Eight NBA stars who were robbed of greatness by big injuries

01Shaun Livingston

Livingston was 18 and full of promise when the Los Angeles Clippers drafted him No. 4 overall in 2004.
Coming out of high school to the NBA, he was a dynamic, 6-foot-7 playmaker with exceptional length
and athleticism.

He showed All-Star potential during his first three seasons, but a 21-year-old Livingston sustained a
gruesome knee injury during his third season. There were fears of him needing amputation and never
walking again, but Livingston not only regained the strength in his knee but resumed his basketball
career after many years of rehab. Livingston reinvented himself after the injury, serving as a vital veteran
off the bench during the Warriors' last three NBA championships.

02Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway

The Warriors drafted Hardaway No. 3 overall in the 1993 NBA Draft, infamously trading him and multiple
picks to the Orlando Magic for Chris Webber.

"Penny" almost immediately became a superstar. Hardaway was a playmaking machine, earning four
straight All-Star appearances after his rookie season and comparisons to Magic Johnson. His legs started
to deteriorate, and his game slowly followed.

Hardaway played until he was 36, but he only twice played more than 70 games after his last All-Star
appearance. The rest of his career was filled with injuries and frustrating rehabilitation.

03Grant Hill

Hill was a college star for Duke before the Detroit Pistons selected him No. 3 overall in the 1994 NBA
Draft. There was much hope for Hill to become a star in the league, and he immediately fulfilled those
expectations -- and then some.

He won the Rookie of the Year award and went to six All-Star Games in his first seven seasons. The 6-
foot-8 small forward did everything on the court, playing as a pseudo "point forward" type who could
score, rebound and set up teammates. Hill averaged 21.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game
in his first six seasons.

Sadly, Hill was never the same after breaking his ankle during his seventh NBA season. He still had some
solid years, playing until he was 40 in what became a Hall of Fame career. And yet, many still wonder
what could have been.

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04Brandon Roy
Roy became a household name not long after the Portland Trail Blazers drafted him No. 6 overall in
2006, winning the Rookie of the Year award before making three straight All-Star games after that.

With a strong 6-foot-6 frame, Roy was the quintessential all-around shooting guard. He could shoot
efficiently and make plays, and he was on his way to becoming one of the premier players in the NBA
before a degenerative knee condition ruined his ability to perform at the highest level. Roy retired after
five NBA seasons.

The Seattle native attempted a comeback in 2012, signing with the Minnesota Timberwolves. But Roy
played just five games with the T-Wolves, and his career was over for good afterward.

05Derrick Rose

There is always a good deal of pressure for being the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, but Rose delivered
from the start. He won Rookie of the Year, an MVP and made three All-Star appearances in his first four
seasons with the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls were on a trajectory to be an Eastern Conference powerhouse,
but a torn ACL brought all those hopes crashing down.

His rehabilitation became a much-publicized debacle, with constant injury bumps in the road that drew
unfair fan criticism towards Rose regarding his effort and toughness. Rose has slowly re-established
himself as a scoring spark plug off the bench since leaving the Bulls, averaging at least 18 points per
game in each of the last two seasons as a bench player. He no longer is as explosive as he was in
Chicago, but Rose nonetheless has revitalized his career.