June 15, 2004: Larry Brown's "Double" Shocks the L.A. "Superteam"

Left to right: Larry Brown, Rip Hamilton,

Ben Wallace, Chauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace

June 15, 2004, 20 years ago: The NBA Championship is awarded to the best team in the league. Not the best collection of players, but the best team.

From 1972 to 2010, Larry Brown coached 10 different ABA or NBA teams (a record), and also coached 3 different college basketball teams. He took UCLA to the 1980 NCAA Final, and the University of Kansas to the Final Four in 1986 and 1988, winning the National Championship in 1988.

Brown was from Long Island, New York. As a teenager, he was a camp counselor there, and one of his students was Tony Kornheiser, later a great sportswriter and, with Michael Wilbon, co-host of the ESPN show Pardon the Interruption. A lifelong friendship was formed.

Here's how Kornheiser once described Brown's genius for coaching: "He took the Clippers to the Playoffs! Nobody takes the Clippers to the Playoffs!" From 1976, when the Los Angeles Clippers were still known as the Buffalo Braves, until 2012, when a change in management made them a perennial Playoff team, the only coaches to take them to the Playoffs were Larry Brown in 1992 and 1993, Bill Fitch in 1997, and Mike Dunleavy in 2006. That's it: 4 times, and Brown provided 2 of them.

And it wasn't just the Clippers: He took the NBA's other "little brother team," the New Jersey Nets, to the Playoffs in 1982. That was the good news. The bad news is that he never seemed to stay in one place too long. He either didn't like the job, or he angered somebody in management. But somebody was always willing to hire him. He got the Denver Nuggets to the last ABA Finals in 1976, and the Western Conference Finals in 1978; the Indiana Pacers to the Eastern Conference Finals in 1993 and 1994; and the Philadelphia 76ers to the NBA Finals in 2001.

But Brown and the Sixers' top player, Allen Iverson, couldn't co-exist. So, in 2003, Brown resigned, and took the head job with the Detroit Pistons. Despite this, in 2005, Iverson admitted, "I love him as a man. The coach, that's totally different. Yeah, I like him as a coach. He's the best coach in the world. I can't say it enough. He's the best in the world."

Joe Dumars, the guard who had led the Pistons' defense in their "Motor City Bad Boys" period -- losing the Finals to the Lakers in 7 games in 1988, then winning back-to-back titles in 1989 and 1990 -- was now the general manager. He had built a team with guards Chauncey Billups, Richard "Rip" Hamilton and Lindsey Hunter; forwards Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince and Corliss Williamson; and center Ben Wallace.

The Pistons beat the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1st round of the Playoffs, the New Jersey Nets in the next round, and the Indiana Pacers in the Conference Finals. Now, the NBA Finals were in front of them. Standing between them and glory: The Los Angeles Lakers.

Coached by Phil Jackson, and led by center Shaquille O'Neal and guard Kobe Bryant, the Lakers had won 3 straight NBA Championships: 2000, 2001 and 2002. There had been discussion of the Lakers getting favorable, but incorrect, calls from referees, especially in the Playoffs.

In 2003, the Lakers lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Semifinals. Their general manager, former Laker forward Mitch Kupchak, was determined to get the title back. He decided to build a "superteam." He signed 3 free agents: Karl Malone, who built a career as one of the all-time great power forwards with the Utah Jazz; Gary Payton, who had been a superstar point guard with the Seattle SuperSonics; and forward Horace Grant, who had helped Jackson win 3 titles as a forward with the Chicago Bulls, and teamed with O'Neal to get the Orlando Magic to the 1995 Finals.

Everything pointed to the Lakers going through the league like a hot knife through butter. But first, Bryant needed knee surgery in the off-season. He went to Colorado to get it. At his hotel, he was accused of sexually assaulting a female employee. The case was dropped, and, eventually, NBA fans decided, pretty much the way baseball fans did with David Ortiz and his steroid cheating, that it simply never happened, and that the man in question was a wonderful guy.

