If Maurice Stokes was never injured...............

[Showtime]

Oscar pushed the Celtics to 7 games in one postseason. So, perhaps with Stokes, he might have won.


Red Auerbach said Stokes was Magic Johnson before Magic Johnson.

"No one had seen a guy with that combination of strength, speed and size." - Twyman.

"competitive, hard-nosed, tough." - Gene Shue

Bob Cousy said of Stokes: "[Stokes was] The first great, athletic power forward...He was Karl Malone with more finesse."

"Maurice Stokes was a moose of a man, the first star the franchise had. At six feet seven and 250 pounds, he was stronger and a better shooter than Elgin Baylor." - Oscar Robertson

"I can remember a reporter asking me on a plane, since I had played with Baylor and Stokes, which was better. My response was that I thought Maurice could stop Elgin but Elgin couldn't stop Maurice." - Ed Fleming

“His quickness, passing ability, and court awareness were just unbelievable. When I first saw Magic Johnson play, it brought back memories of Maurice. You have to understand that Stokes was 6'7" and weighed 240 pounds. He could handle the ball like a point guard and rebound like a center. It was impossible not to rave about his abilities and potential. I'll always wonder just how great he might have become.” - Johnny Most

"If things had worked out differently, Maurice would have become one of the top 10 players of all time." - Bob Wanzer


So, these guys were talking about a forward with similar size to Anthony Mason, with ball handling ability, and rebounding second only to the likes of Wilt and Russell at his time. So essentially, he was the Lebron of the 60's with better play down low. Scary stuff.

[L.Kizzle]

He was Elgin Baylor with better passing/ball handling and lesser scoring ability.

[jongib369]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zvCjzoxL1s

[Myth]

Oden is a pretty massive what if.

[feyki]

Royals would wins multiple championships .

And Stokes would be in top 25 goat .

[Poetry]

Stokes and Len Bias are the 2 biggest "what ifs" in NBA history.

What about Alex Groza?

22.5 and 10.7 on .474 FG%.

[feyki]

What about Alex Groza?

22.5 and 10.7 on .474 FG%.

Groza > Dolph Schayes , peak to peak .

He could be one of the greatest top 30 players ever .

[Lebron23]

Just read about him he averaged 17/18/7 in his last season in the nba.

[Lebron23]

He was Elgin Baylor with better passing/ball handling and lesser scoring ability.

More like a better draymond green

[L.Kizzle]

More like a better draymond green

Nah, he was much more athletic. Maybe Larry Johnson.