliers in the summer of 1980 and wound up as the team’s starting center and his career blossomed after a February 1982 trade to the Detroit Pistons made him a centerpiece for a team that would grow into a two-time champion.
Laimbeer led the NBA in rebounding in 1985-86 and was part of two title teams in Detroit, but became known for his physical play and nasty edge, earning nicknames such as the Prince of Darkness and His Heinous along the way.
Between 1982-83 and 1991-92, Laimbeer was a rock in the middle for the Pistons, missing just three regular-season games.
His game evolved as he aged, as he developed a credible 3-point shot to become an early version of the now-popular stretch 5, shooting 36.1 percent on 2.0 deep attempts per game in his age-32 season in 1989-90, the same season Detroit won the first of its two straight titles.
In 14 seasons — he retired abruptly in December 1993 — Laimbeer averaged 12.9 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 31.8 minutes per game over the course of 1,068 appearances, shooting 49.8 percent overall and 83.7 percent at the line, outstanding for a center.
In 113 career playoff games, Laimbeer’s numbers were similar — 12.0 points, 9.7 rebounds in 33.1 minutes.
Laimbeer is 36th on the NBA’s all-time list with 10,400 career rebounds.
Rasheed Wallace never garnered any major individual honors during his 16-year NBA career, but he was the missing piece for the dominant Detroit Pistons clubs of the mid-2000s and helped them to a surprising NBA championship in 2004.
Wallace was the fourth-overall pick by the Washington Bullets in 1995 and was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers after his rookie season.
He blossomed as a star in Portland for very good teams that came up short in the postseason and was traded — very briefly — to the Atlanta Hawks in February 2004.
Ten days after that trade, after he logged his one game and 42 minutes with Atlanta, he was part of a blockbuster three-team trade that sent him to Detroit.
Playing a lesser role in Detroit’s egalitarian system, Wallace helped push the Pistons to the NBA title in 2004, a follow-up Finals appearance in 2005 and what five of Detroit’s six consecutive trips to the Eastern Conference Finals from 2003-08.
He signed with the Boston Celtics as a free agent in 2009 and made a brief comeback with the New York Knicks in 2012 after two years of retirement.
He averaged 14.4 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 1.3 blocks in 32.7 minutes per game in 1,109 NBA games, shooting 46.7 percent overall and 72.1 percent at the foul line.
He also appeared in 177 playoff games, including 103 with Detroit, and put up 13.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.
Wallace is 39th in NBA history with 1,460 blocked shots and turned himself into a stretch threat, with 1,086 career 3-pointers.
Terry Porter traveled a different route to the NBA, gaining an invitation to the 1984 U.S. Olympic trials while playing at NAIA Wisconsin-Stevens Point before landing with the Portland Trail Blazers with the last pick in the first round of the 1985 draft.
It was a good call by Portland.
Porter emerged as their starting point guard in his second NBA season and helped lead the team to two NBA Finals appearances in the early 1990s, though he was overshadowed in an era of point guards that included Magic Johnson and John Stockton.
Porter played 10 seasons with the Trail Blazers before playing another seven seasons as a backup point guard/veteran mentor for young teams such as the Minnesota Timberwolves and Miami Heat and finishing up his career with a three-year stint for the San Antonio Spurs.
His long tenure as a backup diluted his career numbers a bit, as he put up 12.2 points, 5.6 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 27.8 minutes per game, shooting 46.3 percent overall and 38.6 percent on 2.6 3-point attempts per game in his career.
With Portland, he averaged 14.9 points, 7.0 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 31.6 minutes per game and in the playoffs, averaged 18.2 points and 6.3 dimes in 84 career postseason games with the Trail Blazers.
Porter is 15th on the NBA’s all-time assists list with 7,160, is 34th in steals with 1,583 and 29th in games played at 1,274. Porter, despite not playing in a big era for the 3, is still 48th with 1,297 career makes from downtown.
John Drew was a high-flyer out of Gardner-Webb who starred for the Atlanta Hawks in the late 1970s and early 1980s before becoming a top-flight sixth man for the emerging Utah Jazz teams in the middle of the 1980s.
While he’s not likely to gain enough support to enter the Hall of Fame, based on his suspension for cocaine use in December 1984, his play certainly warrants some consideration.
Drew topped 20 points per game six times in his 11-year career and also averaged a double-double as a rookie, when he played out of position as a 6-foot-6 power forward.
In 739 career games, Drew averaged 20.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 29.5 minutes per game, shooting 47 percent overall.
He was a second-round pick out of Gardner-Webb, which played at the NAIA level and had just become a four-year institution, in the 1974 NBA Draft and debuted a few weeks after his 20th birthday.
He was the No. 1 option for an Atlanta team that turned into a contender under coach Hubie Brown in the late 1970s, but Drew was part of the price the Hawks paid to acquire franchise icon Dominique Wilkins from the Jazz in the fall of 1982.
The Alabama native had a great knack for finishing through contact and getting to the foul line, finishing in the top 10 in free throw attempts seven times in 11 NBA seasons, and he led the NBA in offensive rebounds as a rookie in 1974-75.
Despite his career ending prematurely, Drew is 49th on the NBA all-time list with 5,774 free throw attempts.
Well-traveled Ricky Pierce was one of the finest sixth men in NBA history, shining most brightly with the Milwaukee Bucks from 1984-91 during a 16-year NBA career.
Pierce was twice named Sixth Man of the Year during his tenure in Milwaukee, winning the award in 1986-87 and again in 1989-90.
Heady stuff for a guy who was basically an extra in the trade that brought Terry Cummings to the Bucks from the Los Angeles Clippers in the fall of 1984.
If took some time for Pierce to find his footing in the NBA after being taken by the Detroit Pistons with the 18th overall pick late in the first round of the 1982 NBA Draft from Rice University.
A seldom-used reserve in Detroit, he was traded to the Clippers and became a part-time starter in his one season there before taking another year to get established as a key member of the Bucks’ rotation.
But he exploded in 1986-87, scoring 19.5 points per game and giving Milwaukee’s second unit a distinct advantage over many opponents.
He was Sixth Man of the Year again three seasons later, despite sitting out 23 games in a contract dispute, because 23 points in 29 minutes per game as a reserve was too good to ignore.
Pierce hung around a long time, finally retiring in 1998 at age 38 following a final season back with the Bucks, while making stops with the Seattle SuperSonics, Gollden State Warriors, Indiana Pacers, Denver Nuggets and Charlotte Hornets along the way.
For his career, he averaged 14.9 points and 2.4 rebounds in 24.4 minutes per game over 969 career games, shooting 49.3 percent overall and 87.5 percent at the free throw line. His job was to score and he did it extremely well.
Pierce is 20th on the all-time free throw shooting list.
Tom Chambers may be best known as the first star player to switch teams when the NBA instituted unrestricted free agent after the 1987-88 season, jumping from the Seattle SuperSonics to their division rivals, the Phoenix Suns.
He proved worth the investment.
Chambers was a two-time All-NBA pick with Phoenix, helping them rise immediately from the bottom of the Western Conference to two straight Western Conference Finals appearances.
He was one of many rookies the San Diego Clippers gave up on too soon. The Clippers took Chambers eighth overall out of Utah in the 1981 NBA Draft and traded him two seasons later to the Sonics, where he blossomed into a star.
Chambers transitioned to the sixth man role when Phoenix acquired Charles Barkley in 1992 and was a productive bench player for their NBA Finals club in 1993 before signing with the Utah Jazz as a backup to Karl Malone for two seasons.
He tried to come back to the NBA in 1997 after playing a year in Israel, but a bad back cut those plans short and he retired in December of that year after one game with the Philadelphia 76ers.
In 16 NBA seasons, Chambers averaged 18.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 30.6 minutes per game, shooting 46.8 percent overall.
