The Motor City Auto Project

MCAP Auto #49 - Stanley Johnson
2015-16 Panini Preferred - Crown Royale Silhouettes 95/99
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Stanley Johnson was a 5 star prospect across the board coming out of high school. Mr. Basketball California, a McDonald's All-American & USA Today All-USA Boys First Team he was rated in the top handful of high school prospects when he elected to attend the University of Arizona. As a freshman at Arizona in 2014–15, Johnson was voted first-team All-Pac-12, and was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, averaging 13.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.5 steals in 28.4 minutes per game.

Rated a top 10 prospect, Johnson elected to forgo his remaining years of college and entered the 2015 NBA Draft, where he was selected by the Detroit Pistons with the 8th selection overall, edging out similar prospect Justise Winslow who was drafted by the Heat with the 10th pick (Devin Booker would be selected with pick 13).

Regarded as an athletic 3 & D SF prospect, the 6'6" Johnson, nicknamed Stanimal had a slow start to his career in the Motor City. He came off the bench to average 8.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 23 minutes but his shooting splits of 37.5% from the field and 30.7% from deep highlighted one of his major deficiencies which would following him throughout his career.

Hoping for improvement in Johnson's sophomore season in the association, he actually went backwards. His scoring dropped to 4.4 points per game and his shooting actually got worse, but in his third season the Johnson was made the starting SF as vets Marcus Morris & Reggie Bullock found new homes and his output returned to the level of his rookie season.

Halfway through his 4th campaign, the organisation traded Johnson to New Orleans in a 3-team trade that netted them Thon Maker from Milwaukee. Johnson. The Pelicans had decided they'd seen enough of Johnson after 18 games and decided not to extend a $4.5m qualifying offer to him, making him an unrestricted free agent.

The World Champion Toronto Raptors came knocking, offering Johnson a 2 year, $7.5m contract, but Johnson continued to struggle and spent significant time in the G League with the 905. He hit back to back buckets in the "Bubble" against the Philadelphia 76ers to win a game for the Raptors and followed it up with 23 points in his next game against Denver, the final game of the season. He played more the following season with the Raps, featuring 61 times, scoring a career high 35 points against Chicago in the third last game of the 2020-21 season.

Out of contract, Johnson signed with the Bulls, but was waived during pre-season. He subsequently signed with the Lakers G-League team, but the Bulls gave him another chance in December, signing him to a 10 day contract but Johnson was placed in the NBA's health and safety protocols and his contract expired without playing a regular season game for the Bulls. On Christmas Eve 2021, Johnson signed the first of several 10 day contracts with the Los Angeles Lakers before being signing a 2 year, $3.2m deal with them. Despite having teammates in LeBron James, Anthony Davis & Russell Westbrook, the Lakers were a mess and Johnson saw a decent amount of court time as a famous franchise spectacularly failed to make the playoffs. He played 48 games, returning 6.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game as he shot over 40% from the field for the first time in his career.

As it stands he has featured in 419 regular season games, averaging 6.3 points, 3.1 rebounds & 1.5 assists on shooting of 38.4% from the field and 30% from three.
 
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MCAP Auto #50 - Chauncey Billups
2018-19 Panini Select - In Flight Signatures Neon Green 82/99
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Born in Denver, Colorado, Chauncey Billups was highly rated from a young age. At high school he was a four-time All-State first team selection, named Mr. Colorado Basketball three times, Colorado player of the year twice and a McDonald's All American in 1995. He was widely recruited by colleges, however elected to remain local, attending the University of Colorado Boulder.

He spent two seasons with 'the Buffaloes' averaging 18.5 points, 5.1 assists and 5.6 rebounds per games and as a sophomore was named All-Big 12 Conference First Team, Basketball Times All-American First Team and consensus 2nd team All-American, leading the Buffaloes to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 28 years where they upset Indiana in the first round before losing to North Carolina.

The 21 year old, 6'3" point guard was drafted with the third overall pick in the 1997 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics, behind Tim Duncan and Keith Van Horn, but he had issues with Celtic coach Rick Pitino early on and the team wasn't sure whether to play him at the point or shooting guard. Billups showed flashes, including scoring 15 points in 16 minutes on debut however he was traded out of Boston in his first season, after only 51 games. The trade saw him, Dee Brown, Roy Rodgers & John Thomas head north of the border to Toronto for Kenny Anderson, Zan Tabak and Popeye Jones.

Billups played 29 games for the Raptors to see out his rookie year. He had consistent numbers with both franchises, averaging 11.2 points, 3.9 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals his first full year, but his field goal percentage was a shade under 38%.

The league then found itself in a pay dispute and the players locked out. Before Billups could take the court again, he found himself traded to the hometown Denver Nuggets in a three way trade involving Minnesota. Billups was placed in the role of starting shooting guard for a poor Nuggets team, playing out the shortened season. However he made just another 15 appearances for Denver when he was once again dealt. This time with Ron Mercer and and Johnny Taylor to the Orlando Magic in exchange for Chris Gatling, Tariq Abdul-Wahad, a future first-round pick, and cash.

