Ben Wallace is remembered for being one of the greatest defenders of all time, someone who was tough-nosed and incredibly strong. He was widely feared throughout the league as a player during his prime with the Detroit Pistons and won numerous accolades including an NBA championship against Shaq in 2004.
One of the more underrated aspects of Wallace’s game was ability to set incredible screens that very few players were able to get past. Steve Nash, himself one of the most elusive guards of all time, shared a story with The Athletic, in which he recounted what happened to him one time when he was chasing after a player and ran into a Wallace screen.
“I was chasing someone off a screen, and he caught me a couple of times. Being a naive competitor, I ran into him as hard as I could the next time. I think he told me that he was going to kill me if I did that again. Sometimes you forget that you’re 6-foot-1-and-a-half and 180 pounds when you’re in the heat of battle.
“But Ben was, obviously, an incredible defender, rebounder, rim protector and was a great screen-setter as well. He had an incredible career.”
Wallace and Nash faced each other on 21 separate occasions during their respective careers, with Nash’s team winning nearly 15 of those. Despite this, it’s very clear that the Phoenix star had the highest degree of respect for Big Ben and the way he played the game.
Ben Wallace ended his career as a 4-time NBA All-Star and 4-time Defensive Player of the Year. When his personal accomplishments are added to the fact that he led his team to a championship, it’s easy to see why he’s considered to be one of the best ever. Steve Nash is now the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets, and he could use some players on his team that can do the underrated dirty work that Wallace used to for the Pistons.
