Ben Wallace NOT a HOF finalist

[ElectricMayhem]

In his first year of eligibility, Ben Wallace was not selected as a finalist for the NBA Hall of Fame. These people (and teams?) were:

Hugh Evans (Referee)
Rebecca Lobo
Rollie Massimino
Tracy McGrady
Sidney Moncrief
Kim Mulkey (2x NCAA champion coach @ Baylor)
Bill Self
Rudy Tomjanovich
Chris Webber
Tim Hardaway
Robert Hughes (all-time winningest boys HS coach)
Muffet McGraw (3 time NCAA COY - Notre Dame)
Bo Ryan
Wayland Baptist University, 10-time AAU national champions

I'm pretty sure if Wallace had been the most dominant offensive player coupled with his rebounding - even if he had terrible defense, he'd be a first ballot HOFer no questions asked. But alas, he was an all-time great at defense, not offense.

[Pharaoh]

In his first year of eligibility, Ben Wallace was not selected as a finalist for the NBA Hall of Fame. These people (and teams?) were:

Hugh Evans (Referee)
Rebecca Lobo
Rollie Massimino
Tracy McGrady
Sidney Moncrief
Kim Mulkey (2x NCAA champion coach @ Baylor)
Bill Self
Rudy Tomjanovich
Chris Webber
Tim Hardaway
Robert Hughes (all-time winningest boys HS coach)
Muffet McGraw (3 time NCAA COY - Notre Dame)
Bo Ryan
Wayland Baptist University, 10-time AAU national champions

I'm pretty sure if Wallace had been the most dominant offensive player coupled with his rebounding - even if he had terrible defense, he'd be a first ballot HOFer no questions asked. But alas, he was an all-time great at defense, not offense.

The bold should forfeit their spots for Ben! That's **** disgraceful that those 3 guys get in and Ben doesn't.

None of them have the accolades Ben has.

Wonder what the criteria was?

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[MrBigShot]

CWebb and Hardaway ahead of him is a travesty imo.

[Cowology]

I dunno, Tmac and Cwebb sucked less defensively than Ben sucked offensively and both were legit MVP candidates at the top of their respective games.

[Spider156]

I dunno, Tmac and Cwebb sucked less defensively than Ben sucked offensively and both were legit MVP candidates at the top of their respective games.

Yeah but Ben Wallace won the championship for Detroit and they didn't

[joedumars1]

Wow. I'm happy I finally made it to the second round......3-1

WOW

[Pugz]

i can only argue for ben over hardaway. sucks ben didnt make it. he is deserving

[Pharaoh]

I dunno, Tmac and Cwebb sucked less defensively than Ben sucked offensively and both were legit MVP candidates at the top of their respective games.

How many years were they legit MVP candidates?

We know they were good but better than Ben?

If you list accomplishments and left the namea off it I would imagine the championship AND the constant ECFs make a difference...

Or are they purely team awards and Ben only gets inducted with the Pistons of 2004?

Hang on, that's the WWE Hall of Fame

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[Snakebites]

I dunno, Tmac and Cwebb sucked less defensively than Ben sucked offensively and both were legit MVP candidates at the top of their respective games.

Yeah, pretty much this.

Plus its easier to hide a defensive liability than an offensive one in many cases. Add to that the fact that few players in NBA history were as bad defensively as Ben was offensively, and you get a pretty clear picture.

I suspect Big Ben will make the HOF eventually (much like Rodman did), but he's not a first ballot guy.

[MotownMadness]

Ben Wallace was more impactful then both of them. He was a absolute dominant rim protector that won multiple DPOYs award and a championship.

[flow]

He'll get there.

[Cowology]

I get the Big Ben love from Piston fans... but looking at it objectively the 2004 team is widely regarded as one of the worst champions in the modern era. The team is also (rightly) recognized for it's balanced starting lineup, which plays directly against individual accolades in a historical sense. You could probably make a MUCH better argument over his 4x DPOY than you could his title or 6x straight ECF appearances.

But IF you were drafting a team how many people outside of Detroit would really take Big Ben over Tmac or CWebb?? I'm guessing not many. You grab your superstar first and then take your defensive C in the 2nd or 3rd round. Ben should make it eventually, but not being a first balloter is probably the right call, and if not it's close enough that I'm not going to take issue with the "snub".

