He has the unfortunate distinction of being best remembered as the player Don Nelson traded Mitch Richmond for when he broke up Golden State’s RUN TMC Trio, and this kept a cloud over his head during his best years in the NBA, but Billy Owens was a rare talent especially in the era he came up in, but gets an unfair distinction as a bust. He was a Pennsylvania legend at Carlisle High School, then took his talents to Syracuse University; where he would team with guys like Derrick Coleman, Sherman Douglas and Stevie Thompson. For three years, Owens improved and by his junior season, he established himself as one of the nation’s premier players. He would enter the 1991 NBA draft alongside other big name guys who didn’t live up to expectations like Larry Johnson and Kenny Anderson, as Owens would be the player picked after these two. The Kings drafted him, but he was soon traded to Golden State where he would have a target on his back as he was now replacing the great Mitch Richmond alongside Tim Hardaway and Chris Mullin; later in his time with Golden State he would also be joined by Latrell Sprewell and Chris Webber. But after a great start to his career; Owens would undergo major surgeries on both knees, prior to his third season in the league, and after this, his numbers would drop in every remaining year of his career as he eventually spent time in Miami, Sacramento and Seattle before bouncing around a few teams in his final years. But Billy Owens is looked as a complete bust due to being compared to Magic Johnson coming out of college, as he could legitimately play all 5 positions and was the first player of his size who could handle the ball and pass as well as he did since Magic, and he was an exceptionally versatile player throughout his time in the league, but injuries slowed him down early and even though he could stuff the stat sheet, it was never the generational numbers people were expecting. But make no mistake, whether you’re talking the 1990s or Modern Day NBA, Billy Owens was an incredible talent with a rare skillset.
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19 июн 2024
