Archive for the 'Keltner List' Category

Recently, it's come to my attention that the mere possibility of VC making the Hall of Fame apparently evokes an angry, violent, nauseous reaction on par with this. Then again, there's no doubting he's been one of the defining figures of the post-MJ era, for better or for worse. So what's the verdict? Hall or no Hall for Mr. Carter? Let's do this...

Vitals

Position: SG/SF
Height: 6-7 Weight: 215 lbs.
Born: January 26, 1977 in Daytona Beach, Florida
High School: Mainland in Daytona Beach, Florida
College: University of North Carolina
Draft: Selected by the Golden State Warriors in the 1st round (5th pick, 5th overall) of the 1998 NBA draft.

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As you may or may not have seen, Tim Hardaway had his #10 jersey retired by the Miami Heat last night. I don't need to tell you that any discussion of Hardaway is invariably going to lead to (if not begin with -- heck,  look at this post) the topic of the homophobic remarks he made in February 2004 on Dan Le Batard's radio show. What Hardaway said was unquestionably wrong, hateful, & ignorant, but it's unfortunate that those comments have overshadowed Tim Bug's career, because when he was in his prime the man could really play. Let's evaluate how the merits of that play stack up against the standards of the Hall of Fame...

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This past week, a reader asked if we could run one of our world-famous Keltner Lists on Detlef Schrempf, a player he felt had really been underrated by the general public. And I happen to agree, I think Detlef has always been slept on by the media. But does that mean he belongs in the Hall of Fame, or just the lesser-known Hall of Really Underappreciated? Let's find out...

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In the comments section of our last Keltner List (which assessed Dikembe Mutombo's underrated career), a reader named Brandon suggested another topic for us:

"Alright, I have a suggestion for a Keltner list and it has probably been mentioned before, but I’d like to see Scottie Pippen done. I know it seems odd, but you did do Allen Iverson, and Scottie Pippen was never really considered the best in the game at any point in his career. So if you could [do] that it’d be awesome."

Sure, Brandon, we can do that. After all, Pippen becomes eligible next year... Will he follow in the footsteps of his highly-acclaimed teammate and accompany him to Springfield? Or was Scottie just riding on #23's considerable coattails? Read on to find out:

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After rupturing a quadriceps tendon in his left knee during Houston's 107-103 playoff loss to Portland last Tuesday, Dikembe Mutombo announced his retirement from the NBA. Mutombo leaves behind a legacy of being not only one of the NBA's finest defensive players, but also of one of its finest humanitarians. A reader suggested we run Mutombo's career under the microscope of the Keltner List, so here we go...

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Here at the BBR blog, your wish is our command. For instance, one of our readers recently suggested that we run a Keltner List on Kevin Johnson, the Phoenix Suns' criminally underrated PG... so Justin did just that, and found that Springfield should make room for KJ in the Hall of Fame.

In the comment section of that post, another reader requested the same Keltner List treatment of Allen Iverson, whom he referred to as "one of the most over-rated basketball players of ALL TIME" (emphasis definitely not mine). So I think it's safe to assume this individual probably wouldn't appreciate seeing AI enshrined in the HoF. But is this commenter right? Is AI just an overrated ballhog who doesn't deserve to be immortalized in Springfield? Well, like I said, your wish is our command...

Note: Clearly Iverson is still an active player, but we're writing this as though he retired today and was somehow eligible... Suspend your disbelief, people.

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One of our commenters suggested that Kevin Johnson would be a good candidate to run through the Keltner List. Well, loyal reader, here you go...

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Back in December we went through the Keltner List for Bernard King. (Recall that the Keltner List is a series of questions designed to assess a player's Hall of Fame worthiness.) With the recent retirement of Alonzo Mourning, we thought we would dust off the Keltner List once again to see if Zo should be making plans to travel to Massachusetts in five years.

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Today we're going to run our first Keltner List, that tried-and-true staple of sabermetric-type analysis ever since Bill James introduced it way back in the 1985 Baseball Abstract. The format is simple: it's an inventory of yes-or-no questions designed to assess whether or not a player deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. It's not numerical, nor is it strictly objective, but after going through the list you typically get a pretty good feel for the player's HoF-worthiness. Our subject this morning is Bernard King, one of the best scorers of the 80s, but a guy who still hasn't been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Have the HoF's anonymous voters made the right call the past four years, or does King really belong in the Hoop Hall?

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