10 Biggest "What If?" Questions In NBA History
2. What If... Len Bias Hadn't Passed Away?
On 17 June 1986, Len Bias was drafted second overall by the defending champion Boston Celtics. Two days later, he died of a cocaine overdose. Bias' passing was a tragic loss for his family, his friends, and the basketball community as a whole. Bias was a truly special talent, one who had drawn comparisons to Michael Jordan, and the Celtics had planned to make him the future of their franchise, as well as have him shoulder some of the burden for an aging Larry Bird.
In the summer of 1986, the Celtics were coming off a championship win with arguably the greatest team ever assembled. Unfortunately, Larry Bird's body was beginning to break down due to the extreme workload he put on himself. Len Bias was drafted not only to one day inherit the franchise, but also to help slow the ravages of time from bringing down Bird. Had Bias played, he potentially could have split Bird's minutes in half, prolonging 'Larry Legend's career well into the '90s, allowing the Celtics to continue to contend even when the Bad Boy Pistons and the Chicago Bulls started knocking on the Eastern Conference door.