As I said in Part 2, many players are not in the Under 5K Club (if you do not know what that is, read Part 1) by choice.

There are plenty of reasons why promising careers are cut short; sometimes those reasons are tragic, as we saw with Dražen Petrović and Maurice Stokes. However, there are other times when the ending comes earlier than expected for bizarre reasons rather than sad ones. This category will reward the impressive careers that had an awkward cut-off or detour that stopped the player from hitting 5000 points.

If you were paying attention to the NBA in the late 2000s and early 2010s like I was, this one may shock you; it certainly shocked me when I saw his name initially, but he is indeed a member of the Under 5K Club. If you remember what he was in his prime, that may sound wild, but remembering how his career ended should make it clear why he is a member and ultimately a contender for the Under 5K GOAT. But let's start with the good.

Andrew Bynum jumped from high school straight to the NBA in the last draft it was possible to do so, which didn't guarantee anything. For every Kevin Garnett, there were a few Robert Swifts. The most charitable scouting reports projected Bynum as a high-ceiling, low-floor type of player. Long-time draft analyst Chad Ford said Bynum had the size and potential to be the next Shaq, but he was extremely raw and could easily become a bust if he didn't develop. So of course the Lakers drafted the "next Shaq" 10th overall in 2005.

No pressure kid.

Andrew Bynum made his debut on November 2nd, 2005, when he played a grand total of 5 minutes and 29 seconds against the Denver Nuggets. He was 18 years and 6 days old, making him the youngest player in NBA history and almost 50 days younger than 2nd-place Jermaine O'Neal. His rookie season was extremely unremarkable. He only played 46 games and averaged 1.6 points.

In 2006-07, he played all 82 games and started most of them, boosting his averages to 8 points and 6 rebounds per game along with 1.6 blocks. In year 3, his knees started acting up and kept him out of action throughout most of the season, and he missed LA's entire 2008 Finals run. In the 35 games he did play, he started 25 and averaged 13 points, 10 rebounds (3 offensive) and 2 blocks per game. Fortunately, he helped the Lakers put it all together in 2008-09.

His scoring jumped slightly to 14.3, but his rebounds dropped to 8 while keeping the same minutes. He played and started 50 games, but was healthy come playoff time. He averaged 6 points, 4 rebounds and a block as the LA Lakers won the 2009 championship. Even though he didn't contribute much offensively, he was partially credited with stopping Dwight Howard in the 2009 Finals. Nobody called him the Dwight-stopper, but his big body and willingness to bang with him in the post allowed the Lakers to cover the 3-point shooters that helped the Magic make it that far.

2009-10 would be even better for Bynum. His scoring was 15 per game on fantastic efficiency (57%, 5th best) along with his 8 rebounds, but the playoffs were where it got even better. His minutes dropped from the regular season, but he started every game and had some of the best performances of his career. Most notably, Game 2 of the NBA Finals, where Bynum put up 21 points, 6 rebounds and 7 blocks against Boston's stout frontline. The Lakers eventually won the Finals in 7, making Bynum a 2-time champ.

After a down year in 2010-11, he had the best season of his career in 2011-12. His minutes jumped up to 35, and all his stats got a boost. 19 points, 12 rebounds and 2 blocks led to his first All-Star appearance and All-NBA 2nd team. He also balled out in the playoffs. He became the first Laker since Wilt to block 10 shots in a playoff game. He was the only player of the 21st century ever to block double-digit shots in a playoff game until Wemby did it this past season. He averaged 17, 11 and 3 per game as the Lakers fell short in round 2.

All of a sudden, Bynum had crossed the barrier into the best center in the NBA debates. So the Lakers struck while the iron was hot and traded Bynum for the only center that was universally considered better than him: Dwight Howard. That insane trade deserves its own write-up, but for the sake of our story, Bynum got sent to the 76ers in the deal.

Bynum played a grand total of 26 more games in the rest of his NBA career, none of them with Philadelphia. He missed the entire 2012-13 season due to injuries before signing with the post/pre-LeBron Cavs as a free agent, where he played 24 games, got traded to Chicago and eventually played 2 games with the Pacers of all teams. His 15-and-8 performance against the Pistons on March 15th, 2014, was the final game of his career. Less than 2 years after he was named to the All-NBA 2nd team, he was done. So how did it collapse so quickly?