Eventually. But not in the 2003-04 season. Bryant heard it from fans all over the league, and he missed a few games. While the Lakers' record of 56-26 was enough to win the Pacific Division, it was not historically notable, and they only finished 2nd overall in the Western Conference to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

They knew they would truly be measured by what they did in the Playoffs, and they did raise their game: They beat the Houston Rockets in the 1st round, the Spurs in the next round, and the Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals, to set up the Finals matchup with the Pistons.

Few people gave the Pistons the chance. The Lakers were considered a team of destiny. They forgot that a collection of players can be beaten by a team. The Pistons won Game 1 in Los Angeles, 87-75, despite 34 points from Shaq, and the basketball world was stunned. They pushed the Lakers to overtime in Game 2, with the Lakers winning 99-91, with Kobe scoring 33.

But getting a split in L.A. energized the Pistons. At The Palace in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan, the Lakers never had a chance. The Pistons won Game 3, 88-68. The Lakers were never in the game. Shaq had 36 points and 17 rebounds in Game 4. But Rasheed Wallace had 26, and he and Ben Wallace (no relation) each had 13 rebounds. The Pistons won, 88-80. Malone did not play in Game 5, and he retired after the Finals, so this was the last game for "The Mailman."

Game 5 was played at The Palace on June 15. The Pistons led 25-24 after the 1st quarter, but pulled away in the 2nd, pulled away further in the 3rd, and the Lakers simply couldn't come back. The Pistons won, 100-87, and the World Champions were, as the chant echoing through Auburn Hills said, "DEE-troit BAS-ket-BALL!"

The Pistons had done this despite not having a single player on their roster who was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame until Ben Wallace was elected in 2021. Billups was named the Most Valuable Player of the Finals. Brown finally had his 1st NBA Championship, as either a player or a coach, at the age of 63. (He had won the 1969 ABA Championship while playing for the Oakland Oaks.) He remains the only head coach to win championships in both the NCAA and the NBA.

The Lakers? They were now the biggest flop in NBA history -- or, at least, since their 1969 edition, when Wilt Chamberlain was added to Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and Gail Goodrich, and lost Game 7 of the Finals at home.

And after the season, Bryant told the team's owner, Dr. Jerry Buss, that he could no longer coexist with either O'Neal or Jackson. Jackson told Buss that Bryant was "uncoachable." So Buss told Kupchak to appease Bryant. He did: O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat. And Jackson resigned.

With Bryant as "The Man," The Lakers fell apart. And Shaq, along with Dwyane Wade, helped the Miami Heat win the 2006 NBA Championship. In 2007, the Lakers got knocked out by the Phoenix Suns in the 1st round. Shaq was recorded rapping in a nightclub, saying, "Kobe, tell me how my ass taste!" (The implication was not that Kobe could kiss Shaq's ass, but that he already had.)

Sportswriter Dave Zirin wrote, "Kobe did to the Lakers what Jimmy Hoffa did to the Teamsters: Both made them a national force & ruined them forever." (Ironically, when Hoffa disappeared, it was in the northern suburbs of Detroit, at a restaurant in Bloomfield Hills, then Machus' Red Fox, now named Andiamo, just 14 miles from where The Palace would be built.)

Well, not forever, as it turned out. Shaq's teasing was the wakeup call that Bryant needed. He made peace with Jackson, who returned. The Lakers got Pau Gasol. Together, they got back to the Finals in 2008, and won the title in 2009 and 2010. Meanwhile, O'Neal never won another. The final total: Bryant 6 titles, O'Neal 5; separately, Kobe 2, Shaq 1.

Kobe and Shaq made peace with each other before Kobe's death in a helicopter crash in 2020.

Top 10 Athletes From Louisiana

April 30, 1812: Louisiana is admitted to the Union as the 18th State.

Top 10 Athletes from Louisiana

We think of Louisiana as a football State, but, so far, they've only produced 2 Heisman Trophy winners, and 1 Pro Football Hall-of-Famer -- and it wasn't either of the Heisman winners.

