Similar Cases
Here’s the thing about the Hall of Fame, which most sports fans know by now: it’s far from perfect. There have been some dubious inductions over the years, and an odd aspect of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is that it’s not limited to NBA achievements.
Marion should be in, his resumé is legit compared to other HOFers.
— I Always Keep A Can Of Tuna On Me (@SnottieDrippen) January 21, 2015
However, I think the HOF already is too lax with who it let's in.
For example, Grant Hill was on pace to become one of the greatest players of all time in the NBA after his first six seasons with the Detroit Pistons. Injuries derailed his prime, but Hill will most likely still make the Hall of Fame because of his NCAA accomplishments with the Duke Blue Devils.
Marion was First Team All-WAC at UNLV, but he was no Grant Hill in college. Fortunately, taking a look at some of the other shaky Hall of Fame inductions over the years sheds light on how deserving Marion is in comparison.
One example? Calvin Murphy, a point guard for the Houston Rockets during the 70s and early 80s who averaged 17.9 points and 4.4 assists per game for his career, never won a title and made only one All-Star game.
Or how about Gail Goodrich, a player whose Hall of Fame status was undoubtedly boosted by two NCAA championships, even if he did win a title with the Los Angeles Lakers over a career that included five All-Star appearances, one All-NBA selection and a scoring average of 18.6 points per game?
Ralph Sampson is a Hall of Fame inductee with eerily similar career numbers to Marion. Sampson is mostly in the Hall for his incredible collegiate achievements, but just looking at NBA statistics, the resemblance is uncanny:
- Marion: 15.4 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.1 BPG, 1.5 SPG, .484/.332/.811 shooting, 18.9 PER
- Sampson: 15.4 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.6 BPG, 0.9 SPG, .486/.172/.661 shooting, 16.0 PER
The biggest difference is Marion played nearly 700 more games in his NBA career than Sampson did.
The list goes on and on.
Should Maurice Stokes be in the HOF despite averaging 25-11 in three seasons before a paralyzing brain injury prematurely cut his career short? What about Drazen Petrovic, who was going to be something special and accomplished a lot overseas before he died in a tragic car accident? Or how about Bob Houbregs, who was a great college player but never did anything in the NBA?
I’m not here to discredit anyone’s HOF case. But if those players got in, shouldn’t someone who had a long, prosperous and extremely well-balanced career like Shawn Marion have a fighting chance here?
Next: The Final Verdict