Neddy wrote:I want to go back and give ranma a chance to reveal the #21 he had in mind. back to #21 fella!Ranma wrote: I'll submit my high-school jersey number, #21, which I chose because of this other favorite player of mine who would eventually join the Clippers. Like Chris Paul, he was noted for being one of the best (and not to mention most exciting) players who hasn't won an NBA championship despite putting on a performance for the ages in going up against an NBA legend in one of the most epic one-on-one battles in NBA playoff history.
kylem4711 correctly identified the second player I had in mind for #21, Darius Miles, who was eventually traded for Andre Miller, a player almost as despised in Clipper circles as Danny Ferry, whom Ron Harper was traded for.
However, the primary player I had in mind was Dominique Wilkins, who was traded for Danny Manning during their respective free-agent year. Wilkins played in only 25 games in his Clipper career all during the 1993-94 season. Nique is one of the most exciting players in NBA history, but like CP3, he doesn't have a championship, which is a bit unfair to his legacy since he showed himself quite capable of going toe-to-toe against 2 of the NBA's greatest players ever in their respective elements no less.
Wilkins, a 2-time Slam Dunk Contest Champion (1985 and 1990) beat Air Jordan in 1985 but came up short to him in 1988. It could be argued that Dominique was short-changed in the official scoring during the 1988 final round to give MJ a chance to win, but Jordan closed out the match with his iconic dunk.
Dominique Wilkins also put on an exhibition for the ages again in 1988 going up against Larry Legend himself in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. While he would also come up short with the loss, his mano-a-mano battle with Bird stands as one of the all-time most dramatic postseason performances.
Thanks, Neddy, for giving me the opportunity to identify the player I had in mind. I'll just go with #14 next.
