Neat Box Score from 1999

[GameFan2k5]

Basketball-reference.com has got to be one of my favorite sites on the web.

Spurs vs. 76ers
November 2, 1999
GAME 1 of 82: Championship Defense Begins & First Ever NBA World Championship Banner Raised

Look at the Bench for the 76er's coached by Larry Brown.

Nazr Mohammad
Bruce Bowen
Larry Hughes
Aaron McKie

Little did he know two of those guys would be starters on the team that came back to beat him in the 2005 NBA Finals.

http://basketball-reference.com/game...m1=SAS&tm2=PHI

[sahoopster]

that is pretty neat, larry hughes is a stud now too.

[BlitzKriegBop]

eww


dont EVER bring up chuckey brown again!!!!

[bevo]

ya, ew on the brown boy!

billy owens. tyrone hill, todd mchalaugh...old names.

[RichB]

How funny.

I was AT that particular game.

I believe it was Sean Elliott (in street clothes recovering from transplant surgery) that gave a big thank you speech just before the banner was unfolded.

I remember being dissapointed at how the banner looked. I much prefer the new white ones.

I have that on VIDEO and we watched it the other day... i told andrea.. Look it's Bruce!!! Brown didn't play him until the end of the game in garbage time... what he missed out on!

[losman]

Man Bruce on that team was a total waste...kind of like having a point guard on the Knicks who is not a ball hogging malcontent.....

[ObeOne Ginobili]

Originally Posted by MomBear

I have that on VIDEO and we watched it the other day... i told andrea.. Look it's Bruce!!! Brown didn't play him until the end of the game in garbage time... what he missed out on!

Is that funny or what. L.B. keeping Bowen on the bench, and he is a H.O.F. coach? Wow

[xmiltsx]

Originally Posted by MomBear

I have that on VIDEO and we watched it the other day... i told andrea.. Look it's Bruce!!! Brown didn't play him until the end of the game in garbage time... what he missed out on!

yea, but if you check the box score, in bruce's 3 minutes, he did get one steal..

[RichB]

It was Pat Riley that first really took notice of Bowen and gave him serious minutes.

Remember, Bowen went undrafted and was considered a journeyman who couldn't score and "limited".

He averaged 7 mpg in Philladelphia and when Miami traded for him in mid-season, he became more of the defensive stopper we know now. He blossomed in Miami, and in 2001 was named to the All Defensive Second Team.

That summer, with Riley down on him because of his limited offense, Popovich scooped him up and instantly made him the starter.

The rest is history.

I wouldn't really blame Brown or Riley for missing the boat on Bowen. Sometimes it takes awhile for a player to blossom or standout enough to warrant attention.

Especially when you're an undrafted journeyman from a baseball school who was signed and released by two other teams before landing with the Sixers.

Some players you look at and say "he's a star" and they become anything but. Some guys you look at as "limited" and don't think much of - only to see them become special players later.

Look at Ben Wallace. He was basically a throw-in for the Grant Hill Pistons-Magic trade. I'd say that worked out pretty well for Detroit. Imagine what Orlando would give to have Ben Wallace now.

Riley saw something special in Bowen, but ultimately didn't feel he had the necessary offense to suit his team. Pop wanted him strictly for his defense - but has really coached him and allowed him to become better offensively.

There are very few "can't miss" players in the NBA. There are more 'busts' in the first round of an NBA Draft than there are All Stars. You never really know.

Bruce Bowen was a raw, limited players who needed that right guiding hand to help him become a perrenial All Defensive Player, a US Olympian and a vital contributor to an NBA Championship team.

Originally Posted by RichB

I love that picture of them...


Bruce Bowen laughing in the face of opponents.