People forget just how good Grant Hill was before injuries derailed his career. In his first six seasons in Detroit, he averaged 22-8-6, won the Rookie of the Year, made five All-Star teams and five All-NBA teams.
From his Wiki page:
After the first six seasons of his career, before his ankle injury, Hill had a total of 9,393 points, 3,417 rebounds and 2,720 assists. Oscar Robertson and Larry Bird are the only two players in league history to eclipse these numbers after their first six seasons.
It’s true. LeBron James only had 3307 rebounds through his first six seasons.
Hill missed 357 games over the next six seasons with major ankle problems and almost died due to a staph infection contracted during that time. Even with all of these problems, he still posted a 20-5-3 season and was named to his seventh All-Star Game during the 2004-05 season.
It’s a shame — if not for those ankle problems, Hill might have been one of the all-time greats.
