When it comes to the best second-round show since the 21st century, perhaps you think of Isaiah Thomas, "Demon Knife" Ginobili, "Big General" Arenas, former Warriors core Montaellis and so on. When it comes to the best scorers of the 21st century, I believe that the vast majority of people think of Maddy, Kobe, Iverson and other Hall of Fame-level supergiants. Even if the two are combined, few people think of the Number 22 with the "golden left hand", Michael Reed.
There should be no controversy about reed being the most overlooked superstar of the 21st century. As mentioned earlier, his presence is not high, and it is difficult to hear too much discussion about Reed and too many fans who like Reed, but his stats and performance definitely deserve the title of "superstar": he averaged 19 points per game in 12 years of his career, shooting 38% from three-point range, and a single game high of 57 points.
Many people may not believe it, but reed wrote in the scouting report when he participated in the draft: speed and possession are good, good at breaking, but poor shooting ability. Yes, you read that right, the shooting ability is poor! This is also in stark contrast to Reid's later "divine accuracy", in short, even in that 2000 draft that now seems to be of ridiculously poor quality, Reed was only selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 14th pick in the second round.
Reid didn't get any chances in his rookie season, playing just six games in his entire season, and his 26.3 percent shooting percentage seemed to confirm the accuracy of scouting reports. But when Ray Allen, who has three points of accuracy in the same position in the team, combined with the hard work day after day, Reed has practiced a long-range shot in a very short time. In his second season, Reid contributed 44.4 percent from three-point range, surpassing Ray Allen's 43.4 percent and topping the team. And just this season, Reed also contributed an impressive performance, in the game against the Rockets, Reed hit 8 three-pointers in the fourth quarter, including 26 of the team's 28 points in the fourth quarter, and the 8 three-pointers in the single quarter was also a record for hitting three-pointers in the single quarter at that time, and even now, only 4 people in the entire NBA history have completed this feat (the other three are Thompson, Love and Joe Johnson).
After Ray Allen and the Bucks got into a conflict and left Seattle, the increasingly mature Michael Reid also naturally took over the team's star flag and gradually became one of the best scorers in the league at that time within a few years. He made it to the All-Star, was named to the All-Team, won player of the month, and signed a big contract of $91 million. In the 05-06 season, Michael Reid averaged 26.7 points per game, second only to Kobe, Anthony, Arenas, Wade and James, ranking sixth in the league. In the playoffs that year, Reid proved his superstar status with 27.2 points + 52.4% shooting rate + 46.7% three-point shooting. In the regular season with the Jazz in the 06-07 season, Reid was even more unstoppable, scoring 57 points from outside the field, which was also the highest score in the career of the "golden left hand". In 2008, Reid, as a member of the Dream Team, stood on the top podium at the Beijing Olympic Games.
Reed's shooting posture is also impressive, and although the left-handed sniper posture is not standard, it has the advantages of extremely fast shooting speed and not easy to be blocked. Therefore, in the game, Reid also often staged a solo dribble to the front court, suddenly pulled up a "throw" a three-point shot, "face shooting" opponent's picture, now think about it, can also be regarded as a unique landscape of the NBA at that time.
Seeing a fan comment on Reid: "His career is like his shooting parabola, the starting point is very low, the apex is high, but it quickly falls", it is also a bit of emotion, Reed used a short time to make himself reach the peak, but soon slipped because of injuries, his peak period is indeed shorter. But for a second-round show, from not being able to play the ball, to being selected as an All-Star, entering the best team, signing a big contract, and winning an Olympic gold medal, such a career can also be regarded as a "miracle".