Just curious as to who people might suggest for this dubious honor. For my money, I think I'd go with James Worthy. Played most of his career with Magic, and had a precipitous dropoff at age 31 without Magic. Averaged 17, 5, and 3 over his career, with a career best season of 21/6. Had a PER over 20 exactly once, with a career PER of 17.7. Finished 12th in the MVP voting once, and that's the only time he got any votes. 98th in NBA history in points scored. A good career, no doubt--but not hall-of-fame caliber if he played for any other franchise (IMO). Maybe someone else can educate me, but even looking at his highlight videos (which HCP has demonstrated can make a Joel Przybilla look like Shaq), I don't see anything especially impressive. But anyway, this thread doesn't need to be all about average-game-James; who else would you say is the most overrated NBA hall of famer?
And I would contest that claim vehemently. Rodman made 8 consecutive all defense teams, and led the league in rebounding (per game) 7 straight years, including the 4 highest RPG seasons in the three-point era--at 6'7". Rodman, in my mind, is criminally underrated by most.
Maybe Willis Reed. He's basically in the HOF for one moment, albeit a great moment, in my opinion. James Worthy is another good mention.
Worthy's prime wasn't as long as many Hall of Famers, but he was known as Big Game James for a reason (he was also known as Two Dames James for a reason, but that another story for another day). His career playoff scoring average is 21.1 ppg in 143 career playoff games. That's a LOT of scoring in the post season, and I'm sure it had an impact on the voters. He won 3 rings, led all players in playoff scoring in 1986-87 and won the finals MVP in 1987-88. I really think it was his performance in the playoffs that solidified his HoF status. I'll have to look at who else is in the Hall that may be less "Worthy" (other than old timers, that many here won't be old enough to remember). BNM
Yao Ming. A career 19 and 9 player who only had three seasons where he was in 80+ games. Constantly injured. He really only had one HOF worthy season, and two All-Star caliber seasons. The guy was extremely overrated. I remember watching him in the Olympics once, and he was a ghost. The guy was 7'6 and he was practically invisible without the NBA system protecting him.
Thing is, Yao is in as much for his NBA career as for his international impact. If an American-born player had had an identical career to Yao, he probably wouldn't be in. However, I've heard many that played against him say that Yao was the most difficult player to defend in the league, including Shaq. Yeah he had health issues, but he was most certainly impactful when he was on the floor.
But, remember, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is NOT the NBA Hall of Fame, it's for all of basketball. So, it includes players (coaches, refs, etc.) based on their collegiate and international contributions, as well was what they did, or didn't do, in the NBA. It also includes members of the Harlem Globetrotters and female athletes and coaches. So, I agree Yao doesn't deserve entrance based on his NBA career, but if he makes it, I suspect it will be for his international contributions that helped popularize the game in China. BNM
Same reason Drazen Petrovic is in the Hall. It's not just about his very short (sadly too short) NBA career, it's about his overall contribution to the international game. BNM
Bleacher report disagrees with you guys... http://bleacherreport.com/articles/815135-dennis-rodman-and-10-undeserving-nba-hall-of-famers
That's BS, Drazen was sick! There is a Croation extravaganza in Sacramento every year and when his family shows up people act like they are royalty, it's really kind of funny.
Again, it's the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, so Walton's college career also comes into consideration. Walton was a 3-time college player of the year (back in the day when freshmen weren't allowed to play varsity ball), 2-time final 4 most outstanding player and still holds the final 4 scoring record of 44 points in a game on 21-22 FG. His team won 88 straight games while he played at UCLA and he is also a 2-time NBA champion and was Finals MVP in 1977. So, yeah he's solidly in the Hall. Same for Ralph Sampson. 3x Naismith award winner, 2x Wooden award winner, 3x AP player of the Year in college. So, in spite of his NBA career being shortened by injuries, like Walton, Sampson is solidly in the Hall based on his college performance. His college performance is also something else in Worthy's favor when considering his HoF status. He was also Final 4 Most Outstanding Player in 1981-82 when UNC won the title. BNM
Good for you. The author is a fucking idiot. He doesn't even seem to realize that, even though he calls it by the correct name, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is NOT the NBA Hall of Fame - there is no such thing. The funny thing is, for many of the players on his list, he mentions how fucking amazing they were in college, without realizing that has a huge impact on why they are in the Hall of Fame in the first place. So here's a sidebar. How many here have actually visited the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA? I have and enjoyed in immensely. I found it very informative and would recommend it to any and all my fellow basketball junkies. BNM