Billups would never take the court for Orlando due to a shoulder injury and his services weren't retained at the end of the season. Suddenly it was possible the #3 pick could be out of the league in just three short seasons. However the Timberwolves signed Billups on a 2 year, $4.725m going into the 2000-01 season and gave him a starting role. It began well with Chauncey having a night against the Bucks in just his 7th game for the T-Wolves, scoring 31 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists. Less than a month later, Billups found himself out of the starting line up. The Wolves would scrape into the playoffs with Billups averaging 1 point, 1.7 rebounds and 0.7 assists as they were eliminated by the Spurs.

Fast forward one year later, and Billups would return a stat line of 22 points, 5.7 assists, 5 rebounds and 1 steal per game in another first round exit but in completely different circumstances. Initially coming off the bench for Terrell Brandon, a knee injury to the starter gave Billups another shot and this time he was able to make it work. But Billups was now once again a free agent and despite wanting to return to Minnesota, the Wolves wanted to stick with the former all-star. thus leaving Billups to sign a 5 year, $35m deal with the Pistons to be their starting point guard. Meanwhile Brandon would never play in the NBA again...

Chauncey quickly endeared himself fans for his tough defense and and clutch shooting, earning the nickname "Mr. Big Shot" after making two game winning shots within three weeks of each other. The Pistons finished the season first in the Eastern Conference but fell in a 3-1 hole to the 8th seeded Magic. Billups then put up a combined 77 points in Games 6 & 7 as Detroit came back to win the series. They would advance to the Eastern Conference Finals where they would be swept by the Nets with coach Carlisle losing his job.

Replaced by Larry Brown, the Pistons fell to the third seed in the East despite winning more games than the previous season. Billups averaged, at the time, a career high 16.9 points per game to go with 5.7 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals but it was in the playoffs where he really stood up. In the first round against the Bucks he hit key free throws in a crucial Game 3 to seal the victory. The following round, he hit a half court buzzer beater to send the Nets to overtime, and although the Pistons would ultimately lose in triple OT, they would ultimately win the series 4-3 before surviving a touch series against the Pacers to make the NBA Finals. Despite being underdogs to the final version of the Kobe/Shaq Lakers, the Pistons won 4-1 and Billups was named Finals MVP averaging 21 points, 5.2 assists, 3.2 rebounds, 1.2 steals, as well as shooting 50.1% from the field and 47.1% from deep.

The following season Billups would be the Pistons best player in the Finals again, however this time his squad would lose to the Spurs in seven games. He would be named to the All-Defensive 2nd team for the first time. The following season Billups started a streak that would result in five straight All-Star appearances and made 2nd team All-Defensive again as he captained the Pistons to a franchise best 64-18 record, however the team would fail to make the Finals for a third straight season.

Billups opted out of the last year of his deal and signed a new 4 year, $46 million deal with the Pistons ahead of the 2007-08 season, however it would prove to be his last full season playing in the Motor City. Despite achieving five straight trips to the Eastern Conference Finals, just two games into the 2008-09 season, Billups was traded back to Denver along with Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb for Allen Iverson. Pistons GM Joe Dumars said that it was "the hardest and toughest" move he had made as a general manager. The move didn't work for Detroit and its decline down the standings quickened. During his spell with the Pistons, Billups averaged 17 points, 6.4 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1 steal.

Meanwhile Mr Big Shot's return to Denver was a win. Teaming up with young superstar Carmelo Anthony, the Nuggets had unprecedented success whilst Chauncey was running the point achieving a franchise best regular season record and achieving back to back 50 win seasons for the first time. However, after making it to the Western Conference Finals in his first season and taking the Lakers to six games, the Nuggets disappointed in the following post-seasons, being eliminated in the first round by Utah.

Despite publicly stating his desire to retire in Denver, Billups found himself traded in the 2010-11 season as "collateral damage" in the deal that saw Anthony become a Knick. Billups found it hard to say goodbye to his young family to move across the country. He then got injured in Game 1 of the playoffs and would feature again as they lost to the Celtics. Billups express his desire to have a full season in New York to see where the team could go. Despite averaging 17.5 points, 5.5 assists and 3.1 rebounds in his 21 games in the Big Apple, the Knicks used their amnesty clause on Billups contract and put him on waivers.

In the twilight of his career, Billups was keen to join a contender as a free agent, however the Clippers claimed him off waivers. Initially not happy to be headed to the Clippers, the franchise signaled their intentions two days later, trading for Chris Paul and now Billups was on board with their direction. Chauncey helped the Clippers get off to a hot 19-9 start but an Achilles tear ended his season. He re-joined the Clippers the following season but various injuries limited him to 22 games.

Ahead of the 2013-14 season, Billups re-signed with the Pistons on a 2 year, $5m deal, but knee issues meant his was limited to just 19 appearances and the Pistons elected not to pick up their team option. Billups prompted retired from the NBA after 17 seasons.

