Who takes the top spot on your list?

Arvydas Sabonis. Best player ever outside NBA. Arrived to Portland at 32 and no knees, when the doctor saw him said, "He could qualify for a handicapped parking spot, based on the X-ray alone." Nevertheless, give us 16, 10, 3. Dude was a beast

Maurice Stokes had a hell of a friend in his teammate Jack Twyman. He not only started a foundation to raise money for all his medical expenses, but eventually became his legal guardian. Wow.

I think you should've included Ralph Sampson. Dude was 7'4" with insane mobility and athleticism. Another case of a talented big man losing his career due to excessive injuries

Dražen Petrović, best all around shooter I've ever seen in a jordan's brutal mentality. imagine this dude torching todays NBA. He left us too soon.

Grant was such an amazing player. It's a shame injuries destroyed him.

Don't forget, alongside Len bias, Boston's Reggie Lewis also had huge potential cut short by an untimely death.

B Roy is still heart-breaking. Ron Artest called him the hardest assignment he ever had, too. That comeback game against the Mavs in the playoffs was one of the greatest quarters I ever remember sitting through. Penny briefly tied MJ as my favorite player in the mid 90s. I’m sure there were dozens of honorable mentions. Great list, thanks for calling some of these names to the attention of some of the younger crowd.

Larry Johnson is honorable mention... before 1994... He is also face of the nba... but back injury change all of that... his explosiveness suddenly missed after he injured his back and he rely more on outside shooting ....

Ralph Sampson, Yao Ming, Bill Walton - sad stories but in some way maybe over time unavoidable issues of really big and heavy men. I think much more annoying are the many careers of the 70s and 80s that ended cause of drug abuse. Btw, Penny is my number 1, he was like a Mix of MJ and Magic when he came to the league.

Pete Maravich, reading in his autobiography about how messed up his knees were, it's a wonder he played as long as he did. But the fact that he left the Celtics the year Bird arrived leaves one of the most interesting "what ifs". Imagine Johnson, Maravich, Bird, McHale and Parish - full HOF starting five. Plus him and Bird, two of the best passers and shooters of all time would have been crazy along with Parish and McHale in the paint. *edit* as an afterthought, Pete also retired the first year the 3-point line was introduced. A healthy veteran maravich with that celtics team and a three point line, that's gotta be one of the greatest what-ifs in basketball history. Andrew Toney and Bernard King are two we never got to see the full potential of. *edit* (Adding Andrew Bynum, Arvydas Sabonis, and Andrew Bogut as well) And, in addition to Len Bias, the Celtics lost Reggie Lewis too when he was breaking out as a future star. So many questions about what the east would have looked like if both of those guys were able to play alongside twilight Bird and McHale. Even Bird is worthy of the list. His healthy years already put him in the GOAT conversation. What could he have done if his back wasn't completely wrecked for the latter half of his career. Just hire somebody to shovel mom's driveway. . . RIP to Drazen Petrovic as well.

It was not Kobe who said that statement about defending Brandon Roy, it was Ron Artest, when he was playing with the Rockets and they faced the Blazers in the 2009 playoffs.

Greg Oden should absolutely be on this list. Him, LA, and Brandon Roy would have been and insane trio

It’s crazy to think how the legends of the game were so blessed that not only were they born with incredible gifts but they also managed to build long careers without succumbing to something as simple as a sprained ankle that wouldn’t heal right. The goats of the game are truly one in a billion.

Ralph Sampson was the most gifted player to have his career derailed by injuries. He was truly a freak of nature and it’s tragic we never got to see his prime materialize

This one hurt. Grant Hill was my favorite player as a kid and Tmac was my favorite as a teen.

Penny Hardaway and Grant Hill are my, "What could have been..." players.

What about Reggie Lewis that played for the Celtics. I believe he would have been a great player as well. No one ever mentions this guy at all. He died tragically young from a heart problem

I can’t get over D Rose 🥀

Drose working Lebron and Wade will forever be stuck in my mind as one of my all time favorite games

Penny is my favorite player back in the 90s. would've love to see him reach his full potential, but the injuries prevented this.

This is what separates Jonny's channel other KZfaqrs, First Take, Undisputed, etc. Jonny thinks of unique undiscussed topics.

Bill Walton is one of the most forgotten players in NBA history. I feel like the 70s were a superstar drought, until the merger, but he was Jokic before Jokic. Nothing he couldn't do on the floor, and maybe the best passing big man of all time. So glad he got to end his career with the Celtics, and be a great veteran presence for arguably the greatest team of all time.