The consensus is that there are 2 reasons: injury and attitude. Bynum had persistent knee issues that plagued him throughout his career. He aggravated them severely in 2012, once in a bowling incident of all things, and it quickened his downfall. However, he probably could've carved out a decent back end of his career if not for the second problem.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was brought in to help Bynum learn some post moves. Kareem had been a fan of Bynum, calling his attitude something "sent from heaven" after his rookie season. But when Kareem finished training him, he had a new outlook. He has mentioned many times how Bynum was not interested in working hard and preferred the lifestyle over basketball, a trait that many others noticed in Bynum. For what it's worth, I can't find any evidence of him doing anything horrible; his greatest crime appears to be apathy. The Jay Cutler of NBA big men.

Players with bad attitudes have managed to stick around in the NBA, as have players with knee issues, but both at the same time eventually became a death sentence for Bynum's NBA career and relegated him to the Under 5K Club. Fortunately, his career was strong enough for me to consider him a real contender for the Under 5K GOAT.

Part of what makes Bynum's case unique is the fact that he is 1 of just 2 players in the Under 5K Club with an All-Star appearance and a career that started in the 21st century. The other player is Jamaal Magloire, who never reached the heights Bynum did. Picking the other nominee was very difficult; nevertheless, I eventually found one.

This one snuck up on me. I had multiple other candidates, including one I thought was going to take this spot easily before changing my mind. Nikola Mirotić is both unique and simple. Let's start with how his NBA career played out.

The Chicago Bulls drafted Mirotić 23rd overall in the 2011 draft (7 picks before Jimmy Butler), but wouldn't get to reap the benefits for a few years. At the time, multiple evaluators acknowledged Mirotić's potential. Still, just as many thought it was a huge mistake and that his ability wasn't worth passing up on someone who could help the Bulls immediately. Considering how it played out for Chicago, they may have had a point, but it was not for lack of trying on Mirotić's part.

When he finally made it to Chicago, he immediately became an important contributor on a really good 2014-15 Bulls team. He had his down moments, but he truly found an insane groove in March 2015. He averaged 20.8 points in 15 games despite only starting once (with 30 minutes per game). His 312 points in March 2015 put him ahead of Kawhi Leonard, Klay Thompson and John Wall, who all averaged more minutes while playing equal games. Yes, really.

Come playoff time, he was bad. Inexperience clearly caught up, and he was not ready. The Bulls challenged the Cavs in the 2nd round, only to lose in 6. He concluded his rookie season with averages of 10.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, 0.7 steals and 0.7 blocks in 82 games. He finished 2nd in Rookie of the Year voting and 6th in 6th Man of the Year voting.

He got better across the board next season. 11.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 0.9 steals and 0.7 blocks. His shooting percentages flipped. He went from solid on 2-point shots (49.5%) and rough from 3 (31.6%) to mediocre on 2s (43%) and genuinely great from 3 (39%). Aside from that and the Bulls themselves regressing, it was an objectively better season for Nikola. It also revealed a consistent through-line in his career. Teams are better with Nikola Mirotić than they are without him.

The 2015-16 Chicago Bulls finished 42-40 and missed the playoffs. Nikola played in 66 of those games; the Bulls went 37-29 with him and 5-11 without him. He probably would've gotten more 6th Man of the Year love had he played 70+ games. 2016-17 was a year of slight regression for Nikola. His shooting percentages looked more like his rookie year, just better, and the Bulls were better by the tiniest of margins.

Next season started very poorly when teammate Bobby Portis broke Mirotić's jaw before the season even started. Mirotić missed the first 23 games, but it was almost like that incident woke something up in him. With virtually the same minutes per game, he averaged 16.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and the same block and steal on elite efficiency (47% from the field, 43% from 3). He also helped a horrible Bulls squad that finished the season with 50+ losses go 14-11 in the games he played.

The Bulls eventually traded Mirotić to the Pelicans, where his numbers dropped off slightly, but remained strong for a role player. He also reunited with Rajon Rondo, which was fun. Both of them showed out in the 2018 playoffs. In round 1, Mirotić had the best stretch of his basketball career.

18.3 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 2.3 blocks on 57% shooting from the field and 46% from 3. He played the 3rd most minutes on the Pelicans, only behind Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday. His best performance came in game 3 when he put up a playoff career high 30 points on near-perfect shooting. 21 of those points came in the first half.

