Watching Penny Hardaway begs the question

[Capt. Tuttle]

What basketball player’s career was most derailed by injury ( not drug use or criminal activities).
Penny has to be up there
Our own Billy Owens
Shaun Livingston comes to mind
Jay Williams and Bobby Hurley

 

[Vshukla]

Greg Oden was the first name I thought of. Followed by Bill Walton.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Brandon Roy, Bill Walton, Greg Oden, Grant Hill, even Tracy McGrady to an extent.

Honestly toss Demarcus Cousins on too as a recent name. Victor Oladipo as well it appears.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

I had forgotten about Roy. He was so good in college.
Her is B/R’s list. The 5 Best NBA Careers Ruined by Injuries

I will add Sam Bowie, Sabonis the elder, and Drazen Petrovic to the mix

 

[Bulldog04]

God Brandon Roy was good. Like insanely good. Spot on NineOneSeven

 

[the villager]

Jonny Flynn.

 

[ForeverOrange]

Antonio McDyess

 

[Shawn91111]

Grant Hill

 

[jncuse]

I'll add Yao Ming.
His career basically ended at the age of 28 (7 years)

 

[SBU72]

Excuse my bias but Bob Lanier's pro career probably would have been very different if he didn't get a bad knee injury his last college game.

 

[690West]

I have heard from some people that Bill Walton could’ve been one of the greatest all time if healthy. I have no idea if this is hyperbole and of course we have no way of knowing. But I’ve heard people rave about his game and the potential that was stolen

 

[OrangeDW]

Add Larry Johnson to the list. He was so explosive pre-back injury.

 

[OrangeDW]

Certainly Derrick Coleman, too.

The heartbeat issue was obviously major for him, but he had a lot of other injuries that limited him. Still remained an effective player even when he was old, but those first 5 years or so he was a franchise player type of guy.

 

[EnviroSciGuy]

The universe disrupted Bill Walton's playing career so that he could achieve a higher state of consciousness, call games, and solve mysteries on the side.

 

[br801]

Maurice Stokes

 

[OrangeDW]

What basketball player’s career was most derailed by injury ( not drug use or criminal activities).
Penny has to be up there
Our own Billy Owens
Shaun Livingston comes to mind
Jay Williams and Bobby Hurley

Speaking of Livingston - Randy Livingston deserves a mention too. The guy still kicked around in the NBA for years even with shot knees, but he was right there with guys like Kidd, going into college.

 

[chugg21]

Amount of Portland bad luck mentioned is pretty insane.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

I have heard from some people that Bill Walton could’ve been one of the greatest all time if healthy. I have no idea if this is hyperbole and of course we have no way of knowing. But I’ve heard people rave about his game and the potential that was stolen

He was so, so good. Also, a very cerebral player. If you can, find his game against Memphis State. By memory he went 21/22 from the field, and they had a very big front line. The 52: Bill Walton scorches Memphis State in record-setting title game

 

[CuseFaninVT]

I have heard from some people that Bill Walton could’ve been one of the greatest all time if healthy. I have no idea if this is hyperbole and of course we have no way of knowing. But I’ve heard people rave about his game and the potential that was stolen

Just read the book, Wish it Lasted Forever, and it talks about what could have been with Walton.

 

[Newhouser]

Pre injury Walton was undescribable. So good without requiring shots.
Biggest self inflicted career shortened player... David Thompson.

 

[KevMonstah]

Obviously, there's only one conclusion from this thread and that article:

Hope you don't get drafted by the Trailblazers. Roy, Bowie, Walton, Ogden? Dayum.

Kev

 

[miamicuse]

The string of potato knee centers here.

 

[GreekFreak]

Sam Bowie. College phenom. Drafted ahead of MJ.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Pre injury Walton was undescribable. So good without requiring shots.
Biggest self inflicted career shortened player... David Thompson.

Well, by that standard, Len Bias

 

[richard levy]

Certainly Derrick Coleman, too.

The heartbeat issue was obviously major for him, but he had a lot of other injuries that limited him. Still remained an effective player even when he was old, but those first 5 years or so he was a franchise player type of guy.

In 1994, NYT, Charles Barkley was quoted as saying he thought “Coleman could have been the best player on the planet”