Photo Credit: USA TODAY Sports
Comeback? Amare Stoudemire Is ‘NBA Ready’!
Do remember the absolute dominant force Amare Stoudemire once was? Then came the injuries. They say in the NBA a big man’s prime is short, but Amare Stoudemire’s was cut even shorter because of this.
I still remember watching the Western Conference Semi Finals like it was just yesterday, all the way back in 2005. Amare dropped 40 and had 16 rebounds against the Mavericks and it was honestly just a pleasure to sit there and watch him go to work.
During the last year’s Finals, Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson were all discussing players and aspects that changed and revolutionized the game. They dived into things such as the rules being changed because of Wilt’s dominance, the change of rules that allowed MJ to be great, the dominance of Shaq and LeBron, the NBA culture of Allen Iverson and LeBron changing the business side of the game. At that very same moment, Steph and Draymond played a ‘pick and pop’, and Jeff Van Gundy said without hesitation:
“How about Amar’e Stoudemire changing the game with the pick and pop for a big man, taking bigs away from the basket and really becoming an outside threat, in Pheonix with him and Steve Nash, they truly changed the pick and roll game forever.”
It was such a nice moment, and a truly well deserved one. Stoudemire was the man who made wearing googles whilst playing sport cool again, and still to this day whenever I see an NBA player or athlete in general wearing them, he crosses my mind straight away.
Those incredible days in Phoenix with Amare and Steve Nash will live on as the greatest days in franchise history, and some of the most fun we’ve had in the NBA.
In the last chapter of Stat’s career, he became somewhat of a journeyman. Going from franchise to franchise trying to find a place that could accommodate his skillset and who he could help. Then, after a year abroad, Amare retired… Until this year’s second season of the BIG 3, where Amare was a member of the Tri-State.
Now, he is possibly eyeing an NBA return. In an Instagram post, Amare said that he is NBA ready.
NBA ready !! #PlsBelieve#StandingTallAndTru @nba #TheReturn@statacademy @thenbpa #humble#basketballneverstops
Amare Stoudemire/Instagram