He averaged 15.2 points, 5.4 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1 steal across his 1043 regular season games. He also won gold at the 2010 FIBA World Championships with Team USA.

He has had his #1 jersey retired by the Detroit Pistons and his #4 jersey retired by the University of Colorado Boulder. He actually wore the #4 jersey in high school, college and early on in his career as he idolised Joe Dumars. The GM who brought him to Detroit and ultimately made the mistake of trading him away.

After his career finished, Billups spent time in TV studios, broadcasting games for ESPN before moving into a staff role with the Los Angeles Clippers. In 2020 he became an assistant coach with the Clippers before being named head coach of the Portland Trailblazers the following season. His first season in Portland was a rocky one, with the Blazers going 27-55 under Billups however the franchise traded away its second best player CJ McCollum midway through the season and its best player Damian Lillard only managed 29 games. Thus far Billups and the Blazers have managed to surprise the league going 10-6 at the start of the 2022-23 season.

The hiring of Billups as head coach of the Blazers brought back into the spotlight an ugly incident from his past. Whilst a rookie with the Celtics, Billups and teammate Ron Mercer were accused of of sexually assaulting a woman at the home of teammate Antoine Walker. According to a civil suit, Billups, Mercer and Walker's roommate Michael Irvin assaulted the woman at Walker's condo. A medical examination on the following day revealed injuries consistent with the victim's testimony. No criminal charges were filed, but Billups and Mercer settled a civil suit in 2000. Before being hired as the head coach for the Portland Trail Blazers, they investigated this allegation and concluded it did not disqualify him from taking the role.

Basketball-Reference.com currently has him as an 84.4% chance to make the Basketball Hall of Fame.
 
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MCAP Auto #51 - Arron Afflalo
2007-08 Bowman Elevation - Rookie Writings Relics 125/169
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A McDonald's All American and five-star recruit, Californian native Afflalo elected to attend his local college, UCLA. He had a notable college career, being named 2x First Team All-Pac 10 and Pac-10 Player of the Year in his Junior year (2007) as well as several notable performances in the NCAA tournament thanks to his defense and three point shooting.

Forgoing his senior year, Afflalo nominated for the 2007 NBA Draft and was selected by the Detroit Pistons with the 27th pick. In his two seasons in Detroit, Afflalo was a role player, coming off the bench replacing Rip Hamilton, averaging 4.3 points and 1.8 rebounds in 15 minutes a game.

At the end of the 2008-09 season, Afflalo was traded to the Denver Nuggets along with Walter Sharpe for a future 2nd round pick and cash. The deal would turn out to be a steal for the Nuggets despite a modest return in Arron's first year in Colorado. Playing mostly as a starter, he averaged 8.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists whilst shooting 43.4% from deep. He would only improve, with his points per game climbing to 12.6 in his second season in Denver and to 15.2 in his third. He also managed to score 19 points in the final quarter of a regular season win over the Dallas Mavericks including hitting the winning shot at the buzzer.

Afflalo was then once again traded, this time to the Orlando Magic in the deal that saw Dwight Howard move to the Lakers, Bynum to the 76ers and Andre Igoudala to the Nuggets. Whilst this increased Afflalo's opportunites (he would score his career high of 42 points on the Magic) and would be their best scoring option in 2013-14, it would mean he would miss the playoffs for the first time in his career (despite not having a long run since he went to the Conference Finals as a rookie).
Fearing Afflalo would opt out of his contact on a terrible Magic team, the Magic traded him back to the Nuggets in exchange for Evan Fournier and the draft rights to Devyn Marble. Though he wouldn't even last the full season in Denver as he was once again traded, this time to Portland with Alonzo Gee in exchange for Will Barton, Victor Claver, Thomas Robinson and a lottery protected 2016 1st round pick.

He struggled to fit in Portland and after they crashed out of the first round of the playoffs to Memphis, he was a free agent and signed a multiple year deal with the New York Knicks where he rejoined Carmelo Anthony. But the player known as "Spellcheck" for his unusual spelling of Arron opted out of his deal after just one year and signed a multiple year deal with the Kings, but he was waived in Sactown after just one season. He returned to Orlando for one final season before retiring after registering career low numbers.

Overall he averaged 10.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 762 regular season games. His best season saw him average 18.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 2013-14 for Orlando. He also had 3 seasons where was was in the top 20 for 3 point percentage.

Afflalo dreams of owning an NBA franchise one day (despite career earnings of approximately $58m), after missing out on purchasing the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2021.
 
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MCAP Auto #52 - Bob Lanier
2019-20 Panini Revolution - Autographs
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Robert Lanier Jr. was born in Buffalo, New York in the year 1948. He initially struggled to get into basketball. He was told by his grammar school team coach that his feet were too large (size 11 at age 11) for him to be successful and he was then deemed to be too clumsy to be in the varsity basketball squad at high school despite being 6'5" at age 16.
He was then encouraged by his biology teacher and new coach to try out as a junior. He went on to lead his high school to back to back city titles averaging over 20 points both seasons.

