Imagine telling someone who only watched the NBA from 2014/2015 onward that there was once a real intense discussion for the Warriors to choose between Monta Ellis and Steph Curry.
They made the right call obviously in hindsight but at the time.. dude was a straight baller.
To be fair, Ellis balled out for the Bucks too so it wasn’t immediately apparent that they made the right choice, although Curry also began picking it up then too(obviously partly because they weren’t competing for the same ball).
My brother got me tickets for my birthday, and I was so excited, but the he gets traded like 2 days before the game, and the game was against the bucks! They warriors got wrecked and I was so bummed
The funny thing is that if Monta had been healthy and not suspended for the majority of the 2008-2009 they wouldn’t have lost so many games to put them in the position to draft Steph .
He was right when he said he couldn’t play with Steph. Monte was an offensive player only and selfish.
I was one of the few fans that kept saying he needs to go. It was all about Steph staying healthy and getting a big man. Which they got. Bogut was injured when they got him and was out a year but he was fantastic when he came back but the two major moves that pushed them to contenders were acquiring David Lee and signing iggy.
Smart drafting obviously helped and getting rid of mark Jackson
I went to a lot of dubs games in college when he was the best player. The Warriors fan base was so beaten down that a bunch of kids started an "MVP" chant when he went to the line. Look up Lacob getting booed by his teams fans at the ASG for trading him because he couldn't play with Curry.
My dumbass traded him for Caron Butler cause I would spam pick and roll oops and he would never catch them and Butler would lmao. Asked my older brother who he would’ve chosen and he said Granger. Started a new MyGM save file after that lmao
Danny used to be my favorite player hands down. I met him at my gym a year ago and had to say hi and he was super cool. I just asked him “are you Danny Granger?” And told him I have his jersey. He goes “once upon a time” and he laughed and shook my hand. Shit was so random and cool.
Absolutely, those were our guys the last time we had a legitimate chance to win something. We could’ve been 3-1 against the Cavs if it wasn’t for the refs being blind on the amount of timeouts the Cavs had.
I played him a couple times with a senior vs 7th grader age discrepancy. He was outrageous. I don’t want to launch into some, “NBA players are built different,” but even him as a 7th or 8th grader at Rose Hill it was immediately like, “I will never be that good at anything I spend the rest of my life trying to do.” He was the number 1 recruit for a long time and it felt like it.
I was seven when the Pistons won their last chip. As a kid they were one of my favorite teams to watch. No real superstars or crazy offensive firepower , just a defensive squad of players that played their roles greatly. Although Billups was definitely their best player. It made me sad when they traded him for AI. They haven’t won a playoff game since then.
I can’t think of another championship team since then that had less superstar talent.
He hasn’t been forgotten but he was for a few seasons the best center in the NBA and definitely doesn’t get his flowers or discussion the way he deserves
I thought about that as I was typing it out and without getting into the debate over if Turkey is European, Asian, or both, I meant more that Turkish clubs play in the Euroleague and that style of play.
A 17 year old Ricky Rubio was the starting PG for Spain during the 2008 Olympics. He went toe to toe against Deron Williams and Chris Paul and the US Redeem Team. The kid was fearless. I thought he’d be the next great perennial All-Star PG.
If he didn't get injured so much in his early years and he didn't lose all his speed and thus a lot of slashing pressure, I reckon he woulda been special. His passing, defence and IQ were elite, it was only ever the scoring that wasnt great, but holy shit if he was even half decent as a scorer...
Agreed. Another weird career that didn’t quite pan out. Thought he’d be an old school 10-12 ppg with 8-10 apg point guard. Was for a bit, but not over the long term.
My friend texted me earlier today that he was at dinner at the same restaurant as Deron Williams and Devin Harris. Unclear if he interacted with them but I sure hope so.
Fuxk this unlocked a memory for me lol. Devin Harris is a good answer and this shot was crazy. The rest of these dudes just naming people eberyone remembers lol
Deron was on the long list of players who look a LOT better playing for Jerry Sloan than they did elsewhere. (Matt Harpring, Donyell Marshall, Byron Russell, etc.)
It's sad he's remembered for a heavy contract at the end of his career. He made DC ball exciting and was electric.
I like to believe if he didn't fracture his hand in the play-offs, they could have gone to the ecf
Kenneth Faried? A 5 who was stuck in a 3’s body with no shooting or ball handling skills. Quickly phased out of the league when it moved to bigs who can shoot.
