Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, Ray Allen, & Grant Hill Headline This Year's Hall Of Fame Class
Shoutout to Tina Thompson, Lefty Driesell, Charlie Scott, Mo Cheeks, Dino Radja, Katie Smith, and Ora Mae Washington for getting the call to join the Hall today as well. Well, Ora Mae didn’t get a call, as she was born in 1898 and probably should’ve been elected many moons ago, but congrats to all 13 inductees to this year’s class. I’ve seen a lot of people argue the NBA Hall of Fame is too inclusive and a joke to get into. Then those same people turn around and yell at the MLB and NFL for how they handle their Hall of Fames. I hate to say it, but there are a ton of great basketball players. And since the Naismith Hall of Fame isn’t just based on NBA merit, they leave themselves very open to inclusion. Which is cool as hell.
As for the four headliners of this class, it’s quite the mixed bag of greatness. One of the most influential players of all time, one of the greatest shooters of all time, one of the best defenders of all time, and one of the biggest what ifs there ever was.
I’ll start with Ray Allen, ironically the player Celtics fans hate the most out of this group. You tell any Celtics fan in 2002 that in a decade they’d hate Ray Allen more than Jason Kidd and they’d be quite perplexed. Allen retired as the All Time Three Point King, a mark that will be crushed over and over again over the coming decades simply because of how the game has changed. While plenty of players will undoubtedly top his mark, how many will have a more technically sound, smoother looking jumper? Klay Thompson has as technically sound a jumper as Ray did, but it doesn’t look nearly as pretty. And while the end of Allen’s career rendered him more of a spot up guy, it would be disingenuous to forget how dominant and well-rounded his game was in Milwaukee and Seattle. The 10-time All Star averaged 19 ppg over an 18-year career and will be forever have hit one of the most clutch shots in NBA history. Jesus Shuttlesworth was born perhaps 10 years too soon, as he would’ve flourished on an entirely different level in today’s game, but he still managed to make the very most of his time in the Association.
Going back to J-Kidd, holy shit did I hate this guy’s face when he was with the Nets. The triumvirate of Kidd, Richard Jefferson and Kenyon Martin felt entirely unbeatable when they were clicking, which felt like every game that wasn’t against the Lakers. The only player in the history of basketball to have more steals and assists than Kidd is John Stockton, which is remarkable considering there’s a point guard in this class a lot of folks would consider better than Kidd. But the 10-time All Star, 9-time All Defense, 6-time All NBA point guard was able to finally get the ring he chased for 38 years when he locked up the likes of Russell Westbrook, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James for over a month in 2011.
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As great as Kidd was as a distributor and defender, no one in this class had as much of an impact on today’s game as Nash’s Suns teams did. D’Antoni ball has its fingerprints on every modern offense you watch right now. Did it win Nash any rings? Sure didn’t. Though any Suns fan will tell you that they would have won in 2007 had it not been for Robert Horry’s hip check.
The two-time MVP was most known for his selfless play mixed with his uber efficiency from the field. Nash went 50/40/90 four different seasons. His career averages fall just short at 49/43/90, which is absurd. Nash is the all time Free Throw % leader and is third in assists behind Stockton and Kidd. The 8-time All Star and 7-time All NBA player will always be remembered for his flashy assists, especially the countless alleys he threw to prime Amare, but I personally will forever thank him for robbing the Lakers of two first round picks, one of which still hasn’t even conveyed. Appreciate that, Steve!
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Finally, a player some people think shouldn’t even be in the Hall of Fame: Grant Hill. If you are one of those people, you’re an idiot. If you know any of those people, remind them of their idiocy. Grant Hill was essentially the original LeBron. Coming out of Duke, Hill immediately made an impact in the NBA as he split Rookie of the Year with Jason Kidd. He was an iconic player of the decade, from his game, to his days at Duke, to his turquoise Pistons jersey, to his Sprite commercials, to his play on the Dream Team II. This is a guy you really wish played a decade later, not because his game would’ve translated better, just simply for the fact that medical advancements may have been able to stretch his peak play for longer.
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Grant Hill’s 5-year peak looked like this: 22 ppg, 8 rpg, 6.5 apg, and 1.6 steals. Look at this stretch and tell me this isn’t a clear Hall of Fame caliber player if his ankles held up.
I get that longevity matters, I do. But that’s 6 years of dominance after four years of college dominance (averaged 15/6 with 1.7 steals and 1 block for four years at Duke). A decade of being one of the best basketball players on the planet gets you into the Hall of Fame. Every single time. Why it hasn’t got Chris Webber in yet? That’s a conversation for another blog. As inclusive as the NBA Hall of Fame is, even they still have some work to do.