4. Amar’e Stoudemire – Robb Stark:
Amar’e came in to this league at a very young age and exploded onto the scene winning Rookie of the Year in 2003. He was another very popular with a pretty big personality which meant that he garnered a lot of attention. I loved Amar’e, but as talented as he was, he could be inconsistent. He’d make some big plays here and there, but then he’d make some boneheaded decisions at other times. It frequently left me feeling pretty frustrated.
One bad decision in particular left a bad taste in my mouth: leaving the bench against the Spurs, which led to his suspension in the playoffs. I don’t really blame him for it, but if he hadn’t left the bench area, the Suns could have won that series. That, plus his injuries and lack of ever getting the Suns to the Finals – despite getting so close – leaves his career as a pretty big what if.
Robb Stark, though a better leader than Amar’e, shares some similarities with him. They called him “The Young Wolf” because he was a teenager when declared as the King in the North. He achieved great success early, winning many battles against the Lannisters. He was a very likable, popular person with an inspiring loyalty. However, as big as his victories were, his poor decisions cost him dearly. I ultimately fault the Boltons and the Freys (who you could compare to David Stern) for the Red Wedding, but Robb could have prevented it had he acted more pragmatically before that. He failed to translate his early success to the big victories later on, and key decisions probably cost him in that regard. His career, similar to Amar’e and his time with the Suns, is a big what if for me.