In contrast, they've got 4, nearly 5, of the NBA's official 50 Greatest Players. And that's not counting Bill Russell, who was born there, but not raised there; or Pete Maravich, who went to Louisiana State University, but didn't grow up in Louisiana.

They've also produced 2 Baseball Hall-of-Famers, and that's not counting Bill Dickey, who was born there but lived most of his life in neighboring Arkansas.

Honorable Mention to Karl Malone of Summerfield. He was a 14-time NBA All-Star, a 2-time NBA Most Valuable Player, and a 2-time Olympic Gold Medalist: On perhaps the greatest amateur team ever assembled, the 1984 U.S. team; and perhaps the greatest team ever assembled in any sport, the 1992 U.S. "Dream Team."

His Number 32 was retired by Louisiana Tech and the Utah Jazz. Basketball Hall of Fame. He was named to the NBA's 50th Anniversary 50 Greatest Players. He has a statue outside the EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City.

Honorable Mention to Ron Guidry of Lafayette, who helped the Yankees win the 1977 World Series, and without whose incredible season the Yankees would not have won it again in 1978.

Honorable Mention to Chad Gaudin of the New Orleans suburb of Metairie, who helped the Yankees win the 2009 World Series.

Honorable Mention to Doug Williams of Zachary. I don't know what's more miraculous: Getting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to within 9 points of a Super Bowl berth, losing the 1979 NFC Championship Game; or turning a 10-0 deficit into a 42-10 victory, with 5 touchdowns, including 4 touchdown passes, in a span of only 13 minutes, leading the Washington Redskins to victory in Super Bowl XXII in 1988. He was the 1st black quarterback to win an NFL Championship.

Honorable Mention to Joe Dumars of Natichitoches. The franchise now known as the Detroit Pistons hasn't won a championship, in any league, without him being involved since 1945. He was the defensive leader of their 1989 and 1990 NBA Champions, winning the Finals MVP in 1989, and the general manager of their 2004 NBA Champions.

Honorable Mention to Joe Brown of Baton Rouge. The Lightweight Champion of the World from 1956 to 1962, he was named The Ring magazine Fighter of the Year in 1961.

Honorable Mention to John David Crow of Springhill. The running back led Texas A&M to the 1956 Southwest Conference Championship. In 1957, he became the 1st player from the school to be awarded the Heisman Trophy, the only Heisman winner ever coached by Bear Bryant.

He played for the Cardinals, including during their 1960 move from Chicago to St. Louis. He was a 4-time Pro Bowler, and was named to the NFL's 1960s All-Decade Team. He later returned to Texas A&M as their athletic director. He is in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Honorable Mention to Billy Cannon of Baton Rouge. The running back led Louisiana State University to the 1958 National Championship, and won the 1959 Heisman Trophy. He was the 1st-ever pick in the 1st-ever American Football League Draft. He justified that by helping the Houston Oilers win the 1960 and 1961 AFL Championships -- still the only time the Oilers/Titans franchise has gone as far as the rules of the time have allowed them to go.

He won another AFL Championship with the 1967 Oakland Raiders. His Number 20 was retired by LSU, and he is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. Like another 1960s sports hero, 1967 American League Cy Young Award winner Jim Lonborg of the Boston Red Sox, he became a dentist.

Unfortunately, like yet another 1960s sports hero, 1968 AL Most Valuable Player Denny McLain, he got involved in something he shouldn't have, and went to prison. Based on those 2 facts, upon his release, he was given a job as the head dentist for the State penal system, a job he still holds.

Honorable Mention to Marshall Faulk of New Orleans. A star at San Diego State University, he made 7 Pro Bowls, and was named the NFL's Rookie of the Year in 1994 and Most Valuable Player in 2000. At the turn of the 21st Century, he was probably the NFL's best all-around player, helping the St. Louis Rams reach Super Bowls XXXIV (won) and XXXVI (lost).

