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Like Magic

Shaun Livingston, 20 years old and just two years removed from high school in Illinois, was all knees, elbows, and potential. That potential — vision, athleticism, tenacity — was never more evident than in the 2006 playoffs. The no. 6-seeded Clippers had won their first playoff series in 30 years, cruising past the Carmelo Anthony–led no. 3-seeded Denver Nuggets. Tied 2-2 in a series against the offensive juggernaut Phoenix Suns, the Clippers held the momentum, but not the home-court advantage. Elton Brand played like an MVP and Sam Cassell like the savvy veteran point guard he was. Livingston, his apprentice, was the 6-foot-7 playmaker destined to revolutionize the point guard position. He resembled Magic Johnson, the way he peeked over smaller guards and bounced around in his defensive assignments, holding his own against Steve Nash, Leandro Barbosa, and Raja Bell. "A beckoning player in this league, for sure," Nash recalled recently.

Brand, Cassell, Chris Kaman, and Corey Maggette formed the backbone of that Clippers team. But the future lay with Livingston. "Shaun would have definitely been the next All-Star coming up," Brand said.

"Our staff, we thought that he might be the best player on our team [by now]," said Mike Dunleavy, then-coach of the Clippers. "He's a great defensive player. He's got a great IQ, his shooting was improving every day, and he was getting a little more of a post game. His whole game was coming around."

"I ripped into his ass," said Cassell, now an assistant with Washington. "He didn't speak to me for a couple of days because of the tone. I verbally went at him. I told him, 'I'm not going to be wide open with eight seconds left in a game. You've got to get the ball to me.' He took it personally. He didn't speak to me, but I didn't care. I've seen the change right there in him: getting guys in the right position, running the offense, not having to rely on me to bring the ball up when guys are on him. I just saw him start to take off from there."

"There is just no way he should be playing basketball after that injury and the incredible reconstruction that was done to build back all parts of that knee," Lawler said. "The fact that he's walking without a limp, playing the game at the highest possible level — whether he's no more than a journeyman, is still remarkable. What he could have been, we'll never know."

Jonathan Abrams, Grantland