How many highly athletic NBA players have had injuries that last more then 1 full season and then come back to where they were?
(my emphasis)
3 more names off the top of my head:
Ilgauskas
Grant Hill
Andrew Bogut
Cappy, nateboz was talking about highly athletic players, guys, so Ilgauskas doesn't count. Hill wasn't ever near the same after his injury. Before, he was like a cross of Scottie Pippen and Lebron James, but less athletic and without a 3 point shot; afterwards, he was just a role player. Bogut wasn't athletic to begin with and, since his third season, was never really healthy.
I must say that Paul George's recovery has surprised me, but before his major injury, every season at least 20 percent of his shots came form less than 3 feet from the basket and last season only 13 percent came from the same distance. Perhaps he's settling for jumpers instead of driving.
I don't think Burks is capable of recovery. He was athletic before his myriad of injuries but wasn't Dwyane Wade-like athletic. Besides, his basketball IQ is clearly low - the guy has difficult even taking advantage of screens, for heavens sake! - and I think some mental adjustment has always to be made after a major injury to compensate for whatever is lost athletic. He clearly unlearned how to finish around the rim - has one of the worst percentages of the league from inside 3 feet - and unless he has the brains to change the way he moves and finishes, perhaps adding some sort of floater to his "repertoire", I don't see any hope of him becoming a good and efficient scorer.
IMO, Favors is never going to be an All-Star, as many predict two seasons ago, but I think he can come back to being a productive although (slightly) unreliable role player. He is not that smart of a player, but his outside shooting has been improving and he is clearly a hard worker. It wouldn't surprise me if he averaged 14 to 15 points per game next season. So, I think we can be realisticly hopeful about him.
