emunney wrote:
It's so hard to understand how Thon ran Valanciunas off the court less than a year ago.
I brought up Manute Bol again the other day. Mentioned some teams in the league, including the Bucks when coached by Don Nelson, had huge problems with him his first go around. Your comment prompted me to hit BReference just now:
https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/bolma01.html
His career played out as I had recalled. As a rookie, Bol blocked 5.0 shots per game. Teams however quickly figured out how to work around him. After three seasons with the Bullets, he's dealt for a second round pick to Golden State. Think about that, a guy who blocks FIVE shots a game as a rookie then can't get more playing time and he's dumped for a second rounder.
At GSW, then new coach Don Nelson decided he could salvage Bol's career by sending him out to the three point line to space the floor. After two seasons Nellie realizes Bol can't hit three's at a high enough clip to justify getting killed elsewhere on the floor so his career then starts to wind down.
Bol played his most minutes in a season as a rookie. He never played that many ever again.