Old-school NBA fans might remember McDaniels signature move on opponents who tried him his gigantic hands around their throats. Jordan scored 38 points despite playing with a fever and recovering from a stomach virus. Cowens was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991. He quickly earned a reputation for being the "protector" of young Bulls star Michael Jordan and was a ferocious rebounder and defender. Can you keep it together when there are tens of thousands of people who want you to fail? He also was unselfish as a mentor and widely credited as having been the man who taught Dennis Rodman the ins and outs of the NBA game and helped make him good enough that the Pistons left Mahorn unprotected in the 1989 expansion draft. Post-career, Johnson has been an even bigger success. A lot of that comes from his upbringing. Teams: Cincinnati Royals (1969-71), Chicago Bulls (1971-78), Milwaukee Bucks (1978-79), Key stats: 746 G, 11.8 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 7.0 APG, 41.4 FG%. Bottom line: Bill Russell was the centerpiece of the greatest dynasty in NBA history, winning 11 NBA championships in his 13 seasons. Boston Celtics (2015-17), Cleveland Cavaliers (2017-18), Los Angeles Lakers (2018), Denver Nuggets (2018-19), Washington Wizards (2019-present), Key stats: 525 G, 18.1 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 5.0 APG, 43.6 FG%. KOT4Q and Korzemba please try this trivia and let's see if you two are truthfully the GOAT's of NBA trivia The Charlotte Hornets are 20-43 this season, placing them in the second-last position in the Eastern Conference. Cooper almost always drew the other teams toughest defensive assignment, and Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird called him the "toughest defensive player who ever guarded me." !Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thatsportsguy5/TikTok: https:/. Just like Dr. J, George Gervin both started his career in the ABA and boasted one of the best nicknames in sports history. Teams: Chicago Bulls (2009-11), Toronto Raptors (2011-12, 2014-16), Sacramento Kings (2012-13), Memphis Grizzlies (2013-14), Miami Heat (2016-20), Minnesota Timberwolves (2020-present), Key stats: 634 G, 8.0 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 2.1 APG, 47.7 FG%. Wilkins was a 6-foot-8 dunking machine and one of the most unfairly athletic wing players to ever step on an NBA court. Mason suffered a massive heart attack and died in 2015 at age 48. Find the Countries of Europe - No Outlines Minefield. Steph Curry Reggie Miller Ray Allen Larry Bird What is a territorial draft pick? He averaged 7.4 rebounds per game over 11 NBA seasons, and hes only 6-foot-5. Bottom line: Possibly the greatest enforcer in NBA history, Charles Oakley was a first-round pick of the Chicago Bulls in 1985 out of NCAA Division II Virginia Union. Roundfield toiled in relative anonymity for his entire career but still managed to make the All-NBA Defensive Team five times and made three consecutive All-Star teams, almost stealing MVP honors in 1980 with 18 points and 13 rebounds. While there were a lot tough players in my era that I hated to cover, for this list I'm going to stick with the positions I know best: power forward and center. Test your NBA player knowledge in this challenging trivia! Bottom line: Bob Pettit was one of the most prolific scorers and rebounders in NBA history, and if you did a double take at his career rebounding average, thats understandable. The 6-foot-4, 205 pound Robertson was simply too strong and athletic for any other guards of his era to handle, which is a big part of the reason he finished his career in 11th place on the NBA scoring list with 26,710 points. His size, 6-foot-7 and 250 pounds, was more NFL defensive end than power forward but also may have been the cause of back problems that ended his career. James Worthy with Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the 1980s. The NBA is gaining more backlash as star players continue to sit out games, and basketball legend Magic Johnson agrees with the . Toughness ran in Stocktons family. Despite never shooting even 50% from the floor in his career, he was able to use his physical talents to pour in just under 27,000 points in his career. Hes already a five-time All-NBA Defensive Team selection (in just eight seasons), NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2017 and has won three NBA titles. Bottom line: At one point in NBA history, no player was tougher or more intimidating than Larry Johnson, the No. What you see every night is a group of big, freakishly athletic men running up and down the court scoring in ways James Naismith never would have dreamed possible. Johnsons nickname "Gladiator" is one of the most appropriate in league history. But Jokic is immune, why? Van Lier died unexpectedly in 2009 at 61 years old, the same day as former Bulls coach Johnny "Red" Kerr. Starks bounced between three different junior colleges in Oklahoma before landing in the checkout lane at a supermarket, bagging groceries. Kelly Oubre Jr. for instance, fits both criteria exactly . Magic Johnson, quite simply, may have been the single most versatile player in NBA history. Eric Gordon 4. Top 20 Hardest Players to Guard in NBA History, 10 Feel-Good WCW Stories That Made Fans Emotional, 5 Best WWE Tag Team Champions Of The Golden Era (& 5 Worst). The