The Pelicans swept Portland and unfortunately ran into the KD-Steph Warriors in round 2. The Pelicans never stood a chance and lost in 5. Still, this Pelicans team looked stingy and was seen as a real threat next season. They just had to make the right moves.

They did not make the right moves.

Mirotić started next season strong, averaging 19 as a starter, but shot worse as the team collapsed. He was eventually traded to Milwaukee, where he was never starting in place of Giannis. He contributed off the bench with diminishing results and was unable to save the Bucks from the monster in Toronto. He then did something shocking.

He spurned the NBA to go back to Europe.

It's not like he didn't get offers; he turned down a lucrative 3-year contract from the Jazz. He just didn't want to play NBA basketball anymore. Instead, he signed with Barcelona in Spain's top basketball league, where he won multiple MVPs in both Spain and the EuroLeague. It's not like he lost his ability; he just lost interest in American basketball.

What were the traits that put him over the others? Efficient scoring, role and winning.

Mirotić played his role as a stretch 4 and versatile scorer very well. He did not need the ball to make a substantial impact on winning basketball. He was never much of a playmaker, but he was a capable defender and, at his best, an efficient scorer both in shooting percentages and usage. It's no secret why his best performances came when he was shooting 75% or better from the field.

He put up impressive numbers on good teams, not empty stats on horrible teams. Those traits put him ahead of the others. Since this was so hotly contested, I want to divulge some of the top honourable mentions and explain why they didn't get the 2nd spot.

Honourable Mentions:

Don Buse and Šarūnas Marčiulionis: Weaker Versions

Buse was actually the original player in Mirotić's spot; however, I discovered that adding his ABA stats actually takes him out of the Under 5K Club. I had not previously considered ABA stats, so I had to make a decision there. I decided that ABA stats count in the total, so any player whose ABA and NBA stats combined give them over 5K points is excluded from the Under 5K Club.

Even if I hadn't made that decision, Buse and Marčiulionis have the same problem; they're worse versions of Under 5K GOAT candidates. Don Buse is a worse Nate McMillan, and Marčiulionis is a worse Dražen Petrović, just without the tragedy. It would make no sense to consider them for the Under 5K GOAT if I can't even call them the best at what they do.

Michael Brooks and John Shumate: Not Good Enough What-Ifs

Both Brooks and Shumate have interesting what-if scenarios. Brooks averaged 14 points per game for 4 years before suffering a leg injury so bad that it kept him out for 2 seasons. When he returned, he was mediocre and eventually went to foreign leagues and won multiple MVPs. Shumate may have the strangest career I have ever seen. In 5 years, he was traded 4 times and still averaged 13 points per game, just for blood clots to take him down and end his career prematurely.

Although both are interesting, neither is a good enough what-if to be in contention.

Clark Kellogg (yes, the broadcaster) and Christian Wood: Empty Calories

Both great scorers, but they put up big numbers on 20-win teams. You likely remember Christian Wood's infamous downfall from most underrated player to black hole. Still, in the Under 5K club, he is one of 17 players who averaged 13+ points in their career. Of those 17, Wood's 2-point and 3-point percentages rank 2nd and 3rd, respectively. That made him a viable candidate, but it wasn't good enough to outweigh all his flaws.

Kellogg's story is more grey. For 3 years, he averaged 19 points per game on average shooting percentages. A knee injury and a broadcasting offer from the Pacers ended his career early and made him a member of the Under 5K Club. His 18.9 career points per game is the 2nd most of any member. Alex Groza averaged 22 per game, but he was disqualified for being a point-shaving moron.

Kellogg is actually a mix of empty calories and what-if, but I thought his all-around game wasn't as impressive as Mirotić. He came the closest to taking Mirotić's spot. If you disagree with my decision, I think that is perfectly fair.

Verdict: Bynum takes the spot

I will admit Mirotić got some serious consideration, as did Kellogg, but in the end, it came down to a simple fact. Bynum was the only no-brainer in this group, which makes him the best choice in my mind. In a bit of an upset, Andrew Bynum will participate in the Under 5K GOAT debate.

I will attempt to make the case for Bynum and the other GOAT candidates in the final part while also providing my personal perspective after doing all the groundwork.

Stay tuned for Part 4: The Under 5K Mount Rushmore