I remember T-Mac being just unstoppable. People give him crap for all the first round losses, but the fact that he took the Pistons to 7 games was a Herculean effort in 2003.

Penny Hardaway was psychologically destroyed after losing to Allen Iverson in 1999 as a 1st seed. The Magic tied the best record in the East but had the best record against other teams in the eastern conference. As far as I’m concerned, they were the real 1st seed. Penny, despite missing the All Star Team (Iverson selected over him for his first appearance), averaged a career high in minutes and rebounds per game, the second most steals per game in his career, and his normal production in blocks and assists. His PPG were only a tick below his previous all star season and both round out to 16 a night. There was no indication he was “washed” until Iverson gave him 37 and 9 in the close out game, while he shot only 3/17 and never put on a Magic uniform again. Iverson blew up the remaining of that Shaq-led finals team and Horace Grant, Nick Anderson would also depart the organization.

I feel you've missed Arvydas Sabonis. In context of the NBA, his potential to play in NBA was ruined by the times and politics. But I feel we were all robbed not seeing Arvydas in his prime in the NBA.. And to add one more.. My idol when I was a kid in Yugoslavia. Great late Drazen. I know I might be missing the point of the video.. But death for sure is ruining someone's potential more than an injury.

Great list. Brought back all of sads since I started watching NBA in the mid 80's

Deron Williams was an interesting one for me. Super fun to watch and used to light Chris Paul up in the days where CP was considered the best pg

Awesome list. Len Bias at #1 is correct....

I am still sad when I think of Rose, 10+ years later :X. He would have made the Bulls a proper contender for the entirety of the decade and beyond.

Larry Bird is SO GREAT that he is one of the top 10 players of all time even with the injury that (kind of) ruined his career.

It broke my heart what happened to Penny.. That dude was absolutely sensational for Orlando along with young Shaq. Still one of my all time faves

Bro the bulls haven't been the same since that drose injury 😢

I'm here! What A great Video!

Man you are grinding, a video every other day. Appreciate it!

Bernard King should be number 1. He was a scoring machine. He could have played with Patrick Ewing in NY. The potential for a championship was incredible. He should be top three on this list

aside from the obvious players, i have Amare here. #32 Amare was a beast but due to his early injury and changing to #1, poked eyes and playing with googles, he became a more well rounded player but a lesser beast. That #32 will be a HOF if he had the original trajectory.

Great vid as usual. It's the Jonny formula! At first it makes you think "There are no surprises on this list? Seen it all before." Then as you keep watching, you can't help but wonder who will be next on the list and you're reminded of players you forgot about! Great job!

It's really sad the debate show era had absolutely no idea how good Shaun Livingston was.

Your videos are wonderful and informative. Have you ever thought about who was the best wing player in the league during Jordan's first retirement?

I know he never played in the NBA or even College but Ben Wilson had a lot of potential

hey Jonny, nice vid even though i haven't watched it yet

You hit all them on the money see this is why I'm a faithful subscriber love all your videos Johnny

Come to think of it, Derrick Rose and Penny Hardaway have something in common that they graduated from the University of Memphis.

Honorable mention to Shawn Kemp. Sure it wasn't injury that slowed his career down, rather it was a combination of personal demons and food. It was in any case wasted potential.

Ralph Sampson is missing on this list, also D-Rose should have been #1

There gotta be a Drazen Petrovic... 30 years ago this day, the tragedy happened. But yeah, no one knows how Mozart would've done, especially after he had his best season in '93

I will always and always be heartbroken about D 🌹. I still remember watching this man live. Unbelievable. Never seen someone so quick, athletic and powerful.

WAKE UP BABE JONNY DROPPED

If Klay never got injured we would still be potentially looking at a Dynasty

Great video idea

Brandon Roy was destined for greatness. So sad. I loved watching him play

We saw Grant Hill play up to the middle of his prime. His injuries started at age 28, his 7th season. Bill Walton was certainly headed to a top 5-8 center of all time. Possibly the best defensive player of that era, one of the best rebounders, the best passing big man, and just a great all around player. He didn't have explosive scoring which is why top 5 center would be difficult. Rose would have been great. He played only to 22 before injuries. At age 22 his per 75 possession stats were 27pts 8 ast & lead the league in offensive box plus minus. I would put Rose above Len Bias because we at least saw Rose was indeed for sure headed to top 20 all time if he kept up his improvements. Rose is like Ja Morant if Ja could actually finish near the basket as well as Rose

Great video. Two glaring omissions: Jay Williams (CHI) and Sam Bowie (POR). Their careers were cut short with tremendous potential for greatness. Grant Hill, Tracey McGrady and Bill Walton were all recognized during and after their long and iconic careers as HOF'ers; their potential was met or exceeded.

