Which great players career was damaged the most by injuries?

[dirkforpres]

Danny Manning could have been a top 10 GOAT if he didnt enter the league with knees of a 90 year old.

[Billl]

Gotta go with walton. He didn't just have mvp potential, he was the mvp.

Of the "potential" guys, I'll go with grant hill. He was getting MVP votes carrying a pretty bad pistons team and was about to get his shot in orlando when it all came tumbling down. And even with the injury, the guy still played until he was 40. He would have had a monster career spanning almost 2 decades.

[Meeksology]

I mean only players with MVP-level potential or actual MVPs:

Grant Hill, Sabonis, Yao, Penny, T-Mac, B. Roy, Walton, Sampson, Leonard, Embiid, maybe some others...

How is D Rose's name not up there? He'd be one of them for me personally

[phanman]

I am shocked to see Derrick Rose missing on the list. Unlike everybody else listed, he got injured much earlier in his career at only 23yo. Only 3 healthy seasons, 4 if you count his lone year in Memphis.

Both Walton and Grant had decorated college careers and in Grant's case he was healthy for 6 in Detroit. Both guys had the opportunity to at least taste their respective primes and produce in an era where the average NBA career was much shorter than it is today. With Rose we really only got small Costco sized taste of what he could have become. I always thought he was Westbrook with basketball IQ and a smaller battery.

[Cavsfansince84]

It's Walton then Hawkins. I think Baylor is higher on this list than most people realize though. hm to Wade, especially without the surgery before he even entered the league.

[nomansland]

From the list I would go with Walton but the first guy that came to mind was Brandon Roy.

[giberish]

Bill Walton wins 3 or 4 MVPs if he stays healthy and is a top 10 guy-gotta be him

Highly debatable. In terms of league MVPS another monstrous peak HOF C named Moses Malone was emerging right around the time Walton started ailing.

And in terms of Finals MVPs with the addition of Magic and Bird it was almost (83 Philly) impossible for anyone outside of LA or Boston to win a title once the 80s started

If Walton and Lucas stay healthy then Portland would have been heavy favorites for the 1978 and 1979 titles. And if you really want to butterfly effect this, if Walton's healthy then Portland might not need to draft an immediate replacement big with their 1978 pick and instead figure that they can wait a year for Bird.

[MarcusBrody]

I voted Hill, probably should have voted Walton, but somehow didn't notice him. He hit the highest peak with his FMVP/MVP before the injury and was younger than Hill was when he had his major ankle injury.

That being said, I guess you could make the argument that Walton is remembered as a great - albeit a short-lived one - where Grant Hill is increasingly forgotten outside of harder core NBA, Sprite, and FILA fans. The early 2000s Magic teams were pretty decent with TMac, even with Hill - who was probably a lower top 10 player when he arrived - missing almost the entire period. The East wasn't strong in those years. Drop a healthy Hill back in there and I think they make some noise and we both remember Hill more and TMac is thought of notably differently.

[ChiTownHero1992]

So many good names to go in here!

I'll throw in Rose as well (can't say most necessarily) but MVP blows out the knee three years in a row and never is the same again....no injuries who says he doesn't win multiple?

[Sealab2024]

Shaun Livingston gets forgotten in these discussions. He was supposed to be the second coming of Magic and was really coming on when his knee exploded. He was basically Ben Simmons who actually cared about the game and was learning how to shoot.

[JJ_PR]

Tracy McGrady was in the same convo as Kobe when he was in his prime. He gets my vote.

[AleksandarN]

Len Bias or Drazen Petrovic

[Decipher]

Shaun Livingston gets forgotten in these discussions. He was supposed to be the second coming of Magic and was really coming on when his knee exploded. He was basically Ben Simmons who actually cared about the game and was learning how to shoot.

Lol

He wasn’t remotely close to being Simmons

Ben might be crocked but it’s good to see that the outrageous takes live on

[Gregoire]

Len Bias or Drazen Petrovic

Maurice Stocks

[LaLover11]

LeBron when he lost Kyrie and K Love the whole 2015 Finals.

He would've been Back to Back Champion

[Gregoire]

LeBron when he lost Kyrie and K Love the whole 2015 Finals.

He would've been Back to Back Champion

Also then Wade was injuried in 2014! And... Davis is basically traumatic player, so... 6-7 champonsips for LeBron we can assume...

[LaLover11]

LeBron when he lost Kyrie and K Love the whole 2015 Finals.

He would've been Back to Back Champion

Also then Wade was injuried in 2014! And... Davis is basically traumatic player, so... 6-7 champonsips for LeBron we can assume...

It's the truth and people will deny it

[xxSnEaKyPxx]

I know there were a lot of great careers ruined by injuries, but you absolutely cannot have this conversation without David Thompson.

[Shock Defeat]

How come Brandon Roy is not mentioned here?

[Above The Rim]

I think Bernard King deserves a mention. He was averaging 32ppg when he got hurt and was never the same. He had some good years later but the prime of his career was taken away. The possibilities with him and Ewing together make things interesting (I know they likely wouldn’t have had opportunity to draft Ewing without the injury in 85 but imagine if he recovered the following season)