New York, N.Y.: Nate Thurmond, of the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team, is shown on the court in uniform during a game.
10) World B. Free
Free never saw a shot he didn’t want to take! Free, in his prime, had a jaw-dropping athletic ability, including a 44-inch vertical leap. He had a beautiful high-arching shot and was on when he was on!
The 6’7” wing made a mark in the NBA as one of the first pioneers of the versatile point forward position. He was so good at it that he played in 5 NBA All-Star games. Johnson played on a very talented Bucks team, but they never were quite good enough to get past the Celtics or the 76ers.
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8) Larry Nance
Nance averaged 16 points, eight rebounds, and 2.2 blocks in eleven seasons as starting power forward for his team. He was also selected as an All-Star thrice, NBA All-Defensive First Team once, and All-NBA Defensive Second twice. Nance was one of the greatest dunkers the game has ever seen.
7) Nate Thurmond
Thurmond got overshadowed by Chamberlin and Russell, but he was one of the greatest rebounders in NBA history. He was the first player in NBA history to register a quadruple double. Thurmond was named an NBA all-star on seven occasions.
6) Ben Wallace
Ben Wallace won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award FOUR times, was chosen NBA All-Defensive First Team five times, and was selected as an All-Star four times. His career-defining moment was leading the Pistons to the 2004 NBA Title over Shaq, and Kobe. Wallace made the Pistons contenders in an era of dominant big men and Wallace was the main reason for that.
5) Alex English
English led the Nuggets to nine consecutive playoff appearances, including the Western Conference Finals in 1985. His nickname was the “Blade” and he sliced and diced his way through NBA defenses for over a decade. For more
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Known as the “Boston Strangler” because of his ability to light up the Boston Celtics. His most memorable game would have been when he scored 34 points in game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals at Boston Garden. Injuries hampered and eventually ended his career.
3) Dennis Johnson
Johnson was not just a guy who played on Larry Bird’s team. Johson was an established star before he got to Boston. He was a catalyst for back-to-back NBA Finals trips for the Seattle Supersonics and led them to victory in the 1979 series against the Washington Bullets. He made an immediate impact upon arrival in Boston and won two more titles while wearing green. He was a clutch player and maybe his most memorable shot was in game 4 of the 1985 finals with the Celtics down 2 games to 1 Johnson hit a buzzer-beater to win the game and even the series.
2) Bernard King
Injuries slowed and eventually ended his career but when he was healthy he was one of the greatest scorers in NBA history. King was virtually unstoppable at the zenith of his career.
1) Bob Lanier
Throughout his 14 seasons in the NBA, Lanier averaged 20.1 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.1 steals while shooting 51.4 percent from the field and was named NBA All-Star eight times. Both the Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks. He was a dominant big man but never getting to the NBA Finals hurt his legacy and it really shouldn’t. His teams in Milwaukee were extremely good but the Celtics and 76ers were just better.
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