The NBA players inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame this year were household names — Shaquille O’Neal, Allen Iverson and Yao Ming.
Shaq and AI were “no-brainer” inductees, superstars whose accomplishments made them first-ballot inductees. Ming’s impact from an international perspective overshadowed his early retirement due to foot issues.
There’s a lot more mystery concerning the next class that receives basketball’s ultimate honor. The nominees for the 2017 Hall of Fame among NBA players includes plenty of big names, many of whom have been passed over numerous times by the voting committee.
Topping the list of newcomers are Tracy McGrady, Ben Wallace and Muggsy Bogues. McGrady was a seven-time All-Star, seven-time All-NBA selection and two-time scoring champion. Wallace won the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award four times, while the 5’3” Bogues proved that even a guy his size could carve out a lengthy career.
Other nominees in the player category include Chris Webber, Paul Westphal, Jack Sikma, Maurice Cheeks, Mark Price, Swen Nater, Sidney Moncrief, Tim Hardaway, Bobby Jones, Kevin Johnson, Marques Johnson, Mark Aguirre, Junior Bridgeman, Terry Cummings and Geese Ausbie.
Out of the latter group, Webber might be the most surprising holdover. The five-time All-Star has failed to make the cut the last two years.
This brings us to our question of the day: Which 2017 nominees do you think are most deserving of induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame?
Jump into the comments section below and share your selections for next year’s Hall of Fame class.
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Huh ? not sure i follow
Looks a lot like an autocomplete comment from a phone to me. So not adding a lot of value in other words.
I can
Wtf?
I think McGrady, Bogues, maybe- maybe not – Hardaway and Price
It’s a travesty that Webber and Cheeks aren’t in. McGrady will make it easily.
If Cheeks gets in then Price, Hardaway, and Kevin Johnson should get in too, based on stats
With so many poor selections lowering the bar (Sampson, Richmond, Mullin….) the choice is now Webber, Sikma, Aguirre, Marques, and Moncrief. McGrady can wait a year.
Thing is, with the people making the choices now looking at NBA, College, and High School, it’s hard to put in Sampson, Richmond, and Mullin et al and then ignore what Aguirre, Sikma, Moncrief, and Marques did. Really, Jamal Wilkes is in but not Marques Johnson? Ralph Sampson but not Jack Sikma? Mullin but not Mark Aguirre? Richmond but not Sidney Moncrief?
Aguirre had a great college career, 7 great years in Dallas, then two rings. I don’t discount what Sikma, Moncrief, and Johnson did, have all 4 of those guys have exactly the same careers but play in New York, Boston, LA, Chicago and they’d be in the Hall. But they played in Milwaukee, Dallas, and Seattle, not media star making places.
I think the HoF should be for the best of the best, with standards like: 10 years of top play minimum, 5 years of greatness, and at least 5 years where you’re the one of the best at your position and/or in the league.
I don’t know how Ming made it to the Hall.
Houston only won 1 playoff series in his 8 years.