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AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Long before he became the early MVP of this series, years before he took over the Detroit locker room as the emotional leader, there was the moment when Antonio McDyess almost quit the sport he loved.
It would have been understandable. In an unbelievable stretch that would have tested any man's will, McDyess had three major knee surgeries in 18 months beginning in 2002. One such surgery can alter a career. Three normally ends one.
The first surgery was to repair a broken kneecap. The second happened after simply landing on the court after a dunk. The third was bone graft surgery, a two-hour operation done to expedite the healing of that troublesome left knee.
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| McDyess got down on the floor as Detroit got back into the series. (AP) |
"I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about retiring," McDyess told me. "Thankfully I didn't. I was able to keep going.
"I mean, (once) I was in bed thinking, 'Hey, this is going to be it' and now I've just reinvented myself, coming to this team," he said. "Joe (Dumars) gave me an opportunity and I feel I've been blessed. And the opportunity has just been great for me and I just try to take full advantage of every second."
Oh, he has done that and then some.
"Dice so far has been the best player in this series," said Rasheed Wallace.
"McDyess wants this," said Detroit forward Jason Maxiell. "He wants that ring and you can see it every night."
What McDyess has done on the court is impressive enough. He dropped a game-high 21 points in Game 4 and was the biggest reason the series is tied up again.
He has done more than provide a physical presence in giving Detroit a lift. In what has been an inspirational, almost out-of-body experience, McDyess has transformed from a backup with a gimpy knee who moved from team to team into the leader of a Pistons group that is one of the more veteran in all of the NBA.
How did it happen? I'm not sure. I'm not even sure the Pistons know. Maybe it's McDyess' humility. Maybe it's the fact he broke his nose in the Philadelphia series and quickly returned, wearing an uncomfortable mask as teammates looked on in admiration at his resoluteness. Or the strength he showed after recently learning of his grandmother's death.
Or maybe it's due to how we're all suckers for a great and gritty comeback story. I don't know how McDyess has become as important in this series as Kevin Garnett. I just know McDyess has turned back the clock more than 10 years and has morphed into one of the best stories in the sport.
