You know who else thought McDaniel was tough? And players today are pussies and entitled way to much. 12 Larry Bird, F - 6-9, 220 pounds / 21,791 points. In an alternate universe, Van Lier wouldve been able to pursue his first love of playing quarterback for a big-time college football program, but all of the schools that recruited him wanted him to play defensive back, a throwback to a racist, ignorant era. Magic averaged just 19.5 points-per-game for his career, but added an astonishing 11.2 assists and 7.2 rebounds. Being tough is more than just being physical. If Iverson had been 6-foot-5, we may have been talking about him as arguably the toughest scorer the game has ever seen. 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. Bottom line: At 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds, Joe Dumars was built more like the NFL safeties of his era than a shooting guard. 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. He also was routinely voted among the NBAs dirtiest players during his career. It's the decisions that can make a contender a winner or leave a long-suffering franchise stuck in a first-round abyss. He averaged 7.4 rebounds per game over 11 NBA seasons, and hes only 6-foot-5. Test your NBA player knowledge in this challenging trivia! 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%. Teams: Minnesota Timberwolves (2008-14), Cleveland Cavaliers (2014-present), Key stats: 713 G, 18.2 PPG, 11.1 RPG, 2.4 APG, 44.2 FG%. 16 retired by both of the teams he played for the Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks. Kobe Bryant is one of the most competitive, hardest working players in NBA 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%. Cowens was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991. How Haslem ended up with the Heat in the first place speaks to his toughness. Hes also the author of one of the single greatest moments in NBA history which revolved around his toughness. In his first 13 seasons, he missed just four games and only missed 22 in his career, with 17 of those coming at the start of the 1997-98 season as he recovered from an injured MCL. NBA starting lineups will be posted here as they're made available each day, including updates, late scratches and breaking news. Simply enter the name of the player, and the app will reveal their team, conference, division, position, height, age, and jersey number. Jim Tucker. He quickly earned a reputation for being the "protector" of young Bulls star Michael Jordan and was a ferocious rebounder and defender. Bottom line: At one point in NBA history, no player was tougher or more intimidating than Larry Johnson, the No. By the way, Lakers fan by any chance? Gervin also took part in one of the most hotly contested scoring titles in NBA history during the 1977-78 season, as David Thompson poured in 73 points in the final game of the season to take the lead. And he only played one season, his rookie year, with the Baltimore Bullets. If you want a firsthand look at what that meant, feel free to cue up his 2015 documentary, "Muse," which chronicles his comeback from tearing his Achilles tendon. His Pistons' teams of the late 1980s were made up of some of the toughest players in NBA history, and Mahorn was the undisputed "baddest" of the "Bad Boys.". Chuck Hayes is the quintessential lunch-pail NBA player. Unseld was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1988. Teams: Seattle SuperSonics (1976-80), Phoenix Suns (198-83), Boston Celtics (1983-90), Key stats: 1,100 G, 14.1 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 5.0 APG, 44.5 FG%. Key stats: 650 G, 18.7 PPG, 12.9 RPG, 1.8 APG, 47.6 FG%. The NBA is gaining more backlash as star players continue to sit out games, and basketball legend Magic Johnson agrees with the . 1. Teams: St. Louis/Atlanta Hawks (1964-69), Phoenix Suns (1969-72), Boston Celtics (1972-76), Denver Nuggets (1976-77), Seattle Supersonics (1977-80), Key stats: 1,254 G, 9.4 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 2.1 APG, 43.2 FG%. 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. Teams: Denver Nuggets (1974-78), Philadelphia 76ers (1978-86), Key stats: 941 G, 12.1 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 2.7 APG, 56.0 FG%. 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. Consider also that James has played in three Summer Olympics, two FIBA World Championships and, in 17 years of professional basketball, has never had a major injury. 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%. Bottom line: Sidney Moncrief was the first NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 1986, then won it again in 1987. Mason was known for the wild designs he would have shaved into his head, sure, but he was more known for a bruising, physical style of play that used every square inch of his 6-foot-7, 250-pound frame. Here's how it works: You have eight guesses to nail a current NBA player based on their silhouette.You're given their team, conference, division, position, height, age and jersey number. Who was the first ever NBA player to score 2,000 points in a single season? "That's your goodbye right there," DeMelo says. In no small way, he carried the defensive load for some of the greatest teams of all time, and thats not an offhand remark. What makes these numbers even more amazing is that he underwent an astonishing eight knee surgeries over his career and was known to choke back several cigarettes in the locker room at halftime. Horace Grant and Dennis Rodman with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen on the Bulls in the 1990s. "I enjoy . If you want another example of Robertsons toughness, please remember he took a full-on punch from Shaquille ONeal during a game and lived to tell about it. Toughness ran in Stocktons family. 