A New Generation Of Mailmen: 10 Players Who Won't Win An NBA Title
This Article Courtesy Of Rip City Report
Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, and John Stockton are the face of those that were great, but didn't have enough to prove it on the biggest stage.
These players started their summers early almost every year.
It may not have been because of their talents, but more the situation that they had found themselves in. Whatever it was, they still have little to nothing to show for it.
Malone, Stockton, and Barkley will always have an asterisk by their names. And unfortunately, they will never be given another chance.
So who are the Malone's of this NBA generation?
Well, keep reading to find out.
Dirk Nowitzki
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Dirk has found himself in a situation that is troubling. He plays on a team that is good, but not quite good enough.
The Mavs have a lot of talent, but not enough to win it all. So unfortunately, Dirk may never be given the credit he deserves.
A career 23 points and 8.5 rebounds guy and former MVP, he has been voted into the All-Star game nine times, selected to the all NBA first team three times, the second team four times, and the third team twice.
To be put it simply, he has been great. It is a shame that he has yet to find himself on a championship team.
Amar'e Stoudemire
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Amare Stoudemire was in a great position with the Phoenix Suns. He has a great point guard, a good coach, and a good supporting cast.
Then he threw that all away to move to the Big Apple. Now he is in rebuilding mode long term.
He is on a team that has put itself in a position to lose, and considering that Stoudemire is their centerpiece and leader, I can't see the Knicks being anything more than a playoff team (at the most).
For his career he has averaged 21.4 points and 8.9 rebounds in 34.3 minutes a game.
Stoudemire won the Rookie of the Year Award in 2002-03 and is a five-time All-Star and two time first team All-NBA selection.
But for all he has achieved, he will not win an NBA championship because he has done nothing more than put himself in a position to lose by joining the Knicks.
Allen Iverson
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Allen Iverson is one of those players that you either hate or you love.
You either love his ball handling skills or you hate that he is a selfish punk that wants to get his first.
Do you love his heart? His attitude? His passion? His press conference shenanigans? Well, if you do, then I'm sure you believe that he still has a chance to find an NBA team and make a run at a title.
But if your'e like me, then you see Iverson's unwillingness to play second fiddle. You also see that no NBA team is willing to take a chance on the NBA veteran.
All but making his chances at an NBA championship... well, vacant.
You don't come back to the NBA and play with the Minnesota Timberwolves and suddenly find yourself in the Finals.
That is exactly the reason that Allen Iverson will never win an NBA title.
Joe Johnson
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Joe Johnson is a weird type of player.
On one hand he gives you above All-Star numbers with a career average of 17.6 points, 4.5 assists, and 4.2 rebounds with one steal in 36.9 minutes, although his averages as of late are much better than his career averages (21 points, 4.9 assists, and 4.6 rebounds last season).
With those numbers, many people around the country expect him to be a superstar, leading the Hawks to more than just a playoff appearance. And that is exactly why the Hawks and Joe Johnson will never win an NBA championship.
They don't have a clear cut leader.
Joe Johnson would prefer that someone else lead the team because he is by no means a natural leader. Both Al Horford and Josh Smith are very good players, but neither are centerpiece assets.
Every great player on the Hawks roster would rather defer to a leader than take the reigns himself, and that is no recipe for a championship team.
Steve Nash
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Steve Nash deserves a championship. Well, actually I wouldn't say he deserves a championship because he hasn't earned it.
But he is most definitely good enough to be the best player on a championship team and its a shame that he will never get the chance to lead a playoff team to a title victory.
Steve Nash, a player who averaged 18.8 points, 10.5 assists, and 4.2 rebounds in his best season, has been on teams that were almost there, but just didn't have enough juice in the tank to make the final push into the finals.
Nash led teams have been to the Western Conference Finals three times, but none were able to go further than that. He has also been awarded with two consecutive Most Valuable Player Awards.
Unfortunately, Nash will be marked down in the history books as just another pretty good player that wasn't ever able to win it all.
