The Sixers surrounded him with big, tough, physical defenders and Iverson put his heart and soul on the line night after night (although not always in practice).īeyond what he did on the court, Iverson was a pioneer of self-expression. Iverson's dominance in Philadelphia's Game 1 victory in Los Angeles against prime Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers is still an epic watch. In an era when hand-checking was still legal, Iverson's agility, ball-handling and fearlessness carried Philadelphia to the 2001 NBA Finals. While Iverson wasn't the most efficient scorer, he powered the Sixers offense for over a decade. Photos by Robert Mora/NBAE via Getty ImagesĪllen Iverson was generously listed at 6'0" and weighed in at just 165 pounds, but he was a giant on the court, primarily for the Philadelphia 76ers. Ironically, their hyperactive pace in their era would be considered "slow" in the modern era they helped create. The Suns seemed poised to win titles but never broke through, falling in the conference finals twice-to the San Antonio Spurs in 2005 and to the Dallas Mavericks in 2006.īut Nash and the Suns were a force. He peaked as a scorer in 2005-06 at 18.8 points and in 2006-07 at 11.6 assists. Nash finished his career at 14.3 points and 8.5 assists a game, shooting 49 percent from the field, 42.8 percent from three-point range and 90.4 percent from the line. Nash-the league's back-to-back MVP in 20-was the conductor, an elite shooter who preferred to drive into the paint and create opportunities for his teammates. The Suns embraced pace and space, three-point shooting and smaller lineups that all but define today's game. Steve Nash was the driving force on the Phoenix Suns team that helped revolutionize the game. Hit the comments in the app to let us know which ringless star tops your list. You can catch Full Final Rankings and Honorable Mentions at the end of this slideshow to see how everything shook out. Each slide will also include a breakdown of the player from one our of our NBA experts. Below that, you'll see both the Highest Ranking, as well as the Lowest Ranking from our voters. On each slide going forward, you'll see the player's Final Ranking from our vote in the header. While voting, each expert could base their rankings on their own criteria. We rallied 12 hoops experts and averaged their rankings of the 19 ringless stars. To determine and spotlight the top 10 stars who deserve their flowers despite not winning their rings. *NOTE: There is one player listed who never won a title but received a championship ring from his team the year after he retired. And on that list, amid 56 champions, were 19 stars who either never won* or have yet to win a championship ring. Or at least, they're not selling it.Īhead of the 2021-22 season, the NBA named its 75 greatest players of all time. There's a segment of NBA Twitter out to make you believe rings are the be-all and end-all of career legacies.
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