But over his 10 seasons with Seattle and Phoenix, he was at 20.5 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.3 boards in 32.9 minutes.
Chambers is 34th on the NBA all-time list with 5,066 made free throws and 36th with 6,274 attempts from the line, while ranking 43rd in scoring with 20,049 career points and a dubious 20th with 3,742 fouls.
He is the only player with 20,000 career points not already in the Hall of Fame.
Long before Paul Silas became the answer to the trivia question, “Who was LeBron James’ first NBA coach?”, he was a rugged rebounder and defender at the power forward slot for three championship teams in the 1970s.
Silas began his career with the old St. Louis Hawks as a second-round pick in 1964 before he was traded to the Phoenix Suns after the Hawks’ first season in Atlanta.
Traded to the Boston Celtics as the player to be named later in the deal that netted Phoenix the rights to ABA star Charlie Scott, Silas thrived in the green-and-white, helping the Celtics to championships in 1974 and 1975, averaging double-doubles in all four seasons he was in Boston.
Late in his career, he was a backup power forward and veteran leader for the Seattle SuperSonics’ title team in 1979 before retiring to coach the San Diego Clippers in 1980.
Silas was named All-Defensive five times in his career and could have conceivably made it at least one more time — the honor wasn’t given out until after the 1968-69 season.
In 16 NBA seasons, Silas averaged 9.4 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 27.9 minutes per game, shooting 43.2 percent overall.
Silas is 21st all-time with 12,357 rebounds and 32nd with 1,254 career games.
Mark Eaton was the definition of a late bloomer, going from a 25-year-old fourth-round draft pick in 1982 to one of the most dominant inside defensive forces in NBA history.
Eaton’s defense was a big component to the Utah Jazz’s rise to prominence in the 1980s as he allowed Utah to take chances on the perimeter, with the Jazz knowing Eaton was there to protect the rim.
He led the NBA in blocked shots four times, including an NBA-record 5.6 per game in 1984-85, and he is the NBA’s all-time leader with a career average of 3.5 blocks a game.
Eaton was a five-time All-Defensive pick and was Defensive Player of the Year in both 1984-85 and 1988-89.
He was forced to retire after the 1993-94 season, which he sat out with a bad back, but is still fourth on the all-time list with 3,064 blocks despite playing only 11 seasons.
Eaton was not an offensive player, averaging 6.0 points, 7.9 rebounds and 3.5 blocks in 28.8 minutes per game over 875 career appearances, shooting 45.8 percent overall.
But he was a defensive force … enough of one that Hall of Fame consideration is in order.
Jeff Hornacek may not have looked the part of NBA sharp-shooter at 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds, but he was a tough competitor over 14 NBA seasons and played in back-to-back finals with the Utah Jazz.
A point guard early in his career, Hornacek’s career took off after the Phoenix Suns acquired Kevin Johnson and moved Hornacek to the 2 spot.
After six seasons in Phoenix, he was the centerpiece of the return package the Suns sent to the Philadelphia 76ers to get Charles Barkley and a season and a half later was dealt to the Jazz, where his career re-ignited.
Over 16 seasons, he averaged 14.5 points, 4.9 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 31.5 minutes per game, shooting 49.6 percent overall, 40.3 percent on 1.9 3-point attempts per game and 87.7 percent at the line.
He led the NBA in foul shooting in his final season, 1999-2000, at 95.0 percent.
Hornacek was a career 43.3 percent shooter from 3-point range in 140 playoff games, taking two attempts a game — in a very different era for offense.
Hornacek ranks 18th all-time in free throw shooting and 35th on the 3-point percentage list, while also ranking 40th with 1,536 career steals.
Seldom was Hornacek the best player on his team, but he was always that player who made teams better.
Stephon Marbury’s NBA career faded away with a messy divorce from the New York Knicks in 2009 and a brief cameo with the Boston Celtics, but he was one of the top producing point guards in the league for a decade.
Marbury then went to China and reinvented his career, becoming a legend of the Chinese Basketball Association before finally retiring in 2018 at age 41.
A prep legend in Brooklyn, Marbury was the fourth overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft and was traded on draft night from the Milwaukee Bucks to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Coincidentally (or not), Minnesota made its first-ever trip to the NBA playoffs during Marbury’s rookie year and he would go on to earn two All-NBA bids while being part of some of the biggest trades in NBA history.
In March 1999, Marbury went to the New Jersey Nets in a three-team, eight-player extravaganza that included Sam Cassell and Terrell Brandon. In July 2001, Marbury was sent to the Phoenix Suns for Hall of Famer Jason Kidd.
In 13 NBA seasons, Marbury averaged 19.3 points, 7.6 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 37.7 minutes per game, shooting 43.3 percent overall and 32.5 percent on 3.6 3-point attempts per game.
Marbury ranked 17th in NBA history in minutes per game and 19th in assists per game, while ranking 27th on the all-time assists list with 6,471.
The Houston Rockets made Florida State point guard Sam Cassell the 24th overall pick in the 1993 NBA Draft and he became a key reserve for their two championship teams before developing into a starter and then a star.
Cassell was dealt three times in 1996 and 1997, first to the Phoenix Suns, then to the Dallas Mavericks and finally to the New Jersey Nets, where he became a full-time starter for the first time.
Injured during the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season, Cassell was traded in March to the Milwaukee Bucks and it was there that we saw Cassell blossom into a star.
Cassell helped Milwaukee to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2001 and was their offensive catalyst for four full seasons before he was dealt again, this time to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the summer of 2003.
Cassell helped the Timberwolves win their first (and only) two playoff series in franchise history as Minnesota reached the Western Conference Finals.
He was also an All-NBA selection in 2003-04.
Cassell was on the move again in 2005, this time to the Los Angeles Clippers, where he played parts of three seasons before he was waived.
Picked up as a free agent by the Boston Celtics in March 2008, Cassell ended his career as he began it — as a key reserve for a championship team, earning a third ring before retiring.
In 15 seasons, Cassell averaged 15.7 points, six assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 30 minutes per game, shooting .454/.331/.861.
Cassell is 38th all-time with 5,939 career assists and 40th with his 86.1 free-throw percentage.
Lou Hudson was limited to just 17 games as a senior at Minnesota because of an injury, but that didn’t stop the St. Louis Hawks from using the fourth overall pick in the 1966 NBA Draft on the forward.
A part-time starter in two seasons in St. Louis, Hudson emerged as a star swingman when the franchise moved to Atlanta in 1968, earning the first of his six All-Star selections.
Hudson made his lone All-NBA team in 1969-70.
He was an Atlanta fixture until September 1977, when he was dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers for Ollie Johnson.
A sixth man with the Lakers, he retired after the 1978-79 season after a 13-year NBA career.
He averaged 20.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.4 steals in 33.5 minutes per game, shooting 48.9 percent from the floor and 79.7 percent from the free-throw line.
In April 2014, Hudson died after a stroke at the age of 69.
In one of those cases in the 1970s where an NBA team’s first-round draft pick was a complete loss, the Chicago Bulls netted nothing from taking Marquette big man Maurice Lucas with the 14th overall pick in 1974.
That’s because the ABA’s Carolina Cougars had acquired his rights in a 1973 undergraduate draft and Lucas wound up signing with that club after it moved to St. Louis in 1974.
The Portland Trail Blazers made a deal with the Atlanta Hawks prior to the August 1976 dispersal draft of players coming over from the ABA’s folded teams and took Lucas with the second pick in that draft.
Lucas earned All-Defensive honors twice and an All-NBA nod in 1977-78 while with Portland.
He also helped Portland to its lone NBA title in his first season in the NBA, leading the team in scoring with 19.7 points per game while also averaging 10.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals as the Blazers stunned the heavily favored Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA Finals.
