Reggie Miller
Starting off we have Reggie Miller, who didn't make the cut for 2K18 due to not reaching a licensing deal with 2K. That's a shame because Miller is almost unanimously considered the greatest Indiana Pacer of all-time. Drafted by the Pacers with the 11th overall pick in the 1987 NBA Draft, Miller spent his entire 18-year career in Indiana and created a Hall of Fame career along the way. For his career, Miller averaged 18.2 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 47% from the field and 40% from three-point range. Additionally, Miller earned five All-Star selections and three All-NBA Third Team selections during his career and ranks 2nd all-time in career three-pointers made. Without him, the all-time Pacers line-up just feels empty.
Andrea Bargnani
Andrea Bargnani's reputation in the NBA might not be the best (especially after his terrible run with the New York Knicks) but when you look at the Toronto Raptors all-time roster, you can make the argument that he should've made it over someone like Terrence Ross or Alvin Williams, but of whom made the all-time roster. Bargnani was selected with the 1st overall pick by the Raptors in the 2006 NBA Draft and spent the first seven years of his career in Toronto. In those seven seasons, Bargnani averaged 15.2 points and 4.8 rebounds while shooting 44% from the field and 36% from three-point range. Again, his time with the Raptors wasn't groundbreaking, but he still left more of an impact than someone like Terrence Ross.
Moses Malone
Moses Malone is one of the greatest players in basketball history, there's no arguing that. Malone is a 13-time All-Star, a 4-time member of the All-NBA 1st Team, a 3-time MVP and to top it off, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame. However, you won't find him in 2K18, as he is left off of not one, but two different all-time teams. First off, we have the Houston Rockets, who Malone spent five and a half seasons with after being traded by the Buffalo Braves. In that time, Malone averaged 24 points, 15 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting 51% from the field. After those five & a half season, Malone got traded to the Philidelphia 76ers, where he spent five non-consecutive seasons (1982-1986 and 1993-94) and continued to dominate. Malone averaged 21 points, 12 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks during his time in Philidelphia while shooting 48% from the field.
Elton Brand
Elton Brand played for many different teams over his fifteen-year career, but he spent his best years with the Los Angeles Clippers, where he spent seven seasons. During his time with the Clippers, Brand averaged 20.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, a steal, and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 51% from the field. On top of that, Brand made the All-Star team twice during those seven seasons and made the All-NBA 2nd Team for the 2005-06 season. Unfortunately, Brand was left off the Clippers' all-time team instead of someone like Darius Miles.
Dolph Schayes
Dolph Schayes is easily the oldest player on this list, playing between 1949 and 1964, but it doesn't change the fact that Schayes is an all-time great, a Hall of Famer, and heavily considered one of the greatest players in the history of the NBA. Schayes played 15 years in the NBA, all of which he played for the Syracuse Nationals/Philidelphia 76ers (the Nationals became the 76ers in 1963, before Schayes' last season) and has gone down as one of the most successful players in the history of the franchise. For his career, Schayes averaged 18.5 points and 12.1 rebounds per game while shooting 38% from the field and 85% from the free throw line. Additionally, Schayes is a 12-time All-Star, a 12-time member of the All-NBA teams (six 1st team selections and six 2nd team selections) and led the Nationals to their first NBA Championship. Schayes might be the most lowkey huge exclusion from the 76ers' all-time team, as despite being one of the best players in the franchise's history, he's nowhere to be found in 2K18.
Gerald Wallace
The Charlotte Bobcats were bad for...pretty much their entire existence. They only made the playoffs twice (only to get swept in the first round both times) and for the shortened 2011-12 season managed to hold the worst record in NBA history at 7-59. The one bright spot of the Bobcats before Kemba Walker joined the team was Gerald Wallace, who spent six and a half years with the team after being drafted in the team's expansion draft. During his time in Charlotte, Wallace averaged 16.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.2 blocks while shooting 47% from the field and 32% from three-point range. Additionally, Wallace made his only all-star appearance with the Bobcats in 2010. Despite his status as the best player in Charlotte for several years (even if they were a pretty awful team), he is absent from Charlotte's all-time team.
Gilbert Arenas
Gilbert Arenas isn't the only Washington Wizard on this list, but he's probably the one I understand the most for not being in the game. Considering how he's become somewhat of a controversial figure who is more related to an infamous moment than his ability, people might forget just how good Gilbert Arenas was in Washington. Arenas spent 8 and a half seasons with the Washington Wizards after signing with them in 2003. Coming off a season a saw him win the Most Improved Player award, Arenas just kept getting better once he went to Washington, becoming one of the top players in the league at the time. During his time in Washington, Arenas averaged 25 points, 4.2 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 1.8 steals per game while shooting 42% from the field and 36% from three-point range. During that time, Arenas made the All-Star team three, the All-NBA 2nd Team once and the All-NBA 3rd Team twice. However, his time with the Wizards ended in 2010, almost a year after he was suspended for 50 games because he, as Caron Butler put it, played with guns. Whether it's his reputation that kept him out of the game or because he didn't reach a licensing agreement with 2K, his absence is definitely notable on the Wizards' all-time team, especially considering how Manute Bol & Gheorghe Mureșan both made the cut.
