Famous RPTers No2

Apart from Ronaldo who is clearly the most famous case of an RPT there are a couple of well known NBA names whose careers didn't pan out as hoped due to ongoing knee issues. Once again both were explosive athletes with powerful jumps - here's a quick rundown of No2 on the list ....

Already sporting serious knee hardware

Baron Davis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baron_Davis

B-Diddy grew up in South Central LA in the 80s/90s so I'll assume his life was something like the movie Boyz N the Hood (one of my favourite films at the time). Like the movie his ticket out of there was Hoops and early in High School he was already one of the best players in the country.

By his Senior year he was winning State Titles and was named as the National Player of the Year. He went on to the McDonalds All American game and competed in and won the High School Slam Dunk contest despite being only 6ft 2. Here is some very average footage (no audio) but hey its 1997 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsUNpk7Os8I

He went on to hoops powerhouse UCLA was named PAC10 Freshman of the Year but blew out his Left Knee (ACL) during the NCAA tourney - you can see the hardcore brace in the pic above. Davis then came back for his Sophomore year and although a little underdone he put up similar numbers and declared for the NBA Draft.

UCLA Highlights are a must watch - an amazing passer and explosive dunker including one of my all time fave dunks at 1:10 mark http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-YehYyWyHU


Selected with the 3rd pick by the Charlotte Hornets it wasnt until his 2nd year he took off. Then over the next 5 seasons he averaged around 18 & 8 dimes whilst taking the Hornets to the playoffs in each of those seasons. 2002 was his best year making the NBA All Star game and the US National team for the FIBA World Champs. The extra games took their toll as he suffered a variety of back, knee and soft tissues injuries only averaging 50-60 games from 2003-07.

Some Career Highlights - nice passes, clutch plays and the longest recorded basket in NBA history http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1FBp8Q_XvA

A True Warrior

This led to him being traded in 05 to the Golden State Warriors where although battling further knee surgeries he had some of his best individual seasons and a memorable playoff run when in 2007 as an 8 seed they upset the No1 seeded Dallas Mavs behind B-Diddys 25, 5 & 6 + 3stls. The performance of his career ...

Kneecaps are not supposed to be there

He then bounced from the Clippers to the Cavs to the Knicks as further injuries and surgeries mounted and his game declined. Then in 2012 in the playoffs vs the Miami Heat he suffered a gruesome career ending injury tearing his ACL, MCL and the reason I've written about him a Ruptured Patella Tendon

The video is pretty ugly I remember watching the game live and it doesn't look any better now I know what it feels like.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kRMSYelGTU

Baron Davis - massive respect to your amazing passing ability and explosive power for a Point Guard. Here's a couple of quotes that I hope people that I have played the game with agree on ...

“He wants to get you the ball, he wants to do the right thing and he wants to play the total game. That makes it easier for everybody to play with him.” Teammate David Wesley

“Basketball is No. 1 in my life and always has been.” - Baron Davis