Every NBA team’s greatest enforcer of all time

San Antonio Spurs — Bruce Bowen

To say that Bruce Bowen was considered a dirty player is an understatement of epic proportions. Bruce Bowen was a filthy player. A defensive menace constantly in your jersey and stepping on your feet, or putting his feet under your’s. The relatively new clear landing zone / dangerous closeout flagrant foul rule is known as the “Zaza Rule” after Zaza Pachulia injured Kawhi Leonard’s ankle in the 2017 West Finals (don’t forget the Spurs were up by 21 points on the KD Warriors when that happened). But Bowen was regularly doing that for YEARS. It was his signature move! Bruce Bowen was such a dirty player that he makes Zaza look like Mr. Clean.

Bowen, who was undrafted out of Cal State Fullerton and played a couple of years overseas before getting his shot in the NBA, definitely became one of the best perimeter defenders in the game. Yet his reputation as a filthy player supersedes everything else. He put his feet in Vince Carter’s landing zone so many times over the years that one day Carter had enough and tried to fight him. (Vince Carter rarely got into it with anybody.) Bowen kicked Kobe in his injured knee during the 2002 playoffs. He was fined for kicking Ray Allen in the back. He was fined and suspended one game for kicking Chris Paul while CP3 was down on the floor. And the cherry on top? One time Bowen kicked Wally Szczerbiak IN THE FACE.