The 75 greatest NBA players of the 2000s, ranked

45) Michael Redd

Years before the Giannis Antetokounmpo era with the Milwaukee Bucks, there was Michael Redd. Redd was an unlikely star after being taken 43rd overall in the 2000 NBA Draft but he emerged as one of the better offensive players of his era.

He spent the first 11 seasons of his career with the Bucks, as well as all nine seasons during the decade with Milwaukee. It took some time for him to breakout, however, with Redd playing just six games during his rookie season but he steadily improved.

In 2003–04, Redd's scoring average jumped 6.5 points, up to 21.7 points per game, resulting in him making his first and only all-star and all-NBA team. Interestingly enough, he was actually better over his next five seasons, though he missed 49 games in 2008–09. That foreshadowed the injury issues that he would have in the 2010s, which resulted in his career ending early.

Injuries aside, he still played 550 games in nine seasons during the 2000s, which is durable enough to qualify for this list. That is not to mention his average of 20.5 points, making him one of a handful of players to average as much over that many games in the decade.