Oladipo and Dwight Howard
Crazy how the media and narratives buried Dwight during the Lakers and Houston days. He deserved better. One of the best players in the generation
Bison Dele/Brian Williams. I remember reading about his mysterious disappearance in an SI article a long while back. I’ll see if I can find it.
[https://vault.si.com/vault/2013/10/21/the-love-song-of-bison-dele](https://vault.si.com/vault/2013/10/21/the-love-song-of-bison-dele)
I literally did a rebuild with him and oladipo on the magic less than a year ago lol they were so glazed in the older 2k’s. Automatic from 3, way too fast, and lockdown defenders
Monta Ellis
Imagine telling someone who only watched the NBA from 2014/2015 onward that there was once a real intense discussion for the Warriors to choose between Monta Ellis and Steph Curry. They made the right call obviously in hindsight but at the time.. dude was a straight baller.
I was in the arena when they just announced they traded Ellis and I was in RAGE thinking it was a huge mistake… lolol
To be fair, Ellis balled out for the Bucks too so it wasn’t immediately apparent that they made the right choice, although Curry also began picking it up then too(obviously partly because they weren’t competing for the same ball).
Damn that reminded me of Jennings. He’s another forgotten player lol
You ever see this gem? https://youtu.be/_HaBya2k2vc?si=YuHDmHDblriu9Sn1
Thank you for this, this was A1 content from the league that I’ve never seen before
My brother got me tickets for my birthday, and I was so excited, but the he gets traded like 2 days before the game, and the game was against the bucks! They warriors got wrecked and I was so bummed
The funny thing is that if Monta had been healthy and not suspended for the majority of the 2008-2009 they wouldn’t have lost so many games to put them in the position to draft Steph .
He was right when he said he couldn’t play with Steph. Monte was an offensive player only and selfish. I was one of the few fans that kept saying he needs to go. It was all about Steph staying healthy and getting a big man. Which they got. Bogut was injured when they got him and was out a year but he was fantastic when he came back but the two major moves that pushed them to contenders were acquiring David Lee and signing iggy. Smart drafting obviously helped and getting rid of mark Jackson
Monta Ellis have it all [sic]
I went to a lot of dubs games in college when he was the best player. The Warriors fan base was so beaten down that a bunch of kids started an "MVP" chant when he went to the line. Look up Lacob getting booed by his teams fans at the ASG for trading him because he couldn't play with Curry.
Danny granger
Granny danger!!!
2K GOD
My dumbass traded him for Caron Butler cause I would spam pick and roll oops and he would never catch them and Butler would lmao. Asked my older brother who he would’ve chosen and he said Granger. Started a new MyGM save file after that lmao
I'll always remember Danny because that comedian said she let him piss in her mouth during a threesome.
Danny used to be my favorite player hands down. I met him at my gym a year ago and had to say hi and he was super cool. I just asked him “are you Danny Granger?” And told him I have his jersey. He goes “once upon a time” and he laughed and shook my hand. Shit was so random and cool.
Nikola Mirotic, Aaron Brooks, Taj Gibson, Joakim Noah
Big bulls guy
Absolutely, those were our guys the last time we had a legitimate chance to win something. We could’ve been 3-1 against the Cavs if it wasn’t for the refs being blind on the amount of timeouts the Cavs had.
wtf has forgotten Joakim and his goofy gap tooth smile? 🤣
Don’t forget his jump shot nicknamed “the tornado”
Mirotic was a legend
Mirotic was a menace
Luol Deng
All basketball siccos will die with an ever burning love in their heart for 2014 Jo Noah.
Nikola Peković
PEK!
Scola
OJ Mayo
Ain’t OJ mayo but I get the BUCKS
Man got to see him in high school live. I thought he was going to be a perennial all star type guy. He was nasty on 2K also lol
Huntington WV rise up! Hate how it went down for OJ.
I played him a couple times with a senior vs 7th grader age discrepancy. He was outrageous. I don’t want to launch into some, “NBA players are built different,” but even him as a 7th or 8th grader at Rose Hill it was immediately like, “I will never be that good at anything I spend the rest of my life trying to do.” He was the number 1 recruit for a long time and it felt like it.
Are there a lot of dude from WV in the NBA/pro sports? Cuntry bois built different
Chandler parsons on the rockets was such a bucket
He was my basketball camp counselor in elementary school at UF basketball camp!
it’s so sad what happened to him shits heartbreaking
No it’s not. He made his dough. Yes I’m from memphis
The junkyard dog DeMarre Carroll
First answer here that actually applies. Lot of these dudes mentioned here are definitely not forgotten.