Lucas was traded in February 1980 along with first-round picks in 1980 and 1981 to the New Jersey Nets for Calvin Natt and spent parts of two seasons in New Jersey.
In October 1981, Lucas went across the Hudson to the New York Knicks, awarded as compensation for the Nets’ signing veteran free agent Ray Williams.
But Lucas only played on Broadway for one season, traded in July 1982 to the Phoenix Suns for Truck Robinson.
In August 1985, he was dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers for second-round picks in 1988 and 1989.
Waived in September 1986, he was claimed by the Seattle SuperSonics and played a season there before returning to Portland in November 1987 as a veteran free agent, with Seattle acquiring a second-round pick in 1990 as compensation.
After one final season with the Blazers, Lucas retired in May 1988.
In 14 professional seasons, Lucas averaged 14.6 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 29.5 minutes per game, shooting .471/.143/.765.
In retirement, Lucas had two stints as an assistant coach with Portland and in 1997 was named to the All-Time All-ABA team.
In October 2010, Lucas died from complications stemming from bladder cancer. He was 58 years old.
Lafayette Lever erupted as a star after a 1984 trade from the Portland Trail Blazers to the Denver Nuggets, where he became an elite point guard at both ends of the floor.
Lever spent six seasons in Denver, earning All-NBA honors in 1986-87 and an All-Defensive selection in 1987-88, while emerging as a stat-sheet stuffer of the highest order, averaging 17.0 points, 7.6 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 2.5 steals in 35.6 minutes per game with the Nuggets.
He started his career among a glut of point guards in Portland after going 11th overall in the 1982 NBA Draft and closed his career with four injury-plagued years with the Dallas Mavericks, where he played in only 35 games between 1990-93 because of knee problems and missed all of 1992-93.
Over 11 NBA seasons, his numbers were more modest — 13.9 points, 6.2 assists, 6.0 rebounds and 2.2 steals in 31.7 minutes a night, shooting 44.7 percent overall.
Lever was a tough cookie at the defensive end, ranking sixth all-time in steals per game and 24th in total steals with 1,666. He is also 47th in assists per game.
Lever’s legacy might be different, but he had horrible injury luck in the playoffs. He started only eight of Denver’s 15 games during its run to the Western Conference Finals in 1985 and sat out the final two games of their second-round loss to Dallas in 1988 — both losses.
Anthony Mason worked his way into the NBA, playing in Turkey, Venezuela and a couple of different minor leagues in the U.S. while signing 10-day contracts and landing on waivers a few times before catching on with the New York Knicks in 1991.
He became a workhorse for Pat Riley, earning Sixth Man of the Year honors in 1994-95. After being traded to the Charlotte Hornets in a deal for Larry Johnson, Mason was named both All-NBA and All-Defensive in 1996-97 as a playmaking power forward.
Mason led the NBA in minutes per game in both 1995-96 for New York and 1996-97 with Charlotte, his first two seasons as a full-time starter in the league.
He missed all the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season recovering from a ruptured bicep and was traded to the Miami Heat before the 2000-01 season.
He spent two seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks before retiring in 2003.
The journeyman averaged 10.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 34.7 minutes per game over 882 games, shooting 50.9 percent overall.
Mason had a massive heart attack in February 2015 and died several days later from congestive heart failure at just 48 years old.
Sweet-shooting Glen Rice led Michigan to its lone national championship before the fledgling Miami Heat made him the fourth overall pick in the 1989 NBA Draft before the franchise’s second NBA season.
Rice rose to stardom in Miami before he was part of the package for Alonzo Mourning, traded to the Charlotte Hornets on the eve of the 1995-96 season.
In Charlotte, Rice was a two-time All-NBA selection and led the league in 3-point shooting in 1996-97, knocking down 47.0 percent on 5.6 attempts per game.
He later picked up a championship ring as a solid role player at the 3 for the Los Angeles Lakers in 1999-2000 and finished his career bouncing from the New York Knicks to the Houston Rockets to a brief cameo with the Los Angeles Clippers before he was waived out of the league in January 2004.
Rice averaged 18.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.0 steals in 35.0 minutes per game over 15 NBA seasons, shooting 45.6 percent overall and 40 percent on 3.9 deep tries a game.
Rice ranks 26th in career 3-pointers with 1,559 and 40th in career long-range attempts with 3,896, while he is 46th on the career list at 40.0 percent.
Peja Stojakovic was part of the first wave of European talent to find its way to the NBA, joining the Sacramento Kings in 1998 — two years after the Kings took the Croatian sharpshooter with the 14th overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft.
He started his NBA career slowly, playing as a rotational player off the bench his first two years before breaking out in 2000-01, averaging more than 20 points per game.
Stojakovic established himself as Sacramento’s top long-range threat by 2001-02. A career .450/.401/.895 shooter, Stojakovic twice led the NBA in free-throw shooting and remained effective even after back problems began to slow him down in 2006.
Stojakovic was an All-NBA selection in 2003-04, finishing fourth in the MVP voting that season, but his tenure with the Kings ended in January 2006, when he was dealt to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Ron Artest (later known as Metta World Peace).
He left the Pacers that summer, going to the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets in a sign-and-trade deal.
After missing all but 13 games in 2006-07 because of his back, Stojakovic returned to help New Orleans to the playoffs in the team’s first year back in the city after Hurricane Katrina forced a two-year relocation.
He was traded to the Toronto Raptors in November 2010 and signed with the Dallas Mavericks in January 2011 after being released in Toronto.
He gave the Mavs shooting off the bench in the playoffs averaging 7.1 points and hitting 37.7 percent from deep as Dallas won its first NBA title. Stojakovic retired that summer.
In 13 NBA campaigns, he averaged 17 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 33.5 minutes per game, spending parts of eight seasons with the Kings.
Stojakovic ranks 18th all-time in both 3-pointers made (1,760) and attempted (4,392) and is fifth all-time in free throw shooting (89.5 percent), while ranking 44th in 3-point shooting (40.1 percent).
Detlef Schrempf had come to the U.S. as a high school senior and became a star at Washington before he was selected eighth overall by the Dallas Mavericks in the 1985 NBA Draft.
Schrempf was a rotation player at forward in Dallas whose career exploded after he was traded in February 1989 to the Indiana Pacers with a second-round pick in 1990 in exchange for Herb Williams.
With the Pacers, Schrempf was a two-time Sixth Man of the Year winner.
In November 1993, Schrempf was dealt to the Seattle SuperSonics for Derrick McKey and Gerald Paddio and became a full-fledged star, earning All-NBA honors in 1994-95.
In August 1999, Schrempf signed as a free agent with the Portland Trail Blazers, where he played his final two seasons before retiring in 2001.
In 16 NBA campaigns, Schrempf averaged 13.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 29.6 minutes per game, shooting .491/.384/.803.
He was an assistant coach for the SuperSonics for a short time in the early 21st century and does a great deal of charity work in the Seattle area.
Although a chronic back problem limited Larry Johnson to just 10 NBA seasons, his impact was felt across the league, particularly as a member of the Charlotte Hornets in the early and mid-1990s.
The Hornets took Johnson No. 1 overall out of UNLV in 1991 and he responded with a double-double season en route to becoming NBA Rookie of the Year.
He followed that up with an All-NBA campaign in his second season before the back became an issue and limited him throughout the rest of his career.
But Johnson still averaged 16.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 36.3 minutes per game over 707 NBA games, shooting 48.4 percent overall.
In five seasons with Charlotte, those averages were 19.6 points, 9.2 boards and 4.1 dimes in 38.8 minutes a game on 49.6 percent shooting. Johnson led the NBA in minutes per game in 1992-93 at 40.5 a night.
While his career numbers were stunted by early retirement, he is 37th on the all-time minutes per game list.
