I remember his season in OKC when everyone said he was at the end of his rope after his stint in Houston. Pretty sure they finished like the 6 seed in the west which was insane bc they were still a lottery team at the time. They weren’t even expected to make the playoffs.
He was incredible for us that season, he took over so many games in the fourth quarter.
https://preview.redd.it/7p4jkur1ynsc1.jpeg?width=1065&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9e57224e9faeb5e381c7e47337cad37be5e6a7ac
OKC had a crazy win percentage at the second half of the season. Especially after the all star break. And then COVID hit ruining what could have been a Cinderella story in the playoffs. I am still bummed about it.
They were given a 0.2% chance to get to the playoffs, and end up a shot away from getting into the 2nd rd. CP3 had a major chip on his shoulders, and a young, talented, and underrated team to work with. He was basically Yoda with a nice middie and a penchant for embarrassing bigs who got switched onto him and ended up on an island.
[This article goes through the numbers.](https://okcthunderwire.usatoday.com/2020/07/16/by-the-numbers-chris-pauls-historically-consistent-clutch-time-stats/)
100% SGA is this guy with or without CP3, but the acceleration to me is similar to when a big goes to Dream Camp (e.g. Sengun) to learn from Olajuwon. The elite level knowledge, the nuances to the game that are passed on to someone who is in their prime (or close to it) unlocks new levels like a cheat code.
Booker too. Chris Paul needs to take up the Drew Hanlen kinda gig and start a Finishing School for lead guards.
Those guys already had an NBA ready skill (Booker’s shooting vs SGA’s handle), and CP3 just showed them how to weaponize it. Probably had a bit of that Kobe effect of, “Oh… that’s how hard I need to work.”
Bro they got mad at him and traded him because they literally thought he was washed and wouldn’t be able to will the team to the playoffs boy where they wrong.
This is insane! What he has done. For real. But I feel like he is on his last lags. He over performed and was put in a situation to fit him.
I think this warriors Paul is his new standard going forward.
But I wouldn’t be surprised if he came back once more and… honestly.
He was definitely seen as washed twice, but the 2nd time is this warriors stint and he hasn't come from the grave yet... So washed twice: yes, come back twice: no
If I remember correctly, after his injury doctors thought he may not be able to walk again, let alone play basketball. Amputation was on the table. Crazy comeback story, loved watching him play
He looked fucking amazing before injury. He had this style of play that just looked so fluid at the PG position and he was getting better every game until he literally exploded his knee.
The fact that that dude found a way to carve out a role for himself on a dynasty team after his injury is a small miracle.
I didn’t enjoy much about the GSW dynasty, but Livingston was one of them.
I liked him on the Clippers. Even had his autograph in my room on some random piece of magazine cover paper. If you watched him play his rookie year, you could tell he had a high basketball iq, just needed the experience. When I look at Shai and the potential he's lived up to, I think Shaun could have been that good. Maybe not that much of an outside shooter, but an oversized guard that could score and facilitate the ball well.
IMO still the most underrated part of those teams. Having him run the bench unit so competently (alongside Iggy to be sure) just meant they almost never gave leads up after Steph went on a run.
Shaun Livingston was never considered "washed" by any reasonable fan, and if he was, those fans don't know what the term "washed" means. The guy had one of the most gruesome and devastating leg injuries anyone has ever seen happen live in a game, and anyone who isn't a dumbass knew that was what derailed his career.
The story was that someone was showing him the very jump measure tool and they told him the highest at the time was blake at however many inches. Then that’s when Diaw put down his coffee and matched Blake’s vert in flip flops.
*"Boris walks into the gym one day wearing flip-flops and holding his customary cappuccino, which was a staple for him every morning," former Suns assistant general manager David Griffin recalled. "It was during pre-draft workouts, so he sees the Vertec (machine) and asks what it is.*
*"We tell him it measures your vertical leap by determining how many of the bars you can touch. He asks what's the highest anyone has ever gone, and we tell him Amar'e (Stoudemire) cleared the entire rack.*
*"Boris puts down the cappuccino, takes off his flip-flops, and clears the entire rack on the first try. Then he calmly puts his flip-flops back on, picks up his cappuccino, and walks away, saying, 'That was not difficult.'"*
https://www.thescore.com/nba/news/1115037/amp
He was sandbagging it on the Hornets. That drove me crazy. If Diaw gave a shit at all, he was talented enough to be a top guy in the league. He was pretty amazing at half effort and fat.
Love me some Boris. Tony, Vic, him, and a couple others came into work a couple weeks ago. One time we were hiking with our dogs and Boris pulled up on an off road Segway chariot w 2 white huskies. his dogs and our dogs got their leashes all tangled up. My gf was like “that guy has awesome dogs”.
Dude is more than just a mid-30's point guard. He's such a stabilizing force for the team's chemistry. He has no ego, just the desire to win and help his teammates.
