8 players who had their careers cut short because of injuries

Cuttino Mobley

Cuttino Mobley was one of those players who could get hot and really do some damage behind the arc. The lefty guard could shoot the living daylights out of the ball and was a prolific scorer for his 10 year career with four different NBA teams.

Mobley was drafted to the Houston Rockets in 1988 where he averaged 17.1 points per game. Alongside Steve Francis, Charles Barkley, and Hakeem Olajuwon, Mobley was the perfect swing-man for the Rockets. During his six-year career with Houston, Mobley scored over 7,000 points and shot 43 percent from the field. Quite the impressive statistic, thinking Steve Francis was shooting the ball every time he touched it.

He then spent time in Orlando and Sacramento during the 2004-05 season where he never really found his groove like he did with the Rockets. But he was able to resurrect his career with the LA Clippers where he would eventually retire.

With the addition of Mobley in the 2005-06 season, the Clippers were able to make the playoffs for the first time since 1996. They took down the Nuggets in five games in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. However, they were eventually beaten by a Steve Nash and Shawn Marion fueled Phoenix Suns squad.

Cuttino Mobley’s career ended in a tragic fashion. After a deal that sent him to the New York Knicks, Mobley was diagnosed with the same heart condition that killed Hank Gathers. He announced his retirement shortly after, cutting short his chance to help the Knicks make a playoff run. The transformation from veteran shooting guard to retired NBA player was sudden for Mobley. A career that ended early, but in a way that did not take away from any of his phenomenal years as an NBA star.

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