In the 90s, the NBA had a number of "Jordan successors", such as Penny Hardaway, Kobe, Maddy, Carter and so on. But there is one player who has made countless achievements in college, can even be called the greatest player in the history of the NCAA, and was regarded as the proudest son of heaven soon after entering the NBA, and likewise, he was also pinned on the high hopes of becoming the "next Jordan", and this person is Grant Hill, perhaps the best Jordan successor.
As early as college, Hill has created countless honors. In his first year at Duke, he led the team to the championship that year. In the final of the following year, Hill assisted in The Lightner's final 2.1 seconds, a game that is still a classic battle in NCAA history. In his final year of college, Hill once again led Duke to the finals, but eventually regretted missing the championship. In his four years of college, Hill was twice named to the All-American Team, once the ACC League Player of the Year.
With college glory in mind, Hill was selected by the Pistons with the third overall pick at the 1994 NBA Draft. The year before, Jordan retired for the first time to play baseball in order to fulfill his father's last wishes. In order to pass it on, the alliance decided to create a Jordan successor, who was None other than Grant Hill. And Hill is also very successful, he cut 19.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5 assists and 1.8 steals in his rookie season, and won the All-Star ticket king in his first year, which shows the high popularity.
By the following year, Hill's average playing time had risen to the third in the league by 40.8 minutes, and his statistics had also risen across the board, averaging 9.8 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game, including defensive rebounds in the league's top two, the total number of rebounds was second only to a group of interior players, and he gave the league's most 10 triple-doubles throughout the season. In that year's All-Star vote, Hill was once again crowned the vote king, this time he pressed Jordan, who had just returned.
With such stats and achievements in the first two seasons of his career, Hill's prospects were bright at the time, and there was every reason to believe that he would become the new successor to the league. In his third season, Hill reached the pinnacle of his career. Not only was he selected for the American Dream Team to win that year's Olympic title, but he also averaged 21.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game in the regular season that year, and he ranked third in the MVP selection that year after the end of the season, behind Jordan and Malone.
In the following seasons, Hill continued his excellent performance, not only being selected as an All-Star several times, but also entering the Team of the Year several times. The fly in the ointment is that despite the excellent stats in the Pistons' six years, the team has never made substantial progress under his leadership. Coupled with the injury hazards of the next two years, the Pistons still chose to trade Hill to the Magic, and the Magic also renewed him with a 7-year, 93 million contract, and hoped that his and Maddy's twin star lineup could lead the team to re-establish the glory.
But contrary to his wishes, after Hill went to the Magic, the injury was exposed again. In the first three seasons, Hill played only 43 games for the Magic, and the fourth season was completely reimbursed. Hill's injury didn't improve until the 2004-05 season, but Maddy was already on the Rockets. He played in 67 games for the Magic that season, averaging 19.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, not only winning the Sportsmanship Award, but returning to the All-Star. Just when everyone thought he was going to regain his former glory, Hill was injured again. At this point, after some major injuries, Hill was in a much worse shape.
In July 2007, Hill signed for the Suns as a free agent. With the help of the Suns' doctors, Hill's health changed, playing a full season for the first time in his career. The following season, Hill followed the Suns to the Western Conference Finals, firmly occupying the starting small forward position. Although he is no longer the leader of the team at this time, the Sun is undoubtedly the best home for Hill, who has been devastated by injuries and illnesses throughout his career, and Hill has also spent the rest of his career happily at the Suns.
Throughout his career, 2000 can be said to be his watershed. Before 2000, he had the best ball handling skills in the league at the time, and his vision was excellent, the big picture was comparable to that of a defender, a historical level of change of direction and the first step, the line selection and skill at the time of the breakthrough were excellent, and the breakout was also very good. As a small forward in his early 2 meters, Hill also had a strong rebounding ability, and although his mid-range shooting ability was not enough, in the league at that time, Hill was definitely one of the most well-rounded players.
After 2000, however, Hill experienced major injuries, much less speed and explosiveness than before. At this time, Hill developed a long-range shooting, and at the same time, his defensive ability became stronger, and with his innate organizational talent, Hill was still the best organizational striker in the league at that time.
Hill's career is undoubtedly tragic, he was dubbed the "next Jordan" as soon as he entered the league, but unfortunately the high starting point did not bring him the glory he deserved. In his entire career, he did not win a championship or reach the finals once. And when people talk about him, in addition to the title of "Jordan's successor", it is an infinite reverie - if there is no injury, what heights will Hill reach? Unfortunately, we don't know.