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As the title says, if you could pick one eligible retired player to add to the hall of fame, who would it be?

The first name that comes to mind for me is Chauncey Billups - quality wise, he was a good player for a long time. 10 years (2002-2011) as a "good starter" with good health, peaked as a really nice player from 06-08.

Accolade wise (which honestly has a big part of the "fame" component of the Hall of Fame), he's a 5x all star, made 7 straight conference finals and is a finals MVP. He was not just a good player, but an All Star that was practically always one of the bigger names deep in the playoffs. IIRC, he's also the only player aside from Cedric Maxwell to be a Finals MVP not in the hall, and Maxwell is 5 All Star games short.

I don't know if he'd be the first player I'd pick strictly from a performance perspective - I'm actually quite fond of Rasheed Wallace on that front and think he has a great case over Billups. From a memorable/accolades perspective though, it's kind of surprising that he hasn't been elected, IMO.

Who would be your pick? Happy to entertain multiple perspectives here, whether it's based off how positively memorable the player is, sheer goodness, etc.

I'm going to pick the guy that used to get turned into a punchline around here for this very topic, Robert Horry.

And I know, I know. I'm not arguing his traditional credentials. He doesn't have them. But this Hall of Fame has already made the decision that its not just about the best NBA players, or even just the best players period. And Robert Horry can be a representation of a whole bunch of players who have played key roles on championship level teams forever who never get their due.

Use those 7 rings, use the fact that in every case his coaches way upped his role come playoff time over his regular season minutes, use his versatility, and reputation for hitting big shots. Then in the same wing where Horry's plaque is, have a little blurb on Michael Cooper, Danny Green, Derek Fisher, Horace Grant, Iggy, etc....

Nance (Sr) would be my instinctive - don't think he's in, don't think he's necessarily getting in [though he might], don't think it should be a controversial pick on player goodness - choice.

Billups sounds sensible but I would be fairly confident he's getting in anyway.

That's very otoh, and my criteria doesn't necessarily align with the Hall's.

Texas Chuck wrote:I'm going to pick the guy that used to get turned into a punchline around here for this very topic, Robert Horry.

And I know, I know. I'm not arguing his traditional credentials. He doesn't have them. But this Hall of Fame has already made the decision that its not just about the best NBA players, or even just the best players period. And Robert Horry can be a representation of a whole bunch of players who have played key roles on championship level teams forever who never get their due.

Use those 7 rings, use the fact that in every case his coaches way upped his role come playoff time over his regular season minutes, use his versatility, and reputation for hitting big shots. Then in the same wing where Horry's plaque is, have a little blurb on Michael Cooper, Danny Green, Derek Fisher, Horace Grant, Iggy, etc....

I mean, there are a bunch of guys from Boston who say Horry should be in by their own presence, you know?

tsherkin wrote:

Texas Chuck wrote:I'm going to pick the guy that used to get turned into a punchline around here for this very topic, Robert Horry.

And I know, I know. I'm not arguing his traditional credentials. He doesn't have them. But this Hall of Fame has already made the decision that its not just about the best NBA players, or even just the best players period. And Robert Horry can be a representation of a whole bunch of players who have played key roles on championship level teams forever who never get their due.

Use those 7 rings, use the fact that in every case his coaches way upped his role come playoff time over his regular season minutes, use his versatility, and reputation for hitting big shots. Then in the same wing where Horry's plaque is, have a little blurb on Michael Cooper, Danny Green, Derek Fisher, Horace Grant, Iggy, etc....

I mean, there are a bunch of guys from Boston who say Horry should be in by their own presence, you know?

I'm assuming this is in reference to the sheer number of Russell teammates in the Hall? And yeah, their presence definitely justifies the inclusion of some of the best role players, especially those who played important roles on multiple champions.

Ron Artest

Texas Chuck wrote:
I'm assuming this is in reference to the sheer number of Russell teammates in the Hall? And yeah, their presence definitely justifies the inclusion of some of the best role players, especially those who played important roles on multiple champions.

Yeah, there are some guys from the Boston dynasty who weren't individually stunning but whose contributions were critical to the title, essentially validating the inclusion of roleplayers into the Hall from dynasties, you got it.

