10 NBA Veterans We'd Love to See Make One Last Comeback Attempt
For NBA ballers and the fans who adore them, letting go is never easy.
While Father Time can strip away a player's physical tools, he's powerless against the passion for the sport that burns inside.
He obviously hasn't depleted 35-year-old Keith Bogans' fuel at all. The 11-year veteran, who last suited up for the Boston Celtics in January 2014, is playing for the Portland Trail Blazers at the Las Vegas Summer League and hoping to find his ticket back to the NBA.
"I definitely got a lot of game left," Bogans said, per Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. "I'm in the best shape of my life. I've been in Portland all week working out with these guys. ... I can still shoot, can still play defense."
It's been inspiring to see Bogans' attempt to recapture his dream, and it got us thinking: Who else might have enough left in the tank for one final trip inside the lines?
Perhaps more importantly, who do we really want to see embark on the comeback trail? Star power (i.e., significant stats, league-wide accolades, etc.) played a big part in forming this list, but so did entertainment appeal. Some have larger-than-life personalities, some have on-court abilities we don't see often and a couple have both.
Even our dreams need a dose of reality, so age can't be completely ignored for this exercise. Steve Nash entered last season as the league's oldest player under contract, so no one who was born before the 41-year-old can qualify. While we were generous with the plausibility of some returns, there were a couple of lengthy injury battles we couldn't look past (Yao Ming's foot problems; Brandon Roy's knee issues).
Otherwise, it's fair game and a chance to bring our favorite hardwood heroes back to NBA life.
Ray Allen
1 of 10
Age: 39
Last Appearance: June 15, 2014
Final Season Statistics: 9.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, 37.5 three-point percentage, 12.8 PER
Notable Career Averages: 18.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 40.0 three-point percentage, 18.6 PER
Ray Allen hasn't officially closed the door on his NBA career, so there's a chance hoop heads will see the sharpshooter back in action at some point. He sat out the 2014-15 campaign, but while announcing that decision, he left open the possibility of an eventual return.
"I'm going to take the remainder of this season, as well as the upcoming offseason, to reassess my situation, spend time with my family and determine if I will play in the 2015-16 season," Allen said in a March statement, per ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst.
There's no doubt Allen could still help an NBA team. With clubs prioritizing the long ball like never before, it only makes sense to include the league's all-time leader in three-point makes (2,973).
As a high-volume, high-efficiency shooter, Allen can destroy an opponent's defensive game plan. He commands attention at all times when he's on the floor, and his defensive limitations could be hidden in a minimal role.
Considering he takes meticulous care of his body, he could re-enter the league the same way he left it: as a potent offensive weapon.
Chauncey Billups
2 of 10
Age: 38
Last Appearance: Feb. 7, 2014
Final Season Statistics: 3.8 points, 2.2 assists, 29.2 three-point percentage, 5.3 PER
Notable Career Averages: 15.2 points, 5.4 assists, 38.7 three-point percentage, 18.8 PER
It's one thing to carry the reputation of being a clutch performer; it's quite another to earn the "Mr. Big Shot" moniker, as Chauncey Billups did during his 17-year career.
Billups' mental makeup was a delectable blend of supreme confidence and fearlessness. When the former No. 3 pick's career stalled out of the gate, he feverishly worked to improve. That's how a player who shot just 37.5 percent from the field during his first three seasons wound up making five All-Star trips.
When his blue-collar Detroit Pistons matched up with the star-studded Los Angeles Lakers in the 2004 NBA Finals, it was Billups who powered the Motor City to a stunning upset. He captured MVP honors for the series, tallying 21.0 points and 5.2 assists during the five games.
"Through heart and determination, he persevered as his career unfolded like a roller coaster," wrote Piston Powered's Dan Feldman. "In Detroit, he steadied some of the best Pistons teams in franchise history."
Billups' leadership, work ethic and wisdom would all be welcome additions to any NBA locker room. And if his next employer needed a late-game bucket, he could probably still provide that, too.
Baron Davis
3 of 10
Age: 36
Last Appearance: May 6, 2012
Final Season Statistics: 6.1 points, 4.7 assists, 37.0 percent shooting, 10.0 PER
Notable Career Averages: 16.1 points, 7.2 assists, 40.9 field-goal percentage, 17.8 PER
Baron Davis always played an aesthetically pleasing game.
The 6'3" point guard brought power, explosiveness and ferocity to the hardwood. Test his athleticism, and he was liable to put you on a poster.
More impressively, there was substance underneath this style. He averaged at least 17 points, seven assists and four rebounds five different times. Only seven players have ever had more such seasons: Five are in the Hall of Fame, and the other two are headed there (LeBron James and Chris Paul).