4. The Dream scored 26,946 points in his 18 seasons, shooting 51.2% for his career as well as 71.2% from the free throw line, a very respectable number for a center whose first athletic love was soccer. Laimbeer also was durable. Bottom line: Willis Reed isnt just one of the toughest players in NBA history. Originally Answered: Was Michael Jordan the hardest working NBA player in the NBA's history? Before turning his focus to basketball, the two-time Most Valuable Player grew up in Canada playing hockey, and his family lived in the same neighborhood as future NHL stars Russ and Geoff Courtnall. Teams: Washington Bullets/Wizards (1996-99), Orlando Magic (1999-2000), Detroit Pistons (2000-06, 2009-12), Chicago Bulls (2006-08), Cleveland Cavaliers (2008-09), Key stats: 1,088 G, 5.7 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 1.3 APG, 47.4 FG%. Four times during his career, the Answer averaged more than 30 points-per-game, all despite being beaten and rarely getting the benefit of calls from officials who didnt treat him much like a star due to his attitude. He had his number retired by two of the three places he played in his college and pro career, the University of Evansville and Chicago Bulls. Bottom line: NBA fans who got to know Dennis Rodman in the 1980s, when he first joined the league, were able to appreciate his innate toughness before his life off the court overshadowed his game. Williams spent his first eight seasons with the Nets but became a household name during his seven seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers. At 5 foot 3, Muggsy Bogues is the shorted player in the history of the National Basketball Association. 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). A shooting guard, he spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Teams: Houston Rockets (2013-17), Los Angeles Clippers (2017-present), Key stats: 397 G, 9.0 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 3.5 APG, 41.0 FG%. He did all of this scoring before the three point line as well, and with the almost unlimited range on his jumper, its not hard to imagine his scoring average jumping up by two or three points-per-game if he played in a more modern era. So whether it's now or in . After missing Game 6 of the 1970 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers with a torn thigh muscle, Reed was almost certainly a scratch for Game 7. However, The Iceman went out that night and had 53 points by halftime, cruising to the scoring crown with 63 points at the end of the night. 3 min read. Bottom line: Nate Thurmond was as ferocious of a rebounder as anyone in NBA history, and just as good at blocking shots and defense. From 1989 to 1998, he won five NBA titles with two different teams, the Pistons and Bulls, and averaged at least 15 rebounds per game for seven seasons in that stretch. Hardest NBA Logo Quiz. Johnsons nickname "Gladiator" is one of the most appropriate in league history. Cowens won two NBA titles with the Celtics and was named the NBAs Most Valuable Player in 1973. He was teased and bullied mercilessly as a child and through high school because he stuttered, and it got so bad he had to leave several schools. Bottom line: At just 5-foot-9, Isaiah Thomas is one of the most dominant, under 6-foot players in NBA history. KOT4Q and Korzemba please try this trivia and let's see if you two are truthfully the GOAT's of NBA trivia You can also point directly to Bryants introduction to the league, when he got the sort of welcome outside of Los Angeles that you might expect for a 13th-century leper, as other teams' stars tried to "put him in his place.". However, he played equally hard (I mean, recreationally, not on the court). Besides Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game, who has the highest-scoring game in NBA history? Kobes one of the most athletically gifted players to ever grace an NBA court, but hes also honed his skillset to make him a lethal midrange shooter. Only a True Fan Can Be the MVP of This NBA Quiz! 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. Bottom line: In 12 NBA seasons, Bobby Jones earned a reputation as one of the classiest players of all time. Hint Moses Malone Oscar Robertson Michael Jordan Wilt Chamberlain 2. 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%. As, there are many NBA teams like Los Angeles Lakers, Toronto Raptors, LA Clippers, Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks , and Houston Rockets. Teams: Los Angeles Lakers (1973-77), Boston Celtics (1977-78), San Diego Clippers (1978-79), Portland Trail Blazers (1979-82), Golden State Warriors (1987), Key stats: 507 G, 9.2 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 1.4 APG, 52.6 FG%. Just remember when we say the Hardest NBA Logo quiz, we really mean it. Starks made an All-Star team in 1994 and was NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 1997. He was at his best on the Nuggets when he partnered with a young Carmelo Anthony, whom he also played with on the Knicks. Fortunately for us, the game has evolved over the years and no longer. Mark Jackson can make an argument for being one of the toughest. Bottom line: Its unfortunate that Allen Iversons career became known for him being an enigma and an unfortunate soundbite ("Practice?") Teams: Philadelphia 76ers (1984-92), Phoenix Suns (1992-96), Houston Rockets (1996-2000), Key stats: 1,073 G, 22.1 PPG, 11.7 RPG, 3.9 APG, 54.1 FG%. If you. Since he doesnt rely on pure athleticism to get his buckets, he could very well be the first NBA player to ever reach 40,000 points in a career. Magic Johnson, LeBron James. When it comes to Pete Maravich, people tend to remember his untimely death and the fact that he averaged 44 points-per-game in college, and they just kind of gloss over the fact that he had a heck of an NBA career as well, averaging 24.2 points to go along with 5.4 assists and 4.2 rebounds in his career. Nicknamed the Chairman of the Boards, people these days seem to forget about Moses Malone when referring to the top centers in NBA history. 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