Maybe Bynum should be sat down with an NBA history book. He might then realize that there was a player called "A-Train" that would have embarrassed the youngster on the court.
Tell me about it. I used to wear the number 53 in my HS b-ball days.
And the fact that the "A-Train" still hasn't stopped at Springfield, Mass. is just all that much more embarrassing. What a joke.
I am going to call you out Mr. Vancil. You are the one who says the HoF should be reserved for the very best of the very best. In your mind Malone and Stockton are not HoF caliber, I remember you posting as such. Now you are running the "Artis Gilmore for the Hall of Fame" committee. What gives "the Curmudgeon of Columbia Mo"?
ziggy,
Artis Gilmore belongs in the *BASKETBALL* Hall Of Fame - whether my version or the current version - because of his dominance in the ABA. In winning the ABA championship with the Kentucky Colonels (coached by Hubie Brown! I never knew until today that Hubie had actually won something big), he brought home the championship that neither Stockton nor Malone ever did. Gilmore led the ABA in rebounding EVERY YEAR HE PLAYED, second overall in rebounding in ABA history. ABA MVP and Rookie of the Year in his rookie year. ABA All-Star Game MVP 1974. ABA Playoffs MVP 1975. All 5 years he played in the ABA, he was First Team All-ABA. All-Defensive First Team 4 of the 5 years. #1 in NBA, ABA, and combined Career Field Goal %. (Shaq is close to passing him for combined FG%).
#1 in Career ABA Blocked Shots. Those are some mighty fine numbers.
And one correction: Stockton *DOES* belong in the Hall, only because of leading the NBA in career assists *AND* steals. Leading 2 major categories all-time is so major of an accomplishment that makes the lack of a championship more palatable.
And I've started to consider another element in debating Stockton, Malone, and Barkley - their Olympic titles.
Tell me how folks like Adrian Dantley are getting more support for the current version of the Hall of Fame than Gilmore is getting. That seems so undeniably backward to me.
And I just checked out a site in putting together some of these facts. Currently, they list Stockton at 81% chance for the Hall Of Fame - currently # 75 on the list. Listen to the some of the names they have listed HIGHER and try to explain them:
Grant Hill - 73 - 83%
Ray Allen - 69 - 87%
Alonzo Mourning - 68 - 88.5%
Vince Carter - 64 - 90.84%
Paul Pierce - 63 - 91.03%
Chris Webber - 62 - 91.28%
TRACY MCGRADY - 51 - 97.99%
Gary Payton - 50 - 98.08%
Jason Kidd - 48 - 98.62%
Steve Nash - 41 - 99.70%
Dirk Nowitzki - 39 - 99.73%
LeBron James - 33 - 99.87%
Here are the "locks" for the Hall of Fame that aren't yet in it:
1. Michael Jordan
7. Shaquille O'Neal
8. Tim Duncan
9. Karl Malone
13. Kobe Bryant
16. David Robinson
18. Kevin Garnett
22. Allen Iverson
Top guy outside who isn't yet in the Hall - Scottie Pippen, 29 at 99.94%.
Tell me how in the world Tracy McGracy and Vince Carter are AHEAD of John Stockton for the Basketball Hall Of Fame.
And big Artis? # 147 - 9.68%. MARK PRICE is ahead of him. Amare Stoudemire is ahead of him. Elton Brand is ahead of him. (At least you can say Brand won a title at the college level.) STEVE FRANCIS is ahead of him. STEPHON MARBURY is ahead of him. GILBERT ARENAS is ahead of him. (By the way, we're working UP the list on these.)
And here are a couple of really ridiculous ones. Bobby Jones - #294 - 0.4%. Yet Mookie Blaylock is at 224, 1.75%.
Michael Cooper - 212, 2.15% (More titles than Jones, I guess.)
Robert Horry - 200, 2.6%.
MICHAEL ADAMS - 199, 2.66%
Paul Silas - 191, 3.35% (titles with Boston and Seattle)
Layfayette Lever - 187,3.57%
Shawn Kemp - 183, 3.75%
Manu Ginobilli - 169, 5.4% (I guess Olympic titles and NBA championships don't mean much.)
Jermaine O'Neal 168, 5.56%
LATRELL SPREWELL, 157 - 7.7% (What bumps him up this high? Infamy? Idiocy of quotes?)
Baron Davis, 151 - 9.19%.
The more I look at this list, the more I've just got to include the link.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/hof_prob_career.htmlBottom line - if Calvin Murphy and Adrian Dantley belong in the Hall of Fame - and they're in it - Gilmore certainly does.