He was recruited by over 100 universities but elected to attend St. Bonaventure. Forced to play on the freshman team (as per NCAA rules), Lanier had an instant impact as a sophomore, leading his school to an undefeated regular season on the back of his 26.2 points and 15.6 rebounds per game. They were defeated in the East Regional Semifinal of the NCAA Tournament, but Lanier was named 2nd team All-American behind Lew Alcindor/Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

St. Bonaventure did not have the same level of the success in his junior year, but Lanier continued to produce incredible numbers. He set the single-game scoring record for the school with a 51 point game and was once again 2nd team All-American behind Lew. The New York Nets of the ABA approach Lanier for him to leave college early and join the ABA, offering him $1.2m to do so, however he chose to remain at St. Bonaventure on the advice of his father.

The school returned to their form of two seasons ago in Lanier's senior year and they went into the NCAA Tournament the #3 team in the country with only one loss. He averaged 29.2 points and 16 rebounds through the regular season. Lanier's squad won their way through to the Final Four, however Lanier hurt his knee at the end of the regional championship game and couldn't play any further and they suffered an 8 point loss. Many believe with a fit Lanier they would have been National Champions. When St. Bonaventure won its first NCAA Tournament game since 1970 in 2018, the coach dedicated the win to Lanier. This time he was named first time All-American.

His college career over, Lanier was drafted with the #1 pick in the 1970 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons, ahead of future hall of fame players such as Pete Maravich, Dave Cowens, Calvin Murphy & Nate Archibald. With pressure from the franchise to play, Lanier limped through his rookie season with the Pistons as he was still recovering from his knee surgery. He still averaged 15.6 points and 8.1 rebounds in 24 minutes and was named to the 1971 All-Rookie Team after playing all 82 games. Unthinkable today, Lanier admits he shouldn't have played his rookie year.

Lanier would go on to become a star in Detroit, paired with veteran Dave Bing. He would be named an All-Star in 7 of the next 8 seasons, named All Star MVP in 1974. Over this period he averaged 23.9 points, 12.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2 blocks and 1.2 steals per game. Detroit had trips to the playoffs but never made the Finals with Lanier, not helped by the fact they had 8 coaches in his 10 seasons in the Motor City.

In February 1980 he was traded to Milwaukee for Kent Benson and a 1st round draft pick. Lanier's scoring and productivity dropped off significantly with the Bucks from scoring mid-20s to scoring mid-teens as the Bucks played him 10 minutes less per game due to his injuries and the talent they had around him. He made it back to the All Star game in 1981-82. Each season his Bucks team squad would make the playoffs but he was still unable to make The Finals. He retired in 1984 after 14 seasons, 959 regular season games and 8 knee surgeries.

Willis Reed acknowledged that Lanier was "probably one of the best all-around big men ever to play the game of basketball" but also that he "wasn't as good a total player as he could have been because of the knee injury". It should be noted he was a physical player, referred to as an "enforcer" and had two specifically violent moments, knocking out a player in 1971 and breaking Bill Laimbeer's nose in 1983.

In the mid-90s Lanier served as an assistant coach on the Golden State Warriors and was named interim head coach in February 1995 after Don Nelson resigned. They finished 12-25 (32.4%) under Lanier and 26-56 (31.7%) overall. Otherwise he owned and operated Bob Lanier Enterprises (a promotional marketing company), he was also spokesperson and chairman of the NBA's Stay In School program for five years and was an NBA Cares Global Ambassador for 17 years.

Lanier died of an illness at age 73 in May, 2022 but not before having his jersey number retired by the Pistons & Bucks as well as being inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Over his career, he averaged 20.1 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.5 blocks.

Rest in peace Bob.
 
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MCAP Auto #53 - Reggie Jackson
2018-19 Panini Opulence - Luxurious Autographs
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Born in Italy, the son of an American serviceman stationed at an Italian air base, Jackson moved to England before relocating to the US at the age of 5. His family continued to move around within America before settling in Colorado where Jackson was named Mr. Colorado basketball in 2008. Turning 18 he also elected to relinquish his Italian citizenship and declared himself an American.

Rated a 3 star prospect coming out of high school, Jackson attended Boston College, coming off the bench as a freshman. He would become a starter for the Eagles as a freshman and would be named First Team All-ACC as a junior, at which point he nominated for the 2011 NBA Draft.

The point guard was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 24th pick and fell into the rotation behind Russell Westbrook and Eric Maynor. He would play 45 games his rookie season, averaging 3.1 points, 1.2 rebounds & 1.6 assists in 11 minutes. The Thunder would go all the way to the NBA Finals before losing to the Heat in 5 games, however Jackson would not get any burn in the playoffs whatsoever.

