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NBA Rewind: Manute Bol Torches the Suns

The Last Word on Sports offseason series “NBA Rewind” takes a look back at some of the most memorable performances in NBA history. 

After a tumultuous eight-year stint with the Philadelphia 76ers, Charles Barkley’s wish to join a contender was granted during the 1992 offseason when he was traded to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Jeff Hornacek, Tim Perry, and Andrew Lang. Phoenix fans had a hunch they were in for a treat when Barkley’s old team paid the Suns a visit on March 3, 1993, and they were right: they just didn’t expect that 7’7” Philadelphia center Manute Bol would be the one to steal the show.

Born in the Sudan, Manute Bol moved to the United States in the early 1980s at the urging of Fairleigh Dickinson University head coach Don Feeley. He was initially drafted in the 5th round of the 1983 NBA draft before he had even played a college game, but the league later ruled that Bol had not been draft eligible. He returned to college and was drafted again in 1985 by the Washington Bullets.

As expected, Bol enjoyed most of his success as a prolific shot blocker, retiring as the only player in NBA history to register more blocked shots than points. His 3.34 blocks per game are second all-time, while his obscene 8.6 blocks per 48 minutes is easily the best in NBA history. But his most memorable performance came in his visit to Phoenix as a member of the 76ers in 1993, and it had nothing to do with blocked shots.

The first half was a disaster for Philadelphia, as they surrendered 72 points and went to the locker room trailing by 17.  Barkley was having his way with the Sixers, while Bol, who averaged a meager 2.6 PPG for his career, had only attempted one shot (which he missed).

And then something remarkable happened.

Bol drained a 3-pointer early in the third quarter. Soon after, he hit another one. His third attempt? An airball. But Bol kept firing. He made another with just under 5:30 left to play before missing his next two attempts. With under a minute to play in the third, he drained his fourth 3 of the game. He finished the quarter with 12 points on 4-7 shooting, all from 3-point range.

A little context here: this was a man who had made exactly one 3-point field goal in his previous two seasons combined. The suddenly-sharp-shooting Bol helped the Sixers outscore Phoenix 31-24 in the third quarter, cutting the Suns lead to 10.

Bol continued to launch in the fourth, hitting two of his first three attempts from beyond the arc. After Bol’s sixth make, a long distance bomb from a good 25 feet, Charles Barkley put his hands on his hips in disbelief while the Phoenix faithful went wild.

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In the end, Barkley’s Suns proved too much for the struggling Sixers. Phoenix won the game 125-115 on the strength of Sir Charles’ 36 points, 17 rebounds, and nine assists. But there was no question who the star of the show was that night. Bol finished 6-12 from 3-point range, scoring a career-high 18 points, all of which came in the second half. After the game, Barkley locked Bol up in a huge bear hug as the two laughed their way back to the locker room.

Manute Bol, a tireless humanitarian whose first name means “special blessing”, passed away from kidney failure in June 2010. While the tallest player to ever play in the NBA is most often remembered as a shot blocking machine, the big man from the Sudan gave basketball fans everywhere a very special blessing indeed with his once-in-a-lifetime shooting display in the spring of 1993.

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