Best Potential that never reached it

The_Hater · Post #41 » by **The_Hater** » Sun Sep 15, 2019 4:14 pm

Mighty Quinn wrote:I'd say Kevin Martin, only because he was so under the radar his whole career.

But under the radar wasn’t the question being asked. If anything, Kevin Martin reached or exceeded all reasonable expectations during his career.

The_Hater · Post #42 » by **The_Hater** » Sun Sep 15, 2019 4:19 pm

BigRedDog wrote:I think if Kobe hadn't had the "mentality" he had he could have become a really great player. It seems like a lot of times that was the biggest thing holding him back from becoming an elite player.

Kobe almost certainly exceeded all reasonable expectations as a player. He was a late lottery pick, he never had Jordan’s natural talent and very few people in history worked as hard as he did to improve their skill set.

Shaq, his teammate who rarely worked hard or kept in shape is the more obvious answer here.

DoubleLintendre · Post #43 » by **DoubleLintendre** » Sun Sep 15, 2019 4:47 pm

Zion Williamson

The4thHorseman · Post #44 » by **The4thHorseman** » Sun Sep 15, 2019 5:02 pm

Tyson Chandler.

Albeit, I haven't seen a ton of TC's games throughout his entire career but enough to think he never reached his potential.

Been in the league since he was 19yrs old and never developed a post-up game that I've seen. Never seen him dribble and try to back his defender down to either draw the foul or get the layup. It was basically lob city or nothing. Only averaged 3.3FTA per game for his career so far. To me, that seems awfully low for a guy who stands 7 foot 1.

Just seems like he could have been a 18-10+ guy but just didn't have the motivation to get better. Obviously I'm speculating about his motivation and he might have not had the coordination to be better, but it's quite weird to me for a guy his size not to post up or even dribble the ball after 19yrs in the league.

Antinomy · Post #45 » by **Antinomy** » Sun Sep 15, 2019 5:12 pm

Anthony Magic Randolph

jehosafats · Post #46 » by **jehosafats** » Sun Sep 15, 2019 5:23 pm

The_Hater wrote:
Mighty Quinn wrote:I'd say Kevin Martin, only because he was so under the radar his whole career.

But under the radar wasn’t the question being asked. If anything, Kevin Martin reached or exceeded all reasonable expectations during his career.

He was among the best true shooting guards the past decade or so, yes, but he saw no All NBA or Team USA selections, no All-Star nods. During his stint with OKC they had him coming off the bench behind Thabo friggin' Sefolosha. He could've been a perennial star had injuries and bad personnel decisions not played such a factor.

AleksandarN · Post #47 » by **AleksandarN** » Sun Sep 15, 2019 5:26 pm

Darko Milicic

drosereturn · Post #48 » by **drosereturn** » Sun Sep 15, 2019 5:29 pm

Derrick Rose. Would have been an all time great pg and top 10 overall but peaked way too soon before prime.

Post #49 » by **Clyde Frazier** » Sun Sep 15, 2019 5:30 pm

pootbrah wrote:Perry Jones III

Oden and Wagner mentions make me sad :'(

Sean Mays a good mention. He looked like he was gonna become a beast early on

Surprised Jones isn't even in the league, though. I was super high on him and I have his hoopmixtape to blame :-?

Watch on YouTube

JShuttlesworth · Post #50 » by **JShuttlesworth** » Sun Sep 15, 2019 5:32 pm

Dominater wrote:Really surprised there hasn't been a Tyrus Thomas mention yet

Not a bad mention. I remember really liking him at LSU, I believe they made the Final Four that year.

I wonder if he would have been better in todays NBA as an undersized defensive big.

OdomFan · Post #51 » by **OdomFan** » Sun Sep 15, 2019 5:37 pm

I was really rooting for Sean May to do well in the NBA. Same with Mateen Cleaves and Juan Dixon.

