I'll take the ref that tackled Hakeem. He knew something was going down and wasn't afraid to get in the middle of it... quickly. :grin:
Young Akeem got into scraps all the time. Also have to throw Antoine Carr in there. He was one of the few legit bruisers that we ever had.
Please add Otis Thorpe, he is arguably the biggest and strongest. Check his frame and muscles, he's huge!
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Please do yourself a favor and find the old clip of Calvin Murphy and ???? (sorry senior moment) . Calvin was 5'9" maybe - the other player was closer to 7ft. Calvin jumps into the mans chest and pummels him, rapid fire, to the head all the way to the ground. A little like Manny Pacquiao vs godzilla... for a guy who twirls batons at halftime, one hell of a fighter.
I went with Charles Barkley to watch my back. Ron Artest and Vernon Maxwell are obvious answers, but they are loose canons that would run off and do their own thing. Meanwhile, your back is being covered by you. Charles Barkley and Charles Oakley were more of the circle your wagons fighters.
Back in the day, Akeem wasted no time putting hands on fools who stepped up... Great vid, showing Craig Ehlo, Jim Peterson, Bobby Joe Reed...
Thorpe and Mad Max were on the same team and Max was hands down the baddest mf on the team. Max was the enforcer dispite being a guard. Kenny Smith even said Thorpe and Hakeem wouldnt even mess with Maxwell. I think if most of us had actually seen Calvin Murphy fight he would prob be hands down the winner. With golden gloves, he was definitely the most skilled fighter despite his size. Im a little surprised Ron Ron has so many votes, he couldnt even knockout a drunk dude in the crowd. If I recall correctly Max laid out the guy in Portland and from what I hear Murphy was taking down men over a foot taller than him
Yes, he didn't get that name for nothing. However, Calvin got in more fights than any other Rocket I believe. Also, one time I saw a fan come out of the stands to defend Calvin during a particularly rough game against the Celtics. It was during the 70's. This guy comes out onto the court and kicks Dave Cowens in the shin. At that point several Celtics proceed to beat the crap out of the fan. The fan is pummeled until the police step in and restore order. I saw a lot of crazy stuff at some of those games.