game of basketball had meager beginnings, with a bunch of athletically awkward guys trying to toss a ball into a peach basket. Unseld, known for bone-rattling picks, played for a decade before helping lead the Bullets to the NBA title in 1978, when he was named Finals MVP. Bottom line: There wasnt a better role player to put on your roster in the 1970s than Paul Silas, who won two titles with the Celtics and one with the SuperSonics over the last six years of the decade. Key stats: 650 G, 18.7 PPG, 12.9 RPG, 1.8 APG, 47.6 FG%. He continued to play, leading his team to the 2017 Eastern Conference finals before being sidelined with a debilitating hip injury. Besides Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game, who has the highest-scoring game in NBA history? At only 6-6, Hayes is listed as a center on the Sacramento Kings roster, which means on a nightly basis he's going against players five . "Just like that. Being tough is more than just being physical. To put it in perspective, Foust scored the winning basket for the Fort Wayne Pistons in the lowest-scoring NBA game of all-time, a 19-18 win over the Minneapolis Lakers, a year in which he averaged 13.5 points. Skiles also, famously, took a swing at Shaquille O'Neal in the locker room. So whether it's now or in . Bottom line: Kendrick Perkins was basketballs version of a hockey enforcer on some truly great teams the Celtics in the late 2000s that included an NBA title in 2008 and several almost-great Oklahoma City Thunder teams with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden in the early 2010s. This was designed for true NBA fans who feel they can guess a team logo with their eyes closed. Key stats: 525 G, 9.8 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 1.2 APG, 58.9 FG%. The Penguins acquired a third-rounder in the Blueger deal and upped their available salary cap space to $6.3 million. NBA Trivia Ep.1 32,756 views Apr 23, 2018 374 Dislike Share Hoops Culture 20.5K subscribers 10 active NBA players in 2018. Lets quickly point out that what gets lost in all of this debate is how talented he was a four-time All-Star who averaged almost 10 rebounds per game for his career and led the NBA in rebounding in 1986. Here are the toughest, and easiest, places to play in this year's NBA Playoffs. Bottom line: Whats amazing about Rick Mahorns career is that, on paper, it appears to have been pretty average. 06/07/2020, 4:08 pm updated 11/10/2022, 3:28 pm. He was drafted in the 1998 draft by the Nuggets and was traded on draft night to the Lakers. How did he do it? Sloans toughness came from his hardscrabble background. Bottom line: Nate Thurmond was as ferocious of a rebounder as anyone in NBA history, and just as good at blocking shots and defense. Who Is The HARDEST NBA Player To Guard? Mournings play was the bottom line when it came to his toughness, but he also had a world-class scowl that went with it, and his glare became synonymous with the rough-and-tumble play of the 1990s. Bottom line: Kevin McHale gave opponents nightmares because of his arsenal of low-post offensive moves, which he called "the torture chamber," and for being a rugged, punishing defender. Each. Widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players and scorers of all time, Bryant won five NBA championships, was an 18-time All . More importantly, with the Blazers, he acted as the "touch him Ill touch you" guy for star Bill Walton, a fellow vegetarian. Teams: Minnesota Timberwolves (1995-2007, 2015-16), Boston Celtics (2007-13), Brooklyn Nets (2013-15), Key stats: 1,462 G, 17.8 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 3.7 APG, 49.7 FG%. Robert Horry Randy Smith A.C. Green John Salley A. C. Green played in more consecutive games (1192) than any other player in NBA history. Lanier, at 6-foot-11, was one of the best all-around big men in NBA history and averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds for his career. Just remember when we say the Hardest NBA Logo quiz, we really mean it. Johnson, a two-time All-Star, signed the richest contract in NBA history in 1993 when the Hornets got him for 12 years and $84 million. They are both behind Emmitt Smith, who rushed for a record 18,355 total yards during his career. Williams spent his first eight seasons with the Nets but became a household name during his seven seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers. Thats when America got to know his trademark goggles (and beard) on the way to NBA Finals losses to the Bulls and Pistons. We have truly enjoyed crafting this quiz for you lucky quizmasters. Thankfully, we know what Billups was capable of when a team was truly put in his hands thanks to his stint with the Detroit Pistons, when he led the team to the 2004 NBA title and was named Finals Most Valuable Player in a sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers one of the greatest upsets of all time. DPM favors Curry over both Luka and Dame by a large margin. Jim Tucker. There is a blurred image of the player to start you off. Are you a real NBA fan? That Silas did it with aplomb and earned a reputation for never losing his cool speaks to more than just being tough. Weddle - NFL Wordle - Guess the NFL player in as few tries as possible. His heroic, limping walk out of the tunnel for warm-ups, followed by scoring the first two baskets of the game (his only points) sparked