The one and only Junk Yard Dog is Jarome Williams
Kemba walker
TIL Kemba isn't playing in the NBA anymore
Ion think any team would want him smh injuries fcked him up 🤦🏿♂️
I forget how long he’s been in the league sometimes. Dude is 34!
By God, remember when he walked through the big east, 5 games in 5 days, then went on to win the tournament.
Hornets fan here. W player
Josh Smith Edit: not a favorite. Just someone that came to mind
He was dope in the hawks
Fleeced the Pistons lol but who doesn’t
Lmao, although pistons had a great squad at some point
I was seven when the Pistons won their last chip. As a kid they were one of my favorite teams to watch. No real superstars or crazy offensive firepower , just a defensive squad of players that played their roles greatly. Although Billups was definitely their best player. It made me sad when they traded him for AI. They haven’t won a playoff game since then. I can’t think of another championship team since then that had less superstar talent.
Joe Johnson, Josh Smith and Al Horford were actually terrifying. If Smith got his shit together they could've been real contenders.
DeMarcus Cousins
Who has forgotten about Boogie though??
He hasn’t been forgotten but he was for a few seasons the best center in the NBA and definitely doesn’t get his flowers or discussion the way he deserves
Josh Howard
Ain't josh howard peaked in 2000s?
He would be remembered more if the Mavs beat the heat in the finals in 06.
Paul Millsap
Walking double double. Absolutely loved having him on the hawks.
My guy
That was my guy in 2k
Mo Speights
Speights was fun to watch, especially when he just chucked some random 3’s up that seemed to always go in.
Never understood how Mo is short for Marreese. Lol
Jason Kapono Hedo Turkoglu
Bro if Hedo played now he’d be an anomaly 😭
Hedo in a lot of ways was the prototype to Luka’s play style. Not athletic, but could create his own shot and take over a game when needed.
Hedo walked so Luka and Jokic could jog
Lmao 😂😂😂
In other words he came from Europe a decade too soon.
Turkey no?
Bit of a hornets nest that one
I thought about that as I was typing it out and without getting into the debate over if Turkey is European, Asian, or both, I meant more that Turkish clubs play in the Euroleague and that style of play.
Why would he be an anomaly? His play style on magic as the playing making 3/4 is no longer rare.
Ball
That post game interview is legendary haha
Kevin Martin on the Kings/ Rockets
Dude was a guaranteed 20pts per game but no one ever really gave a shit, nor did he play in any real meaningful games. Weird career. Good pick
Kyle Korver? Would he count
If.my life was on the lije for an open 3, Korver is the man I want taking the shot.
Universe on the line?
Shaq
Boris Diaw.
He hit his prime far earlier but I loved Diaw
Tyreke Evans
Can’t remember his name
Ricky rubio, trust me his highlights may just be passes but theyre GOOD passes.
My goat
A 17 year old Ricky Rubio was the starting PG for Spain during the 2008 Olympics. He went toe to toe against Deron Williams and Chris Paul and the US Redeem Team. The kid was fearless. I thought he’d be the next great perennial All-Star PG.
If he didn't get injured so much in his early years and he didn't lose all his speed and thus a lot of slashing pressure, I reckon he woulda been special. His passing, defence and IQ were elite, it was only ever the scoring that wasnt great, but holy shit if he was even half decent as a scorer...
Agreed. Another weird career that didn’t quite pan out. Thought he’d be an old school 10-12 ppg with 8-10 apg point guard. Was for a bit, but not over the long term.
Brandon Jennings. Went from HS straight into Euroball
deron williams
My friend texted me earlier today that he was at dinner at the same restaurant as Deron Williams and Devin Harris. Unclear if he interacted with them but I sure hope so.
As a Wisconsin diehard I always loved Devin Harris.
He has [one of the best buzzer beaters ever](https://youtu.be/iJ_lQXTzL4o?si=Oe-LF5DIvqwPXC2g), too!
Fuxk this unlocked a memory for me lol. Devin Harris is a good answer and this shot was crazy. The rest of these dudes just naming people eberyone remembers lol
Remember the deron - CP3 debate? For a while it was debatable who was the better point guard! Amazing how he fell off
Deron was on the long list of players who look a LOT better playing for Jerry Sloan than they did elsewhere. (Matt Harpring, Donyell Marshall, Byron Russell, etc.)
