50 Greatest NBA/ABA Players Not In the Hall Of Fame
By Phil Watson
Copyright 2006 NBAE (Photo by Allen Einstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
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.