[Old General Record] Rashid Wallace: A big man at the forefront of the times!

He is probably the most controversial player in the history of the Trail Blazers, or the most individual. He gave the Trail Blazers a chance to open the door to the finals he had always dreamed of, but it was also because of his unruly that the team fell into decline.

Rashid Wallace, as a big man with both height and mobility, and a soft finishing touch, such a midfielder is definitely the type of player that all coaches dream of.

Long before the draft, he had already shown his talent in his second year of playing for North Carolina, and was selected into the second team of the All-American University Team, helping the team to the semi-finals. He then announced his abandonment with his classmate Starkhouse and was finally selected by Washington Bullet with the fourth pick.

were just two main players in the team at that time known as the Five Michigan Tigers: Chris Webber Juwan Howard. Compared to the inside, the team needed more backcourt supplements. So in just one season, Wallace packed and sent it to Portland with his teammate Mitchell Butler in a two-for-two deal in exchange for Rhode Strickland and Harvey Grant.

And in Portland, Wallace stayed for eight seasons.

Compared to Washington, which is not suitable for the lineup, Portland fans did not wait too long. Wallace firmly took up the starting power forward as soon as he arrived, and his partner with legendary star Avidas Sabonis became the team's strongest wall.

Although its ability is excellent, Wallace's data has not seen an explosive growth. At this time, the Trail Blazers were the most ambitious team in the league. With the guarantee that the team owner opened the vault door, the team's general manager directly started a crazy trading mode, and successively received Brian Grant, Damon Stodmeier, Steve Smith, Scotty Pippen and others.

By the late 1990s, the Trail Blazers were already a top-notch team that claimed to have two sets of starters and the whole nation was soldier. Naturally, Wallace did not need a large number of points. And compared to scoring high scores in each game, Wallace prefers to do everything well to win the game.

The Trail Blazers reached their peak in the 1999-00 season. While retaining the regular season, they still won 59 wins. They ranked at the top level of the league on both offense and defense. However, just when everyone thought the Trail Blazers could win the championship, they suffered a big reversal in the last 12 minutes of the Western Conference Finals, becoming the stepping stone for the first championship of the Lakers OK combination.

Looking back at this year, Rashid Wallace was selected as the All-Star in the first game, and the playoffs also showed core value. But just when Trail Blazers fans thought he was about to transform into a superstar, an unstable stealth bomb was also quietly buried.

Similar to another distinctive striker Sabonis, although Wallace on the court has the spirit of sacrifice to win, he also has a rebellious side. Since entering the league, Wallace has been a regular player at the top of the list of skilled fouls every season.

In the 1999-00 season when he became an All-Star for the first time, as the team's status gradually improved, Wallace's mood became more and more uncontrollable. He took 38 skilled fouls and was expelled 6 times throughout the season. And this is not the most outrageous. Next season, he set a new record with 41 skilled fouls and 7 expulsions.

In addition to tensions with referees on the court, the conflicts between Wallace and reporters off the court are also increasing. He has always been proud of blackism. Once he thinks that your behavior is targeted, he can laugh at the least, and lose his temper on the spot. It was fine when the team won the game. Once they lost the game, Wallace's mood was easily ignited in the face of sharp questions from reporters after the game.

As the player order gradually got out of control, the Trail Blazers in the next season also began to decline, and they were eliminated early in the first round of the playoffs by last season's old rival Lakers; and what's worse was that Wallace once again lost control. He threw the player's towel directly on the face of veteran Sabonis, and Sabonis, who was unwilling to be humiliated, directly announced his retirement (although he returned to play for another season later), which directly caused internal conflicts to surface, and the team also fell into decline since then.

In the following time, the Trail Blazers seemed to have become the target of the media, players were out of control more and more, Quentle Woods was arrested with contraband, Zach Randolph and Ruben Patterson fought during training, Bunch Wells' remarks storm, Sean Kemp lost control of weight, and other off-court problems. The team's locker room was almost out of control, and Rashid Wallace's off-field conflicts are also becoming increasingly intensified. In 2003, he even directly threatened the referee after the game. Because of their exaggerated behavior, the Trail Blazers at that time were directly nicknamed "Jail Blazers" by fans.

