Ben Wallace in 2002

On February 24, in 2002, In an 89-82 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, Ben Wallace of the Detroit Pistons blocked a career-high 10 shots (10 points, 17 rebounds, 10 blocks). One of the best defenders in NBA history. Maybe he couldn’t shoot a basketball, but on defense he played superbly.

Ben Wallace is a former professional basketball player and current basketball executive from the United States. He spent the majority of his career in the NBA, and many consider him to be the greatest undrafted player in NBA history.

Ben Wallace and Dikembe Mutombo have both won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award four times. Wallace spent nine seasons with the Pistons (2000–2006; 2009–2012), appearing in two NBA Finals (2004 and 2005) and winning a championship in 2004. In 2016, the Pistons retired his number 3 jersey. On May 16, 2021, Wallace was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2021, and he was enshrined on September 11, 2021.

Wallace’s height was reported as 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), however he has stated that he is more like 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m). He primarily played center due to his stature, strength, and athleticism, despite his height being more suited for the power forward position. He was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year four times for his phenomenal rebounding and shot blocking. Not only that, but he’s one of just five players with more blocks than personal fouls (minimum 150 games) and the only one with more thefts than turnovers among those five.

Ben Wallace, on the other hand, was never a prolific scorer, averaging only 5.7 points per game over his career. His offensive put-backs, transition baskets, and other high-percentage field goals accounted for the majority of his points. Wallace also maintains the NBA record for the poorest free-throw shooting percentage (sub 42%). (minimum 1,000 free-throw attempts). As a result, teams frequently fouled him in the fourth quarter, similar to the Hack-a-Shaq defense.

Career highlights:

• NBA champion (2004)
• 4× NBA Defensive Player of the Year (2002, 2003, 2005, 2006)
• 4× NBA All-Star (2003–2006)
• 3× All-NBA Second Team (2003, 2004, 2006)
• 2× All-NBA Third Team (2002, 2005)
• 5× NBA All-Defensive First Team (2002–2006)
• NBA All-Defensive Second Team (2007)
• 2× NBA rebounding leader (2002, 2003)
• NBA blocks leader (2002)
• No. 3 retired by Detroit Pistons