In his sophomore season, Jackson would find himself moving up the depth chart ahead of Maynor. He would play in 70 games, but would still receive a very limited amount of minutes behind Westbrook. His production improved, mainly thanks to him greatly improving his field goal percentage to an acceptable level, after only shooting 32% his rookie year. In the playoffs Westbrook would tear his meniscus and would be ruled out for the rest of the season thrusting Jackson into the starting point guard role. The Thunder would beat Houston in 6 games before losing to the Grizzlies in the Conference Semis. As starter, Jackson averaged 15.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists in 36 minutes.

In February 2015 of the 2014-15 season, the Pistons traded for Jackson in a three way deal involving OKC & Utah. The Pistons gave up Kyle Singler, DJ Augustine & a two future 2nd round picks in order to acquire their starting point guard. Jackson started hot, averaging 17.6 points, 9.2 assists and 4.6 rebounds for the remainder of the season. He achieved multiple triple doubles over this 27 game period becoming the first Pistons since Grant Hill in 1997-98 to do so and the first Pistons guard since Isiah Thomas in 1986-87.

In the off-season Jackson signed a 5 year, $80m deal with the franchise and continued to shine. He scored a career high 40 points against Portland and was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week twice. He also tied Will Bynum's (!) franchise record of 26 points in a quarter. The Pistons would finish in the 8th seed and be subsequently swept by the top seeded Cavs.

This would prove to be the peak of Jackson's time in the Motor City. He started to suffer from injuries in his knee, hand and ankle over his remaining time in Detroit and missed several games in the following seasons before returning to play the full 2018-19 season. His averages had started to decline over the past three years but he still put up a respectable 15.4 points, 4.2 assists and 2.6 rebounds. The Pistons would once again scrape into the playoffs only to be swept by another 1 seed, this time the Milwaukee Bucks.

The following season, in February 2020, Detroit decided to blow it up and start again. They traded star big man Andre Drummond for "a bag of beans" and bought out Jackson's contact a fortnight later. Days later Jackson signed on to be a role player with the Los Angeles Clippers and featured off the bench as they lost in the Western Conference Semi-Finals to the Nuggets.

The following season Jackson re-signed with the Clippers on a 2 year, $3m deal. His fall from grace reflected in his new contract. He started to prove his worth to the franchise though with improved play and worked his way into a starting position alongside superstars Paul George & Kawhi Leonard as the Clippers made a run at the title. They would ultimately lose to the Suns in the Western Conference Finals but Jackson earned the nicknames Big Government and Mr June "due to his tendency to bail them out when they needed a basket and his ability to perform better in clutch situations". He averaged 17.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists during the playoffs shooting 48% from the field and 41% from deep.

In the off-season, the Clippers rewarded him with a new 2 year, $21.6m contract and Jackson was an important part of their squad which won the respect of the league for their performances despite missing their two superstars most of the 2021-22 season.

Jackson has currently played 703 regular season games, averaging 13.1 points, 4.3 assists and 3 rebounds per game. During his 6 seasons in Detroit he averaged 16.2 points, 5.6 assists and 2.9 rebounds.
 
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MCAP Auto #54 - Andre Drummond
2013-14 Panini Court Kings - Autographs Gold 08/10
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Born in Mount Vernon, New York Andre Drummond moved to Connecticut as a 7 year old with his mother and sister. He played basketball at a high level in high school and graduated as a top 2 national prospect in his class and a gold medal winner in the 2010 FIBA U/17 World Cup.

Drummond originally intended to spend a post graduate year at Wilbraham & Monson Academy, however changed his mind late and elected to attend the University of Connecticut. Drummond started nearly all of his 34 games as a freshman averaging 10 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game whilst shooting just under 54% from the field and a dismal 30% from the free throw line.

After one year of college Drummond elected to nominate for the 2012 NBA Draft where he was selected with the 9th pick overall by the Detroit Pistons. Drummond spent much of his rookie year as back up to former top 10 draft pick Greg Monroe. Dre averaged 7.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 1 steal per game in just over 20 minutes. He also was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team (behind Anthony Davis) and 4th in Rookie of the Year voting.

Named as starting center the following season, Drummond quickly blossomed into one of the league's best rebounders, with offensive put backs being his main source of points, which enabled him to shoot a career high 62.3% from the field in just his second season. He also notably received the MVP award in the NBA Rising Stars Challenge at All Star Weekend 2014 with a line of 30 points & 25 rebounds. Overall in his second year he averaged 13.5 points,13.2 rebounds, 1.2 steals & 1.6 blocks per game in 32 minutes.

After a stable third season in the league, Drummond took another step forward in the 2015-16 season and came out of the blocks on fire. He was named back to back Eastern Conference Player of the Week at the start of the season whilst joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar & Wilt Chamberlain as the only players to registered three 20/20 games in the first six games of the season. He ended up notching 11 straight double-double, the most by a Pistons since 1967, whilst he also became the first Piston since Dennis Rodman to record a 30 point, 20 rebound game in the 1990-91 season. Dre ended up making his first All-Star game, made 3rd team All NBA and won the rebounding title for the first time. He also set an unwanted record by missing a record 23 free throws in a game on his way to shooting a career low 35.5% from the line.

