Ten Reasons Why You Need To Appreciate Jamaal Magloire

Ever since starting this blog I’ve intended to make a post about Jamaal Magloire.  It’s something I’ve been saving for a rainy Sunday in late July.  Well… that rainy Sunday in late July finally came, and so did the post about Jamaal Magloire.  Enjoy.

#10: Magloire is one of just 12 players from the 2000 draft (that god-awful class that spawned most of my childhood heroes) who put on an NBA uniform in 2011/12.  Not only that, he is one of three players from that draft ever to have been selected for an All-Star game (more on this in just a moment).

#9: As a rookie Magloire blocked 6 shots in a game against the Atlanta Hawks.  That’s not a record—Ralph Sampson once swatted 13 shots as a rookie way back in December of 1983—but still, 6 is pretty good.

#8: Only Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan recorded more double-doubles than Jamaal Magloire in 2003/04.  The Big Cat had as many double-doubles (45) as Yao Ming and LeBron James combined for that season (!!!).

#7: Magloire scored 19 points to lead the East in scoring at the 2004 All-Star game.  Had the East not been beaten (and they only lost by four) he probably would’ve been the game’s MVP.  Yeah, he may only have qualified as an injury replacement for an injured injury replacement, but he also hung 19 on prime Shaq.

#6: Steve Nash could dominate ’til he’s 50, but he’ll never be the first Canadian to suit up for the Toronto Raptors.  That’s Jamaal Magloire, son.

#5: Magloire won an NCAA Title at Kentucky and left for the NBA as the school’s all-time leader in shot blocking… and yet, for some reason, people don’t talk about him nearly as much as they do Anthony Davis.  I don’t get it.

#4: To my knowledge, Magloire is the only player ever to have recorded 20 or more rebounds as a member of the Bucks and Hornets.  Lots of people have probably played for the Bucks and Hornets, so I consider this quite an accomplishment.

#3: As a member of the Heat Magloire once won me a fantasy basketball match up by going 2-4 from the floor to help me edge my opponent in the FG% category.  I made the playoffs that year, and I think I even won a round.

#2: Even in his prime, Jamaal Magloire’s leaping ability was similar to that of an arthritic sumo wrestler.  Yet, somehow, he managed to become one of my favorite dunkers of the past decade.  Despite being able to achieve almost no hang time whatsoever, Magloire managed to pull off some incredibly-unique aerial feats; most notably the blindfolded 360.

That’s got to be the most underrated in-game non-poster dunk of all-time.  Who even thinks of doing something like that in an actual NBA game?  What Magloire lacked in athleticism he more than made up for in creativity and style.

#1: Magloire is the only player in NBA history to dodge a charge and score a layup by virtue of being ridiculously slow.  Watch as his sloth-like movement totally fakes out Pat Burke, whose photograph does not appear next to the word “mobile” in the NBA247365.COM basketball dictionary…

Seriously, if that isn’t the greatest thing you’ve seen all week, then f@ck it; I’m done trying to convince you that Jamaal Magloire was that dude (he was, goddammit).