Many critics point to his existence as a referendum against the
talent pool of the Jordan era, but Bogues’ skillset — a game
predicated on pushing the pace, passing and hounding people on
defense — actually makes him a solid fit for the way the game is
played today.
When asked how he would fare in 2022, Bogues acknowledged the
tendency of humans to overestimate their own individual abilities.
“I think any NBA player feels like they can play in any
era.”
However, even with that caveat, his conviction was unwavering,
culminating his response with an emphatic, “Oh, absolutely!”
At his best, Bogues was the quarterback of one of the fastest
offensive attacks of the early 1990s. Under his guidance, the
Charlotte Hornets finished top-four in pace every season from 1991
to 1994, per Basketball Reference.
Bogues wasn’t just a speed demon zooming down the court with his
head cut off. He was a steadying force capable of maintaining a
well-oiled machine (the Hornets were fourth
in offensive efficiency in 1996-97).
In terms of individual numbers, Bogues ranked top-nine in
Cerebro Sports’ Floor General Skills metric, a metric that explores
passing ability while also factoring in usage, athleticism and
feel, and he did that every year from 1989 to 1995.
And for the creation stans out there, he ranked in the top-10 in
Ben Taylor’s Box Creation
metric (an estimate of open shots created for teammates per 100
possessions) every year during that time, except for 1991, when he
finished 11th.
In Bogues' new book, Charles Oakley said this of his playmaking
abilities: “[I]n the pick-and-roll, he could turn the corner, get
into the paint and drive.”
In his heyday, Bogues leveraged his blink-and-you-might-miss-it
speed to knife his way into the paint, force a collapse and
ping-pong the ball over to his open teammates.
“Penetration always hurts the defense," Bogues said. "I always
had the understanding of how to get guys to think one way when I
want to go the opposite.”
That offensive aggressiveness was a big part of what made Bogues
so valuable to his teams.
“One of the things coaches always emphasized is that [they]
don’t want anyone getting in the heart of our defense. [So, as an
offensive player], if you are able to do that, it puts your team at
an advantage, and I was fortunate enough to be a penetrator my
entire career."
An avid chess player nowadays, Bogues was playing a chess game
of sorts on the basketball court long before he executed his first
checkmate, treating his opponents like pieces on the board he could
manipulate as he pleased:
“To me, it’s just that simple. If I drive hard this way, I’m
going to make the defender have to collapse, and then that man
right there is going to be open.”
His 4.75:1 Assist-to-Turnover ratio is sublime and gives him a
higher mark in this category than many of the all-time great
facilitators.
He managed this ratio without having the elevated sight lines of
a Magic Johnson or Oscar Robertson. Instead, Bogues used his
physical dimensions to create a different type of ocular
advantage.
“They say Magic sees over top. [Well], I see around and
through.”
Despite his stature, his defense may have been the perfect
counter to today’s pace-and-space era because his main goal was to
evaporate as much space as possible.
“One thing about guards, they like a cushion. They don’t like
anyone crowding their space. I knew that drove folks crazy, so I
became that pest on defense.”
He likens his game on that end of the floor to Patrick Beverley
in their shared ability to jam opponents up and annoy them for 94
feet:
“It’s hard to see anyone out there of myself, but Patrick
Beverley on defense is probably the closest. The way he irritates
the players and gets all up in them, picking them up 94 feet and
getting under their skin. He, defensively, is probably the only
[comparison].”
But like all people, Bogues is far more than his former job
title. He is a multifaceted individual rich with layers of wisdom
and life experience.
One thing that will dawn on readers is the candidness in Bogues’
storytelling approach. He never once holds back as he navigates
readers through the various losses he’s endured, the conflicts that
persist in his most intimate relationships and his own most
deep-seated insecurities.
Growing up in a low-income neighborhood in Baltimore with a
father struggling to provide for his family as a stevedore in a
dying industry, Bogues' early life runs parallel to many of the
storylines discussed in the widely-popular Baltimore-based
television show, "The Wire." Interestingly enough, his wife, Kim
Bogues, later worked on the show and filled in as Kima’s body
double.
Bogues uses his narrative as an opportunity to outline the race
dynamics that exist within American professional sports,
highlighting all of its glaring hypocrisies.
“How can they cheer me on the court and deride me off of it?”
Bogues asks in his book.
“I always looked at this world as a human race as opposed to all
the racial components that come with it. When you play sports, and
you become teammates with people that don’t even look like you,
they become your brothers/sisters. You have the same goal/task at
hand, and you're fighting the same fight. How can you have that
affection for them and then not [have that same affection] for
someone who is on the same side, just not in sports? A title should
not be what makes a person like/accept you in the way you want to
be accepted.”
Even with his frustration, Bogues is optimistic about our
potential as a society to correct the indifferences that have
permeated from generation to generation. In the end, Bogues’
hope is that people will walk away from this novel with a thorough
understanding of the power of resilience.
“[In its essence], this book is about someone that had a passion
and just chased it each and every day.”
Through the name-calling, the physical limitations, the trades
and the losses of loved ones, Bogues preserved and kept pushing
forward.
“In fifty-seven years of life, I’ve had an opportunity to see
quite a bit and experience quite a bit. [I] look at life in a light
where we only get one, and we have to make the best out of it, each
moment we have. Nothing is promised, nothing is given, and even if
it was, we wouldn’t want it anyways. We love earning it, we love
working towards it and we love making it better, not only for
[ourselves], but for others.”
“[It’s about] having that resilience to where anything you feel
you can accomplish, you should be able to go out there to
accomplish. The only person holding you back is yourself. For me,
being able to see it, and live it, and be a winner from it, I’m
always going to be able to embrace that and share that with
others.”
“[I just want to] make sure we all know how important life
is.”