As is tradition, the NBA will announce the 2017 Hall of Fame class in a few days on the Saturday of all-star weekend. After a star-studded 2016 class highlighted by Shaquille O’Neal, Allen Iverson, and Yao Ming, this year’s group will almost surely feel like a let down. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of intriguing talent eligible to enter the Springfield, MA. institution.
After the Hall’s screening committee whittled the list of candidates down to a ballot of ten players and ‘builders’, a 24-person Honours Committee will vote to elect this year’s finalists.
So who should make it? Let’s take a look at some of the best choices:
TRACY MCGRADY (1997-2012)
The Case For: During his eight-year prime he was a top-five player and twice the NBA’s leading scorer (incl. a career-best 32.1 ppg in 2002-03, his second-last year in Orlando). Injuries cut his career short and marred his last four seasons, but there’s no denying he was one of the most electric scorers the league has ever seen.
I know what you’re thinking: scoring alone does not a Hall of Famer make. But consider this: every player (save for, obviously, the currently-active ones) who has ever won a scoring title is in the Hall.
The Case Against: Winning matters. A lot. McGrady’s teams in Orlando and Houston made the playoffs seven times with him as their star and go-to player. But only once did they get out of the first round.
Verdict: During his reign, McGrady had “first-ballot Hall of Fame lock” written all over him— if you dominate the league for that long it’s a deserving assumption. The way his career ended— injury-ridden and playing for three teams in as many seasons— may have put a dent in that, but isn’t uncommon for many of the former greats. Given the rest of the field this year, McGrady should be in.
BEN WALLACE (1996-2012)
The Case For: Four-time Defensive Player of the Year, he led the league in rebounding twice (incl. a career-best 15.4 in 2002-03) and blocks once (3.5 the season prior), while making an All-NBA five times. His defensive numbers across the board are on par with other Hall of Fame centres. Of course, the biggest argument in Wallace’s favour is the pivotal role he played on the 2004 champion Detroit Pistons, logging more than 40 minutes per game during their playoff run and averaging a double-double with 10.3 points and 14.3 rebounds to go along with 1.9 steals and 2.4 blocks per game.
The Case Against: He arguably wasn’t a top-three player on those Pistons teams, and once he left Detroit for Chicago he was never quite the same player again.
Verdict: Based on the names already in the Hall, Wallace is definitely deserving. But his career didn’t exactly scream ‘first-ballot’, so it’s a ‘no’ this time around. Better luck next year!
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BOBBY JONES (1974-1986)
The Case For: He made the All-Defensive team a whopping ten times with the Nuggets and Sixers, the latter of which he played a meaningful role in helping them secure their 1983 championship (…along with some guy who called himself a doctor).
The Case Against: Played a distant third fiddle to Julius Erving and Darryl Dawkins on that ’83 title team and only topped 15 points per game once in his career.
Verdict: No dice. Jones was a rock solid player, but falls just shy of Hall of Fame calibre. He was noticeably outplayed by his matchup, Maurice Lucas, in the ’83 Finals.
CHRIS WEBBER
The Case For: One of the most dominant forces in the NBA during his prime and the unequivocal leader of an iconic Sacramento Kings team that finished in the top 3 in the West for three straight years. What’s more, C-Webb was a prototype for the modern versatile big man, able to handle the ball, pass, shoot from outside the post, and run the floor like few bigs before— or since. And while those Kings years get all the attention, it’s easy to forget just how incredible Webber was in his early days on Washington and Golden State, too.
The Case Against: Leading the Kings he reached the playoffs in six straight seasons, but only got past the second round once. Yet unlike, say, McGrady, Webber was never a top-5 player.
Verdict: He’s been on the ballot twice before, but this still isn’t his time yet. Webber is as close as it gets to a Hall of Famer while falling just short as there is.
RUDY TOMJANOVICH (1992-2005)
The Case For: Eligible for the Hall as a coach, and not a player (Rudy T suited up for the Rockets in the ’70s and was a five-time all-star), Tomjanovich was at the helm of the Hakeem Olajuwon-era Rockets teams that won back-to-back championships in ’94 and ’95, and was also head coach of the 2000 U.S. Olympic team that won gold in Athens.
The Case Against: I guess one could argue that Olajuwon carried those Rocket teams, that Tomjanovich’s career win percentage of .559 isn’t lighting the world on fire, or that his coaching career was cut short. I guess.
Verdict: He may not be an iconic coach or all-time great, but he’s in. Done deal.
GEORGE MCGINNIS
The Case For: “There’s no question in my mind that two parts of the history of professional basketball are being forgotten,” George Karl told me back in 2014, “and that’s the Harlem Globetrotters and the ABA… The league was a vehicle for some really elite talent. I know the NBA was Broadway, so to speak, but the ABA provided an opportunity to a lot of people.”
Prime example? George McGinnis. The Indiana Pacers star was flat-out unstoppable in his ABA days, leading the Pacers to three championships in four years between 1970-74. In his best season— ’74-75— he led the ABA in scoring at 29.8 ppg while also posting 14.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 2.7 steals per game. He continued to excell after the 1975 merger and averaged over 21 points per in his first four years in the NBA.
The Case Against: As Karl outlined, the ABA doesn’t get any respect.
Verdict: He should be a lock. He was a dominant player and multiple title winner in the ABA who proved he could stay elite (or close to it) against the NBA’s talent.
JERRY KRAUSE
The Case For: The former Chicago Bulls GM built some of the greatest basketball teams to ever step foot on an NBA court. Sure, he inherited Michael Jordan when he was hired, but it was Krause who made moves to bring the likes of Scottie Pippen, Toni Kukoc, and Horace Grant on board, and hired Phil Jackson as the team’s head coach. He’s a two-time Executive of the Year award winner.
The Case Against: Quoting the previous paragraph: “He inherited Michael Jordan.” Plus, Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf was enshrined last year, which could mean some on the voting committee aren’t exactly in a rush to honour another front office exec from those ’90s Chicago teams.
Verdict: He’ll be in, eventually, but this may not be his year. If he does make it, it’ll be for lack of competition in the ‘builder’ category.