Davis battled medical problems throughout his career, particularly with his knees. In fact, his final NBA outing was cut short by a gruesome knee injury that resulted in tears of his MCL and ACL.
But he's still tons of fun to watch, whether he's carving up Drew League defenders or taking his talents to the silver screen. There's rarely a dull moment when Davis is around.
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Allen Iverson
4 of 10
Age: 40
Last Appearance: Feb. 20, 2010
Final Season Statistics: 13.8 points, 4.0 assists, 43.0 percent shooting, 13.4 PER
Notable Career Averages: 26.7 points, 6.2 assists, 42.5 percent shooting, 20.9 PER
Allen Iverson deserved a better NBA sendoff. An inability to relinquish alpha-dog status may have contributed to his awkward ending, but he was nothing short of an icon for his generation.
"Few players have had the impact on the players of today that Allen Iverson did—everyone wanted his look, everyone wanted to emulate his fearless, attacking style," wrote NBC Sports' Kurt Helin. "... He changed the game."
No one had a career quite like Iverson's. Take his cultural impact out of the picture, and few could even match his production. Only six players boast higher career scoring averages. Only 24 went to more All-Star games. Iverson was Rookie of the Year in 1996-97, league MVP in 2000-01 and was twice selected as the All-Star Game MVP (2001 and 2005).
But his last professional basketball appearance didn't take place in the states. He played 10 games in the 2010-11 season for the Turkish club Besiktas, left after a calf injury and hasn't suited up since. The basketball gods need to change that.
Antawn Jamison
5 of 10
Age: 39
Last Appearance: Feb. 9, 2014
Final Season Statistics: 3.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, 31.5 field-goal percentage, 7.8 PER
Notable Career Averages: 18.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 45.1 field-goal percentage, 18.1 PER
Antawn Jamison belongs in this era. He arrived a shade ahead of his time, when small-ball bigs still seemed more like weaknesses than weapons.
That didn't stop the former North Carolina star from having a historically prolific career. Despite making just two All-Star trips, he's still the only player other than Dirk Nowitzki to record 20,000 points, 8,000 rebounds and 1,000 three-pointers.
Jamison didn't make a big impact at the defensive end and graded out as more of a good rebounder than a great one. But his offensive skill set would have fit perfectly into today's pace-and-space game. He was a good enough shooter to pull bigs away from the basket (career 34.6 three-point percentage), a skilled finisher around the basket and a capable playmaker off the dribble.
He lost most of his athleticism to Father Time, but Jamison could still provide a minor lift as a floor spacer and emergency scoring option.
Stephon Marbury
6 of 10
Age: 38
Last Appearance: May 17, 2009
Final Season Statistics: 3.8 points, 3.3 assists, 34.2 percent shooting, 4.4 PER
Notable Career Averages: 19.3 points, 7.6 assists, 43.3 percent shooting, 18.7 PER
Stephon Marbury's NBA career started with promise and eventually gave way to disappointment and frustration.
He broke into the league with 15.8 points and 7.8 assists as a rookie during the 1996-97 season, then continued piling up the stats from there. He was a 20-plus points-per-game scorer by his third year and maintained that production for each of the next six seasons. He made an All-Star appearance with the then-New Jersey Nets in 2001, then another for the Phoenix Suns two years later.
An eight-player trade in January 2004 sent Marbury to the New York Knicks, and the Coney Island product returned to the Big Apple as a potential savior. But he feuded with a pair of Knicks skippers (first Larry Bown, then Isiah Thomas), the Knicks piled up losses and Marbury became, as Frank Isola and Michael O'Keefe of the New York Daily News called him, "the most reviled athlete in New York."
Marbury has since reinvented himself in China, becoming one of the country's biggest stars. He has three Chinese Basketball Association titles, his own statue in front of the arena, a play about his life and a postage stamp in his honor, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post.
It would be great to see Marbury's redemption tale add an NBA ending.
Tracy McGrady
7 of 10
Age: 36
Last Appearance: June 11, 2013
Final Season* Statistics: 5.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 13.6 PER
Notable Career Averages: 19.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 22.1 PER
Tracy McGrady was a natural. He was so smooth inside the lines that the game seemed to come easily for him.
He made the preps-to-pros leap in 1997 and was an All-Star by 2001. Scoring was his easiest gift to notice (he averaged 26.9 points from 2000-01 to 2006-07), but he could do it all. He had explosive athleticism, a soft shooting touch, the vision of a lead guard and the size of a swingman (6'8", 210 lbs). In 2013, Kobe Bryant called McGrady the toughest player he ever went against, according to ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin.
Injuries—both to him and his teammates—ultimately limited his career. He battled knee and back problems, and two of his potential superstar sidekicks were betrayed by their own bodies (Grant Hill's ankle injury and Yao Ming's foot problems).
