Every NBA team’s greatest enforcer of all time
By Luke Anton
Oklahoma City Thunder (Seattle SuperSonics) — Xavier McDaniel
X-Man was his name, physicality was his game. Xavier McDaniel was fearless on the court, an extreme hassle for anybody that had to deal with him in the 80s and 90s. He was listed at 6-foot-7 and 205 pounds, but he seemed SO much bigger because of his rabid and maniacal demeanor. He never passed up an opportunity to bump into somebody. He jumped at any reason to get in your face.
X-Man would fight anybody. Charles Oakley? Yep. His teammates? YUP. He got into it with Dale Ellis at practice for not being prepared. (They had to call the police but nobody was arrested.) He choked a rookie Gary Payton during practice to put the rook in his place. McDaniel was a no-nonsense enforcer, really. All business. No questions asked. If you wanted a fight, you best believe you got one if X-Man was around. In an interview with Ahmad Rashad, McDaniel once said that he didn’t plan to go out and punch guys, it just came naturally.