Deke A First Balloter?

[benhillboy]

Some may say "he'll no.". Being my favorite non-draft day Hawk by far, I'd say "he'll yeah." Another workplace downtime post on the phone that I can't really look up numbers on, but wasn't he First Team Defense 10 years? Dpoy twice? Top 5 blocks? Top 25, 30 in boards? Wasn't given enough credit as a scorer, I think. Did he not average 18 for a few years? Unforgettable playoff upset leader? As much a part of The Sixers Finals appearance as Larry or A.I. Was the hardest worker on those last relevant Rockets teams where he had to fill in for Yao constantly, at a moment's notice. And off-the-court exploits and overall likability should factor a bit when said qualities are so great or horrendous: Deke is a supreme champion for socio-economic aid all over the freaking planet. And when he gets in, what jersey will he wear? I'm usually not a fan of anyone who has changed teams more than 3 times, but Deke is one if the very few exceptions. First ballot slam dunk for 10 years of defensive and professional excellence, or does he have to take the disappointment of feeling a little underappreciated like the greatest Modern Hawk? Thoughts?

[Diesel]

Uhm

Hell Yeah. If Deke doesn't get in first ballot, then they have to close the HOF because it's a joke.

[niremetal]

Uhm

Hell Yeah. If Deke doesn't get in first ballot, then they have to close the HOF because it's a joke.

There were really no superstars who retired in '09, so he won't have much competition. I'd be surprised if he didn't make it in on the first ballot. There are several guys who retired in '08 who are strong contenders, though (Webber and Mourning lead the pack). But other than those two, there's no one whose resume is as impressive as Deke's. Interestingly, Bruce Bowen will be eligible the same year. The Hall seems to increasingly take on-ball defense into account when assessing players, so he might actually have a shot.

Frankly, I always thought Dikembe was a bit overrated as a player. It pains me to say that because there has never been a finer human being in the history of the NBA (the man seriously deserves the Nobel prize). But as a player, he pretty much had two skills - shotblocking and rebounding. His on-ball and screen roll defense were always just so-so, and his offense was...well...nonexistent. I don't think he was ever the top all-around defender at his position during his career and usually wasn't even in the top 2, despite the gaudy shotblocking stats. The fact that he won DPOY 4 times is second only to Camby's winning the award in 2007 as an example of why I think the award either should be scrapped or decided by someone other than "sportswriters" (as I recall, Mark Bradley got to vote on NBA awards at least once, which should tell you all you need to know).

Edited December 10, 2010 by niremetal

[benhillboy]

I used to hate Mourning with all my heart, but he forced me to like and root for him after the transplant. I think his terribly underrated anchoring of the Miami defense in their rally for the ring put him in. Webber? Naw. Definately not T-mac. Every offensive player will riot if Bowen goes. I will never get over Porous Defending Nash winning 2 MVPs and inevitably never reachin the Finals, but I digress. There was a nice lifts rubric for calculating a player's H.o.f. chances posted about a year ago. Pretty much 10 all-star appearances and heavy contribution to a Finals berth is a lock, give or take.

[JJFAN4LF]

His impact off the court is enough for him to be a first ballot.