He finished his career with 12,280 rushing yards and an even 100 rushing touchdowns; and 767 catches for 6,875 yards and 36 touchdowns. The Indianapolis Colts, with whom he started, named him to their Ring of Honor. San Diego State and the Rams both retired Number 28 for him. He was elected to both the College and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In 2010, the NFL Network listed him 70th on their list of the NFL's 100 Greatest Players.

Honorable Mention to Kevin Faulk of New Orleans. Marshall's cousin played at LSU, and rushed for a relatively modest 3,607 in his career, for the New England Patriots, but beat Marshall's Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI. He also was with them when they won Super Bowls XXXVIII and XXXIX. The Patriots named him to their team Hall of Fame and their 50th Anniversary Team, as a kick return specialist.

But neither Crow, nor Cannon, nor either of the Faulks is the greatest running back from Louisiana.

10. Bob Pettit of Baton Rouge. He was an 11-time NBA All-Star, a 2-time NBA MVP, and the 1st NBA player to score 20,000 points. (This wouldn't be a big deal today. It was a huge deal then, in 1965.) He won the 1958 NBA Championship with the St. Louis Hawks. After they moved to Atlanta, they retired his Number 9. He was named to the Basketball Hall of Fame and the NBA's 50th Anniversary 50 Greatest Players.

9. Robert Parish of Shreveport. He was a 9-time NBA All-Star, and while he never won an MVP, the Boston Celtics would not have won the 1981, 1984 and 1986 NBA Championships without him. He won another title as a backup on the 1997 Chicago Bulls -- making him the only man to win the NBA with both Boston and Chicago.

He played in more games than anyone in NBA history, and was long believed to be the league's oldest player ever before someone rediscovered an older one in the league's early days. The Celtics retired his Number 00, and he was named to the Basketball Hall of Fame and the NBA's 50th Anniversary 50 Greatest Players.

8. Steve Van Buren of New Orleans. He was born in the Central American nation of Honduras, to an American father and a native mother, but was orphaned at age 10, and sent to live with his father's family in New Orleans.

Bernie Moore, the coach who brought him to LSU, said, "He was probably the greatest running back in Southeastern Conference history." The SEC has since seen Cannon, Herschel Walker, Bo Jackson, Emmitt Smith, Mark Ingram and Derrick Henry. But Van Buren may have been the best through the 1944 Orange Bowl, in which he led LSU to a 19-14 win over Texas A&M, responsible for all the Tigers' points: He ran for 2 touchdowns, threw for 1, and kicked an extra point.

"Moving Van" then starred for the Philadelphia Eagles, making 6 Pro Bowls, and getting them to 3 straight NFL Championship Games, as the best running back in the NFL, and as a deadly tackler as a defensive back.

They lost to the Chicago Cardinals in 1947. Then "Supersonic Steve" braved the elements. The day of the 1948 Championship Game, 10 inches of snow fell on Philadelphia, and he almost didn't get to Shibe Park. Somehow, he got through the snow outside, and the snow inside, scoring the game's only touchdown to get the Eagles their 1st World Championship. In 1949, the weather struck again. A rare Southern California rainstorm hit the Los Angeles Coliseum, but he led the Eagles to victory over the Rams. To put it another way: In those 2 seasons, the Eagles won 2 titles; it would take them another 69 years to win another 2.

Injuries forced him to retire after playing his last game in 1951, with 5,860 rushing yards and 69 rushing touchdowns, both records at the time. He was the 1st Eagles player elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, in 1965 -- making him the 1st Hispanic player elected to any of the "big four" sports' Halls. He was named to the NFL's 1940s All-Decade and 75th Anniversary Team. The Eagles retired his Number 15, and named him to their Hall of Fame and their 75th Anniversary Team.

In 1999, he came in 77th on The Sporting News' 100 Greatest Football Players. Somehow, by 2010, he had grown in the estimation of football historians, because the NFL Network raised his ranking to 58th.

7. Elvin Hayes of Rayville. The Big E reached the 1968 NCAA Final Four with the University of Houston. He was a 12-time NBA All-Star, and helped the Washington Bullets, the team now known as the Washington Wizards, reach the NBA Finals 3 times, winning the 1978 NBA Championship.