Although you can still make it to the playoffs by relying on your talent on the field, in the playoffs, the team has no fighting spirit and resilience at all. Not only did it play for three consecutive years, it even set an embarrassing record of ten consecutive losses in the playoffs in the middle.

Losses on the court and negative news off the court have continued, which has also made Portland fans feel dissatisfied with these players day by day, and Wallace, who was led, has become the culprit.

In 2003, the disheartened Pippen left the team, and the elderly Sabonis chose to retire. Compared to the loss of core players, what is more dangerous is that from management to local fans, they all hope to get rid of the shadow brought by this group of teams. Although Wallace was entering his peak at the time, he had already lost the hearts of the people; instead, Zach Randolph, who made the team die in the 2003 playoffs, gradually became the new favorite of fans. Before the 2004 trading deadline, Wallace, who had played with the team for half a season, was finally sent away. He and Wesley Person went to Atlanta for Sharif Abdul Rahim, Dan Dikao and Theo Ratlif. After playing a game for the Hawks, they came to the Pistons in a three-team big deal.

Rashid Wallace's story begins here.

Thanks to Wallace's joining, the problem of the Pistons power forward was solved, and the team formed a double Wallace combination that scared the league. The story of this terrifying defensive combination is familiar later. This new bad boys team defeated the Lakers in the playoffs to win the championship. Wallace also completed his self-redemption that year, from a headache-inducing trouble machine to a key factor in winning the championship, and also completed his revenge against the Lakers.

After the Pistons, Wallace briefly stayed at the Celtics and the Knicks. After retiring, he once chose the team's coaching path, but after serving as an assistant coach for one year, he seemed dissatisfied and left immediately. Then his focus of work returned to the University of North Carolina, and he could be seen occasionally on ESPN. His direct personality and unique game insights also made him well received by many fans.

Looking back at Rashid Wallace's career trajectory, we use one sentence: personality determines destiny, which is really the most appropriate.

Although his career data is not eye-catching, his talent cannot be ignored. His excellent stadium reading and solid basic movements have the talent to be the core of the team, but he attaches importance to team performance over personal data.

From some aspects, this choice is somewhat incompatible with the single-handed star culture of the times. Although such a spirit of sacrifice is worthy of recognition, his talent always makes fans hope that he can take on more and more.

This is also the contradiction he encountered during the Trail Blazers, which eventually ended with him and the team in failure. During the Pistons, he no longer needs to be the team's first or even second scorer, he just needs to concentrate on his own work. Perhaps it is precisely such a piston that does not require him to bear all the pressure in every game, but only needs to stand up when necessary, which will allow his off-field problems to be well controlled.

The personal data is not excellent enough, coupled with a lot of negative news, these issues have affected the fans' correct evaluation of Wallace. From the perspective of the times, there were also many Hall of Fame power forwards such as Duncan, Garnett, Malone, and Nowitzki in the frontcourt position at the same time. Wallace was able to occupy a place in the Western Conference frontcourt, which was filled with stars at the time, so his personal ability was naturally unquestionable.

Looking back now, I will also be in a trance. If he could be born in this era, he would probably be the most suitable frontcourt big man with contemporary characteristics. He has defensive value from low-post defense to inside frame protection. His mobility at his peak can also be used to switch to external defenders. In addition to playing hard at low posts, he also has a certain field of vision to transfer the ball. He can play the fourth position and the fifth position of the small ball.

Especially his special attribute of making a large number of three-pointers, the league will no longer be regarded as an alien at present, but rather a rare benchmark for space-type inside. His preference for the attributes of the team system can become the greatest capital for integrating into teams of any level.

From these perspectives, perhaps Rashid Wallace is just walking a little faster than his contemporary players.