How do averages of 4.9 points and four rebounds per game in two collegiate seasons get one drafted in the first round? It happens when those numbers were posted while backing up one of the greatest players in the history of college basketball.
So goes the story of Swen Nater, Bill Walton’s backup at UCLA and a native of the Netherlands who was taken 16th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1973 NBA Draft, although he didn’t sign with the club.
Until 2019, Nater had been the only collegiate player selected in the first round of the NBA Draft that did not start a game in college.
In 2019, there were two players taken in the first round that didn’t start while playing collegiately — Nassir Little and Mfiondu Kabengele. But for 36 years, Nater stood alone.
Nater inked a deal with the ABA’s Virginia Squires, who had acquired his rights from the Floridians when that franchise folded. The Floridians selected Nater in the seventh round of the 1972 ABA Draft.
Nater was the Rookie of the Year in the ABA in 1973-74, even after being traded to the San Antonio Spurs in November of that season in exchange for a 1974 first-round pick and cash (the Squires were forever selling off players in hopes of remaining solvent).
Nater was also an All-ABA selection as a rookie and repeated the honor in 1974-75. In June 1975, the Spurs sent Nater to the New York Nets in exchange for Larry Kenon, but in January 1976, the Nets swapped Nater and Billy Schaeffer to Virginia to get Jim Eakins.
Nater finally signed with Milwaukee in June 1976 and played one year for the Bucks.
A couple of days before the 1977 NBA Draft, the Bucks traded Nater with a 1977 first-round pick to the Buffalo Braves for their first-round selection.
Nater spent six years with the franchise, following it to San Diego when it became the Clippers in 1978, and led the NBA in rebounding in 1979-80 (15 per game)—becoming the only player ever to lead both the ABA and NBA in the category.
An injury to his kneecap limited Nater to 28 games in the 1981-82 and 1982-83 seasons combined and in October 1983, he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers with rookie Byron Scott in exchange for Norm Nixon, Eddie Jordan and second-round picks in 1986 and 1987.
Nater was the Lakers’ backup center for one season, helping the team to the NBA Finals before retiring in September 1984.
The retirement was short; Nater played the 1984-85 season in Australia and accepted an offer in Spain for the 1985-86 season before changing his mind and stepping into retirement for good.
In 11 pro seasons, Nater averaged 12.4 points, 11.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 28.7 minutes per game, shooting .535/1-for-10/.748.
Nater is 32nd in NBA history at 10.8 rebounds per game and 33rd with a 53.7 percent mark from the field.
Swen Nater had been the only collegiate player selected in the first round of the NBA Draft that did not start a game in college.
In 2019, there were two players taken in the first round that didn’t start while playing collegiately — Nassir Little and Mfiondu Kabengele. But for 36 years, Nater stood alone.
For more on Nater’s Hall of Fame candidacy, as well as an interview with Nater conducted in May 2019, you can check it out on Nothin’ But Nets.
Bob Dandridge joined the Milwaukee Bucks for their second season as that “other rookie.”
A fourth-round pick out of Norfolk State by the Bucks in the 1969 NBA Draft, Dandridge’s time in Milwaukee was mostly overshadowed by the guy taken first overall in the same draft, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Dandridge became a starter right away at small forward, however, as Milwaukee became an instant contender, earning All-Rookie honors.
He averaged 20.3 points and 9.5 rebounds per game as the Bucks won their lone NBA title in 1971 by sweeping the Baltimore Bullets in the NBA Finals.
Dandridge was a key performer as they returned to the NBA Finals in 1974, losing to the Boston Celtics.
In August 1977, Dandridge signed as a veteran free agent with the Washington Bullets and helped the franchise to its only NBA title in his first season with the club in 1977-78, averaging 20.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists in the seven-game victory over the Seattle SuperSonics in the NBA Finals.
His best season came in 1978-79, when he was named All-NBA and All-Defensive that season and finished fifth in the MVP voting as the Bullets returned to the Finals, losing this time to the Sonics.
In November 1981, Dandridge returned to the Bucks as a veteran free agent, with Washington acquiring a fifth-round pick in 1982 as compensation, but his return to Milwaukee was short-lived.
The Bucks waived Dandridge later that month after just 11 games.
In 13 seasons, Dandridge averaged 18.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.3 steals in 35.2 minutes per game, shooting .484/2-for-12/.780.
Bob Love entered the NBA as just another fourth-round pick, taken by the Cincinnati Royals out of Southern University in the 1965 NBA Draft.
His entry into the NBA was delayed a year, as Love opted to play the 1965-66 season with the Trenton Colonials of the Eastern Professional Basketball League, a forerunner to the old Continental Basketball Association.
Coming to Cincinnati in 1966, Love was a reserve forward for two years with the Royals before he was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks in their expansion draft prior to the 1968-69 season.
His tenure in Milwaukee was short-lived. Love was traded in November 1968 along with Bob Weiss to the Chicago Bulls for Flynn Robinson.
For the better part of nine seasons, Bob Love was the go-to guy for the Bulls, earning two All-NBA nods as well as being chosen All-Defensive three times.
He began his career as a reserve and ended it as one, but his work for Chicago in between was very solid.
In 592 games with the Bulls, Love averaged 21.3 points and 6.8 rebounds in 37.3 minutes per game and was a 43.0 percent career shooter from the floor and made 81.6 percent at the line.
His career numbers are 17.6 points and 5.9 rebounds in 31.8 minutes per game over 789 career appearances, shooting 42.9 percent overall and 80.5 percent at the line.
Love was a career 22.9 point per game scorer in 47 playoff games, including an epic Western Conference semifinal series against the Los Angeles Lakers in 1971 during which he averaged 26.7 points in 47.1 minutes per game in a seven-game loss.
Injuries — constant and nagging — prevented Marcus Camby from living up to the hype of his No. 2 overall selection by the Toronto Raptors in the 1996 NBA Draft, but he still was one of the best defensive centers to play the game.
Campy led the NBA in blocks four times, was a four-time All-Defensive selection and was named Defensive Player of the Year for the Denver Nuggets in 2006-07.
Also a premier board man, Campy averaged at least 10 rebounds per game in 10 of his 17 seasons in the NBA and finished with career averages of 9.6 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 2.4 blocks in 29.5 minutes a game in 973 career games, shooting 46.6 percent overall.
He wasn’t a particularly polished player offensively, but he was one of the top rim protectors in the game for more than a decade and turned into a force on the glass, ranking 44th in NBA history with 9,513 rebounds and 12th with 2,331 blocks.
His 2.4 blocks per game average is 14th all-time, as well, and he is in the top 20 in defensive and total rebounding percentage.
Camby averaged 10.4 points and 7.7 boards as a reserve in the playoffs for the New York Knicks during their stunning run to the NBA Finals as a No. 8 seed, shooting 56.6 percent from the floor during the postseason.
Larry Foust’s NBA career got off to a strange start, but he recovered to put up a very solid career over 12 NBA seasons.
Selected fifth overall by the Chicago Stags in the 1950 NBA Draft, Foust found himself a man without a team when the Stags folded just weeks before the 1950-51 season began.
Instead, Foust was selected in a dispersal draft by the Fort Wayne Pistons and went on to earn two All-NBA nods and help the Pistons to back-to-back NBA Finals appearances in 1955 and 1956.
He led the NBA in rebounding in 1951-52 and in field-goal percentage in 1954-55.
Foust was traded in September 1957 to the Minneapolis Lakers and played parts of three seasons in Minnesota before being traded to the St. Louis Hawks in February 1960.
He spent his final two seasons as a backup for a Hawks squad that reached the NBA Finals in both 1960 and 1961, but Foust never won a title as a player.
