NBAVideo

If Last Night Was The End Of Baron Davis’ Basketball Career, Let This Be How We Remember Him

Just when we thought we had escaped another torn ACL in the NBA playoffs, news hit that Baron Davis had more than just a dislocated knee cap. His injury last night resulted in a torn ACL and a torn MCL. Projected recovery time: 12 months. Baron Davis — you were taken from us too young. (Alright, not Brandon Roy young. But still, too young.)

Never say never when it comes to players coming back from injuries. Almost everyone thought Mariano Rivera was going to call it quits when he tore his ACL a few days ago, yet according to Mo, HE’S COMING BACK. But a 12 month recovery period would put Davis back on the court, at the earliest, for the start of the 2014 season. A 34-year-old point guard with a history of back problems, coming off a year of no basketball and a surgically repaired knee? It’s not impossible — but it’s also not likely.

It’s a damn shame if Baron Davis went out like this. He was having a decent season, playing himself back into shape and throwing the occasional sick pass to his high-flying teammates. Plus, he was injured right in the middle of a big Knicks run that helped let New York taste its first playoff victory in over a decade.

But let’s not forget the player that only appeared in flashes this season — the one that helped lead a stunning first round upset of the Mavericks back in 2007. When that Davis wanted to be, he was one of the fiercest and most exciting players in the league.

Here is a video (very low-resolution, because I guess nice TVs didn’t exist five years ago) of Baron’s most iconic moment: his total destruction of Andrei Kirilenko.

Yes — that is how Baron Davis should be remembered. The guy who could put the team on his back. The guy who could jump out of the building. The guy who could light a fire under a whole city with just one mesmerizing play. Busting up his knee — even though he did it valiantly, for a Knicks team that needed his veteran savvy desperately — was a sad and painful way to go out. Let’s think about the good times instead.

Rest in peace, what remained of Baron Davis’ career. Rest in peace.

h/t Buzzfeed