But McGrady's peak was nothing short of elite. Only five players have ever had more seasons of at least 24 points, six boards and four assists: LeBron James, Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor and Michael Jordan.
McGrady's last regular-season run came with the Atlanta Hawks in 2011-12 (stats shown above), but he made six scoreless playoff appearances for the San Antonio Spurs in 2013. While he'd like a final NBA chance, he does not want to be deployed as a specialist (or decoy) again.
"The thing is, I can still go, man," McGrady told Les Carpenter of Bleacher Report in December. "My body is still in shape. I can go. It's about opportunity, though. ... I want no limits on who I am and what I can do, not stand in the corner and shoot jump shots."
Steve Nash
8 of 10
Age: 41
Last Appearance: April 8, 2014
Final Season Statistics: 6.8 points, 5.7 assists, 38.3 percent shooting, 12.2 PER
Notable Career Averages: 14.3 points, 8.5 assists, 49.0 percent shooting, 20.0 PER
Steve Nash's game was built to age gracefully. Before the injury bug closed the book on his basketball career, that's precisely what the two-time MVP did.
It took him five seasons to post a double-digit scoring average, nine to drop more than 8.8 assists a night. As someone who never relied on athleticism, he benefited from the basketball intelligence he collected throughout his journey—plus an ideal pairing with the innovative offensive mind of former coach Mike D'Antoni.
Nash and D'Antoni spent four wildly successful seasons together with the Phoenix Suns. From 2004-05 to 2007-08, the team averaged 58 wins and secured five playoff series victories. Nash collected both of his MVP awards during that stretch (in 2005 and 2006) and posted per-game marks of 17.5 points (on .513/.451/.904 shooting) and 11.2 assists in D'Antoni's run-and-gun system.
"They were as compatible a player-coach combo as the game has ever seen," USA Today's Sam Amick wrote in March.
Nash's decision-making, selflessness and perimeter stroke would all work wonders in today's wide-open NBA. He spent the past three seasons waging a losing war against nerve, back and muscle injuries, but if his body would cooperate, he could still be an impact player.
Jerry Stackhouse
9 of 10
Age: 40
Last Appearance: April 27, 2013
Final Season Statistics: 4.9 points, 0.9 assists, 38.4 percent shooting, 8.5 PER
Notable Career Averages: 16.9 points, 3.3 assists, 40.9 percent shooting, 16.5 PER
The comparison was all too easy to make. A 6'6" swingman, drafted third overall out of North Carolina, Jerry Stackhouse shouldered the tag that no player (save for perhaps Kobe Bryant) has ever wanted to wear: the next Michael Jordan.
With the bar set so incredibly high, Stackhouse faced insurmountable odds to live up to the hype. That's why he never liked the comparison in the first place.
"I never really tried to compare to Michael Jordan. Nobody should, because they wouldn't do themselves justice," Stackhouse said, per ESPN.com's Mike Mazzeo. "It would definitely be a letdown to try to compare yourself to probably the greatest player to ever play, so I didn't allow other people to do that for me."
While Stackhouse never looked like the second coming in the big league, he did have his share of impressive moments. He averaged 20-plus points five different times and paced the entire league with 2,380 points in 2000-01. He wasn't the most efficient shooter (career 40.9 percent from the field, 30.9 percent from deep), but he could light the lamp and create looks for his teammates.
As some high schoolers learned in May, Stack still packs a scoring punch. Had it not been for those unreachable expectations—which he wouldn't have to carry into a comeback—the two-time All-Star's career might be remembered a lot differently.
Rasheed Wallace
10 of 10
Age: 40
Last Appearance: April 15, 2013
Final Season Statistics: 7.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 38.7 percent shooting, 16.7 PER
Notable Career Averages: 14.4 points, 6.7 rebounds, 46.7 percent shooting, 17.0 PER
When is the last time anyone ever uttered the phrase, "The NBA is a better place without Rasheed Wallace?" Here's a hint: never.
The boisterous baller was a non-stop source of entertainment. His infamous "ball don't lie" catchphrase is seemingly echoed in every basketball broadcast. His never-ending battle with zebra-striped officials was can't-miss television.
Oh, and the guy was absurdly skilled.
"There were very few things Wallace couldn't do on a basketball court," wrote RealGM's Jonathan Tjarks. "At 6'11", 230 (lbs) with exceptionally quick feet and a rumored 7'4" wingspan, he was a defensive prototype. ... He had all the tools on the offensive side of the floor, too."
Wallace could put up points from the perimeter or tally them on the low block. He was a tremendous individual defender and could impact the game as both a rebounder and a passer.
There's a bench seat out there somewhere in the basketball world with Wallace's name on it.
Unless otherwise noted, statistics used courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.
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