NBA: 10 Players from the '90s I Wish I Could Still Watch
I started watching and playing basketball in 1992, and throughout my teens I watched some memorable players do their thing. Seeing the type of game that's being played these days, sometimes you get the feeling there are certain guys in the '90s you are really going to miss because they had a certain something that made you want to watch them play.
They are not necessarily your legends (although some are there, I'll forgo the obvious MJ's and Stocktons) but mostly good players you're not constantly reminded of when reminiscing.
For whatever reason, I miss the hell out of the following 10 guys from the '90s. Some because they were personal favorites, others because I wonder "what if?" and others because I just haven't seen anything similar since.
10. Nick Van Exel
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Once upon a time, I was a fan of the Lakers. Specifically, the 1994-95 Lakers because of their starting backcourt of Nick "The Quick" Van Exel and rookie Eddie Jones (plus Cedric Ceballos), who had a kind of Showtime-lite playing style.
Not that Van Exel was tearing up the league, but he was one of those guys who kept defenders on their toes while still exhibiting a highlight reel-friendly flair in the process.
Van Exel was the steal of the 1993 draft; after being taken in the second round, he was an upper-middle tier point guard and regular starter within his sophomore year. After a few years, he became one of the Lakers four All-Stars in 1998.
I remember the spring of 1995 as though Van Exel was hitting a game-winner every week (although I am aware it wasn't near that many). He was just one of those late-game guys. He could hurt you with a nice assist, a long-range dagger or even the occasional flush.
The following season, Magic Johnson re-joined the team, and then Shaq (and a young Kobe) came along a year after that so the spotlight shifted. But the Lakers' 94-95 season sort of belonged to the backcourt, and Van Exel was right there every game.
And let's not forget their upset of the high-powered Sonics in the first round...
9. Kevin Johnson
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We all remember KJ, of course.
He's been one of the players I've been missing the most these days. Not just young KJ, but mid-'90s KJ too. I think of him as having two stages to his overall career, and they just happen to correspond to the two different uniforms he wore for Phoenix.
In the old school saloon-font jersey, you had your 1989 Most Improved, 20-10 averaging, aerial terror with an aggressive streak to the rim the likes of which had rarely if ever been seen at the time. Honestly, watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqoSdFdVlzo
It just seems to me that Hot Rod Williams didn't so much get beaten at the rim, as much as he just never thought KJ would go up like that in the first place, leaving him on the wrong end of the most monstrous teabags witnessed even to this day.
That KJ was the heart, soul and unquestioned man on the Suns.
Then you had the new school KJ in the sunburst jersey. The one who smartly deferred to newly acquired soon-to-be-MVP Charles Barkley, and helped guide Phoenix to the Finals that very next year.
He never really lost any steps, but he did ground his game somewhat. Not completely, though. Just ask Hakeem...
Did You Know: to my knowledge, KJ is the only player in the modern NBA to ever notch a triple-double in one half.
8. Robert Pack
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If you know Robert Pack at all, you know exactly why he would be on this list.
No, I haven't seen a little guy get up and throw down like him since. Russell Westbrook, D-Rose, Nate Robinson et al. don't knock people out of the air when they go up.
He was no All-Star, but he is prominently featured in the highlight reel that goes off in my mind whenever I think "'90s". He was also part of the original movement to have Shawn Bradley legally declared a dunking prop.
I'd be lying if I said I remembered Robert Pack for much else. Adjusting for size, he may be the all-time leader in foot-pounds per dunk. If only that were a real statistic.
7. Arvydas Sabonis
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The 7'3" Sabonis has the distinction of coming into the league in 1995-96 as a 31-year old rookie, nine years after the Blazers drafted him.
While in his prime overseas, he was one of the most dominant and decorated European players ever, and people still wonder to this day what his NBA career would have been like had he entered the league in his 20's.
There was also his history of leg injuries, which ruined the highly-touted Portland center's shot at true NBA dominance. Stop me if you've heard this before.
Although he was never an All-Star, for years he gave the Blazers solid post scoring and rebounding and not-too-shabby D. His best season statistically was 1997-98, when he averaged career-highs of exactly 16 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists per game.
The reason he's on this list is simple: does anybody remember the passing skills on this guy? As I remember, they were Arvydas Sabonis' only claim to the highlight reel, which he made with regularity due to his quick hands and creativity, which at times seemed to rival the league's best point guards.
I'm a bit concerned I might not see a guy like him again.
6. Eddie Jones
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Before Shaq and Kobe came to town, EJ was one of the few reasons Laker basketball could be called exciting.
Jones possessed two of the most desirable qualities an NBA player could have: he played great defense and was entertaining as hell on offense. I remember him most from his tenure as a Laker in the mid-'90s.
Jones is a former league leader in steals and all-around defensive terror on the perimeter, which more than anything earned him his first All-Star consideration in 1997.
On offense, besides being a regular threat to go for 20-for-30, Jones was also one of those guys who could swoop in off one foot and kind of let the breeze catch him as he glided fully extended toward the rim.
He also gave me one of my favorite moves all-time. Have you ever seen someone take off from just inside the three-point line for a finger roll?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8GDRcO_-o0
Now you have.
5. Muggsy Bogues
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How do you not miss Muggsy?
He's remembered as the shortest player in NBA history, which also makes him the shortest player ever to block Patrick Ewing.
He's also the only player in NBA history who could make Earl Boykins look tall.
