Bruce Bowen - Player Profile

Player Profile

The 6'7", 200 lb (91 kg) Bowen played the small forward, and occasionally the shooting guard, position. He had a reputation for being one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA, earning himself eight consecutive nominations for the NBA All-Defensive First and Second Teams from 2001 to 2008. From 2005 to 2007, he was second in voting for the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award, beaten only by centers Ben Wallace (2005 and 2006) and Marcus Camby (2007) who are both post defenders.

Bowen was not known for his offensive production. He was seldom sought on offense, having never attempted more than 251 field goals in an entire 82-game regular season, and his career averages of 6.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game, and .566 foul shooting were considered mediocre, never earning him nominations for NBA All-Star or All-NBA First or Second Teams. His foul shooting, in fact, was poor enough that he was at times been made the target of the Hack-a-Shaq defense. However, opposing teams could not leave Bowen wide open on offense, because he was also an accurate three-point shooter (.393 career average on 2,082 attempts), particularly from the corner. In addition, despite his age Bowen played 500 consecutive games between February 28, 2002 and March 12, 2008, leading Sports Illustrated to name him in 2007 the "Iron Man" of the NBA.

Responding to fan e-mail in 2005, Bowen stated that defense is "a little bit of talent and a lot of work; being able to take on the challenge of going up against the top guys, even when you didn't win that battle. Being able to come back the next day and try again—I think that's the most important thing." He also stressed that the key to being a good basketball player was to "work hard and make sure you have fun with the game more than anything else." Bowen mentioned that he considered small forward Carmelo Anthony and shooting guard Ray Allen to be among the most difficult players to guard.