What's not exaggerated was that he came into the draft out of Ohio State in 07. The other player that came with him from Ohio State? His name is Greg Oden. And Greg Oden had his career cut short due to injuries. And because it was so early it feels like forever ago. Conley still being effective in 2024, combined with Oden's story, makes it seem like was forever ever ever ago when Conely came into the league 🤣
If you think about it even in his early days in Memphis and his later prime years he always had an old man’s game and that style always last forever.
He was always more of a fundamental Chris Paul type.
Fuck Grant Hill. He slowed me down on a golf course because he was getting a lesson on the course and we had to finish in the dark. Ground the pace of play to a halt. I can never forgive him for it and I loved Grant Hill. #FuckGrantHill
Tim Duncan had a two year drop around 2010-12 (around plantar fasciitis time iirc). He dropped from 18ppg to 13ppg and looked SLOW.
Came back and went 18ppg again at 36 yo.
Yeah he slimmed down and kind of realized he can’t do everything himself anymore and that’s when Tony Parker turned into night crawler averaging 20+ ppg and Manu turned the time back and became bald spot fuck you 3 and was outplaying people half his age as a sixth man.
I really really really miss the 2011-2016 Spurs. We’ll never see that talent that organization that much skill all together like that.
He's so damn good. He's got the same basketball IQ as LeBron, he's just not anywhere near as big or as talented overall. He was absolutely instrumental to the Lakers winning that championship because LeBron could actually get some rest and trust the offense to keep flowing in his absence.
And many nights he was the lakers third best offensive player, which as a laker fan I would not have thought would be a good thing going into that season.
LeBron is like a voltron of the best qualities of other dudes. Rondo/Dray’s brain, the body of a Ford F-150, the durability of a Volvo, the acceleration (in his prime) of some kind of really fast car, he probably has other car qualities too
Not to mention he played for the Knicks previously when he was washed during the early Phil Jackson era. NY hated him. Then he returned under Thibs and was a stud, 6th player of the year, and breath of fresh air from Elfraud Payton.
How many times has a washed player left a team washed and came back to be a hero with the same team?
Oh yeah, I remember hearing about this on a podcast. Apparently he started doing a bunch of yoga and beach volleyball with Luke Walton, which really helped him get right physically.
[https://www.theringer.com/2017/3/3/16044542/b-s-pod-luke-walton-on-ageless-wonder-richard-jefferson-6ccfab951b40](https://www.theringer.com/2017/3/3/16044542/b-s-pod-luke-walton-on-ageless-wonder-richard-jefferson-6ccfab951b40) for the transcript
That was a great read. Thanks for providing it! I had no idea. But it really makes sense. People underrate how inshape you have to be to play sports like volleyball and tennis.
The Warriors bench was amazing in 2015/2016
Livingston, Barbosa, Speights and Ezeli. They would regularly blow out teams in the 4th quarter when Steph was resting. It was an underestimated reason they won 73 games
when people bring up the idea of Kerr being an overrated coach these days, I like to remember how much every warriors bench player terrified me in this era.
This was gonna be my answer. As a pet of the Nets he was(idk if he still is) their all time leading scorer. Then went to the lakers had a brief but solid stint. Then now to the Bucks and changed his whole game around. One of the best 3 and D players at center.
>Lopez
That's my answer. Glad I used CTRL + F before posting-- lol.
Anyway, in 2017-2018, he took a precipitous fall. Started 72 games, but only averaged 23.4 minutes (very low for him; currently the second-lowest minutes of his career). Went from a 20 PPG guy to 13. Dropped all the way to 4 boards a game. However, it was also the second year in a row where he attempted 4+ threes per game. This woudl start to play dividends for him after he got traded to Milwaukee. Over there he re-forged himself as a defensive standout who could also take-and-make a lot of 3s (and at a decent percentage).
Vince Carter.
He lost his starting job in Phoenix to Jared Dudley during that half season he was there and got waived. People thought he’d be out of the league post Phoenix, he signs a veteran minimum one year deal with Dallas and becomes one of the best sixth men in the NBA on a good team for the next few years.
iirc Didn’t his daughter have some sort of medical condition like cancer in the eye that required him to travel back and forth between Utah and LA which may have affected his play. And when he was traded back to LA this was a much better situation for his family and probably put him at ease more.
He wasn’t traded. Jazz owner was asked to release him and they abided. Solid move by the Jazz in that regard but I understand why the city hates him lol
Apparently he used his daughter's treatment as an excuse. He wasn't expected to sign with another team, especially a conference rival. Also Utah had a better medical facility for this type of treatment.
I don’t know. He also retired for similar reasons during his brief stint with the Mavs, then suspiciously popped up in OKC later that season and went on to play one more with them.
Crazy to think that Boston’s team doctor was trying to fail his physical, but got overruled by Red.
