Suppose that Len Bias didn’t die of a drug overdose, that his NBA career lived up to expectations, and he stayed relatively healthy.
If Bias were a Boston Celtic in the late 1980s, how would the Celtics have matched up with the Lakers and Pistons of the same era?
Well, I think it first depends on if he just hadn’t died of the overdose, or if he hadn’t used cocaine at all. If he didn’t die, but still used cocaine, I would think it would have negatively affected his career anyway and he still wouldn’t have lived up to expectations.
Now, had he stayed clean altogether I think he would have make a significant impact on the NBA. Although I think the '86 draft in general had way more than its share of busts, I don’t think Bias would have been one of them. I think he’d have made a great team even greater.
With his potential earning power, Columbia would not be going through the economic turmoil it is currently experiencing.
It would have prolonged Larry Bird’s career quite a bit. It would allowed him to come off the bench instead of being counted on so heavily in his final days as a Celtic.
Len Bias and the lottery that gypped the Celtics out of Tim Duncan rank as one of the top “screwings” in the history of sports.
I think we would of spent ten years reading about Len Bias’ trouble with drugs.