The Top 50

#8 - Amare Stoudemire

The Phoenix Suns are a serious question mark this season. As their stars get a year older and a new coach takes the helm, they'll need to find a different identity and make serious strides back towards contention within one of the smallest timeframes league-wide. They face a dunting task; one of the toughest conferences ever awaits. It's probably a good thing they have Amare on board. Dude wrote the book on tough.

Despite being a can't-miss prospect coming out of high school in '02, Stoudemire's spotty grades and well-traveled educational experience sunk his draft stock. Family situations saw him attend two hands' worth of schools in a few years and he was somehow deemed less valuable as a result. He watched in agony as perennial All-Stars like Drew Gooden, Nene and Nikoloz Tskitishvili were taken ahead of him, but sent a clear message by lifting the Suns back into the playoffs and punking Yao Ming for ROY honors. STAT labored as an undersized center among the biggest athletes in the world, nou doubt shattering many egos with his thundering throwdowns. Even when a devastating knee injury could've cost him his career, he aced months of excrutiating rehab and came back as good as ever.

One of the league's most intimidating specimens, Stoudemire's one of those rare big men with ample strength and athleticism that allows him to beast on just about whoever he wants. Though his back-to-the-basket game isn't exactly refined, he can beat most bigs off the dribble and his mid-range jumper's money. Besides, playing with Steve Nash eliminates most of the need to create your own shot and since Shaq arrived in Phoenix and allowed him to slide back over to the 4, Amare's just been straight unstoppable. Recall what this guy did to the almighty Tim Duncan in '05 West Finals; he's capable of dominating against the best of the best. Soon enough he might just hold that title himself.