Wayback Wednesday: Strange Stints Portrayed by NBA 2K9
This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! From retrospectives of basketball games and their interesting features, to republished articles and looking at NBA history through the lens of the virtual hardwood, Wednesdays at the NLSC are for going back in time. This week, I’m taking a look back at some strange stints throughout NBA history, as portrayed by NBA 2K9.
Whenever I’m on a kick with an old basketball video game, I’ll end up messing around with the rosters. As you may have seen, I’m particularly fond of setting up historical scenarios. I’ll make do with throwback jerseys – as I did with NBA Live 10 during my extended kick with that game – but it’s even better when I have some Legends at my disposal. Since NBA 2K9 has both, I ended up snapping a bunch of screenshots of historical players in retro jerseys. It began with placing them in the uniforms that we picture them in the most, but I was soon re-creating some strange stints.
Obviously, I’ve discussed many examples of strange stints in my series of articles about familiar faces in strange places, specifically ones that were represented in the rosters of video games. To that end, I’ve chosen to spotlight the strange stints that weren’t reflected in a contemporary video game – with one exception – followed by a gallery of screenshots of all the examples that I was able to re-create in NBA 2K9. There’s no significance to that choice in game, except that it’s piggybacking on a recent retro gaming kick! With that being said, let’s take a look back…way back…
Alex English: Bucks (1976-78) & Mavericks (1990-91)
When you think of great players who simply don’t get their due, Alex English has to be near the top of that list. The Blade scored the most points during the 80s and is in the Hall of Fame, yet was notably snubbed from the official lists of greatest players for the NBA’s 50th and 75th Anniversary celebrations. The disrespect arguably began before he was even retired, as the Nuggets simply decided not to re-sign him after the 1990 season. This saw him spend a year with the Mavericks, before finally wrapping up his career in Italy in 1992. English has spoken about wishing that he’d had a better send-off akin to Dan Issel and Julius Erving, and it’s a shame that it didn’t happen.
English’s sojourn in Dallas is one of two strange stints that can be re-created in NBA 2K9, though admittedly the other is only odd in hindsight. While he’s synonymous with the Nuggets of the 80s, Alex English was actually a second round pick of the Milwaukee Bucks in 1976, and spent his first couple of seasons coming off the bench. After a breakout year with the Indiana Pacers, English was traded to Denver halfway through the 1980 season, and the rest is history. He’s far from the only Hall of Famer to have a couple of strange stints before his most famous tenure, but those early years are overshadowed by the successful ones, making them fascinating to look back at.
Dennis Rodman: Mavericks (2000)
One of most interesting aspects of Dennis Rodman’s final NBA stints is that while they were undoubtedly strange and ultimately unsuccessful, he wasn’t exactly washed up; not from a physical or skill standpoint, at any rate. The Worm was past his prime, sure, but even at his peak, he wasn’t about big stats across the board. He mostly scored opportunistically and on garbage buckets as he cleaned up on the glass, and while he was a tremendous defender, his style of D didn’t yield big block or steal numbers. To that end, if you look at his stats with the Lakers and Mavericks, he was still getting the job done vacuuming up rebounds and filling the same role that he always had.
The issue wasn’t with his skill or athleticism, but his attitude and professionalism. Without Phil Jackson calling the shots on the sidelines, and without team success to smooth over problems and keep him motivated, Rodman provided more distractions than veteran leadership. Steve Nash bluntly asserted that Rodman never wanted to be a Maverick, and thus wasn’t all in on making the most of what turned out to be his last shot at playing in the NBA. The Worm’s Lakers stint was included in an official roster update for NBA Live 99 PC, but his time with the Mavericks isn’t officially reflected in any titles. Thanks to the Mavs’ retro jersey, NBA 2K9 can portray this final stint.