In 12 seasons, he averaged 13.7 points and 9.8 rebounds in 29.2 minutes per game over 817 NBA games, averaging 15.0 points and 10.9 boards in 32.9 minutes over his seven seasons with Fort Wayne.
Walter Davis had been a solid player at North Carolina, solid enough that the Phoenix Suns selected him fifth overall in the 1977 NBA Draft.
But few expected Davis to burst onto the scene as spectacularly as he did.
Davis was the 1977-78 Rookie of the Year and earned All-NBA honors that season, as well as in 1978-79. He was also fifth in the MVP voting as a rookie in 1977-78.
But his later years in Phoenix were marred by recurring back problems and a drug scandal, culminating in 1987 when he was called to testify about illegal drug use by some of his Suns teammates — in exchange for immunity from prosecution.
In July 1988, Davis signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Denver Nuggets, transitioning to a sixth-man role, until he was traded in January 1991 with a 1992 second-round pick to the Portland Trail Blazers as part of a three-team deal that netted the Nuggets Greg Anderson and a first-round pick in 1992 from the New Jersey Nets.
Waived by the Trail Blazers in October 1991, Davis returned to Denver for a final season before retiring in 1992.
In 15 NBA seasons, Davis averaged 18.9 points, 3.8 assists, three rebounds and 1.2 steals in 27.9 minutes per game, shooting .511/.272/.851.
Davis is 48th in NBA history with 19,521 points.
The Los Angeles Lakers selected New Mexico guard Michael Cooper in the third round of the 1978 NBA Draft and the pencil-thin kid from Pasadena turned into a defensive menace.
After playing in only three games as a rookie, Cooper developed into a key backcourt reserve in his second season and averaged 8.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.2 steals as the Lakers won the first of their five NBA titles in the decade.
Cooper put up 13.3 points a game in the 1982 NBA Finals, another six-game win over the Philadelphia 76ers; averaged 10.2 points a night as the Lakers took down the Boston Celtics in six games in 1985; scored 12 points a game in the six-game triumph over the Celtics in 1987; and despite a shooting slump, played a big role defensively as the Lakers came back to defeat the Detroit Pistons in Games 6 and 7 of the 1988 NBA Finals.
Cooper was also an eight-time All-Defensive selection, capped by being named the Defensive Player of the Year in 1986-87 despite starting just two games.
In 12 NBA seasons, Cooper averaged 8.9 points, 4.2 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 27.1 minutes per game, shooting .469/.340/.833.
He was waived by the Lakers in August 1990 and signed with the Indiana Pacers, but was waived before the start of the 1990-91 season and wound up playing in Italy, retiring after that campaign.
Shawn Marion fell short of being elected to the Hall of Fame in his first season of eligibility in 2015 and with a star-studded class of first-time eligibles in 2016, The Matrix may be on hold for awhile.
The ninth overall pick by the Phoenix Suns in 1999 out of UNLV, Marion’s funky looking jumper became a staple of the Seven Seconds or Less Suns of the mid-2000s.
He was a two-time All-NBA selection and averaged 18.4 points and 10.0 rebounds in 37.9 minutes per game in 660 games over parts of nine seasons in Phoenix.
He was later a key reserve for the Dallas Mavericks when they captured their first NBA title in 2011 and was a full-time starter until his age-35 season in Dallas.
He ended his career with a one-season stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014-15, with brief stops with the Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors in between.
In 16 NBA seasons overall, he put up 15.2 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.1 blocks in 34.5 minutes per game, shooting 48.4 percent overall and 81.0 percent from the line. Never a consistent 3-point shooter, he did hit 38.7 percent on a career-high 4.5 attempts per game in 2002-03.
Marion is 34th all-time with 40,097 minutes played and is 39th on the all-time rebounding list with 10,101.
He is 19th with 1,759 steals as well.
Gus Williams made the trek from New York to L.A. to play college basketball, where he was a standout at USC before being taken in the second round by the Golden State Warriors in the 1975 NBA Draft.
Williams spent two seasons as a backup at point guard for Golden State before signing as a veteran free agent with the Seattle SuperSonics in October 1977.
“The Wizard” became a big part of Seattle’s run to back-to-back NBA Finals in 1978 and 1979, leading the Sonics with 28.6 points per game while also averaging 3.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and a steal in the 1979 NBA Finals as Seattle avenged their loss to the Washington Bullets the previous season.
After earning All-NBA honors in 1979-80 for the Sonics, Williams sat out the 1980-81 season in a contract dispute and the team collapsed to 34 wins.
He returned in 1981 and wound up earning an All-NBA spot in 1981-82, when he finished fifth in the MVP voting.
But in June 1984, Williams was traded to the Bullets in exchange for Ricky Sobers and Tim McCormick.
He spent two seasons in Washington, signing as a veteran free agent with the Atlanta Hawks midway through the 1986-87 season, with the Bullets receiving a 1990 second-round pick as compensation.
Williams retired after that season, finishing his 11-year career with averages of 17.1 points, 5.6 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 2.0 steals in 31.1 minutes per game, shooting .461/.238/.756.
Williams is 27th on the NBA’s all-time list with 1,638 steals and ranks 13th in steals per game.
Horace Grant had starred at Clemson before he went to the Chicago Bulls with the 10th overall pick in the 1987 NBA Draft.
A reserve as a rookie, Grant moved into the starting lineup at power forward in 1988-89 and was a key player in the Bulls’ three straight titles from 1991-93 and earned his only career All-Star berth in 1994.
He was also a two-time All-Defensive selection while in Chicago before signing as an unrestricted free agent with the Orlando Magic in September 1994.
While with the Magic, he helped Orlando to its first NBA Finals in 1995 and made two more All-Defensive teams before he was traded with second-round picks in 2000 and 2001 to the Seattle SuperSonics in exchange for Dale Ellis, Don MacLean, Corey Maggette and Billy Owens.
He spent just one season in the Pacific Northwest before being dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers along with Chuck Person, Greg Foster and Emanual Davis as part of a four-team extravaganza that sent Patrick Ewing from the New York Knicks to Seattle.
With the Lakers, Grant was part of the historic championship squad that rolled through the playoffs with a 15-1 record, averaging 5.2 points and 5.6 rebounds as L.A. dispatched the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA Finals.
In July 2001, he returned to Orlando as a free agent, playing two seasons there. But he was released December 2002 after clashing with coach Doc Rivers.
He had planned to retire, but signed up to return to the Lakers for a final season in 2003-04 as a backup.
In 17 NBA seasons, Grant averaged 11.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.1 blocks in 33.2 minutes per game, shooting .509/.063/.692.
He is 41st all-time with 38,621 minutes and 46th with 9,443 rebounds.
Terry Cummings was an All-American, a Chicago product who starred at DePaul before he was selected second overall by the San Diego Clippers in the 1982 NBA Draft.
Cummings was the Rookie of the Year in 1982-83, but the Clippers — as they often did — went for the quick fix in September 1984, dealing Cummings along with Ricky Pierce and Craig Hodges to the Milwaukee Bucks for Marques Johnson, Junior Bridgeman, Harvey Catchings and cash.
Cummings was a two-time All-NBA selection with the Bucks. He was fifth in the MVP voting in 1984-85, as well.
But in May 1989 he was traded again, this time with a second-round pick in 1990 to the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for Alvin Robertson, Greg Anderson and a 1989 second-rounder.
His career changed drastically in the summer of 1992, when he severely injured his knee in a pickup game. He resumed his NBA career late in the 1992-93 season, but was never again a full-time starter.
He returned to Milwaukee as an unrestricted free agent in November 1995 and, after sitting out the first two months of the season, signed with the Seattle SuperSonics in January 1997.
Cummings signed with the Philadelphia 76ers in September 1997 and was dealt to the New York Knicks in February 1998 for Herb Williams and Ron Grandison.
