9. Stephon Marbury (1996)
While some younger fans may only remember the less than ideal way his Knicks career ended and his icon status in China, Marbury was one of the best pure scoring guards of his era, as the Georgia Tech point guard’s occasionally prickly personality was overshadowed by his jaw-dropping offensive game.
Marbury averaged 19.3 points and 7.6 assists per game while making two All-Star teams in his career. That’s impressive by itself, but Marbury also averaged 20.5 points and 8.2 assists per game in his pre-Knicks career, spent with the Timberwolves, Suns, and Nets.
Marbury didn’t have the staying power, but those who played against him in his prime saw a mind-bending combination of skills on the offensive end, and that combination was enough to push him this high up on this list.
8. Rasheed Wallace (1995)
Wallace’s career can be divided into two halves; his time as an elite scorer for his size in Portland and his tenure as some interior muscle and vocal leadership with a champion in Detroit. In both situations, the North Carolina product proved that his style of play was so dominant at times that he made his teams some of the most feared squads of the turn of the millennium.
Wallace averaged 14.4 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game in his career. A truly rare combination of finesse, shooting skill, and volcanic emotion, anyone who faced Wallace was in for a rough afternoon.
Wallace could’ve had an even better statistical career if he didn’t go to Detroit, as he sacrificed stats to help a slow, physical Larry Brown team grind out victories. Wallace was integral to both Portland and Detroit, and the four-time All-Star’s legacy goes beyond the box score.