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The Philadelphia 76ers were coming off a solid season in 1999 as they made it to the semifinals, but they were swept by Reggie Miller and the Indiana Pacers. However, it was some real progress for the team as they continued to pull themselves back to relevancy.
They did not own a Round 1 pick in the 1999 NBA Draft so they had to wait until the 47th pick in Round 2 to make a selection. They went with a big man by the name of Todd MacCulloch out of Washington.
In his rookie season, he played in 56 games, starting six of them, and he averaged 3.7 points and 2.6 rebounds. He was burly and he had a lot of size, which was helpful, but he still had a tough time against one particular big man. In the 2001 NBA Finals, Los Angeles Lakers star Shaquille O’Neal had his way with MacCulloch as the Lakers went on to beat the Sixers 4-1 in the Finals.
MacCulloch then signed with the New Jersey Nets after the Finals ended and he was back in the 2002 Finals with the Nets. There, he met O’Neal again, and once again The Big Aristotle had his way with him averaging 36.3 points and 12.3 rebounds while Los Angeles swept New Jersey.
MacCulloch was traded back to Philadelphia along with Keith Van Horn in 2002 in exchange for Dikembe Mutombo. He averaged 7.1 points and 4.7 rebounds while playing in 42 games with 35 starts, but his season was cut short due to an inherited neurological disorder called Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. It affects the peripheral nerves of the hands and feet and he then announced his retirement in September of 2004. [lawrence-related id=38224,38219,38216]