Xavier McDaniel v. Ron Artest Thunderdome

[Mulli]

Two men enter, which one leaves?


(Assume both are in their primes.)

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[MigratingOsprey]

i think X was more calculating and just a pure beast - the quiet killer type

artest is the the crazy beast - the guy who could be walking down the street, super happy, trip on a pebble and then kill 5 pedestrians in a fit of rage .............. then smear their blood on his face and run naked through the streets

i usually vote for crazy, but X is a big reason why I became a sonics fan, so my loyalty prevails

 

[Mulli]

I hear even Charles Oakley would leave Xman alone because he was so crazy. That is why I went with X.

And Artest only fights drunk people in the stands and is starting to just stand at the three point line on offense, ala Majerle..

 

[Shane]

I loved Xavier Mcdaniel

 

[Mulli]

This thread scared Scottie Pippen.

 

[IAWarnerFan]

Xman was one of my favorites next to KJ.

 

[Mulli]

Did the Suns trade X?

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I believe they did.

 

[Ryanwb]

75% of the posters on this board never saw X play

 

[earthsci]

Did the Suns trade X?

To the Knicks.

 

[Gee!]

Just seeing Xaviers eyes when he was about to snap is enuff to push him over Artest..

 

[Shane]

75% of the posters on this board never saw X play

Is that based on scientific data?

 

[Mulli]

X was traded for Jerrod Mustaf, Trent Tucker, and a couple seconds. Good job Suns.

 

[Renz]

I went with X, even though his main claim to toughness is when he choked Wes Matthews who was about half his size.

 

[Mulli]

I went with X, even though his main claim to toughness is when he choked Wes Matthews who was about half his size.

Not true.

 

[MigratingOsprey]

agreed - while that may be the most prominent incident, it's not his main claim ....... the main claim would be a career of tough, physical play that stretched for every team he played for

 

[Renz]

Not true.

Well, that's what he's best known for, choking a 6'1" point guard. I don't remember him ever trying to choke Ewing or Kareem.

 

[Mulli]

Well, that's what he's best known for, choking a 6'1" point guard. I don't remember him ever trying to choke Ewing or Kareem.

He was a nails tough guy with the Riley Knicks. Beat up Pippen in the Finals.

 

[MigratingOsprey]

wes had it coming

xavier didn't discriminate - he'd rough up anyone

here is a snippet from a seattle times article talking about how soft the sonics were at that point in time and looking back at their history

The NBA used only two officials until 1988-89, and until then, aggressive players inside would simply wait until both weren't looking to inflict their will.

Lucas was notorious for the tactic, according to Sonics legend Xavier McDaniel.

"When the ref wasn't looking, he'd hit you in the chest to really piss you off," McDaniel said via cellphone from his home in South Carolina. "He'd grab you and try to frustrate you. You had to really be poised to play against Mo Lucas."

Not that McDaniel, dubbed the X-Man, was an angel on the court.

Plenty remember when McDaniel's fight with Oakley spilled eight rows into the stands.

"It's like Batman and Bruce Wayne," said McDaniel, a 1988 All-Star. "Off the court I'm nice, but a different animal starts to come out of me when I step on the court. I remembered one time Dennis Rodman punched me upside the head and then he punched my [groin]. I already told the ref and they didn't do anything, so I whopped his butt. They wouldn't let me out of the locker room after the game because I was going to get him."

Don't think the animosity has subsided, either.

McDaniel, who was suspended one game for the incident, said if he was enjoying his favorite meal at Carolina Wings in Columbia, S.C., today and Rodman walked through the door, the X-Man would leap from his seat like it was 1987.

"I'd punch him in the face," McDaniel said. "I owe him one anyway."

McDaniel's animosity is the crux of an enforcer. Enforcer is not a politically correct term for "thug," and McDaniel is not part of a different generation advocating violence. But being an enforcer meant having a deep-rooted desire to win that causes a player to become a territorial protector of his team and hater of everything outside that circle.

Go after Bill Russell and you'd have to deal with Jim Loscutoff.

Touch Isiah Thomas and Rick Mahorn would check you.

Talk crazy about Bill Walton and Lucas would sharpen his elbows.

"Today everybody knows each other through AAU and they all go to the rookie meetings together and carry that onto the court. It's more commercial," Lucas said. "Back in the day we weren't trying to be friends. If that elbow didn't bust your lips too bad and you could still eat, we can go to dinner after the game. Other than that, forget it."

here is a photo of maurice lucas (also mentioned in the above) mixing it up with olajuwon of all people

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[MigratingOsprey]

X also had some very sharp elbows - when he was with the Cs he was suspended a game and fined for throwing one at the head of 6'9" carl herrera

here is a bit from a 1992 boston globe article

Xavier McDaniel appears to have resumed where he left off last season; he has been leading with his elbows and forearms during the Celtics' exhibition games. Are fists next?

"I'm not going to back down from anyone," McDaniel said. "What would you do if someone was going to hit you? I'm going to fight back."

McDaniel tangled with Charles Barkley in Phoenix and Karl Malone in Salt Lake City, despite being at a 50-pound weight disadvantage. Among other things, the matchups raise the question of whether a 205-pounder such as McDaniel should be expected to compete with the elite power forwards of ...