In his 8 years in the NBA, Gerald Wallace has earned quite a reputation as being a reckless. out of control player that will even sacrifice his own body to get the best of his opponent and to give his team a chance to win.
The player affectionately given the nickname “Crash” has suffered through a number of serious injuries in his career because of his energetic play like sustaining numerous concussions, fractured ribs, and even a collapsed lung.
This season, Wallace is having a career year by putting up 19.3 ppg, 11 rebs, and 1.2 blocks per game in earning his first NBA All Star selection. Although he has a career rebounding average of only 6 per game, he has been boarding at an impressive rate by ranking in the Top 5 all season, even leading the league for the first two months of the season.
He has the distinction as being only 1 of 3 players in history to average 2 blocks and 2 steals per game for an entire season(’06) along with Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson.
In addition to being the Charlotte Bobcats first ever All Star, he also set a record this season by being the first player in team history to score 30 points and grab 10 rebounds in two consecutive games.
Superstardom has been a long time coming for the former Naismith HS Player of the Year(’00). As a player who has given his all to the game of basketball, the game is finally giving back by Wallace being able to showcase his talents in the annual All Star Game and in this season’s Sprite Slam Dunk Contest.
Although Nate Robinson, as a 2 time champion, probably is the favorite, Wallace has to be the dark-horse choice to de-throne Krypto-Nate. One thing we know for sure, with a name like “Crash”, Gerald Wallace will give it all that he’s got in an attempt to win the contest.
Late word is that Wallace’s sore hamstring that has kept him out of last Wednesday’s game against the Lakers, and limited his play Saturday against the Hornets may force him to miss this weekend’s All-Star festivities. At this point it’s only a rumor, but NJ Nets rookie Terrance Williams has been contacted by the NBA about replacing Wallace if he can’t go.
Check out a video of Gerald Wallace’s best dunks:
Allen Moll is an avid NBA and College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen is a regular columnist for thehoopdoctors.com, Bleacherreport.com, UpperDeckblog.com, and his own site, Hoops Haven.
