Well, I took a little over a year off from writing but have really missed it lately. As I continue to search for a career I have returned to sports journalism and blogging in particular. So here goes my return blog... I hope you all enjoy it!
In the wake of the debacle of the Baseball Hall of Fame voting, I thought it only appropriate to jump sports but stay on the same topic. Who deserves to be in the Basketball Hall of Fame? In part one I will delve into players who are currently eligible for enshrinement as well as players who have retired but aren't yet eligible and provide statistics and accomplishments as well as my personal opinion on whether they deserve to be inducted. But part two of this post is where I will dissect who of the current NBA players I believe deserves to be in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA.
For those unfamiliar with enshrinement processes, players must be retired from play for at least five years to be considered. From the massive list of around 175 names on this years ballot, I found a few who could be inducted either this year (2013) or at some point in the near future.
1.
Gary Payton- "The Glove" most certainly will
be a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee. Payton lived up to his 2nd overall
pick potential after starring at Oregon State University by posting 16.3 ppg,
3.9 rpg and 6.7 apg with 1.8 spg being where he was gifted his nickname. His
lock-down defense earned him 9 first team All-NBA Defensive Team awards as well
as Defensive Player of the Year in 1995-1996. Payton made 9 NBA All-Star teams
and finally won a title with the Miami Heat in 2006. Lastly Payton is 28th
all-time in scoring, 8th in assists, and 4th in steals.
2.
Tim Hardaway- Hardaway was the 14th pick of the 1989
Draft after four years of college at UTEP. While Hardaway never won an NBA
championship he did make 5 All-Star teams and 1 First Team All-NBA team.
Hardaway averaged 17.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 8.2 apg and 1.6 spg during his career. He
is 45th all-time in steals, 14th in assists but only 114th
in points. He has about a 50-50 shot of entering the Hall.
3.
Vlade Divac- The big Serbian played 16 NBA seasons
mostly with the Lakers and Kings. While Divac only averaged 11.8 ppg, 8.2 rpg,
3.1 apg, 1.1 spg and 1.4 bpg, he was a key contributor on many playoff
contenders throughout the years. Divac may best be known for being traded from
the Lakers to the then Charlotte Hornets for a young man named Kobe Bryant.
Divac did make 1 All-Star team and is currently 48th all-time in
rebounds and 28th in blocks. While Vlade was a fan favorite and a
great glue guy, he does not deserve Hall of Fame induction but just having his
name on the ballot should be an honor.
4.
Bernard King- King was the 7th overall pick
in the 1977 draft by the then New Jersey Nets. King played 3 outstanding years
at the University of Tennessee before entering the NBA. In 14 NBA seasons King
averaged 22.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg and 3.3 apg. King was named to 4 All-Star games and
2 All-NBA First Teams. Bernard played his best years in New York for the Knicks
and finished his career with 19655 points which is good enough for 44th
all-time. I put King’s odds around 40% to get into Springfield.
5.
Maurice Cheeks- Mo Cheeks will be the last player that
is eligible for enshrinement that I will discuss here and he might be the 2nd
most deserving player available. Cheeks was a mid-2nd round draft
pick by the 76ers in 1978. Cheeks played 4 years at West Texas A&M
University where he played well but did not shout future Hall of Famer from his
statistics. Cheeks like Payton made his career on the defensive end and in the
assist categories. Cheeks was named to 4 All-NBA Defensive First Teams as well
as 4 All-Star games. Cheeks also like Payton won 1 NBA Championship, with the
Sixers in 1983. Cheeks finished his career with mediocre averages of 11.1 ppg,
2.8 rpg, 6.7 apg but excelled by averaging 2.1 spg. Mo is currently 11th
all-time in assists and 5th in steals. While he might be a long shot
my guess is about a 25% chance of getting into the Hall.
Now that we’ve tackled the current players eligible to be inducted, let’s take a quick glance at a few players who will be eligible within the next 5 years.
2012 was not much of a year for retirements since the only one to even crack a glance would be Brad Miller. Miller was a 2-time NBA All-Star but only averaged 11.2 ppg, 7.1 rpg and 2.8 apg which are mediocre but similar to Divac’s numbers discussed earlier.
2011 saw many more players who would be eligible, none more so than Shaquille O’Neal. Shaq averaged 23.7 ppg, 10.9 rpg and 2.3 bpg over his 20 year career. Shaq won 4 titles, was an NBA MVP in 2000, was named to 15 All-Star games and 8 All-NBA First Teams. To sum it all up, Shaq is currently 8th all-time in points, 14th in rebounds, 8th in blocks and 2nd in field goal percentage.
2011 also saw two International superstars retire in Peja Stojakovic and Yao Ming. Peja averaged 17.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg and 2.2 3pt field goals made a game over his 18 year career. Stojakovic was named to 3 All-Star games and is 6th all-time in made 3 point field goals. But the real discussion will be with Yao. Yao was an exceptional player when healthy… but injury cut his career very short. Over 8 NBA seasons, Yao averaged 19.0 ppg, 9.2 rpg and 1.9 bpg while making 7 All-Star games. My guess is that neither of these men get inducted but certainly will get votes.
2010 had no major retirements since Rasheed Wallace came out of retirement to play with the New York Knicks this season.
2009 had 2 major retirements in Dikembe Mutumbo and Sam Cassell. Mutumbo played 18 seasons and averaged 9.8 ppg, 10.3 rpg and 2.8 bpg (aka finger waves per game). Dikembe made 8 NBA All-Star games, 4 NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards and finished 20th all-time in rebounds but 2nd in blocks only trailing Olajuwon. Cassell played 15 NBA seasons and averaged 15.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg and 6.0 apg. Sam made 1 All-Star game but won 3 NBA titles and finished his career 31st all-time in assists. I would assume Mutumbo gets in easily but Cassell gets left out in the cold.
2008 had only one major retirement in Alonzo Mourning. Zo played 15 seasons in the NBA, and averaged 17.1 ppg, 8.5 rpg and 2.8 bpg. He made 7 All-Star games, won 2 NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards, was All-NBA 1 season and won 1 NBA title in 2006. Mourning played 4 years at Georgetown University at a high level and finished his NBA career 12th in blocks and 97th in rebounds. His chances are about 75% to get into the Hall of Fame.
So while the immediate future isn’t so bright with stars joining the all-time greats at least we have a handful of future Hall of Famers in the NBA today to admire. Check back tomorrow to read about which stars of today I believe will join the all-time greats in Springfield, Massachusetts.
No comments:
Post a Comment