The best enforcer we ever had was Dream. Unfortunately, he was a little to valuable to get ejected. Did work out in 86 though.
If only we could still have Barkley vs. Shaq fights like that on NBA On TNT... That'd get me to unmute.
Gawd... I wish someone had video of the time he took down Swen Nater... all 7-foot plus of him... my dad's favorite Murph moment...
I'm not sure how many "enforcers" we have anymore in the league. Nowadays, since an elbow to the chest is considered a flagrant, the enforcer would be ejected by the end of the first half. lol. Rockets I can think of who'd qualify : Calvin Murphy - not so much he was a bully; it's just that nobody wanted to mess with the dude because of his boxing background. Proof? Sports Illustrated did an article called "The Enforcers" back in 1977 where they talked about 6 enforcers. Murph was one. https://vault.si.com/vault/1977/10/31/nobody-but-nobody-is-going-to-hurt-my-teammates Kevin Willis - arms like a T-Rex, but built like a god. Came to the league always pissed at people before he calmed down. Charles Oakley - Came here towards the end of his career, but in his prime was the person nobody wanted to meet in a dark alley. If you go at people like Rick Mahorn and Xavier McDaniel, you're a badass or just out of your mind. Charles Barkley - Barkley didn't take crap from anybody and for years jawed at Oakley, but I doubt in a real fight, he wanted any part of Oakley. Still, Barkley didn't back down. Metta World Peace/Ron Artest - The Love Panda or whatever he calls himself now. Built like a tank and lost a few marbles somewhere along the way. This dude scares you because you don't know when the switch will flip. lol. If he's on your team, he's got your back; if he's not, you better watch your back. Larry Smith - great rebounder, tough guy on the court, horrible coach. There are probably some guys I'm missing, or are before I started watching the Rockets. These are guys I would consider "enforcers", not just "tough guys" or "in your face guys" (like Patrick Beverley).
Can't say I got to watch some of the older guys mentioned, they only showed NBA games in the early 90s in my part of the world and even then, like once a week and only the 2nd half at that. Someone already mentioned Dikembe. OT obviously. Artest definitely, came to Yao's defense his first couple of games. They had a great relationship. I also always thought Sam Cassell was one player not too many wanted to mess with. He came on chopping Derek Harper's arms off and even later during his career, played like he was still pissed off we traded him for Barkley. He elevated the Bucks and the Wolves.
The image of Chuck Hayes stoning Kevin Garnett on the block is something I can never forget. So while Chuck isn't an enforcer in the pre-90's Maurice Lucas way, he's my choice.