George Gervin: Bulls (1985-86)
Strange stints make for excellent NBA trivia questions, because you’re bound to trip up even some of the most knowledgeable fans when you ask where certain Legends ended their careers. The inclusion of the 1985-86 Chicago Bulls as a classic team in NBA 2K11 onwards probably makes George Gervin’s final NBA stint less obscure than it once was, but when we think of The Iceman, we still tend to picture him as a Spurs Legend, not a teammate of a young Michael Jordan! However, that was indeed his final NBA stop. Gervin did actually continue to play professionally in Europe until 1990 though, as he was just shy of turning 34 when he played his last NBA game.
In that respect, the end of Gervin’s pro career mirrors a handful of his fellow all-time greats who ended up playing overseas, or even in the domestic minor leagues – as The Iceman did with the CBA’s Quad City Thunder – because the NBA was seemingly done with them, despite still being fairly young and capable. To be fair though, his career was on the downswing, and he’d clashed with the Spurs over missed workouts and the possibility that he might be relegated to the bench in the upcoming season. From the Bulls perspective, it was an attempt to build around their new rising star. It didn’t pan out, but again, like all strange stints, it left us with some interesting trivia.
Sidney Moncrief: Hawks (1990-91)
If you asked a knowledgeable basketball fan to name an All-Star guard who was taken top five by a Central Division team, was Defensive Player of the Year in the 80s, and spent their entire career with the team that drafted them before suiting up for another club after coming out of retirement, they’re most likely going to say Michael Jordan. It would be a correct answer, but so is Sidney Moncrief, demonstrating how careful wording sets up a trick question! In any case, The Squid was drafted fifth overall by the Bucks in 1979 and was a five-time All-Star, back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year, and somewhat of an underrated scorer, during his ten seasons in Milwaukee.
Although still only in his early 30s as the 80s were drawing to a close, unfortunately Moncrief was being hampered by foot and knee injuries, leading him to retire after the 1989 season. After sitting out the 1990 campaign, Moncrief made a comeback as he joined an Atlanta Hawks team that included Dominique Wilkins, Moses Malone, Doc Rivers, and Spud Webb. He was solid in a backup role, and even scored 23 points in Game 4 of Atlanta’s first round series against the Pistons to help stave off elimination. This stint does actually appear in Lakers vs. Bulls, but it’s still worth mentioning as an interesting footnote to his career. And, once again, it also sets up a fun trick question!
Pete Maravich: Celtics (1980)
Needless to say, the fact that Pete Maravich tragically died at the age of 40 as a result of a congenital heart defect overshadows any misfortune on the court. With that being said, Pistol Pete did suffer from knee problems late in his ten-year NBA career, which brought it to an abrupt end in 1980. If there’s a silver lining here, it did at least avoid an awful spectacle during an NBA game, though it’s obviously still a terrible turn of events. Also, while his untimely passing is the bigger tragedy, it is a shame that he wasn’t able to retire on his own terms, especially after he was unceremoniously let go by the Jazz. This did however lead to an often-overlooked stint with the Celtics.
Hampered by injuries, Pistol Pete ended up running afoul of coach Tom Nissalke’s strict rule that players must practice if they are to play, and was benched for 24 games before the Jazz released him in January 1980. The Celtics, featuring a rookie Larry Bird, signed him days later to shore up their bench. He posted solid numbers despite his limited minutes and nagging knee problems, but after the Celtics were eliminated by the Philadelphia 76ers, Maravich elected to retire. This was years before licensed NBA video games came along – NBA Basketball for the Intellivision doesn’t really count – but Larry Legend and Pistol Pete together make for a great video game team!
Artis Gilmore: Celtics (1988)
While we can obviously identify and label different eras in NBA history, there’s often more overlap than many people realise; especially those that like to draw hard lines in an effort to discredit the past! Still, even those of us with more reverence for NBA history can easily forget that stars we associate with different eras were actually in the league at the same time. This certainly applies to Bulls Legends Artis Gilmore and Michael Jordan. Not only was the former still in the NBA when the latter arrived, but in 1987, they became teammates! Gilmore actually started 23 out of the 24 games he played for the Bulls that year, but saw limited minutes and was released in December.
