Shawn Marion (2000-2015)
Known as “The Matrix”, Shawn Marion was one of the league’s premier two-way players in the 2000s. Marion was drafted to a Suns team that boasted a ton of talent (he played with Jason Kidd, Penny Hardaway, Tom Gugliotta, and Clifford Robinson as a rookie), but his career didn’t really take off until Steve Nash and Mike D’Antoni came to town. Starring for the Suns’ high-octane attack, Marion made four All-Star teams from ’03-07. Though Phoenix always seemed to come up short in the postseason, Marion finally captured that elusive championship ring as an integral member of the 2011 title-winning Dallas Mavericks.
Why he would dominate today’s NBA: In 2022, Marion is the prototypical two-way wing that every team so desperately covets. He had the versatility to play multiple positions, he could guard just about anybody, and was even a 20-point scorer for a couple of seasons. And, with how player development starts at an even earlier age today, perhaps a shooting coach could have gotten to Marion earlier and helped him work on that unorthodox form.
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