Antawn Jamison
Another player noticeable by his absence on the Washington Wizards' all-time roster is Antawn Jamison. However, Jamison is absent not only from the Wizards' all-time roster but also from the Golden State Warriors' all-time roster. Let's start with the Warriors, who Jamison spent his first five years of his career following a draft-day trade with the Toronto Raptors. During that time, Jamison averaged 20.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, and a steal per game while shooting 45% from the field and 31% from three-point range. During that time, Jamison made the All-Rookie 2nd Team in his rookie year and the 6th Man of the Year for the 2003-04 season. Now onto the Wizards' all-time team, as he spent six and a half seasons in Washington between 2004 and 2010. During that time, Jamison averaged 20.8 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 1.1 steals while shooting 45% from the field and 36% from three-point range and making the All-Star team twice. Jamison's absence from both teams is big, as he was a great player for both the Wizards and the Warriors.
Caron Butler
Damn. Zero respect for the mid-2000's Washington Wizards in this game, as yet another player excluded from their all-time roster is Caron Butler. Butler played for the Wizards for four and a half years between 2005 and 2010 and created a strong trio with Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison. During his time in Washington, Butler averaged 19 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 45% from the field and 32% from three-point range. Additionally, Butler made the All-Star team twice as a member of the Wizards. However, like Arenas & Jamison, he was left off the Wizards' all-time team while Manute Bol & Gheorghe Mureșan made the team. I know I brought them up already, but seriously, how did these two make it?
Carlos Boozer
Carlos Boozer was another player who spent his NBA career playing for several different teams, but his best years came playing for the Utah Jazz. Boozer played in Utah for six years after signing with them in 2004 and, along with the likes of Deron Williams and Andrei Kirilenko, turned the post-Malone & Stockton Jazz into a solid unit in the Western Conference. During his time with the Jazz, Boozer averaged 19.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, and a steal per game while shooting 54% from the field. Additionally, Boozer made the all-star team twice and the All-NBA Third Team once with the Jazz. However, unlike Williams and Kirilenko, Boozer is completely absent from the Jazz's all-time team.
Brandon Roy
Brandon Roy's NBA career may have been short, but in that time he left his mark with the Portland Trail Blazers. Coming to Portland after a draft day trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Roy played the first five years of his career as a Trail Blazer and quickly became their top player. For his career in Portland, Roy had career averages of 19 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and a steal per game while shooting 46% from the field and 35% from three-point range. Additionally, Roy was a three-time All-Star, made the All-NBA 2nd Team once and the All-NBA Third Team once, and was the Rookie of the Year for the 2006-07 season. However, he isn't on the Trail Blazers' all-time roster, possibly because of his short career.
Danny Granger
People might forget just how good Danny Granger was for a couple of years for the Indiana Pacers. After being drafted with the 17th pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, Granger spent around eight and a half years on the Pacers and at one point was there best player. During his time in Indiana, Granger averaged 17.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, and a steal per game while shooting 45% from the field and 38% from three-point range. His best season was easily his 2008-09 season, where averaged 25.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, one steal, and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 45% from the field and 40% from three-point range, earning an all-star selection and the Most Improved Player Award along the way. Despite that success, Granger doesn't appear on the Pacers' all-time roster.
Rasheed Wallace
Rasheed Wallace might be best known his ability to get technical fouls easier than some players can make lay-ups, but there's no denying that he was a great player during his career. That is why he is sorely missed on both the Portland Trail Blazers' and the Detroit Pistons' all-time teams. Wallace joined the Trail Blazers in 1996 following a trade from the Washington Bullets and spent eight years in Portland. During that time, Wallace averaged 16.8 points, 7 rebounds, a steal, and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 50% from the field and 34% from three-point range. Wallace also made the all-star team with Portland twice before being traded to the Atlanta Hawks in 2004...who then traded him to the Pistons after one game. Wallace would spend the next five and a half years with the Pistons, averaging 13.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, a steal, and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting 43% from the field and 35% from three-point range. Wallace also made the all-star team two more times and helped lead the Pistons to an NBA Championship win in 2004.
Charles Barkley
And lastly, we have Charles Barkley, who is absent from not one, not two, but arguably three all-time rosters that he could've been a part of. Barkley played 16 seasons in the NBA, eight with the Philidelphia 76ers, four with the Phoenix Suns, and four with the Houston Rockets on his way to the Basketball Hall of Fame. He started his career with the 76ers after being drafted with the 5th pick in the 1984 Draft, where he averaged 23.3 points, 11.6 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and a block a game while shooting 58% from the field in his career. While in Philidelphia, Barkley made the All-Star team six times, the All-NBA 1st Team four times and the All-NBA 2nd Team three times. He was then traded to Phoenix, where he averaged 23.4 points, 11.5 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 50% from the field and 30% from three-point range. While in Phoenix, Barkley made the All-Star team four more times, the All-NBA first team one more time, and won the MVP Award for the 1992-93 season. Finally, Barkley finished off his career with the Rockets after another trade. In his four years in Houston, Barkley averaged 16.5 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 48% from the field and making the all-star team one last time. However, as with many of the past 2K games, Barkley is absent from the game, even as a member of the pre-game show with his Inside the NBA co-hosts.
Thanks for reading.
Thanks for reading.
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