Happy birthday, Sheed! Wallace's age catches up to tech record
We're all familiar with the various bejeweled monikers of milestone anniversaries. 50 years of marriage or reign from a throne or what have you is golden; 75 years is diamond. If you don't quite make it that far, 25 years is silver. Oh, and if you know a couple who's been married for a while -- but not that long -- tin was the traditional gift for a 10th wedding anniversary. Really.
Today, however, a new tradition enters the anniversary lexicon. It's Rasheed Wallace's 41st birthday. And if something in your brain clicks when you read "Rasheed Wallace" and "41," it's because that's Wallace's single-season technical foul record. In the 2000-01 season, Wallace accumulated 41 technical fouls and seven ejections. It's a mark that will take a lot of work to be broken, and one that will forever be in the first few things mentioned when one talks about Wallace.
That and "Ball don't lie!" You can't forget "Ball don't lie," as in the above play in 2012 where Wallace was ejected after shouting his trademark motto after a Goran Dragic free throw.
In honor of Rasheed Wallace's birthday, here's his draft photo from 1995. #ThrowbackThursday pic.twitter.com/pGY2TbMKKN
— NBA TV (@NBATV) September 17, 2015
So happy birthday, Sheed! And in remembrance of this "Technical Jubilee," let's go to a story from former Wallace teammate Chauncey Billups, who joined the Dan Le Batard show last month (via Uproxx):
"I would egg on referees to give Rasheed a technical. Because until he got a tech, he was one of the most unfocused players I ever played with. But once he got a technical, I don’t care what coach he’s playin for, I’m sayin, throw it to 'Sheed. Ain’t no more play calls."
Possibly related: In 2000-01, when Wallace set the record at 41 technicals in a single season, he posted his highest career Player Efficiency Rating, Win Shares per 48 minutes, and Value Over Replacement Player.
