NBA: 2000s All-Decade second team
Second Team: C – Ben Wallace:
2000s Resume: 10 seasons, one NBA title, two NBA Finals appearances, four NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards, three-time All-NBA Second Team, two-time All-NBA Third Team, five-time NBA All-Defensive First Team, one-time NBA All-Defensive Second Team, two-time NBA leader in rebounding, one-time NBA leader in blocks, four-time NBA All-Star, 6.6 PPG, 11.1 RPG and 2.3 BPG, 15.6 average PER
If not for the position restraints of All-NBA teams, Ben Wallace probably wouldn’t be here. There were guys on the Third Team and even the honorable mentions who would have made the Second Team over Wallace if not for the need for centers. But as far as big men are concerned, it didn’t get much better than the defensive prowess of Ben Wallace (and his freaking awesome afro).
His 6.6 points per game is shocking on paper, even for a lackluster offensive player like Wallace, but ask the Detroit Pistons how much they needed his offense when they made the Eastern Conference Finals six years in a row. Wallace joined Dikembe Mutumbo as the only player in NBA history to ever win the Defensive Player of the Year award four times and his formidable rebounding and shot-blocking ability anchored one of the stingiest defenses in the league of the entire decade.
That defensive dominance only resulted in one title for the Pistons, but Wallace’s impressive work on that end garnered him a ton of attention with the All-NBA team voters and it even got him into a few All-Star games. His career went into a bit of a tailspin after he left Detroit, but Wallace’s impact couldn’t always be measured on the stat sheet. Big Ben was borderline terrible on the offensive end, but any guy that can hang with Shaquille O’Neal in multiple playoff series deserves a little recognition. Plus, that afro!
What do you think of our NBA 2000s All-Decade Second Team? Let us know in the comments and tune in next week for the First Team!