Editor’s note: list counts down from best to worst

16) Brian Cardinal

A big man who could rebound and had long range shooting touch, Cardinal may have been more of an asset in today’s game. But in his era, well, there’s a reason his nickname was “The Custodian,” and that reason is he looked and often played like one. After a superstar career at Purdue, Cardinal was a second round pick and found scant playing time in his first three NBA seasons. He had a breakout in ’03-’04, logging major minutes for an injury-stricken Warriors team and averaging a career high 9.6 points per game. This somehow convinced the Grizzlies to lavish him with a six-year, $38 million contract, a decision the embattled franchise would quickly regret. Cardinal struggled almost constantly with injuries and, even when he was healthy, put up pedestrian numbers. But Cardinal finally did find a niche as a bench hustler and team leader, and found redemption on the ’10-’11 Mavericks title team. He played one more season after that with Dallas before retiring with career averages of 4.6 points and 2.3 rebounds per game in 12 seasons.

15) Sebastian Telfair

Originally committed to Rick Pitino at Louisville, Telfair changed his mind last minute and instead declared for the 2004 NBA Draft. Landing with the “Jail Blazers” as a lottery pick was arguably the worst scenario for an impressionable 19-year-old and Telfair was already considered damaged goods by the end of his second season. But the former New York Mr. Basketball had enough pure talent to continue getting playing time opportunities for over a decade. Telfair was traded six times in his career and played for eight franchises in 10 seasons. He managed to contribute scoring everywhere, ultimately averaging 7.4 points per game for his career despite only short stints as a starting guard. But he also notably never played in a postseason game, playing almost exclusively for teams that finished at the bottom of the standings.

14) Tim Legler
13) Steve Novak

Two players who survived a decade-plus in the NBA thanks almost entirely to their three-point shooting and their affability. It’s no coincidence that both transitioned directly into television broadcasting after retiring. Legler went un-drafted out of La Salle and spent time early in his career in the CBA, USBL, and WBL. He signed with eight different franchises in 10 NBA seasons and was ultimately waived or released by six of them. Leger’s peak came in ’95-’96 with the Bullets, when he averaged a career high 9.4 points per game, led the league in three-point percentage at 52.2%, and won the Three-Point Contest during All-Star Weekend. But Legler also suffered a torn ACL late in that season, which hampered him for the remainder of his career. Novak was a teammate of Dwyane Wade at Marquette and had the requisite size and skill to be second round pick of the Rockets in 2006. He played for nine teams over 11 seasons and his best career stretch came in the Lin-sanity era of the Knicks, averaging 10.4 points per game in the last three months of ’11-’12, and leading the league in three-point field goal percentage.

12) Scott Hastings

For 11 NBA seasons, Hastings was usually the last guy off the bench, averaging just 2.8 points and 2.2 rebounds per game for his career. But he accomplished something that Elgin Baylor, Charles Barkley, and Karl Malone never did. Hastings won a title, in 1990 with the Pistons. As was standard in his career, Hastings was the 12th man on that Pistons roster, appearing in garbage time of just five playoff games, for 16 total minutes. And as was de rigueur for members of the “Bad Boys” Pistons, Hastings had a reputation as an enforcer, willing to do any dirty work necessary in his short stints on the floor. In addition to his title with Detroit, Hastings’ other infamous claim to NBA fame is that he set the league record for consecutive games without record a steal, somehow going 65 straight.

11) Ronnie Price

Too small at 6’2″ to be a shooting guard but lacking the play making skills of a point guard, Price was always destined to be at best a role player in the NBA. But he managed to make a full career out of that, playing for six franchises over 12 seasons. Price’s prime actually came at the end of his career and following major elbow surgery. He started 20 games for the Lakers in ’14-’15 at age 31 and 18 for the Suns in ’15-’16, averaging 5.3 points and 3.0 assists per game over those two seasons. Granted, he was benefitting from those teams being two of the worst in the NBA during that stretch, opening up major playing time. Before that, Price had spent four seasons on the Jazz as a fan favorite for his defensive intensity, preternatural leadership, and otherworldly athleticism. Price does hold the distinction as the greatest player ever to emerge from Utah Valley University, and the school retired his jersey in 2010.