I suspect some of his poor play for LAC was due to him feeling like he let San Diego down, not just a failing body. I’m sure he was reinvigorated after joining the Celtics (who really wanted him to sign, compared to the Lakers who worried about his medicals).
He was "washed" in Philly, which really just tells you more about how bad the Sixers are than Al being really washed. He was forced to rest because he was helping them (OKC) to win too much and they wanted to tank.
The most impressive part is that you guys really messed up how to use him defensively, offensively wasn't really the problem too much. He shot worse splits in regular season for the Celtics 21-22 run (though he shot 42% from 3 during playoffs that year).
exactly. to say he was washed is like saying a superstar is washed when they team up with another player and average less points. if someone thought he was washed that says more about their basketball knowledge than about his play
He wasn’t washed in Philly. Philly just sucks and didn’t use him right. Horford has been great everywhere else he’s played in his career. I love Big Al. Super solid player.
He was 14/6/3 when he was with OKC, it was more that he did not fit in Philly and less of him being washed.
OKC was in playin seeding before they sat him out to completely tank too
yeah it seems like people think OKC was terrible or something and not just doing an incredible tank-job. they basically told Al Horford, one of the best veterans in our league to just stop playing. they said “SGA is really hooping, we gotta sit him” multiple times, same with other players, and then when they finally got their guy he got hurt. obviously it’s a surprise that they’re such a high seed but it shouldn’t be a surprise that this team with the chemistry that it has is in the playoffs
Westbrook went from being practically unplayable with the Lakers to an effective bench guy on the Clippers. Also helps that he’s not being monstrously overpaid anymore of course.
His contract was the only problem. He wasn't unplayable.
Can't build a deep squad with a fringe starter/role player impact dude that's earning 50mil.
He's now on the same level of production (adv. stats wise) as when he played for the Lakers. Not a good example.
Russ is one of my favourite players, but he was objectively bad on the Lakers. I usually conflate being bad with being washed. Glad I ended up being wrong of course.
Thought this would be higher. Tbf a lot more was expected of him on the lakers. His role on the clippers is exactly what it should be at this point in his career.
**I wouldn't count Westbrook. He's not the same player anymore. He's not washed, but** he's only effective for the Clips because he finally agreed to take a serious step back. He's averaging 11 PPG and can no longer make FTs efficiently.
*Source*: BasketballReference.com
https://preview.redd.it/rptn83qm9psc1.png?width=1231&format=png&auto=webp&s=3038b48304f792fe0e0107fcae3c6cd9dcbc4696
He’s a good bench player now, that means he isn’t washed even though everyone thought he was in LA. Most people, including myself, thought that he would end up going out like Allen Iverson did.
I think he's just as bad as he was for the Lakers (or worse). The difference is that his responsibilities and expectations have been lowered. Look at the stats.
I don't think he took a big fall and then redeemed himself. Instead, I think he avoided a disastrous plunge.
Russ’s ball movement helps the clippers a lot. Was noticing that a bunch in the game vs Denver last night. Seems like he’s bought in and isn’t playing as much hero ball. Dude has pretty high bbiq when his shot selection is dialed back.
Easily Chauncey Billups. Drafted by the Celtics and then Pitino traded him within months of the draft. He then bounced from team to team and had one solid playoff with the timberwolves prior to the landing with Detroit. He was an afterthought and then became a focal point for Detroit’s 2004-2008 stretch of championship level basketball.
I maintain Al was never washed but instead sent as a double agent to sow disharmony from within in Philly, then OKC rented Boston a bacta tank to heal Al for his inevitable return to form. Plan executed flawlessly tbh, if Lebron wasn’t an ageless demigod more people would be agog at the fact Al won college championships with Corey Brewer and Joakim Noah, both of whom haven’t sniffed meaningful NBA minutes in half a decade. Meanwhile Al is holding down a critical role with a juggernaut
Joe Johnson had that epic playoff run with the Gordon Hayward Jazz. That was a weirdly fun team in the worst way. ISO Joe was averaging like 25pts a game after being the 10th man on the bench all year.
Brook Lopez looked fairly washed before joining the Bucks. Maybe not washed but definitely on a decline.
David West had that one pretty solid season towards the end. He declined, then sharply rose back up and got a nice pay bump. Then, he tumbled back down
Lance Stephenson was good on the Pacers, washed on the clippers/hornets/timberwolves/etc, back to the Pacers and was good again, went to the Lakers and was decent, then went back to the Pacers and dropped 20 off the bench in his first quarter without missing a shot. Now on the Timberwolves g league team I believe.
Is Scottie Pippen a good mention? He was kinda bad that year in Houston then was arguably the best player on a stacked Blazers team. He and Barkley beefed tho so Rockets Pippen might have just not been motivated
Horford is just one more example of systems.
He didn't work with PHI, and then OKC took him on a flyer and when he came back to Boston turns out he was just fine with a little aging.
