Love Him or Hate Him

How can one of the NBA's dominant power forwards of his era be such a wildcard during the game? That question may bring thoughts of the Mailman, Barkley, or even KG, but the power forward in question is Rasheed Wallace. Rasheed isn't the corporate star or the NBA star that many (I personally) believe he should be. The biggest reason that things are the way they are is that Rasheed doesn't want to be that. This is a guy who over his years in the league has provided the best (TD, KG, and others) power forwards in the game issues on the defensive end. He is one of the few in the league that is long enough, quick enough, and fundamental enough to play these guys. He has an unstoppable fade away jumper , can shoot the 3, has a mid range game, and other post moves from the block. Everyone always says his issue is his head. Rasheed is combustible and fiery, but that's because he plays with passion. The guy is only known from the techs he's received, the articles about those techs, and the wonderful snippets he provides in post game interviews. From what I know about the kid from Simon Gratz, he's just a competitor. He plays the game with a passion (similar to KG) and he's darn (for the kids) good.

With all of that said, why is that people give him s$*# for giving love to the opposing team when they lose? Isn't that what sportsmanship is about? I mean the guy wants to win as badly as anyone, but hey at the end of the game, it's over. Now he gets tarred and feather by columnists and radio people because he hugged KG before the game, or that he dapped him up after the game. They are friends,......what's wrong with saying 'Man, I wanted to beat you and your team, but you guys got us this time. Peace.'. To me it's a sad thing because so many athletes don't practice sportsmanship but when the 'bad guy' (as he has been painted) does this, it's now an issue.

So, when you think about Rasheed's legacy, think about a guy that gave the game all he could, was emotional, played hard, won a championship, did large amounts of charity work that he never publicized, and that he was a good guy. Now that's Sheed being Sheed.