Post by Rog on May 1, 2018 11:20:46 GMT
The 121st nominee for the NBN, and final from the 2029 and 2030 classes, is Nerlens Noel. Noel came into the league as a high pick with high expectations, made his presence felt pretty immediately, and then shattered them. He was a star, and is a Hall of Famer without any doubt in my mind. Is there any case to be made against his enshrinement? Lets take a look.
Career Stats
35.8 MPG, 19.5 PPG, 13.3 RPG, 3.7 APG, 3.1 BPG, 1.6 SPG, 2.6 TOPG on 44.7% from the field and 71.6% from the line
Best Season
Supersonics(2018) - 27.2 PPG, 14.8 RPG, 3.9 APG, 3.6 BPG, 1.6 SPG, 3.1 TOPG on 41.8% from the field and 73.3% from the line
Career Highs
Points: 45
Rebounds: 26
Assists: 12
Steals: 9
Blocks: 12
Achievements
Championships: 0
Player of the Game: 299
Player of the Week: 6
Player of the Month: 0
Double Doubles: 978
Triple Doubles: 11
Career Leaderboard Rankings
Points - 41st
Rebounds - 4th
Blocks - 6th
Awards
2013 - All-Star Rookie Game Participant
2013 - All-Rookie Team
2014 - All-Star Rookie Game Participant
2016 - Slam-Dunk Contest Champion
2016 - All-Star Game Participant
2016 - All-League Second Team
2016 - All-Defensive Second Team
2017 - Slam-Dunk Contest Champion
2017 - All-Star Game Participant
2017 - All-Defensive Second Team
2018 - All-Star Game Participant
2018 - All-Star Game MVP
2018 - All-League First Team
2018 - All-Defensive Team
2019 - All-Star Game Participant
2019 - All-League Second Team
2021 - All-League Second Team
2021 - All-Defensive Second Team
2022 - All-Star Game Participant
2022 - All-League Second Team
2022 - All-Defensive Second Team
2023 - Slam-Dunk Contest Champion
2023 - All-Star Game Participant
2023 - All-League First Team
2023 - Defensive Player of the Year
2023 - All-Defensive Team
2024 - All-Star Game Participant
2024 - All-League Second Team
2024 - All-Defensive Team
2025 - All-Star Game Participant
2025 - All-League First Team
2025 - All-Defensive Team
2026 - All-Star Game Participant
2026 - All-League First Team
2026 - All-Defensive Team
2027 - All-League First Team
2027 - All-Defensive Team
2028 - Slam-Dunk Contest Champion
2028 - All-Star Game Participant
2028 - All-League Third Team
2029 - All-Star Game Participant

Arguments For Induction
- Noel was one of the most decorated players in league. Just a quick Control+F on his awards page finds 37 items that start with the word "all", insane. Looking at specifics, Noel won the Slam Dunk Contest a total of four times, he was not only one of the most athletic players in league history, but also one of the most creative and showmen type players as well. He was a defensive monster, which we'll go into deeper later, but he was named to four All-Defensive Second teams and six All-Defensive First teams, for a total of ten seasons where he was honored for his defense. He played in a total of 11 All-Star Games, winning MVP in one of them. Nerlens was named to one All-League Third Team, five All-League Second Teams, and five All-League First Teams as well proving he was almost always considered a top 3 player at his position at any given time. He even won a Defensive Player of the Year to boot.
- With a guy like Noel, there isn't anywhere to start. Not because the case is bad, but because everything is so fucking good. Lets start with his scoring. He was a near elite scorer, not quite on the level of a Brook Lopez or some of the earlier guys, but close. He averaged 19.5 points per game on his career, a 17 year career with average beginnings and ends. From his 3rd season on, he averaged 20 points per game 8 times in a row and 9 times overall. The 20 mark is the elite mark for bigs. That still means he averaged under 20 in his over half the seasons he was in the league, but those seasons were mostly in the 16-18 range, which is still really good for a big. He also shot the ball pretty decently well in this time period. On his career he shot 44.7% from the field and 71.6% from the line, both solid if unspectacular numbers. In the 20 points per game time period he got up over 45% most of the time and even reached up over 47% a couple times. His FT% was also near the 75% mark, which is damn good for a big. He finished 41st in points on his career, a terrific mark for a big.
- Nerlens was also an actual elite defender. Unlike Gobert, Nerlens has some awards to show for it. He won a DPOTY in 2023, while also being named to a total of 10 All-Defensive teams, 4 2nd teams and 6 1st teams. He averaged 4.7 stocks on his career, a number that would be a career high for a lot of players. His steals were absolutely elite for a big, averaging over 1.6 in nine seasons, and even getting over 2 one season, something I've only seen a handful of times for a big. His blocks weren't quite as high, but he still averaged over 3 a game in 11 seasons, including 8 in a row. He puts Gobert's defensive case, which his entire case rests, to shame in everything, including all time blocks where Noel finished 6th All-Time, above Gobert.
- Noel was a truly elite rebounder as well. His 13.3 career average should be one of the higher all time without actually looking to verify, so don't hold me to it. He had a total of 14 seasons over 13 rebounds a game, meaning in all but 3 seasons he was "near elite" rebounding, at the very least. However the benchmark really is 13.5 and he did that in 7 seasons, which is incredible. Plus you have to mention he averaged over 14 in 4 seasons as well. Again, to outdo Gobert's sole case, he finished top 5 in rebounds, at #4.
- Could really talk about a few more things, but overall its a case so overwhelming that its impossible to just look at one thing and focus on it. Noel did everything well. A guy in his prime who you could send out there and get 20 points, 14 rebounds, 3.5 blocks, 1.5 steals, 4 assists and shoot the ball at a 45% clip while hitting 75% of his free throws. That is true statistical dominance, and he has the awards and all time counting stats to back up any hole you want to poke in his case as well. He was an incredible player, and the question really should be how high on the All-Time list does he sit in terms of bigs, not if he is a Hall of Famer, because he is absolutely a Hall of Famer.
Arguments Against Induction
- There isn't much here. He doesn't have a title, despite playing on some amazing teams. Only 6 player of the weeks, no player of the months. There is 350 games where he didn't do a double double. He doesn't appear on the best defenders list meaning his post D was a bit lower than elite, at best. He absolutely was turnover prone, averaging 2.6 on his career but having a handful of seasons over 3 a game. Just a few things that mostly prevent "best big of all time talk" rather than derail his Hall of Fame case.
Vote carefully, and remember to throw out arguments regardless of which side you're on. This should be a discussion that eventually gets the league to the proper decision on him. Your vote can also be retracted after it's been cast if you feel like switching to the other side based on the arguments that have been made. To be inducted, a player needs 70% and to be considered in a later class they need 50%. Vote carefully.
***BONUS - Don't forget that everyone who votes gets $25 and the person that makes the best argument or contributes to the discussion the best will be awarded an extra $25***

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