His Number 44 was retired by UH, and his Number 11 retired by the Wizards. He was named to the Basketball Hall of Fame. and the NBA's 50th Anniversary 50 Greatest Players.

6. Eli Manning of New Orleans. Since he immediately followed his brother Peyton, the comparison to their father Archie wasn't nearly as prominent, so he could go to Archie's alma mater, the University of Mississippi, and just play ball.

He did all right there, and was named Southeastern Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 2003. With the New York Giants, he's a 4-time Pro Bowler, and not only led them to 2 Super Bowl wins, both upsets of the cheating New England Patriots, but was named the MVP of both games. He is the greatest quarterback New York City has ever had. Don't tell me that Phil Simms was better. Don't tell me that Joe Namath's 1 Super Bowl was more important; even if that's true, that doesn't make him better.

Eli will easily get his Number 10 retired by the Giants, and, barring doing something massively stupid, will be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And yet, he still doesn't make the Top 5. He's not even Number 1 within his own family.

5. Mel Ott of the New Orleans suburb of Gretna. The 1st great slugger in the National League in the post-1920 Lively Ball Era, he was the NL's all-time home run leader from 1937 until 1966, finishing his career with 511. Until 2001, he was the NL's all-time leader among lefthanded hitters. Due to the short right-field fence at the Polo Grounds, he hit 323, or 63 percent of his total, at home. This also means that he has more home runs hit in New York City than any other player – ahead of Mickey Mantle with 270 and Babe Ruth with 266.

He missed the 1st All-Star Game in 1933, but then making every one through 1944, for a total of 11. His lifetime batting average was .304, and he had 9 100-RBI seasons. He helped the New York Giants win 3 Pennants, and his home run won the clinching game of the 1933 World Series. The Giants retired his Number 4, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, and in 1999 was named to The Sporting News' 100 Greatest Baseball Players.

4. Lou Brock of Collinston, which isn't far from Hayes' hometown of Rayville. He led Southern University to the 1959 NAIA Championship (national championship for small schools). Based on this, and on his major league achievements, he was elected to the College Baseball Hall of Fame.

An 8-time MLB All-Star, he collected over 3,000 hits, and set records (which still stand, at least within the National League) for stolen bases in a season and a career. He led the St. Louis Cardinals to the 1964 (won), 1967 (won) and 1968 (lost) World Series. In 1967, he won the Babe Ruth Award, 1 of the 2 awards given to the Most Valuable Player of the World Series. (Bob Gibson got the better-known award, the Sport Magazine Award.)

The Cardinals retired his Number 20. He was named to the Baseball Hall of Fame and The Sporting News' 100 Greatest Baseball Players, ranked 58th.

3. Peyton Manning of New Orleans. Putting aside the return of an allegation made against him in college, which, if true, would make him even less moral than his rival Tom Brady... So much has been made of the games Peyton has lost that we forget just what he has won.

He starred at the University of Tennessee, not winning the Heisman Trophy or the National Championship, but winning the 1997 Sullivan Award as the nation's top amateur athlete. He is a 14-time Pro Bowler, a 5-time NFL MVP, and the 2013 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year.

No quarterback has won more games, or thrown for more yards in a season or in a career, or has thrown more touchdown passes in a season or in a career. He went to 4 Super Bowls, and is 1 of only 2 quarterbacks to lead 2 different teams to an NFL Championship: The 2006 Indianapolis Colts (and he was named the Super Bowl XLI MVP) and the 2015 Denver Broncos. (The other is Norm Van Brocklin of the 1951 Los Angeles Rams and the 1960 Philadelphia Eagles.)

His Number 18 has been retired by the Colts. He was only in his 2nd season when The Sporting News named their 100 Greatest Football Players in 1999, but was named to the NFL's 2000s All-Decade Team. Barring an epic calamity, he will be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021. He was ranked 8th on the NFL Network's 100 Greatest Players in 2010.

