I became a fan of Corey Maggette by accident. Funny right ? How does one become a fan of someone by accident?
Back when I was seven years old, not having a grasp on who players in the league were at the time I went to a sports store in the Basketball Hall of Fame. At that time it didn’t matter who or what I bought because all I knew I wanted was something that referenced the NBA. I left the store with a poster.
When I got home I opened the poster to a player by the name of Corey Maggette who played for the Clippers at the time. For years I had his poster on my wall above my TV and I’ve grown to like him over the years.
If anyone knows Maggette knows that during the prime of his career he was one of the best players on the Clippers, having a few 20+ point game seasons.
The Duke alum played 14 seasons in the NBA notching 16 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.7 assists over his rather short career. It’s considered short because he retired at age 33 due to a few reasons:
Injuries: Toward the end of his career and in 2013 he had a calf injury playing with the Detroit Pistons, delaying his debut until November 14th. In lue of that game he played the next 17 games until he was sidelined for the rest of the season due to personal reasons and coach Lawrence Frank not giving him playing time
Waived: He managed to gain a roster spot on the San Antonio Spurs heading into preseason but ended up being waived by the franchise just two games into preseason. He later retired after that.
Maggette is still playing basketball; if you’ve ever tuned into the Big3 then you would know he’s a reigning champion, but due to his health he had to take a season off. He looks to be back for the summer of 2020.
I will forever be a fan of Corey Maggette and thank you for making me purchase your poster when I was seven.