[Laimbeer]

Tomjanovich is laughable - at least as a player. I assume coaching is his calling card here.

[thesack12]

I get the Big Ben love from Piston fans... but looking at it objectively the 2004 team is widely regarded as one of the worst champions in the modern era. The team is also (rightly) recognized for it's balanced starting lineup, which plays directly against individual accolades in a historical sense. You could probably make a MUCH better argument over his 4x DPOY than you could his title or 6x straight ECF appearances.

But IF you were drafting a team how many people outside of Detroit would really take Big Ben over Tmac or CWebb?? I'm guessing not many. You grab your superstar first and then take your defensive C in the 2nd or 3rd round. Ben should make it eventually, but not being a first balloter is probably the right call, and if not it's close enough that I'm not going to take issue with the "snub".

Well said...

If we all take our Detroit fandom and personal feelings for Ben out of the equation, the case against Ben is much stronger than for him.

A lot of people forget that A) He was a pretty anonymous NBA player prior to coming to Detroit in the Grant Hill trade, and B) After he left Detroit in '-06 he was not nearly as impactful. It could be argued he was downright bad for long stretches of time. So in reality he really only had 5-6 great seasons. None of this is even taking into account his horrendous offensive prowess, nor him being the worst free throw shooter of all time before Andre Drummond happened.

All things considered, I don't think Ben gets in

[thesack12]

As for Webber, IMO as we are getting further and further away from his playing days I think people are losing touch with just how great of a player he was. A case could be made that he was the best passing/playmaking big ever. That Princeton offense they ran in Sacramento ran through CWebb and he played the maestro part masterfully. Dude was also a 20/10 machine for a LONG portion of his career. People also have a tendency to forget just how much of a gauntlet the western conference was in Webb's Sacto days. If Sacto gets past LA in game 7 of the '02 WCF's, Sacto easily cruises to a ring over New Jersety just like LAL did. I know thats a big if, but its widely regarded that Sacto got hosed in that series by the zebras.

Another thing to consider is its the basketball hall of fame not the NBA hall of fame. That being the case, although we're all supposed to forget they ever existed, Webber was the best player on probably the most memorable college team of all time. HOF voters will definitely take that into consideration.

[mattao313]

Ben Wallace was one of the most Dominate defense players EVER. He won 4 DPOY awards, 4 time allstar, and a NBA champ. At the very least he is better than TMAC and Hardaway.

[mattao313]

I get the Big Ben love from Piston fans... but looking at it objectively the 2004 team is widely regarded as one of the worst champions in the modern era. The team is also (rightly) recognized for it's balanced starting lineup, which plays directly against individual accolades in a historical sense. You could probably make a MUCH better argument over his 4x DPOY than you could his title or 6x straight ECF appearances.

But IF you were drafting a team how many people outside of Detroit would really take Big Ben over Tmac or CWebb?? I'm guessing not many. You grab your superstar first and then take your defensive C in the 2nd or 3rd round. Ben should make it eventually, but not being a first balloter is probably the right call, and if not it's close enough that I'm not going to take issue with the "snub".

No its not its one of the most impressive NBA Champs ever. They dominated a dynasty level team with no traditional superstar and it was because of Ben Wallace GOAT level defense. Ben Wallace isn't just your everyday defensive C He is top 5 ever in that category. Also Tmac peaked early and was constantly injury he isn't first ballot material either.

[Dirtgrain]

Chris Webber always seemed too hyped to me. I don't think he ever developed a low-post game that I would expect of a Hall of Fame big man--his field goal percentage was usually often below 500. He did become something of a shooter (hence the low-ish field goal percentage). I get that he had stats, but did it amount to anything?

[ComboGuardCity]

Cweb was a beast. I can see why he is a finalist.

[hoophabit]

Ben's period of defensive dominance was fairly short. It also coincided with his role on that Piston team. He was 26 when he came to the Pistons and by 31-32 was already fading. It was pretty incredible while it lasted. I think he gets in, but I can't say I'm surprised he wasn't selected first year of eligibility.