2043 Hall of Fame Nominee - TaQuan Woodley

[Donny - Bucks]

TaQuan Woodley looks to enter the NBN Hall of Fame after being a dominant defender and rebounder for many years, winning rings late in his 30s to cement his place as one of the best defensive bigs of his time. Will this be enough for him to get into the NBN Hall of Fame?

PLAYER PAGE - nothinbutnetleague.altervista.org/NothinButNet/Archive/2042/html/players/player352.htm



CAREER STATS
Games: 1437
MPG: 34.4
PPG: 11.4
RPG: 13.0 
APG: 2.9 
SPG: 1.0
BPG: 2.7
TOPG: 1.6
FG%: .407
FT%: .608 
3P%: .323

Best Season (2028 Spurs)
Games: 78
MPG: 36.8
PPG: 14.1
RPG: 13.9
APG: 2.8
SPG: 1.1
BPG: 2.8 
TOPG: 1.7
FG%: .424
FT%: .648
3P%: .373

Career Highs
Points: 41
Rebounds: 27
Assists: 10
Steals: 5
Blocks: 11

Achievements
Championships: 3
Player of the Game: 131
Player of the Week: 0
Player of the Month: 0
Double Doubles: 709
Triple Doubles: 5

Awards
2025 - All-Star Rookie Game Participant
2035 - All-Star Game Participant



Arguments For Induction
- As the eight teams he played for over 19 seasons in the league will tell you, the dude was a monster in the paint. While he may have not played more than 6+ years anywhere, he put in work wherever he went as one of the league's elite D+Board bigs.

- Woodley's willingness to share the ball and not force up shots made him an incredibly welcome member of many deep-run playoff teams. While he was not a great offensive player, he found a way to contribute offensively as a low-turnover big who ended up grabbing a few assists per game on top of the occasional offensive contribution, which is the ideal situation for most GM's around here.

- TaQuan ended up grabbing not one, not two, but THREE rings near the end of his career as a starter for the Bucks '39, '40 champs and then the Rockets '41 title. Considering he was 36, 37, and 38 for those runs, I think it's an incredibly impressive testament to his longevity and long-time productivity.

Arguments Against Induction
- Only one All-Star Game as FBB doesn't embrace bigs who don't score, which will hurt his cause. No All-League teams, nothing special like a POTW/POTM. Bigs are generally not very well respected as is and without the offensive contribution, there wasn't a ton there for him.

- How favorably does Woodley's career stack up to the current Hall? The majority of the bigs in the Hall of Fame were consistent offensive contributors along with some quality defense/rebounding, and while most of the Hall of Famers couldn't defend as well as Woodley did during his peak, the offensive aspect will really be an interesting discussion. Given the fact that he didn't stick with any team for a super extended period with 19 seasons and 8 teams, it might be a tough sell as most Hall of Famers don't end up getting passed around like this.

- We haven't had many cases like this, so a lack of precedent for similar bigs will be tough. He doesn't have the awards of a Victor Wembanyama and, while Wemb did very well in voting, there's some significant separation there.

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 $100 and the person that makes the best argument or contributes to the discussion the best will be awarded an extra $100***

[A. Silver]

Yes, he's the man.

[ucfinfan86]

My initial thought is no but open to being persuaded. He had a longer career than guys like Leaks or Wendell Carter but both of them were denied and were similar type of players. Carter had more offensive game. But maybe the longevity is the issue.

I think of Woodley more as a really really good role player than a hall of famer

[yourkers15]

Yes because of his longevity and 3 championships. He was great all the way to the end and he was ritters stopper.

[Donny - Bucks]

I voted yes because of the value he brought at his position. Not many PF's who did it better, period, let alone the longevity.

[cop5414]

I'll give it to him. Great rebounder/defender plus the 3 championships. Don't believe the '39 Bucks would have won had it not been for that late season trade.

[pjclippers]

Leaning no - three titles is nice but only 1 All-Star team and 0 All-League teams means IMO that he was good but not great and therefore shouldn't be in the HOF

[frosty]

I loved T Wood but not sure I cam say yes to a 1x all star

[Retired]

Naa was a defensive beast but I don’t think his HOF worthy

[verysilentone]

I want to go yes, but I just can't.

If Cowens was not voted in, I'm not sure Woodley should be

[Michael]

No. 3 rings is significant but need to see more accolades. I expected some All-Defensive teams for Woodley tbh.

[carlos]

I voted no. Great player but not HOF worthy imo. He was consistently very good for a very long time on some great teams but was never one of the top 5 or so bigs in the league.

Jul 20, 2022 0:40:08 GMT Donny - Bucks said:

I voted yes because of the value he brought at his position. Not many PF's who did it better, period, let alone the longevity.

Surprise you went yes on this one given your stance on Maxwell. I think they're similar in HOF candidacy. Both are great role players with a few titles each and few accolades. I think Maxwell has even had more personal success

[Donny - Bucks]

Jul 20, 2022 15:22:32 GMT carlos said:

I voted no. Great player but not HOF worthy imo. He was consistently very good for a very long time on some great teams but was never one of the top 5 or so bigs in the league.

Jul 20, 2022 0:40:08 GMT Donny - Bucks said:

I voted yes because of the value he brought at his position. Not many PF's who did it better, period, let alone the longevity.

Surprise you went yes on this one given your stance on Maxwell. I think they're similar in HOF candidacy. Both are great role players with a few titles each and few accolades. I think Maxwell has even had more personal success

Maxwell's at SF, a position where you need to be an elite all-around player to even be considered for the HOF. Maxwell checks the boxes defensively but does not and will not ever check the boxes offensively.

Woodley's at PF, a position where the majority of GM's would be happy with defensive production and high-level rebounding. Woodley was among the best in the league when defending/grabbing boards for 15 years of his career and while he didn't add offense, I think most of us (me included) would prefer it that way out of the majority of the bigs in the league.

Woodley stacks up to the PF's throughout league history significantly better than Maxwell stacks up to the SF's. We haven't inducted many SF's yet but he doesn't really compare very favorably in terms of personal production when looking at the future HOF SF candidates like Emoni, LeBron Jr, Dieng, Bernard King, Walter Davis, Larry Bird... he just doesn't have the juice like those guys. I can't really even think of a time when Maxwell was a no-brainer top 5 SF in the league whereas the PF position has been pretty much a toss-up behind Borner, McHale, and Nicholson for a large portion of the last decade. Much rather Woodley's productivity at the PF position than Maxwell's at SF.

[John1974]

No for me.

[yourkers15]

Maxwell is top 5 right now.

His only downfall is his 3pt% outside that he is legit. He's scoring this year, one of the best rebounders at the Postion, def a top defender and what's really key is he doesn't turn the ball over.

King/Davis/Bird/Morrow/Maxwell