50 Greatest NBA/ABA Players Not In the Hall Of Fame
By Phil Watson
(Photo by Bob Leverone/Sporting News via Getty Images via Getty Images)
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.