Yao Ming
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As an international icon across the world and a national hero in China, life for Yao Ming is naturally pressure filled.
The fans in his home country are counting on him. And even though he has played spectacularly throughout his career, there will always be that dark cloud hovering over him.
That dark cloud is his playoff success.
Yao Ming's Rockets teams have only advanced past the first round once in his tenure.
Once.
And that one time was against a very young Portland Trail Blazers team that was making its debut in the NBA playoffs for the first time in eight years.
Since Yao Ming hasn't found his playoff stride, it is very difficult to believe that he will be able to find his championship stride anytime in his career.
Add in his possible career ending foot injury, and I doubt that he will have as many chances at NBA history as he did before the injury.
Deron Williams
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This Article Courtesy Of Rip City Report
Deron Williams will join the list of Utah Jazz greats to never win an NBA Title.
I would love to see someone win a title for NBA great Jerry Sloan, but I just do not see it happening with this current Utah Jazz team.
Right now, Williams is 26 years old. He has two years left on his contract and will be 28 when that ends.
Will he leave? No. I don't think he would, unless the Jazz really suffer in the next few years.
If he leaves, will he win a championship? Again, I don't think he would leave, but I'm not going to rule out anything. If he goes to a good team, that could happen.
But not with the Jazz. Right now, Williams is in a bad situation.
He is on a good, but not great team. He is the face of the franchise and would aggrevate the entire fan base if he left.
At this point, Deron Williams will never win a title with the Utah Jazz.
Carmelo Anthony
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This Article Courtesy Of Rip City Report
This seems to be a trend on this list: Very good players that have been with a single team for their entire careers, possibly becoming content with their current situation.
Has comfort become the downfall of many NBA "goods?" Yes, at times it has.
But NBA fans and human beings can respect commitment and loyalty, giving players that dedicate their entire careers to a single city the benefit of a doubt and possibly helping them with the NBA Hall Of Fame voters.
This is what Carmelo Anthony is dealing with.
He is everything for the Denver Nuggets and even though they haven't been perennial Western Conference competitors, he has stuck with them.
But I still don't think that the Nuggets have the talent, right now, to make a push to the NBA finals.
With just one more year left on his contract, will he leave for greener pastures? I don't think so. And even if he does, where is he going to go? The Knicks?
Even if Carmelo, Stoudemire, and Chris Paul are on the Knicks, they would still be playing second fiddle to the Miami Heat.
Each player on the Knicks trio would be worse than another player on the Heat's. That is just the unfortunate reality of it.
So do I think that Carmelo will ever win an NBA championship? Not with the Denver Nuggets. And I think his chances are worse than you think with the Knicks.
Jason Kidd
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Jason Kidd is one of those players, like Steve Nash, that everyone would really like to see holding that trophy at the end of the season.
Well, we don't always get what we want.
Kidd is in a bad situation in that he is on a team that is not great, but only good. His old legs have clocked in far too many NBA seasons to be great.
Jason Kidd, the triple-double machine, has spent his career averaging excellent numbers. In his best season, he averaged 16.9 points, 10.8 assists, 6.8 rebounds, and two steals a game.
Although Kidd led the Nets to two consecutive NBA finals appearances, they were not able to make their dreams a reality.
Those two finals appearances are as close as Kidd has ever come to holding the Larry O'Brien trophy.
He isn't getting any younger, making his championship window virtually shut and locked.
Tracy McGrady
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Recently, the two time scoring champion scored a second chance with the Detroit Pistons.
Actually, just as of yesterday it was official. But even with that chance, Tracy McGrady's days are limited.
He has a bum knee that won't get better, an inflated ego that won't accept anything modest, and dwindling confidence from NBA teams.
It is a bad situation for T-Mac, one that I don't think he will be able to recover from and find himself on a championship squad.
It just isn't in the cards.
Thank You For Reading
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Thank You For Reading.
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