At the end of the season, the Pistons rewarded their big, young center by signing him to a 5-year, $130m contract and he continued to produce on the glass. He made another All Star team in the 2017-18 season and won the rebounding title 4 times in a space of 5 years. He was the 2nd youngest player in NBA history to reach 5,000 rebounds (behind Dwight Howard), whilst he beat Howard to being the youngest player to reach 2,000 offensive rebounds. He also set the franchise record for most offensive rebounds.

However, Drummond was struggling with his limitations. His free throw shooting improved by approximately 20% but it was still generally only in the high 50s. He was asked to handle the ball more and whilst his assists increased this was negated by increased turnovers. Also for an athletic big with quick hands, Drummond had limitations on the defensive end. But most importantly, in a league which was rapidly changing with expecting big men to be able to shoot from deep and spread the floor, Drummond suddenly found himself as a throwback to the past.

After 8 seasons in Detroit, averaging approximately 14/14 with 1.3 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.6 blocks the Pistons traded their two-time All Star for "a bag of beans". He found himself in Cleveland, with the Pistons receiving Brandon Knight, John Henson and a future 2nd round pick. The Cavs bought Drummond out after a year and 33 games.

Drummond then joined the Lakers for the end of their season. He played 21 games, averaging 11.9 points and 10.2 rebounds in 24 minutes, however was unused as the Lakers lost to the Suns in Game 6 of the Western Conference first round. Drummond then signed a 1 year, $2.4m contract with the 76ers to back up Joel Embiid, however he was traded to Brooklyn in the deal that saw Ben Simmons & James Harden change places.

For the 2022-23 season, Drummond signed a 2 year, $6.6m deal with the Chicago Bulls. He's currently 51st all time for Rebounds and currently 4th for active players. Despite making the playoffs four times, Dre has never made it out of the first round.

Lastly, "The Big Penguin" as he is affectionately known, won a gold medal with USA Basketball at the 2014 FIBA World Cup.
 
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MCAP Auto #55 - Bruce Brown
2018-19 Panini Court Kings - Heir Apparent Jade
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Brown played his college ball for the Miami Hurricanes averaging 11.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists. He matched this production as a sophomore, however he missed the second half of the season after his foot required surgery. Brown nominated for the 2018 NBA Draft but did not hire an agent, giving him the opportunity to return to Miami, however he ended up remaining in the Draft.

Detroit drafted Brown with the 42nd pick. Surprisingly Brown ended up starting 56 games for the 2018-19 Pistons averaging 4.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.5 steals and 0.5 blocks per game in just under 20 minutes at shooting guard. He made another leap in his second season returning 8.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.5 blocks in 28 minutes, putting up 22 points against Brooklyn.

With the Pistons looking to blow everything up and rebuild, the franchise traded Brown to Brooklyn in a deal which netted them Saddiq Bey and saw Luke Kennard head to the Clippers. After looking down the barrel at being on a rebuilding, cellar dweller Brown was suddenly on a squad looking to win a championship with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and later James Harden.

Brown's first season in Brooklyn saw him return 8.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists however his three point shot would prove to be an issue on a team where he wasn't a major player on offence. He shot 28.8% from deep during the regular season and 18.2% during the playoffs. He rectified this the following season as he shot over 40% in both parts of the season. The Nets other issues would be exposed however by the Celtics who were headed to the Finals, as Brooklyn were swept in the first round, despite 23 points from Brown in Game 2 and 26 points in Game 3.

Brown heads into the upcoming season an unrestricted free agent, looking to attract offers of up to $15m per season.
 
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MCAP Auto #56 - Isaiah Stewart
2020-21 Panini Contenders Optic Rookie Ticket
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Growing up in New York, Stewart grew to be over 2 metres tall by the age of 14. As a representative of Team USA's U17 squad, he won a gold medal at the 2018 FIBA Championships in Argentina top scoring with 15 points in the Final.

A McDonald's All-American, he was named Mr. Basketball USA 2019 and was rated a 5 star prospect and top 5 player in his class, Stewart spurned opportunities to go to Duke, Kentucky, Michigan State & Syracuse to link up with his old high school coach at Washington.

As a freshman he linked up with fellow top prospect Jaden McDaniels and as a result Washington received a lot of hype. Ultimately they would qualify for the NCAA Tournament as a 9 seed, after beating 8th seeded Utah, lost to 3rd ranked North Carolina in the Round of 32. Stewart averaged 17 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game as a freshman and declared for the 2020 NBA draft.

Stewart was selected by the Portland Trailblazers with the 16th pick, but was traded days later to Houston along with Trevor Ariza & a first round pick for Robert Covington. The Rockets then only days later moved Stewart onto Detroit in a deal to secure Christian Wood. The Pistons signed Stewart to his rookie contract.

As a rookie on a rebuilding Pistons squad, Stewart featured in all but 4 matches, mostly off the bench behind Mason Plumlee. As a rookie he averaged 7.9 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. His performances earned him a spot on the NBA All-Rookie 2nd team.

