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One of the things that earned Bruce Bowen a reputation as one of the NBA's chippiest (and some, even former teammates, might say flat-out dirtiest) defenders over the course of his 13-year NBA career was his penchant for sticking his foot underneath an opposing jump shooter after contesting a shot so that, when the shooter came back down to the floor, he ran a serious risk of stepping awkwardly on Bowen's foot and turning his ankle (or worse). The practice was at the heart of a November 2006 Sports Illustrated feature on Bowen, in which most executives interviewed said they didn't think the eight-time All-Defensive Team selection was intentionally trying to hurt opponents with dirty pool.

No one questioned whether Bowen had done it in the past, but intent — that was the key. If you did it by accident, people could get over it; if you did it on purpose, though ... well, that's the kind of thing that might lead then-New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas to tell his players, "Next time he does that, break his [EXPLETIVE] foot."

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