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Ben Wallace (born September 10, 1974) is an American professional basketball player in the NBA who plays center and power forward for the Detroit Pistons. more...

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He is listed at 206 cm (6 ft 9in), although as he has stated probably stands closer to 199 cm (6 ft 8in) and weighs 109 kg (240 lb). He is four-time winner of the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award, a feat only equalled by Dikembe Mutombo, and is regarded as one of the finest defensive players of all time. His nickname is "Big Ben".

Basketball career

Born in White Hall, Alabama, Wallace played college basketball on the junior college level at Cuyahoga Community College for two years before transferring to Virginia Union, a Division II school. As an undrafted player, he was signed as a rookie free agent by the Washington Bullets on October 2, 1996.

In 1999, Wallace was traded to the Orlando Magic along with Tim Legler, Terry Davis, and Jeff McInnis for Ike Austin. On August 3, 2000, he was traded along with Chucky Atkins to the Detroit Pistons for Grant Hill, in what was at the time considered a one-sided trade; Hill had planned to sign with Orlando as an unrestricted free agent, but the sign and trade deal allowed Hill to receive a slightly more lucrative contract while Detroit received at least some compensation for losing its marquee player. But since the deal, Wallace has had by far the more successful career. He has been considered the quintessential defensive specialist, winning the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2001-02, 2002-03, 2004-05, and 2005-06 seasons. In the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons, he led the league in both rebounds and block shots. In 2003, he was voted by fans to first NBA All-Star Game as the starting center for the Eastern Conference. He became the first undrafted player to ever start an All-Star Game. He, along with Chauncey Billups, captained the Pistons' 2004 NBA championship team.

Player profile

Wallace features an impressive physique (even measured against the standards of his NBA peers) which allows him to out-muscle most of his opposition and play bigger than his body. Wallace constantly ranks among the best rebounders and shot blockers. His uncanny defensive timing allows him to defend with great intensity without committing a foul (his career average of 2.1 fouls per game is considered low). In addition, he is seen also as one of the most reliable contributors, rarely failing to deliver in important games.

His drawback is his offensive game. Although he averaged almost 10 points per game in 2005, he is not considered an offensive threat. He has tried to work hard on becoming less of an offensive liability. Realizing his limitations on offense, he will make smart passes in addition to making cuts to the basket to receive a pass for a potential easy lay-up.

Like other big men in the NBA, namely Shaquille O'Neal and Wilt Chamberlain, Wallace is an atrocious free throw shooter. In fact, he is the worst free throw shooter in NBA history out of any player with more than 1000 attempts. As of October 2005, his NBA career average is 42.0%. This ineptitude at the free throw line results in his sometimes becoming a target of the so-called "Hack-a-Shaq" defense (A tactic that has drawn the ire of teammate Rasheed Wallace). The reason for this drawback is that his right wrist has some ligaments that were cut off due to a surgery that was needed because his hand had some carpal tunnel issues. This causes his hand to go "dead" whenever he dunks, falls to the ground, or when he shoots a free throw, resulting in him being unable to make them on a consistent basis.

Read more at Wikipedia.org