Top 50 players of 2012 #50 Tyson Chandler

By Bryan Thompson | Published July 15, 2012

Coming in at number fifty! At 7 foot 1, 255 pounds number six, Tyson Chandler!

With a lengthy, towering wing span Tyson Chandler gets the spot at number 50 essentially because of the man’s bruising defense that awarded Chandler the 2012 Defensive player of the year award.

2012 stats:

11.3 points per game
9.9 Rebounds per game
.578 %Field goal
Started 62 out of 66 games with the New York Knicks
1.4 Blocks per game

“He’s long and athletic, defends around the rim, runs the floor.”

- Current Milwaukee Bucks coach Scott Skiles

“We couldn’t keep him from getting his hands on the ball.”

-Former Orlando Magic coach Brian Hill

“He brings a toughness to our paint defense and an athleticism that I haven’t seen at the five-spot since I’ve been a Maverick.”

-Dirk Nowitzki

Having played for five teams in Chandler’s NBA career he was a valuable piece to each and every unit. Coming straight out of high-school to the National Basketball Association in 2001 Chandler took the NBA by storm in his rookie year with the Chicago Bulls.

Swatting away 93 shots, Tyson Chandler had the paint on lock down which carried on his whole career.

In the 2010-2011 season, Chandler signed a one year contract with the Dallas Mavericks looking forward to have an injury free season and get back to the player he was when Tyson was in Chicago. Chandler eventually rose to the occasion and gave the Dallas Mavericks probably the best Center they have ever had in decades putting up 692 rebounds, with 80 blocked shots; which eventually led Chandler to his first ring.

In the 2011-2012 season, Chandler left Dallas to go play for the Big Apple with fellow superstars Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire. It took almost half of the season for the players to mesh, but they eventually found their groove in February of 2012. The New York Knicks all of a sudden became one of the NBA’s elite teams in the East and had to face The Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs.

The Knicks didn’t seem afraid of the Big 3 with LeBron James, Dywane Wade, and Chris Bosh having not won a playoff game for almost a decade. Tyson averaged 9 rebounds a game and 6.2 points per game but however, Chandler and the Knicks didn’t seem to have enough fire power to fuel past the Heat, loosing 4-1 in a best of seven series, but Tyson Chandler will still be around New York for the next 2 years and will eventually put the NBA on notice in 2013.

Chandler also earned a spot for the 2012 USA Olympic team to fill in Dwight Howard’s spot where he will perform in London to face against many lengthy foreign units. Keep in mind Tyson Chandler is the defending champ for the Defensive Player of the Year!

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