Remembering Bias

It's a full day late, but I'd be ashamed of myself if I didn't take the time to acknowledge one of the greatest tragedies in all of sports: the passing of Len Bias.

His impact on Maryland basketball was obvious, winning an ACC Title and becoming an All-American. A lot of this is covered in a terrific "30 for 30" documentary called "Without Bias".  (Side note: You aren't a real sports fan if you haven't watched at least one of these "30 for 30"'s, they're awesome. My personal favorite is "The U". Just a bunch of cocky sons of bitches kicking white-boy ass and changing college football forever.) He was drafted second overall by the Boston Celtics in the 1986 NBA Draft, then overdosed two days later on cocaine. His death sent shock waves through the entire country, forever changed how we treated drug use and altered the entire landscape of the NBA. For the sake of keeping this blog at a reasonable length, I'm going to focus on the immediate impact this had on the Boston Celtics, just to illustrate the actual damage his death did to the team.

The Celtics were the defending champions at the time they drafted Bias. Here's a brief list of the major names on the returning roster that you might recognize: Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parrish, Bill Walton, Danny Ainge, Dennis Johnson and Rick Carlisle. And they were about to add the most explosive player to enter the NBA since Jordan. I believe the phrase you are looking for is "holy shit".  The following year, without Bias (or anyone from the #2 pick), they returned to the NBA Finals and lost to the Lakers in 6. Take a second to imagine what that team would have been capable of had they added a freak athlete who could score seemingly at will. Now try telling me that team wouldn't win 70 games and a championship. Not only did the Celtics lose what likely would have been at least one more title, but without Bias, Bird and McHale began to wear down from the heavy minutes, eventually resulting in the steady decline of their careers.

It's hard to measure long term what effect he would have had exactly, but know this: the NBA, not just the Celtics, lost what could have been one of the greatest of all-time. Not to mention a perfect foil for Michael Jordan. R.I.P Len.