And yet, he still doesn't make the top 2. Maybe if Brady hadn't been a part of so much cheating...

2. Willis Reed of Bernice, which isn't far from Malone's hometown of Summerfield. May 8, 1970. That alone made him a legend. But that wasn't all he did. He was a 7-time NBA All-Star, captained the Knicks to the 1970 and 1973 NBA Championships, was named the Finals MVP both times, and remains the team's all-time greatest center. (Do I have to remind you that, while Patrick Ewing predicted titles, Willis actually won them?)

His Number 19 was the 1st retired by a New York basketball team, and he was named to the Basketball Hall of Fame and the NBA's 50th Anniversary 50 Greatest Players.

1. Terry Bradshaw of Shreveport. The "dummy" put up a very smart legacy. He was named to 3 Pro Bowls, and was NFL MVP in 1978. He shared Sports Illustrated's 1979 Sportsman of the Year award with another Pittsburgh icon who won a World Championship that year, Willie Stargell.

He got the Pittsburgh Steelers into 4 Super Bowls, won them all, and was named MVP in 2 of them. The Steelers don't retire numbers, but his Number 12 has never been given back out. He was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, The Sporting News' 100 Greatest Football Players (44th), and the NFL Network's 100 Greatest Players (50th).

Top 10 Athletes Who Never Won a Title

Ty Cobb and Ted Williams,

at the Boston Red Sox' Spring Training facility,

Scottsdale, Arizona, 1960

LeBron James, assuming you're not illiterate, you may want to take note: You aren't even good enough to make this list.

Note: This list refers only to the 4 major North American sports, plus soccer's World Cup. I couldn't decide who was the greatest boxer never to win a belt, or the greatest tennis player never to win one of the Grand Slam events. Golf? Not a sport. Auto racing? Ditto. Figure skating? Puh leese.

Nor will I count performers who never had the chance, i.e. players from the pre-World Series, pre-Stanley Cup era, and Negro League players who never made the majors, unlike such World Series heroes as Satchel Paige (1948) and Monte Irvin (1954). Players who won NBA titles, but not NCAA titles, are exempt.

10. Ernie Banks. Like Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron, he went from the Negro Leagues to the major leagues, and became a no-doubt-about-it Hall-of-Famer. Like Mays and Aaron, he hit over 500 home runs. But while each of those guys won a World Series ring (though, in each case, only one), Ernie, like another Negro Leaguer turned major leaguer, Cuban star Orestes "Minnie" Minoso, played in Chicago, at a time when Chicago teams simply didn't win Pennants. (In fact, in 1959, when the White Sox won the city's only Pennant between 1945 and 2005, Minnie was away from the ChiSox.)

The Cubs were in 1st place in September 1969, and then came the September Swoon. Oddly, they ended up closer to first in 1970 than they did in '69, but nobody remembers that because the team that beat them out in '69 was New York, and the one that did it in '70 was Pittsburgh.

Every year, Ernie would tell people this was the year the Cubs were going to the World Series. Not a boast, a la Patrick Ewing, but a joyous prediction. He really thought so.

Jack Brickhouse, who broadcast for both Chicago teams, once said he'd like to come out of retirement, to broadcast a World Series between the teams, and have it go to Game 7, and go 23 innings, and then, in the top of the 23rd, the White Sox would take the lead, but in the bottom of the 23rd, the Cubs would get a man on, Ernie himself comes out of retirement, and he hits a long fly ball down the left field line, but it's dark (Wrigley Field, as yet, had no lights), and the umpire can't tell if it's a game-winning home run or a ChiSox-lead-holding foul ball, and the game would be declared over and a tie, and both teams Co-World Champions. A version of this became part of the final scene of the Cub-themed play and movie Bleacher Bums.

9. Cornelius Warmderdam. In 1940, this American of Dutch descent (and "Dutch" became his nickname) became the 1st man to pole-vault 15 feet. He held the world record until 1957 -- and then the new holder needed a metal pole to do it, as bamboo poles had previously been used.

