Report: Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, Grant Hill Elected to Basketball Hall of Fame

[Cheesewater]

All Suns, all the time!...and Mo Cheeks.

"Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, Grant Hill and Maurice Cheeks reportedly will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as part of its 2018 class.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN first reported the superstar quartet's impending enshrinement and noted an official announcement is expected this weekend."

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...om&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial

 

[Kel Varnsen]

Mo Cheeks was a great player, but I always think of this when I see his name. Very happy for him.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

 

[Raindog]

No Suns left to go in for a long time from now... unless, as in the case of Cheeks, a Veterans Committee type vote elects someone like Chambers or Cotton. I think the controversy around KJ probably locks him out for good.

 

[Hoop Head]

Surprised that Grant Hill made the cut. He looked like a surefire star back when he was with the Pistons but his injuries in Orlando ruined a really promising career. His max contract there was also one of the reason that the NBA adopted the Amnesty provision with the CBA because of how that kept the Magic from building a contender while he was on the books. The impact he could have had if he was able to stay healthy has to be one of the biggest "what if" sort of questions in NBA history. It's not hard to imagine him winning a few MVP's and leading a team to a title. He may have been able to average a triple double before Westbrook did. Through his first 6 season in Detroit in he averaged 21.6 ppg, 7.9 rpg, and 6.3 apg. He was entering his prime when his ankle gave out. Glad to see him make the Hall of Fame though. He was a good role player for the Suns at the end of his career but it was still kind of sad to see him as a shell of his former self.

Nash and Kidd are no real surprise. Both helped define the PG position throughout the late 90's and early 2000's. Nash's back to back MVP's with the Suns ensured he would be a 1st ballot Hall of Famer. Kidd making it so soon is just a little surprising because I thought his coaching career might have soured some voters on him. Not so much that he wouldn't get in eventually but enough that it might take an extra year or two. I know he's inducted as a player but a person's entire career is looked at by voters and Kidd hasn't gained any fans since he's been a coach.

 

[Finito]

Grant Hill?

I like Hill and all. He was great a few years before the injury and after he was a shell of his old self. I don't think he should be in honestly but whatever

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Grant Hill?

I like Hill and all. He was great a few years before the injury and after he was a shell of his old self. I don't think he should be in honestly but whatever

TBF this isn't the "NBA hall of fame" it the "basketball hall of fame" and Hill was a great college player.

 

[Azlen]

This is the basketball hall of fame not the NBA hall of fame so when evaluating Grant Hill, you have to take his college career into account as well.

 

[Phrazbit]

Grant Hill?

I like Hill and all. He was great a few years before the injury and after he was a shell of his old self. I don't think he should be in honestly but whatever

The Basketball Hall is all encompassing, it takes your college career into account too. So, along with being one of the best players in the NBA for about 6 years, he also is considered one of the best college players ever.

And people forget how good he was before he broke his ankle. The guy was a monster.

 

[Finito]

Oh oh oh. If you take what he did at Duke then yes he deserves it

 

[Raindog]

Other Basketball HOF members who were elected based on their college achievements more or less so than their NBA careers:

Bill Bradley
Calvin Murphy
Bill Walton
Ralph Sampson

Not to mention:
Bob Kurland and dozens of other players who never played pro ball or played in pro leagues preceding the NBA
A few of the Harlem Globetrotters
Every female and most foreign league players elected in recent years
Every college coach in the HOF

While probably the most pertinent criteria for HOF election, a good or great NBA career is far from being necessary to getting elected.

 

[AzStevenCal]

John Wooden and Lenny Wilkins were each elected to the Naismith Hall of Fame more than once. They both went in as players and then Wooden went in again as a college coach and Wilkins went in again as an NBA coach. Which confuses me a little. If you can get in for each category of basketball, why would you also be able to get in on the sum of your basketball career across multiple categories. It just seems to me that if you can be elected for excelling as a player and also as a coach, it makes little sense to get someone there by adding the two categories together. Drops the bar quite a bit IMO.

 

[Bufalay]

No Suns left to go in for a long time from now... unless, as in the case of Cheeks, a Veterans Committee type vote elects someone like Chambers or Cotton. I think the controversy around KJ probably locks him out for good.

Last I checked basketball reference had Marion and Amare at around 75% HOF odds. I think they both had better careers than Hill and Cheeks.

 

[elindholm]

Last I checked basketball reference had Marion and Amare at around 75% HOF odds. I think they both had better careers than Hill and Cheeks.

I think Stoudemire's career as a top player was too short. Marion may get in because of his role on the Mavericks championship team.

There is a long history of overrating Cheeks. I think now people continue to do it out of momentum.

 

[Mainstreet]

Congratulations to all but especially for the three former Suns: Nash, Kidd and Hill.

 

[Mainstreet]

Mo Cheeks was a great player, but I always think of this when I see his name. Very happy for him.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

This was such a classy and thoughtful act by Mo Cheeks. Much respect for him.

 

[Raindog]

Last I checked basketball reference had Marion and Amare at around 75% HOF odds. I think they both had better careers than Hill and Cheeks.

I agree that Amare's career was too short. And while Marion had a good, solid, lengthy career, his career stats fall a bit short of the usual measures of HOF-worthiness. Had he been an impact contributor for more years on more elite teams, maybe you look past the career stats... several good players who were long time key contributors to great teams (like Cheeks, for example) get in without big career stats. But I still think Marion falls short.

 

[Raindog]

As a postscript because it wasn't leaked early like the election of the other three guys, another former Sun, Charlie Scott, was also elected to the HOF in this class... technically, as the "ABA Legacy" member.

So four former Suns in one HOF class. Pretty good testimonial to the franchise's history.

 

[Hoop Head]

Apparently Rick Welts is also being inducted. He was a former team President and Chief Executive Officer of the Suns. He's currently with the Warriors front office now. That makes 5 inductees with Suns ties.


http://www.nba.com/suns/history/for...lected-naismith-memorial-basketball-hall-fame