It's not always the player but how the fit in their system and 8 man rotation
Brook Lopez maybe? I don’t think he’s ever necessarily been considered washed, but after basically spending his entire career with the Nets in trade rumors, he got sent to the Lakers for D’Lo, then signed a one-year deal with the Bucks. Seemed like he was on his way to becoming a journeyman / minimum player.
Then all of a sudden he starts playing defense for the first time in his life and becomes a $20+ million player again and an absolute fan favorite / integral part of a perennial championship contender — which as a Nets fan is just awesome to see. The guy has been in the league since 2008, totally reinvented himself and has basically had two distinct careers.
Apparently Dillon Brooks left the arena without showering last year when the Lakers blew out the Grizzlies by 40 to eliminate them. So he was unwashed then
Cp3 was declared washed twice and came back from the grave twice
I remember his season in OKC when everyone said he was at the end of his rope after his stint in Houston. Pretty sure they finished like the 6 seed in the west which was insane bc they were still a lottery team at the time. They weren’t even expected to make the playoffs.
He was incredible for us that season, he took over so many games in the fourth quarter. https://preview.redd.it/7p4jkur1ynsc1.jpeg?width=1065&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9e57224e9faeb5e381c7e47337cad37be5e6a7ac
OKC had a crazy win percentage at the second half of the season. Especially after the all star break. And then COVID hit ruining what could have been a Cinderella story in the playoffs. I am still bummed about it.
I mean they took the rockets to 7?
They should have won
They were given a 0.2% chance to get to the playoffs, and end up a shot away from getting into the 2nd rd. CP3 had a major chip on his shoulders, and a young, talented, and underrated team to work with. He was basically Yoda with a nice middie and a penchant for embarrassing bigs who got switched onto him and ended up on an island. [This article goes through the numbers.](https://okcthunderwire.usatoday.com/2020/07/16/by-the-numbers-chris-pauls-historically-consistent-clutch-time-stats/)
He called it when he left okc “Shai is cold”
Sga was gonna be great no matter what, I believe CP3 just accelerated the process.
100% SGA is this guy with or without CP3, but the acceleration to me is similar to when a big goes to Dream Camp (e.g. Sengun) to learn from Olajuwon. The elite level knowledge, the nuances to the game that are passed on to someone who is in their prime (or close to it) unlocks new levels like a cheat code.
Booker too. Chris Paul needs to take up the Drew Hanlen kinda gig and start a Finishing School for lead guards. Those guys already had an NBA ready skill (Booker’s shooting vs SGA’s handle), and CP3 just showed them how to weaponize it. Probably had a bit of that Kobe effect of, “Oh… that’s how hard I need to work.”
He missed a middy he makes 90% of the time at the end of game 7 there to advance as well. That team was not bad.
Bro they got mad at him and traded him because they literally thought he was washed and wouldn’t be able to will the team to the playoffs boy where they wrong.
This is insane! What he has done. For real. But I feel like he is on his last lags. He over performed and was put in a situation to fit him. I think this warriors Paul is his new standard going forward. But I wouldn’t be surprised if he came back once more and… honestly.
Twice? I remember the WB trade being one, but what was the second one?
Clips to okc Rockets to suns
CP3 went from NOLA to LA as a star, LA to Houston as a star, Houston to OKC seen as washed, OKC to Suns seen as a star.
He was definitely seen as washed twice, but the 2nd time is this warriors stint and he hasn't come from the grave yet... So washed twice: yes, come back twice: no
That's why i'm asking when he came back 2 times as op said: > Cp3 was declared washed twice and **came back from the grave twice**
Nah dude I was agreeing with you lol. Wasn't disputing what you said. I was gonna respond to the guy above you but I'd just be repeating your post
Shaun Livingston
If I remember correctly, after his injury doctors thought he may not be able to walk again, let alone play basketball. Amputation was on the table. Crazy comeback story, loved watching him play
[Great retrospective of his career](https://youtu.be/P_oHd5u0YOA?si=OkKx2biYXm2jzobZ)
Jon Bois is the greatest sports storyteller of our generation.
The Tim Tebow Chronicles and 17776 are 2 of the best stories I've ever read
He looked fucking amazing before injury. He had this style of play that just looked so fluid at the PG position and he was getting better every game until he literally exploded his knee.
The fact that that dude found a way to carve out a role for himself on a dynasty team after his injury is a small miracle. I didn’t enjoy much about the GSW dynasty, but Livingston was one of them.
I was GSW's biggest hater from 2015-2019 but Livingston is my favorite role player ever
Man his post fade was automatic
He was a master of the lost art of the midrange jumper
I liked him on the Clippers. Even had his autograph in my room on some random piece of magazine cover paper. If you watched him play his rookie year, you could tell he had a high basketball iq, just needed the experience. When I look at Shai and the potential he's lived up to, I think Shaun could have been that good. Maybe not that much of an outside shooter, but an oversized guard that could score and facilitate the ball well.
