20 NBA Hall-of-Fame careers that were cut short by injury

NBA Hall-of-Fame career cut short: Maurice Stokes

Young fans of the NBA may have heard of Drazen Petrovic, and they have likely heard of Arvydas Sabonis (if only because of his All-Star son). A player many have not heard of, but everyone absolutely should, is Maurice Stokes. He is in a category of his own, a player who made the Hall of Fame because of the legacy of his life rather than his accolades on the court.

Stokes entered the league as the second overall pick in 1955 after starring for Saint Francis College for four seasons. The Rochester Royals, soon to move to Cincinnati and eventually all the way to Sacramento, took Stokes at No. 2 and got immediate dividends. The 6-foot-7 forward averaged 16.8 points and a league-leading 16.3 rebounds per game as a rookie, making the All-Star Game, and All-NBA team and winning Rookie of the Year.

The next two seasons he replicated the feat, starting his career with three consecutive All-Star and All-NBA appearances. He was the league’s first do-it-all player, not only as a scorer and rebounder but also a dynamic passer. He averaged 5.3 assists per game during those three seasons as a big man and recorded 11 triple-doubles, which at the time was the most in NBA history.

In the final game of the 1957-58 NBA season Stokes was knocked unconscious after striking his head on the court. He was revived and returned to the game, but three days later suffered a seizure and was left permanently paralyzed. He was diagnosed with post-traumatic encephalopathy, a serious brain injury that damaged his motor-control center.

For the next twelve years, Stokes’ condition continued to deteriorate. During that time his former teammate and longtime friend Jack Twyman personally cared for Stokes, becoming his legal guardian and never deserting his friend. Stokes passed away in 1970 at the age of 36. The NBA has recognized the legacy of both by establishing the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award, which “recognizes the player that embodies the league’s ideal teammate that year.”

Three All-NBA team selections to start a career is a wildly impressive feat, and one can only wonder what feats Stokes would have accomplished on the basketball court were he to stay healthy. Yet his legacy that lives on is something to be celebrated as well, and it is why he was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame in 2004.