Remembering Len Bias: The greatest NBA player who never was

It has been said that Len Bias may have been the greatest player to never have played in the NBA.

Bias was certainly one of the greatest college players ever, a 6-foot-8 forward at the University of Maryland who possessed Michael Jordan-like athleticism and drive -- only Bias was two inches taller.

Bias was selected by the Boston Celtics with the No. 2 overall pick in the 1986 draft. That pick came one after the Cleveland Cavaliers drafted Brad Daugherty first overall. (The Cavs traded center Roy Hinson to the Sixers for the rights to the pick.)

Interestingly, the 1986 were coming off a championship behind the likes of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Dennis Johnson, Robert Parish and Danny Ainge. An aging Bill Walton came off the bench.

Bias immediately would have given the Celtics a wildly talented big man off the bench, a forward who could back up and play alongside the Celtics' Hall of Fame frontcourt. Bird was ecstatic.

But less than 24 hours after the Celtics drafted Bias, his life was taken by a cocaine overdose. It was a celebration that quickly went south. Bias was expected to be a Jordan-like force for years to come.

Those Celtics did in fact return to the Finals the following season, but were older, breaking down and just weren't the same. A player such as Bias could have changed all that.

He died on June 19, 1986.

For more on Bias, check out this in-depth piece and the videos below.

Len Bias highlights ...