He was too fast in the open court, and whenever he got one of those low dribbles going, the average NBA-sized player ended up reaching down by his knees. Have you ever tried crouching while attempting to guard a fast break? I suspect it would be a maddening experience.
I remember Muggsy, Larry Johnson and Alonzo Mourning only having about two or three seasons together, and I find myself wondering a lot of what ifs.
As in what if they had been given more time together, what if injuries and trades hadn't derailed the plan in Charlotte, what if Kendall Gill's defense had matured while he was their starting off-guard, and so on.
But the main reason Muggsy makes the list is I don't know how soon we're gonna see a guy his size make an NBA roster again, let alone play at the level he played in the mid-'90s.
Did You Know: somewhere in the world there is a picture of 6'9" Magic Johnson posting up on 5'3" Bogues, which is what LeBron James would call "a perfectly fair matchup."
4. Larry Johnson
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This Larry Johnson.
Before the back problems, before the LJ sign, before the interminable post-ups, there was this guy.
The guy who ran the floor and finished plays with authority. The guy who made shot blockers fear for their fingers. The guy who was one blindfold away from taking the 1992 dunk contest. The guy who at 6'7" punished people in the paint and pulled down double-digit rebounds. That Larry Johnson.
Grandmama what they called him.
Once upon a time, Larry Johnson was considered the second most entertaining player in the NBA behind what's-his-face in Chicago. I've heard Blake Griffin compared to a young Johnson, and I must say it's not a bad comparison at all.
Unfortunately, a serious back injury robbed him of his explosiveness after only a few very good years in which he was named an All-Star twice. By his second or third year with New York, he would rarely dunk, and played out his career as a post-up player and part-time three-point shooter.
Another guy I would have liked to see healthy longer.
3. Penny Hardaway
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People think "Grant Hill" whenever someone mentions injuries derailing a career, but at least Hill has been able to turn in a very respectable "second" career in his thirties.
Meanwhile, Penny Hardaway (who once upon a time was touted just as highly as Hill) never fully recovered from a knee injury suffered early in the 97-98 season, his fifth as a pro.
Before this, he was a guy you had to fear and respect on the court. For two years, he made more than half his shots while scoring 20-plus and dishing out 7 assists, and once challenged Michael Jordan (i.e. finished third) for the MVP award. As a 6'7" All-Star point guard, he was in rare company.
He also had ridiculous flair to go with his stats, giving us some pretty memorable plays in those few short years. Case in point:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFMBWqffvb0
He did have some moderately effective seasons in Phoenix, but his play was overshadowed by the fact that people expected him to return to his First Team Orlando form, which of course never remotely happened.
Some say he just had the benefit of the "Shaq bump," a hypothetical phenomenon whereby playing with The Diesel helped certain wing players achieve elite status (see also: Kobe, D-Wade). Who knows?
All I know is injuries likely robbed us all of several more years of the "awesome" Penny Hardaway. Imagine if the knee had stayed healthy. Who knows what kind of career we'd be congratulating him on today?
2. Latrell Sprewell
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This was my guy in the '90s.
Yeah, he played well into the new millennium, and I rooted for him the whole way, but to me there was nothing quite like watching Spree in his prime.
Say what you want about the Carlesimo episode (debatable) or his last season in Minny (good lord), in his good years his intensity was undeniable. The guy played like he might burst into actual flames at any moment.
My favorite version was the bald Sprewell from Golden State. As a fan of underdogs and dark horses, the guy gorilla-dunking on everybody's head while sporting a name that wasn't universally well pronounced (some people still call him "Sprew-al") was right up my alley.
Add to that the fact that he had come out of nowhere after being taken 24th in the 1992 draft. It was easy for me to rock his jersey, and I was the only kid I knew that did. I took great pleasure in answering the question "Who's that guy?"
The open-court racing, the countless finger rolls, the hair-trigger shooting touch, the signature two-hand tomahawk (you know the one), all of it with a fire that screamed "F*#% fear." They don't make players that intense anymore.
Sure, you know the Knicks version with the cornrows, who was no slouch himself, but Golden State Spree already made a regular habit of going completely bonkers on opposing defenses in relative obscurity.
And it was a thing of rare beauty.
1. Hakeem Olajuwon
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Did someone say "thing of beauty?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLKWSYtA7do&feature=related
Yes, I had to insert that unsightly Youtube link, just so you could appreciate what I'm about to say. Now then...
Have you seen anything remotely similar to this from any of today's big men? Never mind a strong low post game, I'm talking the hands and feet of a guard. An unusually nimble guard at that.
Olajuwon played a lot of soccer when he was a youngster in Africa, which armed him with a pair of extremely educated feet. Combine that with a svelte physique and a natural craftiness with the ball, and you had a 7-footer who moved like a cat for most of his career.
He didn't just score in the low post, he straight up did a dance on defenders. Never mind what he did on the defensive end (and he did a lot), the way he confounded opposing bigs around the basket is something I have yet to see since.
Sure his career spanned three decades, but the '90s gave us his most iconic moments, particularly the educations of Patrick Ewing, David Robinson and Shaquille O'Neal on his way to back-to-back Championships.
Olajuwon's was the kind of game I am most afraid I've seen the last of, as franchise big men rely more and more on freak athleticism rather than savvy and footwork. I honestly feel it's a dead skill set, and that's why he's number one on this list, ahead of my favorite player.
Did You Know: Olajuwon owns one of only four quadruple-doubles ever recorded in NBA history.