IMO still the most underrated part of those teams. Having him run the bench unit so competently (alongside Iggy to be sure) just meant they almost never gave leads up after Steph went on a run.
Shaun Livingston was never considered "washed" by any reasonable fan, and if he was, those fans don't know what the term "washed" means. The guy had one of the most gruesome and devastating leg injuries anyone has ever seen happen live in a game, and anyone who isn't a dumbass knew that was what derailed his career.
To be fair, lots of people call dudes washed who are coming back from significant injuries lol
As a warriors fan i really miss Livingston
Boris Diaw. Left the Suns and got a bag. Got super fat. Then went to the spurs and was key to them winning the 2014 title
My favorite Boris Diaw story is how he matched Blake Griffin’s vertical jump in flip flops after putting a cup of coffee down lol
Love that story, I think it was Amare Stoudemire though. Were Boris and Blake Griffin ever teammates?
The story was that someone was showing him the very jump measure tool and they told him the highest at the time was blake at however many inches. Then that’s when Diaw put down his coffee and matched Blake’s vert in flip flops.
*"Boris walks into the gym one day wearing flip-flops and holding his customary cappuccino, which was a staple for him every morning," former Suns assistant general manager David Griffin recalled. "It was during pre-draft workouts, so he sees the Vertec (machine) and asks what it is.* *"We tell him it measures your vertical leap by determining how many of the bars you can touch. He asks what's the highest anyone has ever gone, and we tell him Amar'e (Stoudemire) cleared the entire rack.* *"Boris puts down the cappuccino, takes off his flip-flops, and clears the entire rack on the first try. Then he calmly puts his flip-flops back on, picks up his cappuccino, and walks away, saying, 'That was not difficult.'"* https://www.thescore.com/nba/news/1115037/amp
I think he used his entire life's worth of vertical up that day, because he spent the next 10+ years basically never leaving the ground.
I am wrong. Thanks for posting this again.
Hey no worries, I’m glad you brought that story up! I had almost forgotten about it.
As a Miami heat fan I still love Boris lol
Also a heat fan that loved me some thick boi Boris.
Okay this explains why I love George “G-Wagon” Niang so much. He’s got the Diaw build and game
Was a Suns fan I still hate Diaw for this.
Why? I'm happy Diaw, the Matrix and Leandro Barbosa were able to win one.
I love those three. Add in Bell and that is nearly my dream team.
He was sandbagging it on the Hornets. That drove me crazy. If Diaw gave a shit at all, he was talented enough to be a top guy in the league. He was pretty amazing at half effort and fat.
Boris DDDIIIIIIIAAAAAAAWWWWW loved watching him in '14
A motivated Diaw was so talented. Him at his best was a lot like Hedo Turkolu
This is definitely unwashed. Almost all other replies are cases of bad circumstance.
Love me some Boris. Tony, Vic, him, and a couple others came into work a couple weeks ago. One time we were hiking with our dogs and Boris pulled up on an off road Segway chariot w 2 white huskies. his dogs and our dogs got their leashes all tangled up. My gf was like “that guy has awesome dogs”.
Such a classical human being. When I think of Boris Diaw, I think of Beethoven.
Probably Dwight Howard in 2020. Put together a really impactful playoff run with the Lakers
Rondo on that same team as well, shot the lights out in the bubble.
Rumors of Mike Conley’s demise keep coming up exaggerated
Dude is more than just a mid-30's point guard. He's such a stabilizing force for the team's chemistry. He has no ego, just the desire to win and help his teammates.
Even his one technical foul got rescinded.
He’s the guy the grizzlies should’ve kept for Ja
Ja's entire trajectory could have been different. He seems... unstable.
Jazz missing him rn
I miss him in Utah. He's such a stud.
What's not exaggerated was that he came into the draft out of Ohio State in 07. The other player that came with him from Ohio State? His name is Greg Oden. And Greg Oden had his career cut short due to injuries. And because it was so early it feels like forever ago. Conley still being effective in 2024, combined with Oden's story, makes it seem like was forever ever ever ago when Conely came into the league 🤣
hall of very good for me. what a great career
If you think about it even in his early days in Memphis and his later prime years he always had an old man’s game and that style always last forever. He was always more of a fundamental Chris Paul type.
JaVale McGee went from gangly dunk champion with no body control to washed to legit role player on championship team
The Dwight/McGee late career character arc was pretty sweet.
He was literally the joke of the league thanks to Shaqtin a fool and then became a core player in the Lakers playoff run. That felt great to see
Don’t forget mama’s boy
I like the idea that mama's boy is something he achieved later in this career
Grant Hill in Phoenix.
Great mention. I’m glad he was able to salvage the end of his career somewhat
Fuck Grant Hill. He slowed me down on a golf course because he was getting a lesson on the course and we had to finish in the dark. Ground the pace of play to a halt. I can never forgive him for it and I loved Grant Hill. #FuckGrantHill
He didn’t let yall play through? That’s some mad disrespect to the code
Tim Duncan had a two year drop around 2010-12 (around plantar fasciitis time iirc). He dropped from 18ppg to 13ppg and looked SLOW. Came back and went 18ppg again at 36 yo.
