Credit: Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports
The NBA’s greatest legends are players who came in and were clearly a cut above the rest, consistently performing at an elite level. These names are the ones that make it to the conversations about the best of all time, and the greatest ever at their position. But like any professional sport, the NBA has its share of athletes who could have been in those conversations if not for terrible circumstances.
The league’s history is littered with players who could have left much more significant legacies if not for specific issues, prominently injuries. Derrick Rose is the biggest modern example of this phenomenon, he was the league’s youngest MVP and injuries forced him to settle for a career as a role player in his last seasons. There are other examples too, Grant Hill and Baron Davis being prominent among them.
Baron Davis played in the NBA for over a decade, and in his prime, he was averaging nearly 20 points per game for 5 years. He made 2 All-Star teams and also led the league in steals twice, with his crowning achievement being leading the ‘We Believe’ Warriors past the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the 2007 playoffs while averaging 25 points per game.
Matt Barnes Said Baron Davis Could Have Been A Top 5 Point Guard In NBA History
And his teammate from the legendary Warriors team, Matt Barnes, showered him with huge praise in a podcast appearance. Speaking about underrated greats, Barnes suggested that Davis could have gone down as a Top 5 point guard in the history of the league if his career had gone differently.
“Motherf**kers don’t know. If Baron had stayed healthy, Baron could have been a Top 5 point guard in the history of the game. He didn’t have a weakness in his game. Picking up full court on defense to locking up a 3 or 4-man, to posting up, to passing, to breaking you down, to shooting… He didn’t have a hole in his game.”
Considering that there are names like Magic Johnson, Oscar Robertson, Isiah Thomas, Stephen Curry, John Stockton, Chris Paul, Steve Nash, and Jason Kidd on that list, this is massive praise. Notably, Byron Scott picked him over a few of those players as well. Baron Davis was good at what he did at the highest level, but there may be a bit of hyperbole involved in Barnes’ take. However, considering that his career was cut short, there is no way to know if he could have reached those levels.
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