One of the things that earned Bruce Bowen a reputation as one of the NBA's chippiest and some even former teammates might say flat out dirtiest defenders over the course of his 13 year NBA career was his penchant for sticking his foot underneath an opposing jump shooter after contesting a shot so that
when the shooter came back down to the floor, he ran a serious risk of stepping awkwardly on Bowen's foot and turning his ankle (or worse). The practice was at the heart of a November 2006 Sports Illustrated feature on Bowen, in which most executives interviewed said they didn't think the eight-time All-Defensive Team selection was intentionally trying to hurt opponents with dirty pool.
No one questioned whether Bowen had done it in the past, but intent — that was the key. If you did it by accident, people could get over it; if you did it on purpose, though ... well, that's the kind of thing that might lead then-New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas to tell his players, "Next time he does that, break his [EXPLETIVE] foot."
And with that, we come to "The Jalen Rose Show," a podcast on ESPN.com's Grantland Network in which the Fab Five member talks shop and spins yarns from his playing days with producer Dave Jacoby. In a clip from the show released Tuesday through Grantland's new YouTube channel (the same outlet that gave us the stellar documentary on Houston Rockets rookie Royce White's draft-day experience), Rose reiterates that not sticking your foot under a shooter is basketball's "No. 1 unwritten rule" ... and then relates a story of when, as a member of the Indiana Pacers, he himself did it on the sport's biggest stage.
"NBA Finals, 2000," Rose says. "Kobe. Bean. Bryant. Goes up for a jump shot on the right wing, I contest the jump shot, Kobe lands on my foot. He hobbles off, and he actually misses the next game."
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