10) Brian Scalabrine

Lest you think any player on this list is deserving of scorn or pity, consider the viral videos for which Scalabrine is now best known. In 2013, at age 34 and retired from the NBA, Scalabrine issued a one-on-one challenge to some of the premier amateur players in the Boston area. Not only did “White Mamba” defeat every challenger, he destroyed them, proving his point that an NBA bench warmer is “closer to LeBron James” than even the best amateur player is to that bench warmer. A second round pick out of USC in 2001, Scalabrine averaged just 3.1 points and 2.0 rebounds per game in 11 NBA seasons. But he did take the court in three NBA Finals, including as a rookie in 2002 with the Nets, and as a veteran in 2010 with the Celtics. Scalabrine also earned a ring with Boston in 2008, though he was left off that postseason roster.

9) Ryan Hollins

One of the ultimate NBA journeymen, Hollins played for nine franchises over 10 seasons, usually as one of the last guys off the bench. His longevity is testament to how important it once was to have a seven footer on your bench to occasionally eat minutes and battle in practices. This was true even into the ’10s, as the NBA began slowly shifting away from positional size niches. Hollins’ peak came in ’09-’10 with the 67-loss Timberwolves, averaging 6.1 points and 2.8 rebounds per game and even starting 27 times, often alongside Al Jefferson as a pair of centers. Perhaps due to his long playing career spent receiving little notice, Hollins garnered a reputation as an outlandish fabulist as a television analyst and broadcaster, initially for ESPN and currently with the Rockets local team.

“To last a decade-plus in the NBA without ever producing big stats, your resume better include superlatives like ‘great leader,’ ‘high basketball IQ’ and ‘works well with others.’”

8) Jarron Collins

Twin brothers who both grew to seven feet tall, Jarron and Jason Collins had noticeably similar basketball life journeys. They together led Harvard-Westlake High School to two California state titles (along with actor Jason Segel as a teammate), were both All-Americans at Stanford, both drafted in 2001, and both had unspectacular but lengthy NBA careers. But while Jarron has become mostly forgotten after averaging 3.9 points and 2.9 rebounds per game over 10 seasons with the Jazz, Suns, Clippers, and Blazers, Jason makes headlines indefinitely as the first, and still only, openly gay player in NBA history. Jarron, who is the younger brother by eight minutes, later found more success as an assistant coach, winning three championships with the Warriors while working on Steve Kerr’s staff.

7) Ryan Bowen

It’s no coincidence that many of the players on this list immediately transitioned into either coaching or broadcasting after their playing career ended. To last a decade-plus in the NBA without ever producing big stats, your resume better include superlatives like “great leader,” “high basketball IQ” and “works well with others.” Such was definitely the case for Bowen, who spent his first five NBA seasons with the Nuggets, then five more with the Rockets, Hornets, and Thunder. Even in what could be considered his “prime,” two seasons in and out of the starting lineup for Denver, Bowen averaged just 4.3 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. But he always hustled for loose balls, always made the strategically correct decision, and made friends with seemingly everyone in the Nuggets organization. Bowens’ coaching career started at his alma mater, the University of Iowa, then later brought him back to Denver, where he earned a championship ring as an assistant coach on the ’22-’23 team.

6) Doug Overton

A high school teammate of Bo Kimble and a collegiate teammate (at La Salle) of Lionel Simmons, Overton seemed well on his way to joining those two in the NBA. But a sprained ankle in his senior year at La Salle left Overton flailing. He fell to the second round of the 1991 NBA Draft, got cut by the Pistons, and spent a year playing pro ball in Australia before finally landing with the Bullets. Overton’s first three seasons with Washington were promising, averaging 6.2 points and 2.6 assists per game off the bench, but a 1995 trade to the Nuggets waylaid his career. He hung around for another eight seasons all the same, often as the last guy to make rosters thanks to his hustle and play making. One other distinction about Overton’s career: his 499 NBA regular season games without a playoff appearance is eighth all-time.