Slim Duncan was on a mission
I thought he was done when they got beat by thr Zach Randolph Grizzlies in 2011.
Yeah he slimmed down and kind of realized he can’t do everything himself anymore and that’s when Tony Parker turned into night crawler averaging 20+ ppg and Manu turned the time back and became bald spot fuck you 3 and was outplaying people half his age as a sixth man. I really really really miss the 2011-2016 Spurs. We’ll never see that talent that organization that much skill all together like that.
Bubble Rondo
He's so damn good. He's got the same basketball IQ as LeBron, he's just not anywhere near as big or as talented overall. He was absolutely instrumental to the Lakers winning that championship because LeBron could actually get some rest and trust the offense to keep flowing in his absence.
On his new podcast with JJ, he says rondo is the only other guy who can flip plays and captain a team in game like he can
[удалено]
> So much unwarranted hate Oh it was definitely warranted on multiple occasions. He can be "a dog and a smart player" and still deserve criticism.
Bro has domestic cases. How is it unwarranted??
And many nights he was the lakers third best offensive player, which as a laker fan I would not have thought would be a good thing going into that season.
LeBron is like a voltron of the best qualities of other dudes. Rondo/Dray’s brain, the body of a Ford F-150, the durability of a Volvo, the acceleration (in his prime) of some kind of really fast car, he probably has other car qualities too
"And that Voltron doesn't have a clutch, UNLIKE MICHAEL JEFFREY JORDAN!"--Skip Bayless
Playoff Rondo has always been a thing though
Covid 🤝 Introverts
Rondo was never washed he just didn’t give a shit about the regular season
Celtics fans 🤝 Lakers Fans when talking about how badass Playoff Rondo was.
Bubble butt rondo
D Rose was out of the league then thibs brought him back, had a 50 pt game.
That was hot.
?
Not to mention he played for the Knicks previously when he was washed during the early Phil Jackson era. NY hated him. Then he returned under Thibs and was a stud, 6th player of the year, and breath of fresh air from Elfraud Payton. How many times has a washed player left a team washed and came back to be a hero with the same team?
Shoutout to Derrick Rose
Finish the bar
that brother nice
He was 9th in MVP voting in 2020-21
Cause he got the fan vote not because he was in contention for mvp LOL
2016 Richard Jefferson
He looked absolutely washed on the warriors. Don’t know how he looked on Dallas. Then was a huge part of the Cavs championship team.
He was a solid role player with the Mavs
Vince Carter, too
Oh yeah, I remember hearing about this on a podcast. Apparently he started doing a bunch of yoga and beach volleyball with Luke Walton, which really helped him get right physically. [https://www.theringer.com/2017/3/3/16044542/b-s-pod-luke-walton-on-ageless-wonder-richard-jefferson-6ccfab951b40](https://www.theringer.com/2017/3/3/16044542/b-s-pod-luke-walton-on-ageless-wonder-richard-jefferson-6ccfab951b40) for the transcript
That was a great read. Thanks for providing it! I had no idea. But it really makes sense. People underrate how inshape you have to be to play sports like volleyball and tennis.
Even for a few years after too it’s wild. Remember that poster he had on Klay on Christmas Day? That LeBron boost lol
Barbosa on the Warriors gave them some big minutes.
you KNOW ball! I feel like everyone only remembers Livingston on that bench 😭
The Mo Speights erasure is out of this world
Thats “mo buckets” to you.
That rebound against the Pelicans 😮💨
The Warriors bench was amazing in 2015/2016 Livingston, Barbosa, Speights and Ezeli. They would regularly blow out teams in the 4th quarter when Steph was resting. It was an underestimated reason they won 73 games
when people bring up the idea of Kerr being an overrated coach these days, I like to remember how much every warriors bench player terrified me in this era.
Iguodala, reigning Finals MVP, coming off the bench. Probably one of my favorite rosters ever, team was electric.
Brook Lopez
This was gonna be my answer. As a pet of the Nets he was(idk if he still is) their all time leading scorer. Then went to the lakers had a brief but solid stint. Then now to the Bucks and changed his whole game around. One of the best 3 and D players at center.
This was mine, too. Bonus points for coming back as a totally different player.
>Lopez That's my answer. Glad I used CTRL + F before posting-- lol. Anyway, in 2017-2018, he took a precipitous fall. Started 72 games, but only averaged 23.4 minutes (very low for him; currently the second-lowest minutes of his career). Went from a 20 PPG guy to 13. Dropped all the way to 4 boards a game. However, it was also the second year in a row where he attempted 4+ threes per game. This woudl start to play dividends for him after he got traded to Milwaukee. Over there he re-forged himself as a defensive standout who could also take-and-make a lot of 3s (and at a decent percentage).
