by Will Bracken

Created on: May 30, 2008

This list of top-flight stars could fill up several books, and each of the names on this list is a great player in his own right. Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Reggie Miller, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Dominique Wilkins, etc are names of players that carved a legacy for themselves that has not been equaled since they retired from the game, but they never could get the team pieces around them that they needed to win the big one. In the NBA today, there are several big name players doing the same thing; carving a legacy for themselves but they will never win the big one.

1. Tracey McGrady. Incredibly talented man, with incredible gifts offensively. However... his inability to get out of the first round of the playoffs, no matter who is on his team, will always prevent him from even making it to the conference finals, let alone the Big Show. Granted, it's not his fault that his running mate Yao Ming was beset with an ill-timed injury at the worst possible time, right before the playoffs, and that he had to shoulder the scoring load virtually by himself. It's not his fault that because of this, his opponents can load up their defense specifically to stop him, knowing that he has no help. It's not even his fault that the injury bug bit him during the playoffs, sending his once prolific scoring ability into the toilet because he was nursing a severely damaged shoulder/back. Whatever the reason, it looks like he's destined to be one of those perennial All-Stars that will never make it to the Big Dance.

2. Dirk Nowitzki. Agile, seven-footer with a silky-smooth jump shot. Can rebound and defend with the best of them. Perennial All-Star, league MVP three seasons ago. But....unfortunately for him, he's been labeled "soft". And because of not having that hard edge, he's unable to take his team on his shoulders and make them a better team through sheer force of will. He needs another player on the inside that is a rough and tough player who doesn't mind banging around with all of the beef in the middle and delivering bone-crushing defense in the paint. The same thing happened to another "soft" big man, David "The Admiral" Robinson, who was labeled "soft" until Tim Duncan arrived to take that position in the middle. That freed up The Admiral to do the things that he was most and best accustomed to do to give his team the best chances at winning. It wasn't scoring points, it was playing defense. And as a defender, he was relentless (led the league in blocked shots that

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