Yeah Len Bias would have been a monster with the Celtics and it would have expanded Larry's career maybe. Also Brandon Roy is another sad one. I watched him a lot he was incredible even after all those surgeries and injuries. His last playoff game he went crazy

Ron Harper was a phenomenal star in Cavs and Clippers. His injury ruined him. He got rings as a supporting cast in Jordan led Bulls.

I love your list. I was really expecting to see Ralph Sampson on this list. From 83-87 he had a better career than Yao even though Akeem was taking away a lot of his points. He led a team to the finals in his 3rd season while gentlemen sweeping the NBA Champion Lakers and making Kareem officially look old. Hes always been my biggest what if because he and Olajuwon were poised to dominate the west for the unforeseeable future.

Your choices were great. I would add, Michael Ray Richardson (Drugs), Drazen Petrovic (Car accident), Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (American Racism), and Reggie Lewis (Heart Issues).

I'd put Alex Groza #1. as a rookie, he was already the 2nd best player in the league to Mikan, and no one else was even close. he got banned from the NBA for a college point-shaving scandal which he was probably bullied into participating in as a kid, completely unfair. same with Bill Spivey, who had the potential to be Wilt before Wilt but never even got a chance in the NBA.

Penny Hardaways my fav

A healthy Kawhi can shutdown Lebron and Bully Kevin Durant. The West would have flowed differently if the clipper were healthy

I would have mentionned too : -Drazen Petrovic (along side with Len Bias) -Ron Harper (was able to challenge Jordan when he was full potential) -Tim Hardaway (unstoppable with his quick fist step) -Patrick Ewing (Even if he lost the 1994 NBA finals, he was diminished and injuried during the 1999 NBA finals and the Knicks lost... But Robinson was also and win)

For the record, Duke players almost always under-achieve in the NBA. So many national player of the year award winners and top draft picks resulted in becoming bench/role players in the NBA. Turns out they were "System" guys who were no good outside of coach K's system.

Nice list. I've always been a big Derrick Rose fan. I made a top 100 NBA players of all time list and was sad to realize that he was the only MVP winner who couldn't quite make the rank in the top 100. I still root for him and have great empathy for any player who's potential was derailed due to injuries.

Other players that could've been on the list: Derrick Coleman, Kenny Anderson, Dražen Petrović (that early 90's Nets team had great young talent), Ralph Sampson, Larry Johnson, Bernard King, Reggie Lewis, Sidney Moncrief, Steve Francis, Baron Davis, Shawn Kemp, Gilbert Arenas, John Wall, Andrew Bynum, Mark Price, Jamal Mashburn, Jimmy Jackson, Glenn Robinson, Brad Daugherty, Danny Granger, Tim Hardaway, Kevin Johnson, Deron Williams, Ron Harper, Juwan Howard, Bobby Hurley, Vin Baker, Antonio McDyess, Lamar Odom, Blake Griffin.

Great video. I would also include LMU’s Hank Gathers on this list. He was a force as a forward during this college career who would’ve had a tremendous NBA career. He tragically died while playing in his Junior year. He was a very good, positive young man. RIP.

Great list. I think you nailed it. Personally, i would probably have Yao at 1 or 2 just b/c of the impact he had globally. He singlehandedly created a path into the largest untapped market in the world. Very few, if any, have had that kind of impact. Just imagine if he had a 10-12 year NBA career.

If you put Len Bias first, you have to put Reggie Lewis, afro-american small forward like Bias who was drafted 1 year after by the Celtics too, becoming the 4th man of the famous Celtics trio and the captain after Bird retirement, and died very sadly of an heart attack in the 1993 playoffs

Totally agree I was thinking the same thing as I was reading. This article and probably took two championships minimum away from the Celtics. Those two players in a five year. Passing away crazy

Clicked as fast as I could!

D Rose is the biggest what if in NBA history and one of the biggest in sports history. Man is the youngest MVP in NBA history. He was on course to be in the GOAT discussion.

As a Bulls fan seeing D-Rose get injured over and over again was the most painful thing that could have happened to him. If Rose had not gotten injured so much he maybe could have led the Bulls to some championships

Crazy part tmac had injuries since highschool. He had a back issue along with others.

Hands down it’s David Thompson!! Even before I watch this!!

33# Grant Hill was a major prospect who had a lot of potentials to become great star in the NBA, but injurues killed his best career days and after a few years lost all that. His rookie seasons in the Detroit Pistons was some great time to see him play.

Honorable mentions for potentialy better careers if not the early injuries: Arvydas Sabonis, Peja Stojakovic, Vince Carter, Allen Iverson etc.

Prime Grant Hill was so good that he IS in the Hall of Fame ...and still on this list. He was on his way to top 10 (possibly top 5 player) of all time.

Reggie Lewis... the interesting thing regarding Bias is between him and Reggie Lewis the Celtics lost the means of extending Bird's career and their primacy in the East. Imagine Bias taking minutes from a fatigued Bird with Lewis coming up later to continue the that Celtic core's run. I believe it cost them 3 or 4 years if Auerbach could have found a way to hold it together.

grew up in the mid-late 2000s and brandon roy made me fall in love with the game, was scared that he wouldn’t be on this list lol

Solid list. A guy who deserves being mentioned is Andrew Toney aka The Boston Strangler.

can we get a part two , a nets fan would love to hear about a certain someone 😢 #3

More people need to learn about Maurice Stokes so we can stop with the plumbers and janitors BS!!!!!! I'm glad you made a separate video on him and brought him up again here.

Thank you so much for putting brandon roy

Great list. Only the experts put Len Bias, very nice. Some honorable mentions: Arvydas Sabonis, Mahmud Abdul Rauf, Greg Oden, Vin Baker, Ben Gordon, Rodney Rogers, Johnathan Bender, Richard Dumas, Eddie Griffin, and soon Ja Morant

Maybe Drazen Petrovic (died due to car accident) is missing on this list.

If Len Bias doesn't OD and Reggie Lewis doesn't have heart failure, them and Jordan would've gone toe to toe in the 90s and Jordan likely doesn't have 6 rings. Their deaths would be the equivalent of Durant/Westbrook or Curry/Klay dying before ever playing and we all know how much that would've impacted Lebron's legacy, possibly 2 more rings, probably another MVP as well in '14. It's crazy how tragic deaths have shaped NBA history.

Awesome video bro! But no Gilbert Arenas!?

crazy to not see any drazen petrovic or paul george on this list. Drazen could’ve been a top 5 scorer comparable to bron, Mj, kd, kobe, etc, and paul george would’ve been a top 4-5 SF OAT if he never had that leg injury, he was going toe to toe with miami bron in 2013 and 2014

Shawn Kemp should have been a all-star type player until the year of 2007 or 2008. But instead weight and issues ruined it 😔.

Great list! I wonder if there was any consideration for players like Dwight Howard, Steve Nash, or even Larry Bird. Players that had great careers but all had chronic injuries (coincidentally all back injuries) that held them back from their full potential. Makes sense they aren’t on the list, but would they have made a top 15?

Hank Gathers dude was a beast with Loyola Marymount.

Drazen Petrovik would have been in the goat conversation if he never died.

Another W list.

That blue Nuggest jersey David Thompson is wearing is AWESOME

I don’t count Len Bias because he just got drafted. That was AWFUL NEWS, I was in a Hotel room and remembered the awful news. I was a Celtics fan.

Before even watching the guys that come to mind are Ralph Sampson, Penny Hardaway, Grant Hill, and Derrick Rose.

We can name many, like Oscar Schmidt and Nikos Gallis, in addition to the ones mentioned in the comments below. I have two for myself: 1) Connie Hawkins and 2) Bob Kurland. I could also add Marvin Barnes, Reggie Harding, Hank Gathers, etc. but those two could have changed the landscape of the NBA altogether in their respective eras - btw, the 60's weren't supposed to be such a one-sided decade, it wasn't just meant to be more colorful, because of the absence of Hawkins, Stokes, Bob Rule and many other 'casualties'.

Could add Bernard King to this list. He was a baller for NYK before the injuries

It still hurts remembering the D-Rose injury and thinking about what could have been. That Bulls team was on a mission.

i agree with every selection on your list. i expected Greg Oden to be on here, but i think all 10 of your selections are more deserving after watching.