After the lockout ended in January 1999, Cummings was sent with John Starks and Chris Mills to the Golden State Warriors for Latrell Sprewell and, on the eve of training camp before a 19th NBA season, Cummings retired in October 2000.
In his 18 seasons, Cummings averaged 16.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.1 steals in 28.7 minutes per game, shooting .484/.295/.706.
But in the 10 years before his knee injury, those averages were 21.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.3 steals in 34.1 minutes a game on .489/.293/.715 shooting.
Cummings is 45th in NBA history with 1,183 games and 50th with 19,460 points.
The Cleveland Cavaliers were looking for their franchise big man when they took North Carolina 7-footer Brad Daugherty first overall in the 1986 NBA Draft.
And he was, just far too briefly.
Daugherty was an All-NBA pick in 1991-92.
But a balky back knocked him out of action in 1994 and never allowed him to return to the court. After two years away from the game trying to get back into playing condition, Daugherty retired in 1996, ending an eight-year career.
He averaged 19 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 36.5 minutes per game, shooting .532/2-for-14/.747.
His 53.2 percent shooting mark is 41st in NBA history and his average of 36.5 minutes per game ranks 34th.
The New Jersey Nets took Oklahoma point guard Mookie Blaylock with the 12th overall selection in the 1989 NBA Draft, but he really blossomed after leaving the swamps of Jersey.
Blaylock was a starter for two of his three seasons with the Nets before being dealt in November 1992 along with Roy Hinson to the Atlanta Hawks for Rumeal Robinson.
Whoops.
Blaylock was named to five All-Defensive teams. He led the NBA in steals in 1996-97 and in steals per game twice (1996-97 and 1997-98). He also led the league in 3-point attempts with 604 in 1996-97, but wasn’t terribly successful at them.
On the eve of the NBA Draft in June 1999, Blaylock was traded with a first-round pick to the Golden State Warriors for Bimbo Coles, Duane Ferrell and a first-round selection.
Blaylock was slowed by injuries his final two seasons with the Warriors, retiring after the 2001-02.
Off the court problems may keep Blaylock out of the Hall, however. He was sentenced to seven years in a Georgia penitentiary in connection with pleading guilty to the 2013 death of a motorist in a head-on collision when he was under medical orders not to drive.
In 13 NBA seasons, Blaylock averaged 13.5 points, 6.7 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 2.3 steals in 34.9 minutes per game, shooting .409/.336/.736.
He is 49th on the NBA’s career list with 1,283 3-pointers, 42nd with 3,816 3-point attempts, 37th with 5,972 assists, 12th with 2,075 steals, 31st in assists per game and fourth in steals per game.
The Los Angeles Lakers selected Temple swingman Eddie Jones with the 10th overall pick in the 1994 NBA Draft, plugged him in at shooting guard and watched him become a star.
Jones was an All-Defensive selection in 1997-98.
Traded in March 1999 along with Elden Campbell to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Glen Rice, B.J. Armstrong and J.R. Reid, Jones earned two more All-Defensive nods and an All-NBA berth in 1999-2000, when he led the NBA in steals (192) and steals per game (2.7).
In August 2000, Jones was part of another blockbuster deal, traded along with Anthony Mason, Ricky Davis and Dale Ellis to the Miami Heat for Jamal Mashburn, P.J. Brown, Rodney Buford, Tim James and Otis Thorpe.
Jones was solid for five seasons with the Heat, but was part of the only five-team trade in NBA history in August 2005, going to the Memphis Grizzlies in a trade that brought Miami Antoine Walker from the Boston Celtics, Roberto Duenas from the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets and Jason Williams, James Posey and Andre Emmett from Memphis.
Jones was waived in January 2007 and returned to Miami as a free agent to play out the 2006-07 season.
In August 2007, he signed a free agent deal with the Dallas Mavericks, where he was a bench player, and in October 2008 was swapped with second-round picks in 2009 and 2010 to the Indiana Pacers for Shawne Williams.
Jones negotiated a buyout with the Pacers and, after not being able to swing a deal with another team, opted to retire.
In 14 seasons, Jones averaged 14.8 points, four rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.7 steals in 34.4 minutes per game, shooting .437/.373/.809.
He is 28th in NBA history with 1,546 3-pointers, 29th with 1,620 steals and 48th in steals per game.
The San Antonio Spurs selected Arkansas guard Alvin Robertson with the seventh overall pick in the 1984 NBA Draft and after a rookie year adjusting to the NBA, his star rose rapidly.
Robertson was both the Defensive Player of the Year and the Most Improved Player in 1985-86, earning All-NBA honors as well.
He was also a four-time All-Defensive selection with the Spurs, leading the NBA in steals and steals per game in 1985-86 (301, 3.7) and 1986-87 (260, 3.2).
In May 1989, Robertson was traded with Greg Anderson and a second-round pick in 1989 to the Milwaukee Bucks for Terry Cummings and a 1990 second-rounder.
Robertson was a two-time All-Defensive pick with the Bucks, leading the NBA again in steals and steals per game in 1990-91 (246, 3.0).
He was traded to the Detroit Pistons in February 1993 for Orlando Woolridge and finished the season in Motown before being traded to the Denver Nuggets in November 1993 along with a conditional second-round pick in 1995 for Mark Macon and Marcus Liberty.
However, a back injury sidelined Robertson for the entire season and in October 1994, the Nuggets waived the four-time All-Star.
He sat out the 1994-95 season before signing as a free agent with the expansion Toronto Raptors in October 1995.
After one more season, the Raptors released Robertson in July 1996.
He played a season with the Florida Beachdogs of the Continental Basketball Association in 1996-97 before retiring. Since retiring, Robertson has had a string of run-ins with law enforcement.
In 10 seasons, Robertson averaged 14 points, 5.2 rebounds, five assists and 2.7 steals in 31.7 minutes per game, shooting .477/.295/.743.
He is 10th in NBA history with 2,112 steals and his steals per game average is the highest in NBA annals.
Taken with the No. 1 overall pick by the New Jersey Nets in the 1990 NBA Draft out of Syracuse, big man Derrick Coleman always seemed to leave fans wanting more. Yet when looking at his career, he was productive for a long time.
Coleman was the 1990-91 Rookie of the Year and a two-time All-NBA selection during his tenure in New Jersey.
In November 1995, Coleman was dealt with Sean Higgins and Rex Walters to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Shawn Bradley, Greg Graham and Tim Perry.
Limited to 11 games in 1995-96 because of an irregular heartbeat, Coleman battled injuries throughout his stint in Philadelphia.
After the lockout ended in 1999, Coleman signed with the Charlotte Hornets, where he had one solid season and two injury-plagued ones.
In October 2001, Coleman was sent back to the 76ers in a three-team deal in which Charlotte acquired Chris Porter from the Golden State Warriors and George Lynch, Robert Traylor and Jerome Moiso from Philadelphia.
Primarily a reserve in his second stint in Philly, Coleman was traded in August 2004 to his hometown Detroit Pistons along with Amal McCaskill in exchange for Corliss Williamson.
But the homecoming was short-lived; the Pistons waived Coleman in January 2005.
In 15 NBA seasons, Coleman averaged 16.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.3 blocks in 33.2 minutes per game, shooting .447/.295/.769.
A double-double machine in three years at Maryland, Buck Williams was the third overall pick by the New Jersey Nets in the 1981 NBA Draft and didn’t disappoint.
The Rookie of the Year in 1981-82, Williams was named All-NBA in 1982-83 and was an All-Defensive selection in 1987-88. Williams also led the NBA in minutes played (3,182) in 1984-85.
But even with Williams, the Nets mustered just one playoff series win during his tenure and in advance of the draft in June 1989, Williams was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers for Sam Bowie and a 1989 first-round pick.
