It could have been the season, and really should have been the season, for the NBA to dig out its dusty Comeback Player of the Year trophy for the first time since 1986.

It still might be the season to make the request, provided some of the biggest names on a deep list of mythical candidates can make the handy step of getting back to their comebacks.

	Orlando's Grant Hill would be the leading candidate for Comeback Player of the Year.

Vince Carter, Lamar Odom, Antonio McDyess, even Grant Hill -- they're all making it tougher to lobby the league on their behalf. Hill is the latest to muck up this good campaign, after his modest streak of 10 consecutive games was halted Sunday night by a sore ankle.

Orlando insists the measure was simply precautionary, but the rest of those comeback kids are spectators again, with McDyess' surgically repaired left knee giving way during exhibition play, almost three weeks before Opening Night. Dice is expected to miss the season, and Odom (ankle trouble) isn't expected back before Christmas.

Vince, meanwhile ...

"He wants to play today, but I can't let him do that," said Raptors general manager Glen Grunwald, who has lost Carter for the second successive season to what is known as jumper's knee. "He said, 'I can go 20 minutes.' I said, 'Let's wait until you can go 30.' "

Either many of these guys have a problem with coming back too soon from their injuries -- the probable culprit, yes, and a serious problem if so -- or they knew what we'd be proposing and wanted to rack up some early votes. "Competition" is indeed fierce, because there are several other "contenders" for an award the NBA suspended for real after the 1985-86 season.

Even without Carter or McDyess or Odom -- and besides Orlando's Hill as the obvious favorite (18.8 points per game on .615 shooting so far, with 6.2 rebound per game) if his ankle only costs him a few games -- comebackers are plentiful.

Atlanta's Theo Ratliff is leading the league in blocked shots (3.89 per game) after playing just three games last season because of persistent hip and wrist issues.

New Orleans' Jamal Mashburn is averaging 21.2 points and 6.9 rebounds for the 7-2 Hornets after missing 42 games with an abdominal strain and then the entire playoffs with a mysterious case of vertigo.

Cleveland's Tyrone Hill might have caused a stir last week by complaining about the Cavaliers' refusal to sign point guard Rod Strickland, but Ty Maintentance (as he's known) is averaging 10.1 points and 11.2 rebounds after playing just 26 games in 2001-02.

	PAST COMEBACKS
	In 1985-86, the NBA awarded a Comeback Player of the Year and Most Improved Player trophy before eliminating the comeback honor altogether. San Antonio's Alvin Robertson was the first MIP in '85-86.
	Year	Player, Team
	1980-81	Bernard King, Warriors
	1981-82	Gus Williams, Sonics
	1982-83	Paul Westphal, Knicks
	1983-84	Adrian Dantley, Jazz
	1984-85	Micheal Ray Richardson, Nets
	1985-86	Marques Johnson, Clippers

Indiana's Al Harrington, whose Most Improved Player campaign was derailed last winter by a knee tear, is yet another high-profile player who should be up for something the way he has started the season. Odom would also figure if he's back in uniform for more than half the season, and Portland's Arvydas Sabonis, Philadelphia's Aaron McKie and Houston's Maurice Taylor are more potential outsiders.

What's missing is an actual award. Only six men in league history won the Comeback honor because it only existed that long, after a pattern emerged. Multiple recovered drug users were honored in that six-year span: Bernard King won the maiden award in Golden State in 1980-81, with New Jersey's Micheal Ray Richardson (1984-85) and the Clippers' Marques Johnson (1985-86) winning the last two before the league office mandated a switch to the Most Improved Award for image reasons.

Of course, trouble persists today because MIP voting criteria is much more hazy. Voters often can't decide whether to go for the guy who came from nowhere to contribute (like Michael Redd last season) or the former lottery picks who go from so-so or good to realizing their potential (Jalen Rose, Tracy McGrady and Jermaine O'Neal are the last three winners).

Comebacks are easier to identify, and citizenship (who'd have imagined?) isn't the problem that it used to be. So it's time.

It'd be a better time if we were seeing Carter in something other than video game commercials these days, telling us how it feels to get dunked on. But that's another campaign. Today's message, simply: Bring back the Comeback Player of the Year award.

Makes even more sense when you think of it that way.

Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. To e-mail him, click here.