rand wrote:The short answer could be "Horry simply isn't good enough" and given the resumes of the average inductee that's obviously correct since he was never even an all-star and almost every player in the hall is a multiple time all-star, but that begs the question: can a player make the hall if they're not an all-star caliber talent?
K.C. Jones' induction would be the best precedent for Horry. Jones was never an all-star but made the hall due to his contributions on squads that won eight NBA titles. Jim Loscutoff who won seven titles with the Celtics isn't in the HoF so Horry merely being a member of these title winning teams isn't good enough to merit real consideration, his contributions to those title teams would have to be as strong as Jones' (who also won 2 NCAA titles and a Gold Medal).
I wasn't even alive when K.C. Jones played so I wouldn't try to characterize Jones' contributions qualitatively. Comparing their stats relative to their eras, Horry seems like the marginally better player in his era but I wouldn't pursue that argument far at all except to say if a player of Jones' caliber can be inducted, Horry isn't disqualified on the basis that he's simply not good enough. Because I saw Horry's career I can say his contributions went far beyond his box score stats or his excellent impact stats (#53 in RAPM for all players between 1994-2014, awesome playoff On/Off). If your memory is fuzzy take a look at this and remember just how many game winning plays Horry made in the playoffs for title teams:
https://uproxx.com/dimemag/robert-horrys-top-10-clutch-plays/If an elite roleplayer who won 7 titles and was a legendary clutch player can't make the HoF, can any career roleplayer ever make the HoF again? What does it say about the value of winning when a guy who won on this scale and was unquestionably vital to multiple title runs can't get in? Carmelo Anthony would be a HoF lock even without his three Gold Medals but whose NBA career was really more admirable, a player who had all the talent in the world and stuffed the box score but had little team success or a guy who never put up numbers but made a deep playoff run every season (literally, as Horry made it to the second round or later in every one of his 16 seasons).
It's not a secret that winning titles can be the difference for making the HoF as a multiple time all-star. James Worthy was a good player but he wasn't making the HoF if he's not on those Showtime teams. Draymond Green and Klay Thompson are going to make it in because of how much they won. If these guys had spent their entire career in Damian Lillard's shoes and came away with no titles, none of them would be making the HoF. Winning titles made their HoF resumes and I think this is fundamentally correct. Championships are prized because players (and fans) desperately want them. Being a key contributor to as many title teams as Horry was should be enough to overcome modest statistical production and the lack of accolades that accompanies that statistical poverty.
Re: KC Jones. This is where trying to gauge HOF chances by precedent messes with you. At a certain point voters just went crazy putting in more and more of Russell's teammates, and the result are guys getting in who can't be justified based on how good of a player they were.
While it's fine if you personally think the Joneses of the world should be in the Hall, the reality is that no comparable modern players have gotten in.
Re: key contributor to title teams like Worthy/Dray/Klay. Worthy/Dray/Klay were all clearly all-star level guys who were members of Big 3's. Horry was a tier down from that, and modern guys in that lower tier haven't been treated at all the same way by the Hall.
I'd point to Michael Cooper was seen as an essential piece to the Showtime Lakers in a way no one ever saw Horry, and who I'd draft without hesitation over Horry, yet to this point he's not in the Hall. If and when he gets in the Hall, then it will also make sense to consider guys like Horry, Derek Fisher, Bruce Bowen, etc.