In his first season with the Blazers, Williams played in as many postseason games (21) than he had in eight years in New Jersey as Portland reached the NBA Finals for just the second time in team history.
Williams was also a three-time All-Defensive pick with the Blazers and led the NBA in field goal accuracy in 1990-91 (60.2 percent) and 1991-92 (60.4 percent).
The Blazers returned to the Finals in 1992, but lost once again, and in July 1996, Williams was released by Portland.
He signed with the New York Knicks three days later and remained in New York for two seasons before retiring after the NBA lockout ended in January 1999.
In 17 seasons, Williams averaged 12.8 points, 10 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 32.5 minutes per game, shooting .549/.167/.664.
He is 19th in NBA history with 1,307 games and 24th with 42,464 minutes played. His 13,017 rebounds place him 16th all-time and his .549 field-goal percentage is 19th. Williams is 50th all-time with an average of 10 rebounds per game.
Dan Roundfield averaged a double-double in all three years he played at Central Michigan, prompting the Cleveland Cavaliers to select him in the second round of the 1975 NBA Draft.
But Roundfield opted to sign with the ABA’s Indiana Pacers after he was taken in the first round of that year’s ABA Draft.
Roundfield’s trip to the NBA didn’t take long — before his second pro season, the Pacers joined the NBA as part of the merger with the ABA and he emerged as a starter for Indiana that season.
In June 1978, Roundfield signed as a veteran free agent with the Atlanta Hawks, with the Pacers acquiring a first-round pick in 1979 as compensation.
It was, by all accounts, a fair trade. Roundfield earned All-NBA honors and finished fifth in the MVP voting in 1979-80. He was also a five-time All-Defensive selection.
In June 1984, the Hawks traded Roundfield to the Detroit Pistons for Antoine Carr, Cliff Levingston and second-round picks in 1986 and 1987.
His lone season in Detroit turned out to be an injury-riddled disappointment and the Pistons dealt Roundfield to the Washington Bullets in June 1985 for Rick Mahorn and Mike Gibson.
After two seasons in Washington, Roundfield was waived in June 1987 and spent a season in Italy before retiring in 1988.
In 12 professional seasons, Roundfield averaged 14.3 points, 9.2 rebounds, two assists and 1.4 blocks in 29.8 minutes per game, shooting .482/.111/.735.
Roundfield drowned in Aruba in August 2012 while saving his wife from the same fate. He was 59 years old.
The Phoenix Suns went for a long, rangy forward in the 1981 NBA Draft when they selected Clemson’s Larry Nance with the 20th overall pick.
After one season as a reserve, Nance joined the starting lineup in his second season and burst onto the scene by winning the slam dunk contest before the 1984 All-Star Game.
But in February 1988, the Suns packaged Nance along with Mike Sanders and a 1988 first-round pick and sent him to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Kevin Johnson, Mark West, Tyrone Corbin, first- and second-round selections in 1988 and a 1989 second-rounder.
Nance helped the Cavaliers contend in the East and was a three-time All-Defensive selection while with Cleveland before retiring in 1994.
In 13 seasons, Nance averaged 17.1 points, eight rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.2 blocks in 33.4 minutes per game, shooting .546/.145/.755.
He is 19th all-time with 2,027 blocked shots and his .546 field-goal percentage ranks 22nd. His blocks per game average is 18th on the NBA’s all-time list.
Even after not playing basketball for a year, the Seattle SuperSonics liked what they saw of Trinity Valley Community College enigma Shawn Kemp to take a flyer with the 17th overall pick in the 1989 NBA Draft.
The key word there was “flyer,” which is what Kemp did during his eight seasons in Seattle, earning three All-NBA nods.
He also helped the Sonics to the 1996 NBA Finals, where they fell to the Chicago Bulls. Kemp, a physical presence as a power forward and center, led the NBA in personal fouls in 1993-94 (312) and 1996-97 (320).
He was part of a three-team swap in September 1997, going to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a deal that netted Seattle Vin Baker from the Milwaukee Bucks.
Kemp again led the NBA in personal fouls while in Cleveland with a whopping 371 in 1999-2000.
Another three-team trade in August 2000 sent Kemp to the Portland Trail Blazers, with the Cavaliers getting Chris Gatling, Clarence Weatherspoon and a first-round pick in 2001 from the Miami Heat and Gary Grant from the Blazers.
Kemp agreed to a buyout with Portland in August 2002 and signed a free-agent deal with the Orlando Magic in September of that year.
Kemp went unsigned as a free agent after the 2002-03 season and despite several reports of comeback attempts, Kemp never again played pro basketball.
In 14 NBA seasons, Kemp averaged 14.6 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.2 blocks and 1.1 steals in 27.9 minutes per game, shooting .488/.277/.741.
After two dazzling seasons at Memphis State, Anfernee Hardaway was selected by the Golden State Warriors with the third overall pick in the 1993 NBA Draft, but was moved in a blockbuster trade on draft night.
The Warriors sent the rights to Hardaway along with first-rounders in 1996, 1998 and 2000 to the Orlando Magic in exchange for the rights to No. 1 overall pick Chris Webber.
Hardaway earned three All-NBA nods and finished third in the MVP voting in 1995-96 while with the Magic.
Teaming with Shaquille O’Neal, Hardaway helped the Magic to the NBA Finals for the first time in 1995, where they were swept by the defending champion Houston Rockets.
But knee problems cropped up for “Penny” in 1997, when he missed 63 games for Orlando and it was an issue that became a recurring theme later in his career.
In August 1999, he was dealt to the Phoenix Suns in a sign-and-trade deal in exchange for Danny Manning, Pat Garrity and first-round picks in 2001 and 2002.
Injuries to his knee plagued him in Phoenix, where he managed to play just one full season, and in January 2004, Hardaway was traded with Stephon Marbury and Cezary Trybanski to the New York Knicks for Antonio McDyess, Charlie Ward, Howard Eisley, Maciej Lampe, Milos Vujanic and first-round picks in 2004 and 2010.
Hardaway struggled to stay healthy in New York and in February 2006 was traded with Trevor Ariza back to the Magic for Steve Francis. Orlando waived Hardaway two days after the trade and he sat out the 2006-07 season in retirement.
A brief comeback with the Miami Heat in 2007 ended when he was waived in December.
In 14 seasons, Hardaway averaged 15.2 points, five assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 33.7 minutes per game, shooting .458/.316/.774.
After starring at Georgia Tech but thought too small and too slow to play at the NBA level, the Cleveland Cavaliers rolled the dice with a second-round pick, selecting Mark Price in the 1986 NBA Draft.
Price spent a year as a backup before taking over the starting point guard duties in 1987-88 and becoming one of the top playmakers and shooters in the league.
Price was a four-time All-NBA selection for the Cavaliers and led the NBA in free-throw shooting in 1991-92 (.947) and 1992-93 (.948).
Price was traded in September 1995 to the Washington Bullets for a first-round pick in 1996, but was limited to seven games because of injuries.
He signed as a free agent by the Golden State Warriors in July 1996 and played a season there, leading the NBA in free-throw shooting for a third time with a .906 mark.
In October 1997, Price was traded to the Orlando Magic for Brian Shaw and David Vaughn and after one year with the Magic, was waived in June 1998 and opted to retire.
In 12 seasons, Price averaged 15.2 points, 6.7 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 29.9 minutes per game, shooting .472/.402/.904.
He is 37th in NBA history with a .402 mark from 3-point range and his .904 free-throw percentage is third-best in the NBA books. His assists per game average ranks 30th.
Marques Johnson was the last great star recruited by legendary coach John Wooden at UCLA and was the third overall pick by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1977 NBA Draft.
Johnson was a three-time All-NBA pick with the Bucks.
