> When they saw the N.B.A.’s 75th anniversary list of the best players ever, selected by a panel of media, players and coaches, they realized someone had been forgotten: Howard. > > “That was kind of crazy,” said Otis Smith, the former Orlando Magic general manager, who built teams around Howard. > > Said Stan Van Gundy, who coached him at his peak: “Whatever the reason that he got left out, there’s something more than basketball to it.”
> > “Our core group, we understood each other and if it was time to not joke, we would just tell him, ‘Not right now,’ or he could sense it,” said Jameer Nelson, the Magic’s starting point guard while Howard was there. “We were winning so many games during that time it’s almost like, how can you tell somebody not to joke when you’re still winning? You’re still statistically one of the best teams in the league on both ends of the floor.” > > One day, Van Gundy told reporters Howard was trying to oust him, and Howard, not knowing what had just been said, playfully crashed Van Gundy’s news conference with a smile. The awkward moment — Howard with his arm across the shoulders of a soda-sipping Van Gundy — became a meme. > > “I’m not trying to run from it,” Van Gundy said in a phone interview recently. “I don’t think the incident that he and I had — we only had one — I don’t think it reflected real well on either one of us.”
> “He came in every day, pounded everybody, said hi to everybody, made sure everybody knew he was happy in the situation he was in,” said JaVale McGee, who started ahead of Howard with the Lakers during the 2019-20 season. “He constantly was the ultimate professional.” > > McGee added, when asked if showing that quality seemed important to Howard: “I definitely think it was important just because of hearsay and the way people talk about you in the league, especially G.M.s and coaches. It can really mess up your image.” >
> > “I have people ask me like, ‘Oh, do you think he’s a Hall of Famer?’” Van Gundy said. “Do I think he’s a Hall of Famer? Are you kidding me?” > > Van Gundy rattled off Howard’s All-N.B.A. and defensive awards. > > “Go check and see how many people have done that,” he said. > >
>swaggyp1 That's why they losing because ppl show hate more them love this man Russ is a first ballot Hall of Famer and y'all been talking about him like he tony snell lol no disrespect
What did Tony Snell do to Nick Young lmfao
I don't mean someone who got old and lost their ability or someone who was injured and was never the same or someone who was a top draft pick and didn't pan out how we thought. I mean someone who after about 3 or 4 seasons had established themselves as a top tier talent at their position and everyone was sure they would be a Hall of Famer only to just suck all of a sudden and then be out of the league in a season or 2.
Hypothetical example: JJ Watt was JJ Watt for the first 4 years of his career but then year 5 he was awful. Year 6 he was benched, traded, and benched. Year 7 cut in the middle of the season and then never came back. Something similar to that.
Edit was spelling error
That's the same number as: FSU, UGA, Purdue, Stanford and Wisconsin.
That is more than: Auburn, Cal, BYU, Clemson, Florida, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, S Carolina, UNC , NC State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Washington.
Travis Hunter is going to be fine, he is the number one corner in the land who is now being coached by arguably the greatest cornerback of all time, FCS prospects have been drafted in the top 5 before, it's really not that deep.
Other quotes from the pod
"Here is my issue with the old timers when they shit on us saying we couldn't play in their era..I would say this and I don't think this is a hot take..most nba players in today's era could play in any era in the NBA..most NBA players from the 50s, 60s, early 70s could not play in today's NBA. I think that's reality. Offcourse you have Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain..the top ten or so players from that era but the talent from 1 to 450 is through the roof"
"Kevin Love is better than 99% of the power forwards on that list (referring to top 75 list)"
Link to the pod
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2xnEPJksnT00XjpaLDMXH5?si=Lo5ZNsUESRCLLGORHrSkWg&utm_source=copy-link
Edit: more quotes
"I don't want to be that guy in 10 or 20 years from now who is shitting on players in 2044..I recognize the game always evolves. I watch these highlight tapes of kids that are like 12 and their handles are Kyrie's handles and they are hitting step back threes and I'm like the game in 10-20 years will look completely different, the skillsets will look completely different..and guess what..they will be better than we were..that's just reality. That's how the game works..it evolves..it gets better"
I was looking up DeMarcus Cousins the other day and was impressed by how incredible his career stats are. He's averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds a game (along with 3 assists, a steal and a block), and yet because he put up most of those stats on Sacramento teams that didn't really do anything, and because his career is nearly over (if it isn't actually over), he doesn't fit the bill as a Hall of Famer, even in a Hall of Fame that lets a ton of people in.
Which got me wondering. Who is the best player of all time, if it's not Boogie, who's not in the Hall of Fame and who you're pretty confident won't be getting legitimate conversation as a future Hall of Famer? As in, you don't think there will even be a debate? Gilbert Arenas was another name that came to mind for me.
So I know this has been discussed before around here, but I think Slater's selection to his 10th Pro Bowl is a rather interesting development.
Every player in NFL history to be selected to 10 or more Pro Bowls, with the exception Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Jason Witten, Larry Fitzgerald, and Joe Thomas, has made the HoF. Obviously these players are all pretty much guaranteed to make the HoF.
Were Slater not eventually selected, he'd be the only player with 10 or more Pro Bowls left out. There are a bunch of guys at 9 that never made it in, but none that made it to 10.
Hopefully that question made sense.
Example:
Worst speed, worst arm, etc…
My immediate thought was Giannis, he's only 26 and his resume speaks for himself. 2 MVPS, ring, FMVP, DPOY, 5X All-NBA, 5X All Star, etc. I feel that he is the upper limit to this question because I really don't see an argument for how he isn't already a hall of famer.
But then a second name came into my head, Luka Doncic. Before you call me dumb remember that it's the Basketball Hall of Fame, not the NBA Hall of Fame. Luka has a Euro League MVP, championship, and Final 4 MVP. With Slovenia he won Euro Basket 2017 and made all tournament team with his only NBA teammate being Goran Dragic (granted Goran did win MVP) and more recently took Slovenia to 4th place in the olympics this past summer and made all tournament team with his only NBA teammate being Vlatko Cancar.
In regards to his NBA accomplishments he is a ROTY, 2X all star, and 2X first team All-NBA while having amazing statistics through his first 3 years. The only HOF eligible player who made first team All-NBA multiple times since 1952 and isn't inducted is Penny Hardaway.
Ultimately, I don't think that Luka has done quite enough to a hall of fame lock if he retires today, but if he can finish on All-NBA first team again this year and win EuroBasket this summer while also winning tournament MVP I'd be hard pressed to say that he isnt a lock. Do you think someone else younger than Giannis such as Jokic is a HOF lock or would someone else entirely be the answer to this question?
For me it gotta be Dahir or Torontolover1