Unfortunately, he was unable to compete in the Olympics, as the 1940 and 1944 Games were cancelled due to World War II, and in 1948 he was barred from the Games, because he had turned professional. (Not until 1992 would professionals be allowed to compete in the Olympics.)

He's been called the greatest track-and-field performer never to win an Olympic medal. In spite of this, he competed long after the 1940s, and was a pioneer in "masters" athletics.

8. Carl Yastrzemski. Not the only Boston Red Sox left fielder to make this list. A member of the 3,000 Hit Club (unlike the other one), Yaz played more games without winning a world championship than any player in any of the 4 major sports' history: 3,308.

Not that it was his fault: Although he did make the final out of both Game 7 of the 1975 World Series and the 1978 American League Eastern Division Playoff (a.k.a. the Bucky Dent Game or the Boston Tie Party), he practically carried the Sox to the 1967 Pennant, and almost singlehandedly won 2 games in that year's World Series. It just wasn't meant to be.

7. Marcel Dionne. "The Little Beaver" scored 731 goals and had 1,040 assists. That is some serious offense. Did he ever win a Stanley Cup? Hell, in spite of some pretty good teammates with the Los Angeles Kings -- Rogie Vachon was in goal, and with Dave Taylor and Charlie Simmer he formed the Triple Crown Line, due to the crown logos on the Kings' uniforms -- he never even made the Conference Finals.

He is a major case for the prosecution in "Defense wins championships," as L.A. never had that good a D when he was there. He did help Team Canada win the 1972 Summit Series against the Soviets, and the 1976 and 1981 Canada Cups (the tournament now named the World Cup).

Honorable Mention to Gilbert Perrault, Mike Gartner, Dale Hawerchuk, Pat LaFontaine (maybe the best American player ever), Borje Salming (maybe the best Swedish player until Peter Forsberg), Peter Stastny (the best Slovakian player), and a bunch of New York Rangers, before fans like me began to say that they suck: Chuck Rayner, Harry Howell, Eddie Giacomin, Rod Gilbert, Jean Ratelle and Brad Park. But for one game -- and it was Game 6 of the 2001 Stanley Cup Finals as much as it was Game 7 -- Ray Bourque would have displaced Dionne on this list.

(EDIT: I previously included 1950s Ranger star Andy Bathgate on this list, but he was a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs team that won the 1964 Stanley Cup.)

6. Paolo Maldini. He might have been the best left back in soccer history. He played in the first team for AC Milan from age 17 until just before turning 41. He led Milan to 7 Serie A (Italian league) titles and 5 European Cup/Champions League titles.

But he didn't win the World Cup, as the Italy teams he played for finished 3rd in 1990 and lost the Final in 1994. He was too young to be chosen in 1982, when Italy won it. In 2006, despite still being Captain of one of the world's great teams, he was not chosen for Italy's World Cup team, and only then did they win.

His father Cesare Maldini was also a great player for Milan, and they are likely to remain the only father & son to captain teams (let alone the same one) to European Cups.

Honorable Mention to Ferenc Puskás, the Budapest Honvéd and Real Madrid legend who took Hungary's "Magnificent Magyars" to the 1954 World Cup Final, but lost to West Germany.

5. Joint entry: Gale Sayers and Dick Butkus. The Chicago Bears were known as the Monsters of the Midway before Chicago native Butkus was even born, yet no player has ever been a greater personification of the name.

And with all the Bears' great running backs, from Red Grange and Bronko Nagurski in ye olden days to Willie Galimore just before Sayers got there (his 1964 car-crash death was probably the reason they drafted Sayers), to Walter Payton after Sayers, "the Kansas Comet" may still be the most talented running back ever. Da Bears got both of these men in the 1965 NFL Draft. That should have been a great stroke of luck.

And yet... "Never won a Super Bowl?" Butkus has said. "I never played in a Playoff game!" It's true: They barely even had winning seasons. In 1969, with Sayers in the backfield and Butkus marauding on D, the Bears went 1-13. How did that happen? Well, the franchise never had a franchise quarterback between Sid Luckman in the late 1940s and Jim McMahon in the mid-1980s. And teammate Brian Piccolo was dying of cancer, so they were kind of preoccupied.