In September 1984, Milwaukee dealt Johnson to the Los Angeles Clippers with Junior Bridgeman, Harvey Catchings and cash for Terry Cummings, Ricky Pierce and Craig Hodges.
Back home in L.A., Johnson bounced back well before a neck injury brought his career to a halt in 1987, with the Clippers voiding his contract and claiming he was permanently disabled.
After sitting out two seasons, Johnson attempted a comeback with the Golden State Warriors, signing a free agent deal in October 1989. But after 10 games, Johnson was waived by the Warriors in November of that year.
In 11 NBA seasons, Johnson averaged 20.1 points, seven rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.3 steals in 34.3 minutes per game, shooting .518/.152/.739.
The Golden State Warriors selected Tim Hardaway out of UTEP with the 14th overall pick in the 1989 NBA Draft and he almost immediately became one of the NBA’s most dynamic scorers and playmakers.
Hardaway earned two All-NBA nods with the Warriors, despite missing the entire 1993-94 season because of a knee injury.
In February 1996, the Warriors sent Hardaway and Chris Gatling to the Miami Heat for Bimbo Coles and Kevin Willis in a trade they would almost immediately regret.
Hardaway was a three-time All-NBA selection in Miami and finished fourth in the MVP voting in 1996-97.
But in August 2001, Hardaway was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for a second-round pick in 2004 and a trade exception.
He didn’t last a full season in Dallas, as he was dealt in February 2002 along with Juwan Howard, Donnell Harvey, cash and a first-round pick in 2002 to the Denver Nuggets for Raef LaFrentz, Nick Van Exel, Tariq Abdul-Wahad and Avery Johnson.
Denver waived Hardaway in June 2002 and he appeared to be done until he signed with the Indiana Pacers in March 2003, finishing out the season before retiring.
In 13 seasons, Hardaway averaged 17.7 points, 8.2 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 35.3 minutes per game, shooting .431/.355/.782.
Hardaway is 29th in NBA history with 1,542 3-pointers and 19th with 4,345 attempts from long range. His 7,095 assists are 16th-most in NBA history, while his assists per game average ranks 13th.
Chauncey Billups has been bypassed in his first two years of eligibility, leaving him the only eligible winner of the Finals MVP award not enshrined.
Billups won the Finals MVP in 2004 when he led the Detroit Pistons to an unexpected NBA title against the Los Angeles Lakers and went on to earn three All-NBA and two All-Defensive nods while with the Pistons.
No one expected Billups, who had already played for four teams and been a member of a fifth, to blow up into a star when he signed with Detroit as an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2002.
But he became a steady floor leader for the Pistons after bouncing from the Boston Celtics to the Toronto Raptors to the Denver Nuggets to the Orlando Magic — with whom he never suited up because of a shoulder injury — to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
After six straight Eastern Conference Finals appearances, Billups was traded back to Denver early in the 2008-09 season for Allen iverson before being part of the deal that sent Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks in February 2011.
He finished his career with two injury-riddled seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers and one season back with the Pistons before retiring in 2014.
For his career he averaged 16.2 points, 5.4 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.0 steals in 31.6 minutes per game over 1,043 NBA games, shooting 41.5 percent overall and 38.7 percent on 4.5 3-point attempts per game.
Billups finished fifth in the MVP voting in 2005-06 and is 14th all-time with 1,830 3-pointers and 44th with 5,636 assists. His 89.4 percent mark from the foul line is sixth-best in NBA history, as well.
Ben Wallace wasn’t even really a prospect in 1996 out of Division II Virginia Union, catching on with the Washington Bullets as an undrafted free agent and appearing in just 34 games for 197 minutes as a rookie.
(Narrator: Wallace would improve.)
He got his first real opportunity as a starter in 1999-2000 with the Orlando Magic and then went to the Detroit Pistons as part of the sign-and-trade that sent superstar Grant Hill to the Magic Kingdom.
It was the perfect marriage between a blue-collar city and a lunch-pail toting sort of player.
Wallace led the NBA in rebounding twice with Detroit and also led the league in blocks in 2001-02, part of a run during which he was named Defensive Player of the Year four times in a five-season span. Wallace was also All-NBA and All-Defensive five straight seasons.
He left the Pistons with a championship ring and signed with the Chicago Bulls in 2006, earning a final All-Defensive spot in 2006-07.
Wallace wound up back in Detroit for his final three seasons before retiring in 2012.
In 16 years in the NB, Wallace averaged just 5.7 points to go with 9.6 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 2.0 blocks in 29.5 minutes per game over 1,088 games, shooting 47.4 percent overall.
But offense was not Wallace’s game. He earned his bones on the glass and as a rim protector.
His 2,137 blocked shots rank 13th all-time, while he is 33rd with 10,482 rebounds. His blocks per game average is 24th-best in NBA history.
The Cleveland Cavaliers already had a point guard in Mark Price when they selected California’s Kevin Johnson with the seventh overall pick in the 1987 NBA Draft.
And Johnson didn’t stay in Cleveland long. In February 1988, the rookie was traded along with Tyrone Corbin, Mark West, first- and second-round picks in 1988 and a 1989 second-rounder to the Phoenix Suns for Larry Nance, Mike Sanders and a first-rounder in 1988.
Johnson took over as the starter in Phoenix almost immediately and then burst onto the scene the following year, earning Most Improved Player and All-NBA honors.
With the Suns, Johnson was a five-time All-NBA pick and helped Phoenix to the 1993 NBA Finals, where they fell to the Chicago Bulls.
But injuries plagued K.J. in the second half of his career and he announced his retirement in October 1999.
But in March 2000, Johnson made a brief comeback with the Suns, appearing in six games in the regular season and nine postseason contests before retiring for good in August 2000.
In 12 seasons, Johnson averaged 17.9 points, 9.1 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 34.1 minutes per game, shooting .493/.305/.841.
Johnson ranks seventh all-time in assists per game and is 24th on the NBA’s all-time assists list with 6,711.
His career at Michigan ended on a sour note, but it didn’t stop the Orlando Magic from taking big man Chris Webber with the first overall pick in the 1993 NBA Draft.
But they didn’t keep him long. Later on draft night, the Magic sent Webber’s rights to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for the rights to No. 3 overall selection Anfernee Hardaway as well as first-round picks in 1996, 1998 and 2000.
When Webber was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in 1993-94, it seemed like a great deal for the Warriors.
But friction between Webber and coach Don Nelson over his role on the team prompted Webber to exercise an early termination option in his contract and Golden State could manage only to work out a sign-and-trade deal with the Washington Bullets, sending Webber east in exchange for Tom Gugliotta and first-round picks in 1996, 1998 and 2000.
Webber was hampered by the first of many knee injuries with in Washington.
In May 1998, the Wizards, who changed their name the previous season, traded Webber to the Sacramento Kings for Mitch Richmond and Otis Thorpe.
Webber’s arrival coincided with the rise of the Kings to relevance.
Webber was a five-time All-NBA selection in Sacramento, leading the league with 13.0 rebounds per game in 1998-99. He was also fourth in the MVP voting in 2000-01.
More knee troubles hampered him with the Kings, who traded him in February 2005 along with Matt Barnes and Michael Bradley to the Philadelphia 76ers for Corliss Williamson, Kenny Thomas and Brian Skinner.
In January 2007, the 76ers waived Webber, who signed with the Detroit Pistons for the remainder of the season.
After sitting out the first part of the season, Webber returned to the Warriors for one last shot at a comeback in January 2008, but retired in March after playing in just nine games.
In 15 NBA seasons, Webber averaged 20.7 points, 9.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks in 37.1 minutes per game, shooting .479/.299/.649.
His average of 37.1 minutes per game is 25th-most in NBA history and his average of 20.7 points per game ranks 49th.