Since these are the worst days on the NBA calendar, I was curious who Raptors nation liked the best, outside of Raptors players. So post your favourite former NBA player and your favourite current NBA player who don't don the Raptors red/purple and why.
For me, my favourite retired player is probably Rasheed Wallace. Jordan and Barkley are right up there, but I loved the way Sheed could impact so many parts of the game. His interior post defence and rebounding are staples of the game, but it's his superior shooting ability (for a big) that sets him apart. Used to watch videos of him in Detroit showing all of his trick shots. Left and right hand (2 balls at the same time) 3 point shots, no problem. 3/4 court bounce into the ball rack that is only an inch wider than the ball, book it. From behind the basket on the running track, swish. He could do it all, and if he had KG's heart, I don't doubt that Sheed could have been one of the greatest players ever. So while he was an underachiever (unless you count the record for Technicals), he was such a joy to watch, knowing he could do it all.
For current players, I'm a big Ray Allen fan (Jesus Shuttlesworth!) but I'm going to go with Russell Westbrook. During his rookie season, I had a sports package and I used to stay up late and watch random games. It wasn't long before I started following this rookie PG (and a sophomore Durant) tantilizing on that terrible Thunder team (that led to Harden's #3 pick). The aggressiveness for a point guard was almost unheard of. Lots of mistakes were made on that team, but you could see the potential oozing out of those two. Plus the awesome local TV commercials made the evening extra enjoyable.
What about you?
For me, my favourite retired player is probably Rasheed Wallace. Jordan and Barkley are right up there, but I loved the way Sheed could impact so many parts of the game. His interior post defence and rebounding are staples of the game, but it's his superior shooting ability (for a big) that sets him apart. Used to watch videos of him in Detroit showing all of his trick shots. Left and right hand (2 balls at the same time) 3 point shots, no problem. 3/4 court bounce into the ball rack that is only an inch wider than the ball, book it. From behind the basket on the running track, swish. He could do it all, and if he had KG's heart, I don't doubt that Sheed could have been one of the greatest players ever. So while he was an underachiever (unless you count the record for Technicals), he was such a joy to watch, knowing he could do it all.
For current players, I'm a big Ray Allen fan (Jesus Shuttlesworth!) but I'm going to go with Russell Westbrook. During his rookie season, I had a sports package and I used to stay up late and watch random games. It wasn't long before I started following this rookie PG (and a sophomore Durant) tantilizing on that terrible Thunder team (that led to Harden's #3 pick). The aggressiveness for a point guard was almost unheard of. Lots of mistakes were made on that team, but you could see the potential oozing out of those two. Plus the awesome local TV commercials made the evening extra enjoyable.
What about you?
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