Biggest fall from grace in NBA history?

[indeedproceed]

I am sorry, but I do not consider injury or illness a "fall from grace!"  Alonzo Mourning had kidney disease and a  kidney transplant...not a concious failure to perform.  This whole thread seems quite unfair to me.

I don't know about the whole thread, but I agree about injury/illness not being a fall from grace.

[thirstyboots18]

I am sorry, but I do not consider injury or illness a "fall from grace!"  Alonzo Mourning had kidney disease and a  kidney transplant...not a concious failure to perform.  This whole thread seems quite unfair to me.

I don't know about the whole thread, but I agree about injury/illness not being a fall from grace.

You are right, IP, I used much to broad a brush.  There were some thoughtful answers in the thread.

[KG Living Legend]

 No not at all.

[moiso]

If we can count the ABA too, then Marvin Barnes.

[illestmcsgt]

One guy I'm surprised nobody has mentioned is Kobe Bryant. At the time he was well respected with three championship rings to being accused of raping a woman. That's one big fall from grace that you can never forget. He's right up there with Tiger Woods and Michael Vick. Those three were the most talked about at the time and hated around the world.

One moment they are on top of the world then next moment they hit rock bottom. That's a fall from grace!!!

[ederson]

I don`t the Kobe "fell"... He is still considered the face of the lakers and one the top players on the league.

Injuries should also not count.

Juwan Howard is a good choise. He played great bball for two years and since then he is carrying his wight around collecting money. He had the skills to be great pf and still contribute. But he doesn`t

Sugar Richardson and Tarpley are i think the best examples. All the talent in the world but the brain of a chicken.

What about Pipen playing for a Finnish team ? maybe i`m wrong but didn`t he needed the money ??

[Mazingerz]

You all forgot about our good friend "career threatening wrist injury" Jermaine O' Neal; He should have just hung his jersey a long time ago.

[mr. dee]

This guys comes to my mind that was reduced due to injuries/ personal problems:

Allen Iverson
Vin Baker
Shawn Kemp
Jermaine O'neal
Penny Hardaway
Grant Hill
Gilbert Arenas
Tracy McGrady
Vince Carter
Brad Daugherty
Larry Johnson
Steve Francis

[Celtics18]

Laettner.

[the_Bird]

I think you could also throw Alonzo Mourning and Grant Hill in there.

Both should have top players in their generations and ended up missing so many seasons. They made comebacks (especially Hill) but they weren't even close to what they used to be. It would be like Mcgrady having a few decent seasons in a row now. Just nowhere close to the player you used to be

Grant Hill hasn't fallen from grace because he's about as graceful an NBA player as we will ever see!  He was a star and injuries robbed him of that, but he's carved out an extremely respectable second career for himself as a sup-efficient role player.  Every team - EVERY team - in the league would love to have Grant Hill play for them.

A "fall from grace" implies a smearing of reputation.  Guys don't fall from grace because they were injured.  What about a guy like Chris Anderson, who went from being an absolute fan favorite (albeit as a role player) to being banished from the league for two years, for abuse of undisclosed "hard" drugs (meth?  heroin?  Oxy?).  THAT's a fall from grace. 

I'd throw Antoine in there, too.  Dude had all the talent to become the Evolutionary Larry Bird.  He could score, he could rebound, he was a brilliant passer, he had the stones to play well in big games, he desperately wanted to be a leader...  and his own weaknesses caught up with him.  Certainly the gambling took its toll, and while it's not clear if he ever "officially" had a problem with the bottle it seems clear that he liked his drink.  Didn't keep himself in shape.  Bad habits developed on the floor, partially shaped by inadequate coaching (IMO, O'bie let him get away with far too much). 

Bouncing around the league, then started bouncing checks to casinos.  Thought he was Jordan, but just couldn't keep up.  Blowing through millions and millions of dollars. 

And he ends up like this...



...  desperate for one last chance to get back in the NBA.

I mean, if you were writing a movie about a tragic NBA figure, wouldn't you think about using Antoine as your framework?   

[CelticG1]

Basically Grant Hill went from winning real accolades to receiving "good job, good effort" awards. In the basketball sense in comparison to what he was I think he certainly fell off.

If we aren't including injuries why are we including other addictions and diseases. If we take out these things there's not much left.

Anyway has anyone tossed Derrick Coleman on the list?

How about Isaiah Thomas?

[BballTim]

  Did anyone mention Starbury yet? Or how about talented guys that ate their way out of the league like Turpin, Hot Plate or OMiller?

[ThaPreacher]

The biggest fall from grace a player has ever had was in fact (and its not even close) David Thompson. The man was MJ before MJ came into the league. He had amazing hops and a killer jumpshot. Not to mention the man was way before his time (The league wasn't populated with incredibly athletic two-guards yet). He was one of the first players to challenge Wilt's record when he scored 53 points in a half and then 73 for the game. In his first two years in the league, he was an all-NBA first teamer and had even gotten the nickname "Skywalker". He was even MJ's idol.

Then his monster coke problem got in the way thanks to the drug-ravaged era of the late 70s. His coke problem and his untimely injuries derailed his conditioning, and he was washed up and out of the league when he was 30.

That is what I call a fall from grace from what should have been a mindblowing superstar.

In the 60's and 70's 10 year NBA careers were not out of the norm.  Thompson played 9.
He averaged double digits for each of his seasons.  Big drop off though from his first 6 seasons when he averaged over 20ppg and his final 3.  He went from 25.5 ppg in 1980-81 to 14.9ppg the following season.  Skywalker was a stud.  Don't know if he is the biggest fall from grace.  But he clearly had the makings of a superstar.

[Celts Fan 92]

One guy I'm surprised nobody has mentioned is Kobe Bryant. At the time he was well respected with three championship rings to being accused of raping a woman. That's one big fall from grace that you can never forget. He's right up there with Tiger Woods and Michael Vick. Those three were the most talked about at the time and hated around the world.

One moment they are on top of the world then next moment they hit rock bottom. That's a fall from grace!!!

a guy who 2nd in scorin in da league in his 16th year is a fall from grace, word? dats a mean reach

[European NBA fan]

In terms of reputation, Marbury, Iverson, Steve Francis all come to mind.

But for me it's Tracy McGrady. He was a dark horse MVP, and for me hands down the most dangerous offensive player in the game for a good 3 years, including Kobe Bryant. Just straight MURDER from the triple threat position, could beat you off the dribble, could shoot over just about everyone, and was just such an underrated passer who people dismissed as a playmaker because aside from Yao, he had nobody to pass to.

But he was always a bit of a diva, and at the highest moment of his diva ever in his career, his body also betrayed him. Never had Kobe or KG's durability or their killer instinct, and was cursed with a series of brittle second fiddles and terrible teammates.

I remember reading an interview where T-Mac told how bad he felt about being a shadow of his former self. He would watch old games and cry. Really a fall from grace.