While he may not have had the same volume as some of the eras best scorers, in terms of an offensive package, Corey Maggette was a force to be reckoned with for a number of years with the Clippers.
He wasn’t a knockdown shooter from beyond the arc, but he’d proven decent enough to the point where opponents felt the need to close out when he began to let fire, opening up the rest of the floor for his various attacks.
Inside the arc, Maggette could score from nearly every spot on the court. He’d pull up in a moment’s notice, catching the defense off guard for an open jumper, or put his head down and take it all the way to the basket.
Out of all the ways he could score the ball, Maggette’s main gift was his ability to get to the free-throw line. He simply had a knack for drawing fouls near the rim, averaging over six attempts per game in eight seasons with the Clippers, providing easy points which helped him get into a rhythm offensively.
The 13th pick in the 1999 NBA Draft, it wasn’t until his fourth season and third in Los Angeles where Maggette would find his niche in the league. This began a string of seasons where he’d put the ball in the basket with regular consistency.
Maggette’s talents aren’t brought up often these days, likely due to the shadow cast upon him by guys like Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady. This is not to suggest a man with a 17.3 points per game average as a Clipper should be grouped with those two Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famers. That being said, there is a certain level of underappreciation for Maggette and his scoring ability, one that would eventually help him garner the fifth most points in Clippers history.