After 12 years of peskiness, Bruce Bowen called it quits.

Known as the premier defender for three San Antonio championship teams, Bowen thrived by applying nerve-racking pressure on his opponents.

To keep it real, Bruce was a cheap-shop artist who earned his reputation as a dirty player.  Stepping on his opponent’s feet, foot sweeps, kicks, knees…you name it, Bowen has done it.  It’s one thing for one or two players to whine about someone playing dirty.  But Bowen had a chorus of scorers, and non-scorers alike, crying foul.

Let’s take a look at a few of his transgressions:

Bruce Lee (I mean Bowen) was traded to Milwaukee in the offseason for Richard Jefferson (talk about a massive upgrade for San Antonio!).  The Bucks - a team primarily looking in the direction of its youth – waived him over the summer. 

I have always been a fan of big time scoring, but I do appreciate good, clean defense.  So, it’s no surprise that I’ve never been a fan of Bowen…even when he’s going against villainous guys like Kobe Bryant.

Here’s Bowen’s take on people’s perceptions of him:

“People are entitled to their own opinions. I’ve been fighting that for quite some time. It just so happened that I was there after everyone stuck their hands in the cookie jar and then the lights came on and I had a cookie.”

No Bruce.  The lights came on and you pulled your foot out of somebody’s crotch.  Big difference.

Now while the clarity on the clips above wasn’t that good, one thing is certainly clear – - a lot of players will be breathing freely knowing Bowen has hung up his dirty shoes once and for all.