Rasheed Wallace (1995-2013)
Rasheed Wallace was often overlooked throughout his career. The North Carolina alum played in arguably the best era for the power forward position. Wallace was constantly battling against the likes of Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Chris Webber, Dirk Nowitzki, Jermaine O’Neal, Elton Brand, and Amar’e Stoudamire, among others. That’s likely the reason why Wallace’s career accolades (four All-Stars, no All-NBA teams) don’t exactly pop off the page. Still, Wallace managed to score 16,000 points in his career and was the key acquisition which ignited a title run for the 2004 Detroit Pistons.
Why he would dominate today’s NBA: Wallace possessed an advanced offensive game for the time. He was a true three-level scorer who would have likely stretched the floor even more in 2022. Also, Wallace doesn’t get nearly enough credit for being a strong defensive player. His teammates in Detroit — Ben Wallace and Tayshaun Prince — garnered most of the praise, but Wallace averaged a steal and a block per game over 16 seasons.
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