Ben Wallace will go down in history as one of the most dominant defenders that there ever was. And his legacy is more than that. He’s the first undrafted player to make it to the Hall of Fame. And did I mention his championship? Or his elite rebounding? Or his leadership? Or his build? Or his hair?
It might sound like I’m getting more and more superficial as I go down the list, but the fact that even his hairstyle was iconic, is such a stark contrast to how his career started. Or… nearly did not start.
Because the 4x defensive player of the year was once considered too offensively limited for pro ball. Big Ben was once thought too small to play the 4 or 5 in the NBA. The face and leader of the 2004 title-winning Pistons was once a no-name role player, whose arrival in Detroit signaled a bleak future.
Let’s meet these other versions of Ben Wallace, in the Prism.
Written and produced by: Clara Morris
Directed and edited by: Jiazhen Zhang
