Rick Brunson was a 6-4 point guard out of Temple who got to the NBA in 1997 and played nine seasons.
He did it the old-fashioned way.
He was signed (and waived) by a handful of teams, then eventually played for eight franchises before retiring in 2006. It was the ultimate survivor's journey.
And yet, as a 25-year-old rookie on a good Portland team that had an injury to point guard Damon Stoudamire, Brunson, in one of his first NBA games, was not blinded by the moment. He piled up 16 points, eight assists and five rebounds against Houston, which still had Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler.