The 75 greatest NBA players of the 2000s, ranked
By Cal Durrett
63) Marcus Camby
Long-time NBA center Marcus Camby bounced around, playing for six teams in his 18-year career, including the New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets, and LA Clippers during the 2000s.During his first season with the Knicks, he contributed to their unlikely run to the NBA Finals as an eighth seed. Unfortunately for them, they ran into a young Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs, who beat Camby and the Knicks in five games.
In the following years, he established himself as an above-average starting center, particularly after joining the Nuggets, but struggled to stay healthy. Over the first four years of the decade, he missed 23, 19, 53, and 53 games, respectively.
Nevertheless, his rim protection and rebounding proved to be key to the Nuggets during the Carmelo Anthony era. From 2004-05 to 2007-08, Camby was second-team All-Defense twice, first-team All-Defense twice, and Defensive Player of the Year.
His defense came in handy in the playoffs. His length proved to be a challenge for Duncan when the Nuggets went up against the Spurs in the first rounds of the 2005 and 2007 seasons, with Denver getting out to early series leads on the eventual champion of those seasons. In total, Camby averaged 10.8 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.7 blocks in 585 games, making him one of the most productive big men of the 2000s, never to make an all-star team.