In his second season "Beef Stew" moved into the starting role for the Pistons with his minutes only slightly increasing to approximately 25 minutes per game. His stats remained steady averaging 8.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.1 blocks, but he became a league story in November when he repeatedly charged at LeBron James after being hit in the face by the superstar and was subsequently ejected and suspended for 2 games.


Stewart is popular amongst Pistons fans as they respect his effect and hustle and hope he can develop into the team's defensive anchor, however his future is slightly clouded by the fact the franchise is being linked with young centers Mitchell Robinson & Deandre Ayton in free agency.

A New York native with a Jamaican father, Stewart pays homage to another Jamaican, Patrick Ewing, by wearing #33.
 
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MCAP Auto #57 - Mason Plumlee
2020-21 Panini Mosaic - Autographs Mosaic
IMG_9447.jpeg


Named a McDonald's All-American in 2009 and Mr. Basketball North Carolina, Plumlee committed to play for Duke University, contributing to his older brother, Miles, switching from Stanford to Duke. Mason ultimately spent time with his older brother, coming off the bench his freshman year as Duke won the National Championship. Mason played 3 minutes in the Final.

Plumlee developed in his time at Duke and by the time he reached his senior year, he was averaging 17.1 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game, earning First Team All-ACC and Second Team All-American honours.

Having completed his four years in college, Mason was drafted by the Brooklyn Nets with the 22nd pick in the 2013 NBA Draft (five picks ahead of Rudy Golbert). He averaged 7.4 points and 4.4 rebounds in 18 minutes per game as a rookie, but it is this play that stands out from his inaugural season as he blocks LeBron James in the dying seconds to complete the Nets season sweep over the Heat in what would be the first time in his career LeBron would be swept in a 4 game season series.
Plumlee would see little court time in the Playoffs as the Heat beat the Nets in 5 games in the Conference Semis.

After his rookie season, Mason was a member of Team USA who won the gold medal at the 2014 World Cup in Spain.

He played the full 82 games following his rookie year, starting in the majority of them as a backup to Brook Lopez. He averaged 8.7 points and 6.2 rebounds but once again didn't get much burn in the playoffs as the Nets lost to the Hawks in the first round. It would turn out to be the end of his time in Brooklyn as he was traded with the newly drafted Pat Connaughton to Portland for Steve Blake & draftee Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.

In Portland, the Plumdog Millionaire would be the Blazers starter and put up career best numbers, averaging double digit points for the first time in his career. He also got to prominently feature in the Playoffs for the first time as he averaged 7 points, 11.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists as the Blazers lost to the eventual champion Warriors in the Conference Semis.

Midway through his second season in the Rose City, Plumlee was traded to Denver with a 2nd round pick and cash for Jusuf Nurkic and a 2017 first round pick. The Nuggets must have liked what they saw from Mason because they signed him to a 3 year, $41m contract, however Mason would ultimate spend his time in Colorado coming off the bench behind emerging star Nikola Jokic. He played 244 regular season games with the Nuggets but would only start in 54 in over 3 seasons averaging 7.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists.

A free agent, Plumlee signed with the Pistons ahead of the 2020-21 on a 3 year, $25m deal. Back in the starting lineup Plumlee put up 10.4 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists in the Motor City including two triple-doubles, becoming the oldest player to record his first triple double (just under age 31) since Patrick Ewing in 1996 (age 33) and also pulling off this sick move for a big man...


The Pistons then decided to move on from Plumlee after only one season as they packaged him with the 37th pick in the draft (JT Thor) for the 57th pick in the draft Balsa Koprivica from Charlotte. Plumlee remained a starter in Charlotte this past season averaging 6.5 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game however his defensive fragility ,which is no doubt the reason behind teams moving on from him so often, would often be exposed on one of the worst defensive teams in the league.
 
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MCAP Auto #58 - Frank Jackson
2020-21 Panini Recon - Glorified Signatures
IMG_9420.jpeg

Frank Jackson, named Mr Utah Basketball and a McDonald's All American in 2016, was a consensus 5 star recruit coming out of high school and ranked in the top 15 prospects by the three major recruiting networks. He was coveted by several high quality basketball programs, but committed to becoming a Duke Blue Devil.

He spent one year at Duke averaging 10.9 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists before deciding to nominate for the NBA Draft at the end of his freshman year. Frank was selected by the Charlotte Hornets with the 1st pick of the 2nd round (31st overall), however was quickly traded to New Orleans for cash considerations.

He signed his rookie deal with the Pelicans, however suffered from foot injuries and did not feature until the following 2018-19 season, where he played 61 games, mostly coming off the bench as the Pels back up point guard. In 19 minutes per game, he averaged 8.1 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists as a rookie. He continued in his role as back up point guard the following season, but saw his minutes decrease to 13.5 per game. At the end of the season, the Pelicans let him leave as a free agent.