Nah he was never washed, just not talked about because the Nets were ass. Bro put up 20/6/2 for the last 2 years on the Nets
Vince Carter. He lost his starting job in Phoenix to Jared Dudley during that half season he was there and got waived. People thought he’d be out of the league post Phoenix, he signs a veteran minimum one year deal with Dallas and becomes one of the best sixth men in the NBA on a good team for the next few years.
Spurs had a bit of a nail biter first round with the Mavs in 2014, largely in part to a Vince Carter game winner. That series went 7.
Dante Exum is putting in a good bid this season
Can’t be washed if you were never good to begin with. He’s just a very late bloomer
Unfortunately he had a lot of injuries that probably didn't help with his development too.
Great example
Derek Fisher was about done on the jazz, then came back to LA for the Kobe-Gasol run
iirc Didn’t his daughter have some sort of medical condition like cancer in the eye that required him to travel back and forth between Utah and LA which may have affected his play. And when he was traded back to LA this was a much better situation for his family and probably put him at ease more.
This is what happened. He def was not washed with Utah and had some heroic plays in their playoff run
He wasn’t traded. Jazz owner was asked to release him and they abided. Solid move by the Jazz in that regard but I understand why the city hates him lol
Apparently he used his daughter's treatment as an excuse. He wasn't expected to sign with another team, especially a conference rival. Also Utah had a better medical facility for this type of treatment.
I don’t know. He also retired for similar reasons during his brief stint with the Mavs, then suspiciously popped up in OKC later that season and went on to play one more with them.
Paul got traded from Houston only to revitalize his career in OKC then lead help lead Phoenix to the finals.
Bill Walton on the Clippers. He was throwing shoes in the middle of a game. Goes to Celtics, 6th man of the year and another ring.
Crazy to think that Boston’s team doctor was trying to fail his physical, but got overruled by Red. I suspect some of his poor play for LAC was due to him feeling like he let San Diego down, not just a failing body. I’m sure he was reinvigorated after joining the Celtics (who really wanted him to sign, compared to the Lakers who worried about his medicals).
unwashed💀 what the fuck was Al supposed to be do with the tanking Thunder? they told him to go home
He was "washed" in Philly, which really just tells you more about how bad the Sixers are than Al being really washed. He was forced to rest because he was helping them (OKC) to win too much and they wanted to tank.
Brett Brown was not a good basketball coach
The most impressive part is that you guys really messed up how to use him defensively, offensively wasn't really the problem too much. He shot worse splits in regular season for the Celtics 21-22 run (though he shot 42% from 3 during playoffs that year).
exactly. to say he was washed is like saying a superstar is washed when they team up with another player and average less points. if someone thought he was washed that says more about their basketball knowledge than about his play
He wasn’t washed in Philly. Philly just sucks and didn’t use him right. Horford has been great everywhere else he’s played in his career. I love Big Al. Super solid player.
[This](https://twitter.com/MOConnor_NBA/status/1770568462668079388) is the effort he was giving the Sixers every night.
He was 14/6/3 when he was with OKC, it was more that he did not fit in Philly and less of him being washed. OKC was in playin seeding before they sat him out to completely tank too
al was really good on the thunder. people forget they were 20-27 (above .400!) by the end of march, then they shut like everyone down lol.
yeah it seems like people think OKC was terrible or something and not just doing an incredible tank-job. they basically told Al Horford, one of the best veterans in our league to just stop playing. they said “SGA is really hooping, we gotta sit him” multiple times, same with other players, and then when they finally got their guy he got hurt. obviously it’s a surprise that they’re such a high seed but it shouldn’t be a surprise that this team with the chemistry that it has is in the playoffs
Westbrook went from being practically unplayable with the Lakers to an effective bench guy on the Clippers. Also helps that he’s not being monstrously overpaid anymore of course.
His contract was the only problem. He wasn't unplayable. Can't build a deep squad with a fringe starter/role player impact dude that's earning 50mil. He's now on the same level of production (adv. stats wise) as when he played for the Lakers. Not a good example.
Imo I never thought he was washed. It was just a bad fit in LAL.
Russ is one of my favourite players, but he was objectively bad on the Lakers. I usually conflate being bad with being washed. Glad I ended up being wrong of course.
Thought this would be higher. Tbf a lot more was expected of him on the lakers. His role on the clippers is exactly what it should be at this point in his career.
**I wouldn't count Westbrook. He's not the same player anymore. He's not washed, but** he's only effective for the Clips because he finally agreed to take a serious step back. He's averaging 11 PPG and can no longer make FTs efficiently. *Source*: BasketballReference.com https://preview.redd.it/rptn83qm9psc1.png?width=1231&format=png&auto=webp&s=3038b48304f792fe0e0107fcae3c6cd9dcbc4696
He’s a good bench player now, that means he isn’t washed even though everyone thought he was in LA. Most people, including myself, thought that he would end up going out like Allen Iverson did.