5) Joe Wolf

Size truly did matter for the most of the NBA’s existence. Exhibit A is Wolf, a 6’11” center who could only be described as “stiff.” Or maybe “warm body.” Either way, he was, by definition, an NBA player for 11 seasons though never much of one. In fairness to Wolf, a lot of that mediocrity can be chalked up to injury issues. He was putting up solid numbers as a rookie starting center for the Clippers but also suffered two separate knee injuries, requiring surgery from which he arguably never recovered. Wolf averaged just 4.2 points and 3.3 rebounds per game in 11 NBA seasons but was signed by eight more teams after his rookie contract with the Clippers expired. Six of those teams waived or released Wolf, and the Bucks unceremoniously traded him. After retiring in 1999, Wolf transitioned into coaching, including assistant gigs with the Bucks and Nets.

4) Royal Ivey

A perfect statistical summation of Ivey’s career happened at the NCAA level. A four-year starting guard at the University of Texas, he set the school record not for points, assists, or steals, but for games played with 133. Consider this as well: Ivey is one of just four players in NBA history to play in 400 or more games and average less than 4.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game (Brian Scalabrine and Ronnie Price, detailed above, are two of the others, while the fourth is Bulls champion Jud Buechler). Though the stats didn’t reflect it, defensive ferocity and a dependable handle were Ivey’s specialties, and the reason he hung around for 10 seasons in the NBA despite his career highs being 5.6 points and 2.1 assists per game in ’07-’08. Ivey’s reliability even earned him a spot as the 12th man on the 2012 Thunder playoff roster, and he hit the floor in garbage time of an NBA Finals loss to the Heat.

3) Randy Livingston

One thing you can say about Livingston is that he does technically hold an NBA record. He is the only player to average 0.0 points per game in three separate seasons, accomplished in ’00-’01 with the Warriors (in two games), ’05-’06 with the Bulls (in five games), and ’06-’07 with the SuperSonics (in four games). It certainly wasn’t a talent issue, as Livingston was named Gatorade National Player of the Year in 1993 while starring for Isadore Newman High School in New Orleans. But he suffered a torn ACL in a pickup game that summer and was never the same, playing just 29 games in two seasons at LSU, and lasting more than 20 games just twice in his 11 NBA seasons. The Rockets, Hawks, Suns, Warriors, SuperSonics, Hornets, Clippers, Jazz, and Bulls all gave Livingston a brief chance and all came away unconvinced that he would ever return to his prep superstar status. He did have one brief flash of brilliance with the Suns late in ’99-’00, filling in for a resting Jason Kidd as starting point guard and dropping 23 points, seven assists, and seven rebounds in a win over the Grizzlies.

2) Greg Dreiling

You’d be hard pressed to find an NBA career more symmetrically nondescript than that of Dreiling. He averaged 2.1 points and 2.1 rebounds per game, with career highs of 3.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game in ’90-’91. He spot started here and there but spent most of his career as a third string center. He played in just nine total games across four playoff appearances and never past the first round. But Dreiling’s career lasted for 474 games across 10 seasons. Would you be surprised to learn he was 7’1″? Of course not. A McDonald’s All-American in high school, Dreiling was the starting center and leading rebounder on the Kansas team that reached the 1986 NCAA Tournament Final Four, then was drafted in the second round by the Pacers. Most of Dreiling’s pro career came in Indiana, followed by brief stints with the Cavaliers and Mavericks. He’s remained in the Dallas organization ever since, taking on roles as a player development coach and scout.

1) Sean Marks

When Marks was inducted into the New Zealand Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017, it wasn’t exactly for his NBA statistics. Over 11 seasons spread across 13 years (he took one year off due to a knee injury and spent one year playing in Poland), he averaged 2.8 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 0.2 assists per game. That assists number is especially notable, tying him for the second lowest assist average all time amongst players who played at least 200 games (Hasheem Thabeet is number one, for the record). But Marks made history as the first Kiwi to be drafted by an NBA team, the first to play in the NBA, and the first to win an NBA title. That championship came in 2005 with the Spurs, with Marks earning a ring despite being left off the postseason roster. He was also part of the New Zealand national team that made its Olympics debut in 2000. All in all, an impressive career for a guy with such unremarkable NBA stats.

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