The_Hater · Post #52 » by **The_Hater** » Sun Sep 15, 2019 5:50 pm

Mighty Quinn wrote:
The_Hater wrote:
Mighty Quinn wrote:I'd say Kevin Martin, only because he was so under the radar his whole career.

But under the radar wasn’t the question being asked. If anything, Kevin Martin reached or exceeded all reasonable expectations during his career.

He was among the best true shooting guards the past decade or so, yes, but he saw no All NBA or Team USA selections, no All-Star nods. During his stint with OKC they had him coming off the bench behind Thabo friggin' Sefolosha. He could've been a perennial star had injuries and bad personnel decisions not played such a factor.

Not being recognized or being underrated isn’t the same as failing to meet one’s potential. You seem confused by the thread.

Lost Angel · Post #53 » by **Lost Angel** » Sun Sep 15, 2019 5:52 pm

Joe Smith

Jay Williams

Andrew Bynum

norcocredo · Post #54 » by **norcocredo** » Sun Sep 15, 2019 5:56 pm

Norm2953 wrote:It's got to be Shaq. Nobody had his physical talent as a big man but he never had the desire to be the
best player he could have been but I suppose 80% is still better than all but Kareem or perhaps Hakeem.

Disagree with this. Shaq reached his potential, he just didn’t sustain it. The guy was literally unstoppable for a period of time.

norcocredo · Post #55 » by **norcocredo** » Sun Sep 15, 2019 6:01 pm

BigRedDog wrote:I think if Kobe hadn't had the "mentality" he had he could have become a really great player. It seems like a lot of times that was the biggest thing holding him back from becoming an elite player.

Disagree with this. Kobe was elite. His mentality is what let him reach the levels he did. He could of taken a different approach at times that may have elevated him to a higher status but that applies to ever player. All things considering, think kobe exceeded his potential.

norcocredo · Post #56 » by **norcocredo** » Sun Sep 15, 2019 6:01 pm

Lamar Odom.

Chanel Bomber · Post #57 » by **Chanel Bomber** » Sun Sep 15, 2019 6:01 pm

Darko Milicic and Michael Beasley. All the talent in the world.

Melo would have been an all-timer had he been less self-absorbed and petty. Another guy who had a successful career but never reached his full potential is Rasheed Wallace. He could do it all but he was never able to take his game to the next next level. Lamar Odom is a good one as well.

SecondTake · Post #58 » by **SecondTake** » Sun Sep 15, 2019 6:37 pm

Shaqs potential was 5+ championships, multiple Mvps and possible goat status. So no he didn't reach his career potential

norcocredo wrote:
Norm2953 wrote:It's got to be Shaq. Nobody had his physical talent as a big man but he never had the desire to be the
best player he could have been but I suppose 80% is still better than all but Kareem or perhaps Hakeem.

Disagree with this. Shaq reached his potential, he just didn’t sustain it. The guy was literally unstoppable for a period of time.

Sent from my SM-G950W using RealGM mobile app

pootbrah · Post #59 » by **pootbrah** » Sun Sep 15, 2019 7:35 pm

Clyde Frazier wrote:
pootbrah wrote:Perry Jones III

Oden and Wagner mentions make me sad :'(

Sean Mays a good mention. He looked like he was gonna become a beast early on

Surprised Jones isn't even in the league, though. I was super high on him and I have his hoopmixtape to blame

Watch on YouTube

He was number 1 or 2 ranked out of highschool yeh? I was so hype on him based off his mixtapes and workout vids haha. His draft stock fell about the same as Michael Porter Jr his freshman season even without the injuries. I still thought his game would translate to the NBA real easy. I guess I was just mesmerised by his fluidity and explosiveness on a big fella.

rzzzzz · Post #60 » by **rzzzzz** » Sun Sep 15, 2019 7:45 pm

Daryl Dawkins. so strong and athletic the game had to redesign rim-backboard-brace support when he started tearing them down. but his brain was lost somewhere on the planet Lovetron.
(also wonder why Pistol Pete wasn't more successful.)