the Knicks to the win and NBA title. Of course the guy hes been competing with most doesnt even play anymore, because his name is Michael Jordan. Because 16.2 rebounds per game is just insane. Nique averaged better than 30 points-per-game twice, and the thing about Wilkins was that he didnt just dunk on you, he threw it down harder than just about any other player in league history. World Cup 2022 Quiz. It's the decisions that can make a contender a winner or leave a long-suffering franchise stuck in a first-round abyss. That was just the break he needed. Russells mental toughness was on another level. You dont find many players who didnt average double figures in scoring or rebounding for their career that can say they were a two-time All-Star and five-time pick for the All-NBA Defensive Team. Hes also on track to break the NBA career minutes played record in that same span. He also was routinely voted among the NBAs dirtiest players during his career. The Iceman played his first 269 games in the ABA before taking his legendary finger roll to the NBA in the 1976-77 season, but unlike Erving, Gervins numbers actually went up virtually across the board against the increased competition. "That's your goodbye right there," DeMelo says. He was at his best on the Nuggets when he partnered with a young Carmelo Anthony, whom he also played with on the Knicks. Cooper made the All-NBA Defensive Team eight times and was the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 1987. Cooper won five NBA titles with the Lakers and was just as good as a coach, winning back-to-back WNBA titles with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2001 and 2002. Starks worked his way up from 10-day contracts with the Warriors to the CBA to finally landing a shot with the Knicks in 1990, where he spent almost a decade as a key foil to Michael Jordan and the Bulls. Later in his career, Payton managed to shake off his reputation for being brash and became a steady presence in the locker room. Bottom line: Say what you will about Draymond Green, if his career ended tomorrow, you would have to put him in the discussion as the best defensive player of his era. At age 32, he's the oldest player in NBA history with a 70-point game, and the only player age 30 or older to accomplish the feat, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. Wilkins was a 6-foot-8 dunking machine and one of the most unfairly athletic wing players to ever step on an NBA court. "You exemplify the very best that the human spirit has to offer," Cosell told Reed. Mahorns toughness seemed to flow directly from his inability to jump very well and what he had to do to make up for that. Bottom line: Alonzo Mourning crafted a career as one of the greatest defensive players in basketball history, putting the world on notice by leading the nation in blocked shots as a freshman at Georgetown University. But as his skills declined, he extended his career by turning into a tough-minded enforcer for the teams he played on. Newspaper headline writers in the 1990s. He played for the Charlotte Hornets, Washington Bullets, Golden State Warriors, and Toronto Raptors. Hes also the only undrafted player in NBA history to be voted a starter for the All-Star game. Teams: Seattle SuperSonics (1979-81), Detroit Pistons (1981-91), San Antonio Spurs (1991-92), Key stats: 984 G, 12.0 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 3.3 APG, 46.4 FG%. Teams: Detroit Pistons (1962-1968), New York Knicks (1968-1974), Key stats: 875 G, 16.1 PPG, 11.0 RPG, 2.9 APG, 43.2 FG%. Johnson won three NBA titles in his career, which is almost entirely associated with his time with the Boston Celtics, but that was his third team after he was run off in Seattle and Phoenix because of clashes with coaches. Bottom line: Kevin Garnett is the highest-paid player in NBA history, with $326 million in career earnings. 1. Teams: New York Knicks (1987-92, 2001-02), Los Angeles Clippers (1992-94), Indiana Pacers (1994-96, 1997-2000), Denver Nuggets (1996-97), Toronto Raptors (2000-01), Utah Jazz (2002-03), Houston Rockets (2003-04), Key stats: 1,296 G, 9.6 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 8.0 APG, 44.7 FG%. The nine-time All-Star and 1996 NBA Defensive Player of the Year credited learning the game on the streets of Oakland for creating his toughness. Perkins wasnt just hired muscle, though. Johnson went to work as a forklift driver after he graduated, while he grew to 6-foot-3 over the next year, and was spotted during a pickup game by a junior college coach because of the intense way he played defense. The iconic image of teammate Scottie Pippen helping him off the floor is burned into the memories of basketball fans the world over. His father died when he was 4 years old, and he was the youngest of 10 children raised by a single mother in rural Illinois. Mourning, who was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014, averaged 2.8 blocks per game over a 16-year career and was a two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Boasting great size at 6-foot-8 and about 250 pounds, hes strong enough to finish through contact, he has a strong midrange game, and his three point shooting has been improving year after year. NBA players Boris Diaw, Nicolas Batum, and Dominique Wilkins were all born in which country? 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