Exceptions to the Rule: 5 Non-Traditional NBA Players

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One of the biggest reasons players fall in the NBA Draft is the fact they don’t fit within the preconceived notions of GM’s and owners about a certain position. Essentially, you have to fit into a stereotypical box to be considered a legitimate prospect.  This kind of hive mind, or group think, is utterly ridiculous and has led to countless mistakes when a player’s on the court performance and talent are completely obvious.

Last night’s example is DeJuan Blair, who fell into the 2nd Round despite dominating  the toughest conference in basketball and being the best rebounder in the Draft. The problem according to NBA GM’s: he’s too short and had both ACL’s removed in high school (even though he never even missed a practice at Pitt according to his Coach Jamie Dixon).  This morning, nearly every draft expert called the Spurs selection of Blair the steal of the night. If his ability is that obvious to everyone, there shouldn’t be any reason to pass him up, right?

Take heart DeJuan Blair, you’re in good company. Here are 5 exceptions to preconceived NBA ideas about what a player should be. These guys prove that talent comes in all shapes and sizes and some even changed the way the NBA thought about their positions.

Spud Webb & Muggsy Bouges

If you would’ve told an NBA Executive  that two men under 5′8″ (5′3″ and 5′7″ respectively) would have lengthy, successful NBA careers and one would even win a Slam Dunk contest, they would think you were insane. While they don’t fit traditional size norms, Webb and Bouges were great guards whose size sometimes worked to their advantage.

Charles Barkley

With all the hullabaloo about Blair’s size as a power forward, one need not to look far for an exception to the rule… The Chuckster himself. Averaging only 14 points a game in college and measuring a stout 6′4″ nearly 300lbs, Barkley was short even for a shooting guard  (not to mention fat)  but managed to have a Hall of Fame career, including winning an MVP award and coming within a Michael Jordan of an NBA title.  While Charles didn’t slide in the Draft like Blair, there were plenty of questions about his size.

Steve Nash

An unathletic Canadian Point Guard with very little defensive ability, Nash was not exactly prototypical when he was drafted in 1996. Despite struggling for his first few years in the league, Nash went on to become a two-time NBA MVP and served as a harbinger for the current point guard revival.

Gilbert Arenas

So much is made of “combo” guards or ‘tweeners, who don’t fit naturally into either the point guard or shooting guard position. For whatever reason, the NBA ignores obvious examples of players that have made it work (Ben Gordon, Dwyane Wade, etc.) in the past. Agent Zero fell victim to the NBA’s ‘tweener aversion and slipped to the Second Round. Now he’s a 3-time All-Star and franchise player for the Washington Wizards.