Marquis Daniels and the Most Horrific On-Court NBA Injuries Ever

Marquis Daniels just slumped to the floor. At first we thought he had lost his footing or slipped on a wet spot, but then he didn't move.

That is when the realization that he had been badly hurt sank in. Daniels was released today from the hospital, but the image lingers. The Celtics forward will miss at least a month to nurse a bruised spinal cord.

The injury was a close call in a game that is filled with stories of injuries. The NBA is a fast-paced hard-hitting game. There are bound to be moments that make us cringe and then hope for the best. Here are the worst of the bunch.

These injuries will make you glad you retired the sneakers and picked up the remote control. Here are the most horrific on-court NBA injuries ever.

10. Zydrunas Ilgauskas

Rasheed Wallace is no longer in the NBA and for that I am grateful. If he wasn't whining about an obvious call he was busy taking part in thuggery.

Here Rasheed gets beat to the basket and instead of playing defense, he give Big Z an elbow to the dome. Props to the Cavaliers center for walking away while dripping blood all over the court. That kind of hit would have leveled most humans.

I can't believe the commentators are not as appalled as I was when I saw the dirty play. Wallace is somewhere still complaining that he didn't touch him.

9. Joel Pryzbilla

Sometimes the knees just can't handle the constant barrage of force exerted on them by NBA players. They sometimes just give out when the damage it too much to bear. Here Joel ruptured the patella tendon. He also dislocated the patella.

Joel would later injure the knee as he slipped in the shower. Gladly, there is no video footage of that event. This article has me thinking that they should take the jumping out of the game.

The NBA has taken the rest of the fun out of the game. Why not finish it off once and for all?

8. Jamal Crawford

With so many high flying athletes, there is bound to be some that come down awkwardly. Jamal came down in the worst way imaginable, right on his neck.

The crowd remained silent as Crawford failed to move while he was being strapped to a board. But all was well and the Bulls player came back a couple of days later.

But that was a huge wake up call at how dangerous this game can be. One minute you are flying over to block a shot, the next you are headed to the ground head first. I will stick to reporting the games. I don't think I can be harmed from here.

7. Steve Nash

Man's game. I love my Lakers but this was such a manly injury it just had to be noted. Steve Nash breaks his nose on Derek Fisher's head. Instead of writhing in pain on the floor like 99 percent of NBA players would, Nash simply pops the nose back in place.

You can see by the look on Grant Hill's face that it would have been fine for Nash to grab a breather. But real men take their lumps and keep on chugging along.

This is the only evidence you need to put Nash up there with the toughest athletes in the sport.

6. Dwayne Wade

I have to say, this does not look that bad on tape. But the man that has sustained multiple injuries and plays through the pain is completely hobbled by the dislocates shoulder injury.

Anything that will mandate Wade from being carted off in a wheel chair has to be excruciating. You don't see athletes openly bawl while being tended to. As soon as the wheelchair came out you knew this was more than a mild sprain.

This is unlike Paul Pierce and his ability to go from wheelchair to superhero in the NBA Finals versus the Lakers. I don't like to see injuries, but getting pushed out of the arena should mandate that you at least miss the rest of the game. That's just the cynic in me.

5. Tony Allen

There is a reason that coaches hate when their players go for a spirited dunk long after the whistle has sounded. There is just too high a risk for injury for a meaningless play.

That is what happened to Tony Allen back in 2007. Allen went up for a dunk after the whistle sounded. He came down awkwardly. The result was a torn ACL and MCL. By the way, he missed the dunk.

I'll bet that Allen wished he had that moment back. He may not have missed the subsequent nine months to rehabilitation.

4. Marquis Daniels

There is nothing scarier than seeing an athlete remain motionless on the court. The worst fears imaginable are rattling through every spectators head at that moment.

The good news is that Marquis Daniels will be fine. He bruised is spinal chord in a game Sunday against the Magic. Daniels had the ball on the wing and was covered by Gilbert Arenas.

As Daniels tried to shake Arenas off, his neck came in contact with Gilbert's forearm. The resulting hit pushed his neck back so much that is severely injured his spinal cord. 

Marquis was carried off the court to a chorus of cheers. The forward will miss at least month before he can return.

3. Andrew Bogut

The worst moment in an NBA game is the time that a player is in the air with his back to the ground. Every fan knows that it takes luck to come down from that and still walk away unscathed.

Bogut tried to brace the impact with his arm. Unfortunately the pressure was too much for his elbow to handle. The rest of his arm went flailing around in an unnatural cringe-worthy manner. The only thing I remember muttering is, "arms aren't supposed to do that."

Amare Stoudemire was front and center on the play. He tweeted his well wishes later that night. Bogut ever the sportsman replied with, "@Amareisreal should not take any blame. It was a freak of a thing that happened. Full stop. Amare is a good sport."

2. Rudy Tomjanovich

Some fans may clamor for more fighting and violence in sports. Hell, I am one of them. But you only need to remember the punch that Rudy Tomjanovich sustained from Kermit Washington.

Rudy was going over to stop a scuffle that was breaking out. Kermit Washington thought he had another entrant into the brawl. He turned and fired.

The hit broke several bones in Rudy's jaw. He was sidelined for five months. The once All-Star caliber player was never the same. He had one good year after that but pain kept returning and he retired in his mid-thirties.

1. Shaun Livingston

I still have nightmares about this one. It is not uncommon for me to wake up at night in a cold sweat shouting some gibberish about the Clippers jinx and how it mangled Shaun's knee.

Shaun Livingston was an up-and-coming guard until he annihilated his knee. As you can see in the clip, he pretty much did whatever is the worst case scenario for a knee injury. He tore the ACL and PCL. But don't worry folks, he only badly sprained the MCL.

You can now see Shaun playing for the Charlotte Bobcats. That is if they ever begin to televise that team's games.