A-Train becoming a familiar face back in a familiar place during the Jordan Era in Chicago is certainly an oddity, but as a Bulls Legend, it’s not exactly a strange stint. However, after his second run in Chicago came to an end, Gilmore signed on with the Celtics in January, finishing the 1988 campaign in Boston. He saw even less court time with them though, playing just six minutes per game in the Playoffs and making more free throws than field goals. In his late 30s by that point, Gilmore then played one last year in Italy before calling it a career. Still, that strange Celtics stint gave him a final deep Playoff run, though he wouldn’t pair up his ABA title with an NBA ring.
Nate Thurmond: Bulls (1974-75) & Cavaliers (1975-77)
On the subject of NBA Legends who were once teammates, Nate Thurmond and Wilt Chamberlain are another pairing that isn’t talked about that much. Granted, they are the same generation, and Thurmond was also drafted to play a supporting role to Wilt as a rookie and blossomed into a star after The Stilt was traded to the 76ers, so it’s not quite the same situation. Still, it’s interesting that they were briefly twin towers for the San Francisco Warriors, and then went on to face each other in the NBA Finals, with Wilt’s 76ers prevailing in six games. Thurmond played eleven years for the Warriors, and now ranks fifth in games, seventh in points, and first in rebounds in team history.
However, in 1974, he was traded to the Bulls. Chicago was eager to strengthen their rotation in the middle, while Golden State sought financial stability. Thurmond would record the first official quadruple-double in NBA history in his Bulls debut, but they ironically fell to the eventual champion Warriors in the Western Conference Finals. 13 games into the 1976 season, he was traded to the Cavaliers where his minutes and numbers plummeted, culminating in his final game in which he tallied one block and one rebound in just one minute in the 1977 Playoffs against the Bullets. Like so many other players who ended their career with strange stints, he deserved a better send-off.
Rick Barry: Rockets (1978-80)
Naturally, all of the basketball greats have interesting stories, but Rick Barry’s legacy is certainly fascinating! He was the first marquee NBA player to jump to the ABA, which led to legal action. He was a star in both leagues, ultimately returning to the NBA and the Warriors where he won a title in 1975. He clashed with teammates and had an infamous gaffe as a broadcaster, but is also recognised as arguably the first point forward and was a tremendous free throw shooter with his underhand form. Five of his sons have played professionally, with Jon, Brent, and Drew all making it to the NBA. In short, Rick Barry is no stranger to controversy, but undoubtedly a legend.
Of course, it was the aforementioned clashes with teammates that saw Barry sign with the Rockets in 1978, resulting in the Warriors receiving John Lucas as compensation (free agency was certainly different then!). Now a sixth man, he nevertheless became the first true small forward to tally 500 assists in a season, and was effective in his new role. His final season was less remarkable – though he was a reliable long-range gunner in the league’s first year with a three-point line – and after both the Celtics and Supersonics passed on offering him a contract, Barry retired. Interestingly, Jon and Brent Barry also ended their careers with the Rockets in 2006 and 2009 respectively.
Bob McAdoo: Celtics (1979), Pistons (1979-81) & 76ers (1985-86)
Admittedly, Bob McAdoo has a few strange stints in between his famous tenures with the Braves and Lakers, but I’m focusing on the three that can be portrayed in NBA 2K9. Mac’s best years came with the Braves, but as the end of his contract loomed, the financially-strapped club feared they wouldn’t be able to pay him. This led them to trade him to the Knicks, but the former scoring champ wasn’t the best fit for the more team-oriented style of play that New York favoured. As such, after a couple of years the struggling Knicks sent him to Boston in 1979. Mac played 20 games for a lousy Celtics team that was awaiting the arrival of Larry Bird, drafted sixth overall in 1978.
McAdoo wouldn’t get the opportunity to play with Bird though, as he was sent to the Pistons as compensation for the Celtics signing M.L. Carr; again, player movement was once handled very differently. Mac’s Detroit tenure was unsuccessful, and ended with his release when he and the team fell out as he was preparing to return from an injury in 1981. He then joined the Nets for ten games to finish the year. After winning titles as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s backup, McAdoo’s final NBA stint was with a 76ers team that included Charles Barkley, Julius Erving, Moses Malone, Bobby Jones, and Maurice Cheeks; another great video game team before licensed games were a thing!