In December 2020, Jackson signed a deal with the OKC Thunder but he was waived after only 17 days without making an appearance. The Pistons signed him to a two-way contract just a week later. With the Pistons rebuilding, Jackson got his chance to impress, playing 40 games and averaging just a shade under 10 points per game and shooting over 40% from behind the arc. As a result the Pistons signed him to a 2 year deal with a team option on the 2nd year and Jackson gave them over 10 points per game for the first time in his career, but his long ball fell back to just over 30% and the team declined to pick up his team option.

As it stands, he is once again a free agent. Thus far Jackson has played 213 regular season NBA games, averaging 8.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1 assist in 18.2 minutes.
 
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MCAP Auto #59 - Tony Snell
2019-20 Panini Obsidian - Volcanic Signatures Electric Etch Orange 07/50
IMG_9459.jpeg


Going into his college career labelled "one of the top sleepers on the West Coast" and a "diamond in the rough", Tony Snell committed to play for the New Mexico Lobos. He finished his junior year averaging 12.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.9 rebounds and elected to forgo his senior year of college and nominate for the 2013 NBA Draft.

Snell was selected with the 20th pick in the Draft by the Chicago Bulls and failed to make much of an impression. During his time with the Bulls, the small forward played 213 games, 70% of which were coming off the bench and averaged 5.3 points and 2.3 rebounds. He also featured off the bench in the Bulls short playoff runs in 13-14 and 14-15.

After 3 seasons, the Bulls moved Snell on to Milwaukee for Michael Carter-Williams. Whilst with the Bucks, he become their starting shooting guard and started all 80 of his regular season games the following season. Snell averaged 8.5 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 29 minutes as well as shooting over 40% from deep. He also averaged 10 points per game in the playoffs, as the Bucks were eliminated by the Raptors in 6 games. Impressed by his season, the Bucks signed him to a 4 year, $44m contract.

However, it wouldn't get any better than that season for Snell. After signing the contract he production gradually reduced as did his opportunities with the Bucks. As they continued to push to be a contender they elected to move on from Snell after 3 seasons and traded him to Detroit along with the newly drafted Kevin Porter Jr for Jon Leuer.

Snell had one year with the Pistons where he averaged 8 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. At the end of the season they traded him and Khyri Thomas to Atlanta for Dewayne Dedmon.

Snell only played for the Hawks 47 times during the 2020-21 season, however he did manage to hit a game winning 3 pointer against the Raptors and did shoot an amazing 56.9% from deep for the season.

Tony then signed with the Trailblazers for the 2021-22 on a 1 year, $2.3m deal. He made limited appearances for Portland before he was included into the CJ McCollum trade and finished his season with New Orleans. He currently finds himself looking for a team for the 2022-23 season.

In his 610 regular season appearances, Snell has averaged 6.1 points 2.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game as well as shooting just under 40% from beyond the arc.
 
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MCAP Auto #60 - Josh Jackson
2020-21 Panini Mosaic - Autographs Mosaic
IMG_9421.jpeg


Josh Jackson was considered a 5 star recruit and one of the top two recruits of the 2016 high school class. He elected to attend the University of Kansas and averaged 16.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.1 blocks per game during his freshman year. He was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year and also made the Big 12 First Team. After his one year in Kansas he nominated for the 2017 NBA Draft.

Jackson was the fourth player selected in the Draft behind Fultz, Lonzo Ball & Tatum with Phoenix being the franchise to select him. During his rookie year, Jackson split time between power forward and his natural position of small forward averaging 13.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1 steal in 25 minutes a night. His performances were worthy of making the NBA All-Rookie 2nd Team.

With Devin Booker injured, Jackson was played mostly at shooting guard during his 2nd season in Phoenix. Once again he mostly featured off the bench but played most of the season, this time averaging 11.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 25 minutes. After 2 seasons, Phoenix cut the cord with Jackson and sent him to Memphis along with De'Anthony Melton and 2 future second round draft picks for Jevon Carter and Kyle Korver.

His time in Memphis was mostly spent in the G League, but he did make 22 appearances for the Grizzlies in the 2019-20 season, averaging 9 points, 3 rebounds and 1.6 assists.

A free agent, Jackson signed with the Pistons on a 2 year, $10m deal returning to Michigan where he spent a lot of his childhood. Jackson produced his first season, averaging a career high 13.4 points and 2.3 assists however his production significantly fell his second year in the Motor City and the Pistons traded him to the Sacramento Kings along with Trey Lyles and future second round picks for Marvin Bagley III.

Jackson only got 10 minutes per game with the Kings and averaged 4.3 points and 1.5 rebounds in 12 appearances. He is currently a free agent.

Josh has had some run ins with the law. Whilst at Kansas he was charged with misdemeanor criminal damage for damaging a friend's ex-girlfriend's vehicle which was parked outside a bar. Whilst with the Grizzlies, he was also arrested for allegedly attempting to enter the VIP entrance several times and reportedly attempting to evade police while being arrested at a Rolling Loud concert in Miami.

The former high draft pick has currently registered 291 regular season appearances in the NBA, averaging 11.3 points, 4 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.
 
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