In the years since his last NBA game, as a member of the 2004-05 Houston Rockets, and his last real flirtation with relevance as a late season add-on for the 2000-01 Portland Trail Blazers, Rod Strickland has more or less become a bit of a punchline around the sporting blogosphere. And that's a shame, really. 

I'm not going to try and convince you that, from 1988 to 2005, Rod Strickland didn't get by on sheer talent alone. He did. And the parts about checking into games with his shorts on backwards or making himself sick on the court even in his early 30s by gorging on pregame meals of hot dogs and little else ... yeah, they're true.

Still, what a player. What a point guard. I can say without hesitation that I've never seen a point guard finish in the lane better than Rod Strickland. Players like Jason Kidd or Allen Iverson use speed and quickness to get to the front of the rim, someone like Kevin Johnson could throw down with the best of them, while Tim Hardaway and Gary Payton had plenty of post up skills. These guys were good. Nate Archibald and Isiah Thomas were even better. Chris Paul might be the best of the current lot.

But Strickland was nearly unstoppable when it came time to put up a shot - whatever shot - while in the paint and among the trees. Runners, flips, roll-ins, lay-ins, reverses, scoop shots; the guy just couldn't miss. Beyond that, he had handle for days and could look-away pass with the best of them.

So take in a few Strickland highlight packages, all of which have a bit of language in the soundtrack to be warned about, though all are worth your time.

A few more after the jump.

Related: YouTube of the day