Bad knees ended Sayers' career in 1971, and Butkus' 2 years later. Yet their legends remain: At 34, Sayers is the youngest athlete to be elected to a major sport's Hall of Fame while still alive, and Butkus, to this day, is, for many fans, football's definitive defensive player, more than Mean Joe Greene, Lawrence Taylor or Reggie White.

4. Joint entry: Karl Malone and John Stockton. The 2 Utah Jazz legends go together like bacon and eggs. "The Mailman" may have been the best power forward ever. Stockton holds the all-time records for assists and steals. Both were named to the NBA's 50th Anniversary 50 Greatest Players in 1997 -- not just while both were still in their prime, but before either had ever appeared in an NBA Finals.

That would change that season and the next, but both times they lost to What's His Name and the Chicago Bulls. Malone got one more shot at an NBA Finals, with the 2004 Los Angeles Lakers, but, for reasons that were hardly his fault, that went up in smoke.

Honorable Mention to Charles Barkley. But not to Patrick Ewing.

3. Ted Williams. Was the Boston Red Sox left fielder "the greatest hitter who ever lived"? No, and Ted himself, in a book he wrote late in life, said that Babe Ruth was. But with a .344 lifetime batting average and 521 home runs, despite missing 5 prime years due to military service, Ted isn't that far behind the Babe.

Yet despite finishing at least 2nd 8 times in his career, only once did he get close to a World Series win, with the Sox being tied with the St. Louis Cardinals in the 7th inning of Game 7 in 1946. Alas, events conspired against the Sox, and while Ted had a ring for election to the Hall of Fame, he never got one for winning the World Series.

2. Ty Cobb. By the time he was 23 years old, he'd led the Detroit Tigers to 3 straight American League Pennants -- in a row, 1907-09. By the time he reached his prime, he was arguably the best baseball player ever, and despite Ruth's exploits, some people still think "The Georgia Peach" is the best ever. His .367 lifetime batting average is a record that still stands. His records for stolen bases in a season and in a career, and for hits and runs in a career, stood for decades.

But he never won another Pennant, and he never won a World Series. Just as well: He was a miserable human being, and would have been even if racism had never been a part of it.

(UPDATE: That assessment was based on what I knew at the time. Evidence has since come out that maybe he was a much better person. But he was still a dirty player on the field and a racist off it.)

1. Johan Cruyff. Or, as his name is spelled in his homeland, Johan Cruijff. Perhaps the best soccer player Europe has ever produced, the midfielder made his club team, AFC Ajax of Amsterdam, and his country, the Netherlands, watchwords for beautiful attacking football. With him, Ajax won 8 Eredivisie (Dutch league) titles over an 18-year stretch, including 3 straight European Cups from 1971 to '73.

In mid-career, he went to Spanish club Barcelona, winning a La Liga title and establishing them, as he had established Ajax, as one of the world's superclubs. After giving the North American Soccer League a bit of credibility with his play for the Los Angeles Aztecs and the Washington Diplomats, he returned to the Netherlands, and brought Ajax to glory, and even won an Eredivisie title with arch-rivals Feyenoord of Rotterdam. Before Thierry Henry was even born, in soccer, "Number 14" meant Cruyff.

But the Netherlands lost the 1974 World Cup Final to host West Germany. Then, learning of a bizarre kidnapping plot against his family, he decided the risk of playing in the 1978 World Cup was too great, and chose not to. The Dutch lost the Final -- again to the host country, Argentina, and while the '74 loss was dubious due to media circumstances, the surviving Dutch players are convinced that there is no way the fascist military dictatorship Argentina then had was going to let the Dutch win the Final -- or, if they did, leave the stadium alive.

Cruyff has since managed both Ajax and Barcelona to trophies, including Barcelona's 1st European Cup in 1992. But he has never been permitted to manage the Netherlands national team.