Rainwater wrote:Anticon wrote:dho4ever wrote:
It's the Hall of Fame, not the Hall of Feelings. Even just by going by that word "Fame", Dwight in his prime was the most famous center, triggering a huge free agency storm. However, you feel about him handling it, the Laker Debacle, and the fact that he never really learned how to play basketball on the offensive end is irrelevant.
Box Score (stats) and Awards have always been relevant.
If you compare the two careers, one is an obvious first ballot due to accolades (which the Hall has been consistent about).. the other one has played on a team that you feel very keen about.
I'm not a fan of Dwight, but someone who was pretty high on the MVP ladder in 2-3 seasosn that I can recall, won DPOTY 3 times, multiple all stars... blows Iguodala's career out of the ocean.
Thank you Ben Shapiro. Obviously noting a player was a key cog on one of the greatest teams of all time is an emotional reaction from me.
The overall point is that Dwight wasn't a particularly great player. That's why he doesn't deserve to be honoured. All you've done is cite his awards - many of which were undeserved (particularly the DPOY awards), if you actually watched him during that time, which I don't get the impression you did.
The hall will obviously make whatever decision it does, but at the end of the day, Howard is a forgettable player that left no discernable impact on the game while Iggy was instrumental in building a historically great squad and was one of the great defensive players of his generation.
Yes Howard got his stats and had a few good playoff runs in weak east, but that was it, and I don't view those things as hall of fame achievements.
What does it say about Iggy when he was also out in the "weak east" in philiy and couldn't do half the things that Dwight Howard did for Orlando, this includes leading a team to the finals. Iggy had a hard time getting that Philly team over .500 in the weak east. He suddenly joins a team with 3 other all stars as a 6th man and he is the game charger??? Lol. Your argument is full of holes bud. Dwight had a huge impact.
I don't think I ever made a claim about Iggy's ability to lead a team. And if he had never ended up in Golden State I don't think he would have a case.
The point is that his role on GS - and their status as a team in particular - is what gives him a case, alongside his defensive ability, which went well beyond the box score. At the end of the day, the role you play in the history of the league matters, and Iggy's was critical. You can disagree with that, for sure, as a HOF case, but that's the view I'm putting forward.
The Dwight argument is separate. I watched him on a regular basis through those years in Orlando, which were his only years where he had any impact on the league. He was an incomplete, undeveloped player that depended mostly on his athleticism to have an impact. He never developed an offensive game, wasn't a particularly gifted passer, and succeeded only in a strict environment built by SVG and with a few seasons of dominant three point shooting around him.
After he left Orlando, he no longer mattered. And I just don't see how you can build a HOF case for a guy like that, who had maybe 5-6 years as a consequential player, if you're being generous.
