11 Houston Rockets' role players who will never be forgotten

8. Shane Battier

There aren't enough superlatives in the English dictionary to describe Shane Battier. The Duke product was truly ahead of his time.

Hell, his opponents continue to marvel about how great of a player he was, even though he was never the primary option. Battier was one of the best defenders in the league and had some epic battles with Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant, as he constantly made Bryant work for everything.

Sure, Bryant was victorious when it mattered most, but Battier always had a hand in Bryant's face and forced him to take the most difficult shots. On the opposing end, Battier was a sniper, as he neevr fared worse than 36 percent from long-range, and even made 42.1 percent of his treys in his first season with the Rockets in 2006-07 (on 4.5 attempts).

Battier would shoot 37.7 percent from long-range in 2007-08 and 38.4 percent from deep in 2008-09. The 3-and-D wing made two All-Defensive teams in his five seasons with the Rockets and ranks sixth in made 3-pointers in franchise history.