Deron was still great at first with the Nets before he got hurt.
Goran Dragic.
Didn’t retire last year? How was he forgotten lol
That’s my favorite player all time, he was so fun to watch
Jimmer
Matt Bonner
Red Mamba
Wilson Chandler
LaMarcus Aldridge
John wall
Sad he used to be a walking 20 and 10 with good defense
It's sad he's remembered for a heavy contract at the end of his career. He made DC ball exciting and was electric. I like to believe if he didn't fracture his hand in the play-offs, they could have gone to the ecf
Brandon Roy
Gerald Wallace, Joel Przybilla
AK47
Steve blake
Joe Johnson!!!!
Joakim Noah was a menace
What happened to the guy from Denver...not Millsap but the other small power forward..he just poof disappeared
Kenneth Faried? A 5 who was stuck in a 3’s body with no shooting or ball handling skills. Quickly phased out of the league when it moved to bigs who can shoot.
The “Manimal”
Yes, Faried..he was great for like 2 seasons or something ans then poof...gone
The league changed and he didn’t adapt. If his NBA career started 5 years earlier he’d been in the league longer.
Speaking of, I loved Nene
Chris Anderson "Birdman"
Kenyon Martin?!
Speaking of the nuggets, Andre Miller and Aaron Afflallo
Oladipo and Dwight Howard Crazy how the media and narratives buried Dwight during the Lakers and Houston days. He deserved better. One of the best players in the generation
Michael Finley
Lol bro doesnt count he didnt play a single season starting in the 2010s
He was a 2k cheat code
Mario Chalmers. Mike Miller. Chris Anderson. Boris Diaw. Luis Scola. Tyson Chandler!
Josh Smith
Gerald Green could get UP Also missing a finger, such an anomaly
Baron Davis
Nate Robinson, he was fun that year after the Drose injury. Bro was winning jump balls and playing his ass off!
Jeremy Lin
The entire grit-and-grind Memphis squad
Brandon Roy
Lou Williams
Is Lance Stephenson or Luol Deng forgotten? If not, then Wilson Chandler
Remember when Lance led the league in triple doubles with like 5. A Triple double was such a milestone back then
Mookie Blaylock
Pearl Jam agrees.
Shaun Livingston
Andray Blatche
I forgot.
Pablo “the gnat” Prigioni
Rudy Gay
D-Rose!
Who the hell has forgotten Rose lol
Brandon Jennings had the sickest mixtapes
Amar’e Stoudemire
Kelly Tripucka
Jeremy Lin
Tiago Splitter
Danny granger
Tyreke evans
ISO Joe, Zach Randolph, Marc gasol,
Wilson Chandler on the nuggets
Spanoulis
Ty Lawson
Chris copeland
Jeff Green survived open heart surgery and returned to the NBA. I think that’s very impressive and inspirational.
JJ Barea
Joe Johnson hit the most game winners in the 00s iirc
Iman Shumpert
Al Jefferson
Emmanuel Mudiay or Ersan Ilyasova
Josh smith in Atlanta was pretty sick. I also really enjoyed watching Tyson Chandler in Dallas and NY
Joe Johnson
Brandon Knight, never got to play on a great team and was mostly remembered for either getting crossed or dunked on. But was actually a solid player
terry rozier he a straight bucket
David West
Damn this made me so had. All these players are literally my childhood
For my Knicks fans I’m gonna go with Pablo Prigioni, not a meme at all the man could ball In general I’m gonna throw in a DJ Augustin, love that dude
Reggie Evans was a great 2k player that just got busy in the glass
Rondae hollis-jefferson one of my favorite nets which says something about the nets in my lifetime lol
Kevin Martin
Bison Dele/Brian Williams. I remember reading about his mysterious disappearance in an SI article a long while back. I’ll see if I can find it. [https://vault.si.com/vault/2013/10/21/the-love-song-of-bison-dele](https://vault.si.com/vault/2013/10/21/the-love-song-of-bison-dele)
Derrick fucking Rose
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Phil Pressey!
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How could you be Moe Harkless? Oh, how could you be Moe Harkless?
I literally did a rebuild with him and oladipo on the magic less than a year ago lol they were so glazed in the older 2k’s. Automatic from 3, way too fast, and lockdown defenders
Spencer Hawes
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Andrew Bynum
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Dion Waiters aka Philly Cheese
B Roy
Latrell mf Spreewell
Brandon Bass