Remembering past NBA pests and enforcers
Both Conference Finals series are going at least six games, we've seen a triumphant return from injury from Serge Ibaka, and we've seen instant classic performances from LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and Paul George over the last week or so. But no Conference Finals storyline has captured fans' and media's attention quite like the antics of Lance Stephenson.
Stephenson has been trash talking with James and Dwyane Wade, joining Heat huddles, blowing in LeBron's ear, and generally doing whatever he can to throw King James off his game and become a footnote in the 2014 playoffs forever.
It hasn't quite worked yet, but he's at least given us reason to look back at some of the great pests and enforcers of bygone eras...
Maurice Lucas and Darryl Dawkins
Lucas had career averages of 14.6 points and 9.1 rebounds, and he was a key member of the 1977 championship Trail Blazers team, but when your nickname is literally 'The Enforcer,' that's what future generations are going to remember you for. Never one to back down from a fight himself, Darryl 'Chocolate Thunder' Dawkins got in his best boxing stance after Lucas took exception to a Dawkins sucker punch on another Blazer in the '77 Finals:
Kermit Washington
When your sucker punch effectively ends a player like Rudy Tomjanovich's career, pest and enforcer probably don't cut it as titles. Nonetheless, Kermit Washington has to be on this list for this infamous moment:
The Bad Boy Pistons
These guys already have their own documentary and should probably have a category all their own here, but if we're talking pests and enforcers, it's impossible to ignore Bill Laimbeer, Dennis Rodman, Rick Mahorn's Pistons years, John Salley and virtually everyone else that played on those 'Bad Boy' teams.
Charles Oakley
There's a large selection of Oak fights to choose from, but he could be a pest just as well as he could be an enforcer, as this little over-celebration reminds us:
Xavier McDaniel
McDaniel, nicknamed 'The X-Man,' scored over 13,000 points in his 13-year NBA career, but his most lasting memory to most fans is getting in the face of Michael Jordan and the Bulls in the 1992 playoffs. Just swap Mike, Scottie and Xavier for LeBron, D-Wade and Lance:
Ron Artest
Before he became Metta World Peace, Ron Artest was the NBA tough guy partly responsible for starting the biggest in-arena brawl in league history. But his antics weren't always so sinister:
Reggie Evans
Reggie is a fan favorite wherever he goes thanks to his toughness and his relentless pursuit of rebounds and loose balls, but the pursuit of the latter got a little too literal against Chris Kaman:
And finally...
Lance Stephenson
No words, just LeBron's reaction: