2020 Basketball HOF Nominees

[alfdogg]

It's gonna be loaded this year.

Players:
Kobe Bryant*
Tim Duncan*
Kevin Garnett*
Chris Bosh*
Chauncey Billups
Mark Jackson
Tim Hardaway
Richard Hamilton
Chris Webber
Ben Wallace
Marcus Camby
Shawn Marion*
Michael Finley*
Mark Eaton*
Buck Williams*

* - first-time nominee

Coaches:
Rick Adelman
George Karl
Rudy Tomjanovich
Dick Motta
Gene Keady
Rollie Massimino
Bob McKillop
Eddie Sutton
Bo Ryan
Jay Wright

Women:
Swin Cash
Tamika Catchings
Becky Hammon
Kim Mulkey (nominated as player and coach)

Toni Kukoc is at the head of the international class.

Obviously you have three in with no debate with Kobe, Duncan and KG. Bosh doesn't look like first ballot alongside those three, but I do think he is deserving of making it at some point, although I know many here will disagree. I've long thought that Hardaway and Webber should be in, but are likely being kept out by their separate scandals in the past. I think a case can be made for Ben Wallace, as well. Rudy T was close to making it last year IIRC, so it'll be interesting to see what happens there.

 

[King Kamala]

Kobe Bryant and KG are really going to be battling for wackiest induction speech this year.

 

[Big Beard Booty Daddy]

Kobe Bryant and KG are really going to be battling for wackiest induction speech this year.

KG is going to spend 30 minute talking about how LeBron never would have won a title if his (KG) big three stayed together.

 

[King Kamala]

LeBron and The Heatles beat the Big 3 twice fairly handily though.

Unless you're saying that KG thinks that the Big 3 would've figured things out if Ray Allen hadn't turned heel and went to Miami...which you know KG is probably crazy enough to probably think that.

KG's speech is gonna have more unintentional comedy but Kobe's speech is going to challenge Jordan's for most sociopathic HOF induction speech ever.

 

[Brocklock]

Kobe will have a ten minute rant trashing the Carlos Boozer/Jeremy Lin era Lakers team.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Gonna be interesting to see who gets the last few spots. Chauncey, Rip Hamilton, and Ben Wallace are all very solid choices and Shawn Marion's a dark horse IMO to get in over some of the others.

If it were any other class, Marion would probably be a shoo-in selection. Great defender, many double-double seasons, and a prolific centerpiece of those Phoenix Suns teams.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Gonna be interesting to see who gets the last few spots. Chauncey, Rip Hamilton, and Ben Wallace are all very solid choices and Shawn Marion's a dark horse IMO to get in over some of the others.

What do you mean, "last few spots?" Bryant, Duncan, Garnett and Bosh are locks. Why would you take it for granted that anybody else is getting in from the North American Committee, this year? You know how many players were selected by the North American Committee, the year Shaq went in? Three (Yao, Iverson). The year McGrady went in? Two (McGinnis)... I could keep going, but my point is that the NAC selecting four or fewer nominees appears to be the rule, rather than the exception.

Plus, remember that there's also going to be at least one Women's Committee selection (Tamika Catchings and Kim Mulkey should both be locks, IMO), an International Committee selection, an Early African American Pioneer's Committee selection, a Contributor's Committee selection, a Veteran's Committee selection, and a Women's Veteran's Committee selection. And, don't forget that the NAC is also responsible for selecting the coaches and any referees that may go in, and with George Karl and Rudy Tomjanovic as first-time nominees, four might well be all the player's that get in. I mean, we're looking at at least ten inductees, and possibly as many as fourteen, without even adding a fifth player. Like, how long do you want this thing to be?

 

[alfdogg]

Rip Hamilton is a really hard sell. Only three all-star selections and never made an All-NBA team. His peak numbers are about on par with World B. Free's career averages, and he is not in the hall. Finley was arguably a better player at his peak, and I wouldn't put him in, either.

Marion's case is slightly stronger, but he was never even the best player on his team. That's OK if you're a Pippen/Worthy/etc. and have been a major piece of a championship dynasty, but Marion never played in an NBA Finals until his last season. and his production dipped sharply after being traded out of that cush Suns offense.

Billups will get the most traction out of those three because of his Finals MVP, but idk, I just never saw him as an elite player. I would compare his career to someone like Kyle Lowry, and I think pretty much everyone would agree that he's not a HOFer.

 

[Brocklock]

Marion, Rip, Chauncey, Hardaway, Ben Wallace etc aren't Hall of Famers to me. Maybe Chauncey but that seems like a stretch and Webber has a better case. Even Bosh is a eh to me on the first time, he probably get in eventually though based on the rings. Him vs Webber is an interesting discussion.

I imagine the class is Kobe, KG, Duncan, a couple coaches, and then all the other historic/extraneous type inductees

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

I mean, First of All™, if you're trying to argue that Ben Wallace isn't a Hall of Famer, then you're basically saying that defense doesn't matter. If Mutombo is in, then Wallace should be in.

And, Second of All, "extraneous"?

 

[Brocklock]

Sorry, board was acting up on my phone and I didn't feel like typing the names of 15 historical committees. This isn't a big deal to me. It's a fun way to compare players. Maybe Ben Wallace is an eventual hall of famer. He's not getting in this year anyway.

 

[alfdogg]

Mutombo was a top-level center for quite a bit longer than Wallace was and also has his endless list of off-the-court contributions. I’m not sure that’s the fairest comparison.

It’s possible I’m viewing Hardaway through rose-colored glasses because of childhood memories of watching him. But I thought he was a terrific PG who could score and distribute, and one of the most clutch dudes from that era. Not to mention the first guy to really popularize the crossover before Iverson.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Sorry, board was acting up on my phone and I didn't feel like typing the names of 15 historical committees. This isn't a big deal to me. It's a fun way to compare players. Maybe Ben Wallace is an eventual hall of famer. He's not getting in this year anyway.

Of course, Wallace isn't getting in this year: if he didn't get in in 2017, there's no way in hell he's getting in this year.

Like, I think I get the point of your hyperbole but, if you take out all the "historical committees," that still leaves the International, Contributor and Women's committees, and I'm interested in learning why you think they are irrelevant?

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Mutombo was a top-level center for quite a bit longer than Wallace was and also has his endless list of off-the-court contributions.

But Mutombo wasn't inducted as a contributor, he was inducted as a player. And, as players, his and Wallace's résumés are very similar: both 2x rebounding champions, both 6x All-Defense, both 4x DPOY. Mutombo has two more block titles, and 3 more All-Star selections, but Wallace has 2 more All-NBA selections, and won a ring.

 

[alfdogg]

Just to clarify I'm not arguing that Ben isn't a HOFer, I'm simply comparing his resume to Mutombo's since it was brought up. It's all subjective, but in this case I prefer the fact that Mutombo's period of high-level play was nearly twice as long, whereas Ben's relevance was basically limited to his 6 years in Detroit. Which again, I think you could argue in his favor when you look at the grand scope. Mutombo was also a much better player offensively than Ben, even if that's not what they're known for. As far as the All-NBA berths, it's a lot harder when you're competing with Shaq/Hakeem/Ewing/Robinson/Zo for those spots than the centers in the early 2000's.

 

[KOAB]

HOW YALL NOT GONNA PUT IN A MAN WITH THE NICKNAME MR. BIG SHOT??! A HALL OF FAMER NEEDS TO MAKE THE BIG SHOT AND THEY CALLED HIM MR. WHEN HE'D HIT EM.

 

[Mickey Massuco]

shawn marion is top 100 in like 9 categories he's a HOF'er

 

[Mickey Massuco]

here he is watching some of my top movies of the decade:

 

[KOAB]

put him in da hall of dumb ugly jumpshots that somehow worked

 

[Mickey Massuco]

You know what that is actually a strong legacy point, way more players felt comfortable shooting in different ugly ways after the maid Marion made it cool

 

[AA484]

Billups made all-NBA one year.

 

[alfdogg]

Finalists:

Kobe Bryant
Tim Duncan
Kevin Garnett
Tamika Catchings
Kim Mulkey
Barbara Stevens
Eddie Sutton
Rudy Tomjanovich

Notably absent: Chris Bosh

The combination of Bryant's passing and the enormity of the three names atop the ballot caused the Hall's nominating committee, led by chairman Jerry Colangelo, to change its rules this year by limiting the class to eight nominees to be voted upon and eliminating the direct-elect selections on a one-year trial basis.

The goal, Colangelo said, was to avoid the lesser-known honorees being lost amid the interest in the star names headlining this year's event.

 

[Brocklock]

I was thinking about Bosh in the Dwight discussion in the NBA thread. If he was first ballot then you could make that argument for a lot of other guys including Dwight. I don't see Bosh as a first ballot guy, but he'll get in probably next year.

 

[alfdogg]

All of the above 8 were inducted, as well as the late Patrick Baumann, former FIBA exec and IOC member, as a contributor.