The fact that Larry Nance is not yet in the HOF, and that Bobby Jones did not get in until 2019, is clear evidence that whoever votes for the HOF are completely clueless when it comes to evaluating NBA defense.

The fact that players like George Gervin, Alex English, Dominique Wilkins, Adrian Dantley, Bernard King, and Reggie MIller were named to the HOF long before Bobby Jones (and Nance) - two of the greatest 2-way NBA players ever - is ridiculous.

I guess you can only be voted into the HOF as primarily a defender if you win a title or two (Dennis Johnson, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman).

Bad Gatorade wrote:As the title says, if you could pick one eligible retired player to add to the hall of fame, who would it be?

First name that comes to mind at this time is Leroy "Cowboy" Edwards of the Oshkosh All-Stars of the '30s & '40s. I think he's the most historically significant player still not in the Hall.

Next to come to mind is a female player - Penny Taylor, for work on the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and for stuff in Australia.

In terms of NBA players. Hmm...Horace Grant first name that came to mind as someone who could have been in a while ago and seems to have been passed over.

I have to say Shawn Kemp for what he did from 90-91 to 99-2000. Put up good numbers and beat Malone, Mullin, and Hakeem in their primes and took Jordan and Barkley to the limit.

kcktiny wrote:The fact that Larry Nance is not yet in the HOF, and that Bobby Jones did not get in until 2019, is clear evidence that whoever votes for the HOF are completely clueless when it comes to evaluating NBA defense.

The fact that players like George Gervin, Alex English, Dominique Wilkins, Adrian Dantley, Bernard King, and Reggie MIller were named to the HOF long before Bobby Jones (and Nance) - two of the greatest 2-way NBA players ever - is ridiculous.

I guess you can only be voted into the HOF as primarily a defender if you win a title or two (Dennis Johnson, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman).

Larry Nance isn't a HOFer

An Unbiased Fan wrote:

kcktiny wrote:The fact that Larry Nance is not yet in the HOF, and that Bobby Jones did not get in until 2019, is clear evidence that whoever votes for the HOF are completely clueless when it comes to evaluating NBA defense.

The fact that players like George Gervin, Alex English, Dominique Wilkins, Adrian Dantley, Bernard King, and Reggie MIller were named to the HOF long before Bobby Jones (and Nance) - two of the greatest 2-way NBA players ever - is ridiculous.

I guess you can only be voted into the HOF as primarily a defender if you win a title or two (Dennis Johnson, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman).

Larry Nance isn't a HOFer

Maybe not, but as an NBA player, he's more deserving than Bernard King.

Texas Chuck wrote:I'm going to pick the guy that used to get turned into a punchline around here for this very topic, Robert Horry.

And I know, I know. I'm not arguing his traditional credentials. He doesn't have them. But this Hall of Fame has already made the decision that its not just about the best NBA players, or even just the best players period. And Robert Horry can be a representation of a whole bunch of players who have played key roles on championship level teams forever who never get their due.

Use those 7 rings, use the fact that in every case his coaches way upped his role come playoff time over his regular season minutes, use his versatility, and reputation for hitting big shots. Then in the same wing where Horry's plaque is, have a little blurb on Michael Cooper, Danny Green, Derek Fisher, Horace Grant, Iggy, etc....

No. Screw Robert Horry. No role players.

That is all. Thank you.

*2002

Texas Chuck wrote:I'm assuming this is in reference to the sheer number of Russell teammates in the Hall? And yeah, their presence definitely justifies the inclusion of some of the best role players, especially those who played important roles on multiple champions.

Bad choices, which some of those arguably were, should not justify more bad choices when there are better ones available. Similarly, 60s players who were either picked before modern players were eligible or by a veterans committee, can really only be compared to other players eligible to that particular picking process.

For the OP, it must be someone more deserving than the names mentioned: Billups, Nance, Grant, Kemp, etc. If you are going to make an argument that Horry or another role player is more deserving than those 4 players, let's hear it, not just that X player is in the hall and therefore anyone roughly similar should be.

Penny Hardaway/Shawn Kemp/Kevin Johnson. They were better than half the guys in the hall now.

Statlanta wrote:Ron Artest

This hits me a genuinely insane choice.

I could see Nance in the hall. Had a good 11 year stretch in which he made a few all star games, a few all defense teams, and helped elevate teams to deep playoff runs.