Maurice Cheeks: Spurs (1989-90)
Speaking of Maurice Cheeks, his NBA career also ended with some strange stints. A four-time All-Star and key member of a 76ers team that swept the Lakers in the 1983 NBA Finals, Mo was still a fine player by the late 80s, but he had peaked. More to the point, while Charles Barkley was still there and entering his prime, Dr. J and Moses had retired and moved on respectively, and the 76ers were no longer an elite team. As Philadelphia looked to re-tool, Cheeks was traded to the Spurs, where he provided solid playmaking and veteran leadership for a team featuring two exciting rookies: David Robinson and Sean Elliott. However, Mo’s San Antonio stint was a short one.
Come February, the Spurs traded Cheeks to New York for Rod Strickland, who had been backing up Mark Jackson. The move allowed Strickland to flourish, while Mo became Jackson’s veteran backup. They switched roles in the 1991 campaign, before Cheeks was traded to Atlanta for a season and then finished his career with the Nets in 1993. Cheeks’ stint in San Antonio doesn’t appear in video games as the Spurs weren’t featured in the original MS-DOS version of Lakers vs. Celtics. Funnily enough, as the Spurs were added to the Genesis release and the Knicks were removed, the midseason trade meant that Cheeks’ virtual New York debut didn’t come until Bulls vs. Lakers!
Tim Hardaway: Pacers (2003)
Let’s wrap things up with a strange stint that could’ve made it into the rosters of video games had it not occurred so late, and if official updates were commonplace at the time. As it stands, it’s a move that we had to make ourselves. With new stars entering the league and his career winding down as he hit his mid 30s, it’s easy to forget that Tim Hardaway was still a solid player for the Heat in 2001. A late season foot injury limited him in the Playoffs, and he was traded to Dallas in the offseason. He backed up Steve Nash for half a season, was sent to Denver where he played 14 games, threw a TV monitor, and then retired to become an analyst for ESPN at the end of the year.
It wasn’t quite the end of his career though, as Tim Bug joined the Indiana Pacers in March 2003. I remember there being some hype around the move at the time. He was in shape, he’d had a year to recuperate, and he was fresher than most players having come in towards the end of the regular season. Things looked promising as he scored 14 points and tallied seven assists, four rebounds, and three steals in his Pacers debut. Unfortunately, that was the high point. Outside of scoring 13 points in an overtime victory in Game 5 of Indiana’s first round series with Boston, Hardaway barely made an impact. Still, it’s an interesting footnote to the master of the UTEP 2-Step’s career.
Other Strange Stints as Portrayed by NBA 2K9
Once again, I chose to profile the aforementioned strange stints because apart from Sidney Moncrief’s, they weren’t captured in a contemporary video game. I’ve already discussed many of the other strange stints that can be portrayed using the players and retro jerseys in NBA 2K9 in other articles, but again, since I went to the trouble of setting up the screenshots, it’d be a shame to let them go to waste! As such, the gallery below not only includes screenshots representing the strange stints discussed above, but those other unusual tenures that I was moved to re-create. While they may not look right, some were successful, while others led to some great video game teams.
As you can see, these strange stints include Hakeem Olajuwon in Toronto, Dominique Wilkins in San Antonio and Boston, Scottie Pippen in Houston, and Karl Malone, Mitch Richmond, and Glen Rice in their respective Lakers stints. There’s Brent Barry in Miami – found in Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside – as well as Dikembe Mutombo’s back-to-back stints with the Nets and Knicks. You’ll also see Moses Malone in San Antonio and Robert Parish in Charlotte and Chicago. Tracy McGrady’s final seasons with the Knicks, Pistons, Hawks, and Spurs are represented, along with a handful of other brief stints. Strange as these stints were, they’re fun to recall, and to re-create!
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