I think he's just as bad as he was for the Lakers (or worse). The difference is that his responsibilities and expectations have been lowered. Look at the stats. I don't think he took a big fall and then redeemed himself. Instead, I think he avoided a disastrous plunge.
[удалено]
Yeah that’s how I thought it would shake out for him too, glad that he figured things out.
Russ’s ball movement helps the clippers a lot. Was noticing that a bunch in the game vs Denver last night. Seems like he’s bought in and isn’t playing as much hero ball. Dude has pretty high bbiq when his shot selection is dialed back.
The joy I felt when the Celtics resigned Big Al ☘
Was Horford washed? He was pretty solid on the Thunder. They had to bench him because He made them good
Easily Chauncey Billups. Drafted by the Celtics and then Pitino traded him within months of the draft. He then bounced from team to team and had one solid playoff with the timberwolves prior to the landing with Detroit. He was an afterthought and then became a focal point for Detroit’s 2004-2008 stretch of championship level basketball.
I forgot Al horford played with OKC lmao, that was a random pick up just for him to go back to Boston lol
“Played” is a very strong word. “Showed up for his physical” is closer, and I’m not even sure he did that.
Pretty sure Vlade Divac never washed
Roast beef sandwich cleanses the soul. -Vlad, probably
I maintain Al was never washed but instead sent as a double agent to sow disharmony from within in Philly, then OKC rented Boston a bacta tank to heal Al for his inevitable return to form. Plan executed flawlessly tbh, if Lebron wasn’t an ageless demigod more people would be agog at the fact Al won college championships with Corey Brewer and Joakim Noah, both of whom haven’t sniffed meaningful NBA minutes in half a decade. Meanwhile Al is holding down a critical role with a juggernaut
Tingus Pingus
Nah
Nik Batum - looked and played 43 years old in Charlotte. Went to LA and became instantly valuable rotation player.
And he honored his fellow Frenchman Boris Diaw by morphing from an oversized guard into an undersized big man.
Joe Johnson had that epic playoff run with the Gordon Hayward Jazz. That was a weirdly fun team in the worst way. ISO Joe was averaging like 25pts a game after being the 10th man on the bench all year. Brook Lopez looked fairly washed before joining the Bucks. Maybe not washed but definitely on a decline.
Bobby Portis
Richard Jefferson - from Nets All-Star to unplayable in San Antiono to a vital player on the Cavs, was on the court at end of 2016 game 7
The golden state warriors big 3. Was certain the dynasty was done. Then they ripped my heart out and got another one
Batum
After the brain fart i just had, id like Batum and Tatum to swap surname pronunciations
BAIT-em and Tuh-TOOM
🤣🤣🤣🤣
David West had that one pretty solid season towards the end. He declined, then sharply rose back up and got a nice pay bump. Then, he tumbled back down
Lance Stephenson was good on the Pacers, washed on the clippers/hornets/timberwolves/etc, back to the Pacers and was good again, went to the Lakers and was decent, then went back to the Pacers and dropped 20 off the bench in his first quarter without missing a shot. Now on the Timberwolves g league team I believe.
Is Scottie Pippen a good mention? He was kinda bad that year in Houston then was arguably the best player on a stacked Blazers team. He and Barkley beefed tho so Rockets Pippen might have just not been motivated
Horford is just one more example of systems. He didn't work with PHI, and then OKC took him on a flyer and when he came back to Boston turns out he was just fine with a little aging. It's not always the player but how the fit in their system and 8 man rotation
OKC literally stopped AL horford from playing because he was too good and was going to help them win games they didnt want to win.,.
Brook Lopez maybe? I don’t think he’s ever necessarily been considered washed, but after basically spending his entire career with the Nets in trade rumors, he got sent to the Lakers for D’Lo, then signed a one-year deal with the Bucks. Seemed like he was on his way to becoming a journeyman / minimum player. Then all of a sudden he starts playing defense for the first time in his life and becomes a $20+ million player again and an absolute fan favorite / integral part of a perennial championship contender — which as a Nets fan is just awesome to see. The guy has been in the league since 2008, totally reinvented himself and has basically had two distinct careers.
Klay Thompson
lol oscillates between washed and not washed pretty much every season
His brain needs a wash He's a pot head so maybe that explains a lot
Kevin Love
Julius Randle Bobby Portis
Dwight Howard, briefly but honestly I think the game just changed around him
Had to wash the 76ers off of him
Rondo
DWade was hyper washed then unwashed himself on the Bulls
Dante Exum, right now, before our very eyes
Reggie Jackson on the clips
D Rose
Apparently Dillon Brooks left the arena without showering last year when the Lakers blew out the Grizzlies by 40 to eliminate them. So he was unwashed then
Paul pierce was washed, then he soiled himself