Post by Rog on May 9, 2016 3:56:52 GMT
The 27th nominee of the NBN Hall of Fame, Marcus Camby, was a defensive monster. Absolutely menacing in the paint and a guarantee to pull down every rebound in site. At first glance hes an absolute lock to be inducted, right? Well, defensive monsters who weren't that great defensively tend to get overlooked in stuff like this, so was he good enough at what he did to overcome his perceived shortcomings? Lets look at the numbers.
Career Stats
34.9 MPG, 13.5 PPG, 13.3 RPG, 1.5 APG, 3.6 BPG, 1.2 SPG, 1.2 TOPG, 40.8% from the field and 66% from the line
Best Season: (Knicks 2001) - 16.2 PPG, 14.5 RPG, 1.2 APG, 4.2 BPG, 1.2 SPG, 1.1 TOPG on 45% from the field and 66.6% from the line
Career Highs
Points: 37
Rebounds: 30
Assists: 7
Steals: 6
Blocks: 12
Career Achievements
Championships: 1
Player of the Game: 134
Player of the Week: 0
Player of the Month: 0
Double Doubles: 564
Triple Doubles: 8
Awards
2001 - All-Star Game Participant
2001 - All-League Second Team
2001 - All-Defensive Second Team
2002 - All-Star Game Participant
2003 - All-Star Game Participant
2003 - All-Defensive Second Team
2004 - All-Star Game Participant
2005 - All-Star Game Participant
2006 - All-Star Game Participant
2006 - All-Defensive Second Team
2008 - All-Defensive Second Team
2009 - All-Star Game Participant
2009 - All-Defensive Team
Arguments For Induction
- Camby was named to 7 All-Star games, one All-League Second Team, one All-Defensive first team, and four All-Defensive second teams. Especially the All-Star game appearances, those numbers are impressive for a defensive/rebounding big.
- Any argument for Camby begins and almost ends with his defense. Into his final season at age 37, he was giving his team 4.1 stocks a game, including 3.2 blocks, and still carried an A+ defensive rating. That is incredible. What is even more incredible is he led the entire league All-Time in blocks when he retired, and still does. He was absolutely impossible to score on at the rim. His 3.6 BPG for his career is an incredibly impressive number in its own right. And of course not only was he awesome at blocking shots, he also was a decent thief for a big taking the ball away about a time a game. Defensive beast, pure and simple.
- Camby was also one of the best rebounders in league history. He is third all time in rebounds, that makes two stats hes top 3 in, and averaged just over 13 for his career. Absolutely impressive. Consider too that his final two seasons he didn't play as many minutes, or pull down as many boards but when he was truly in his prime he was pulling in 14 boards a night, guaranteed.
- Despite only one title for his career, Camby should be considered a winner. He spent most of his career with the Hawks, Rockets, and Knicks, three of the better franchises in NBN. He was always in the mix, always mattering in what matters most. His teams couldn't pull through more than once, but not because of Camby.
- A lot will be said about his offense, but the guy got you 13 points a game most years and for a guy with his defensive energy and numbers no the boards, is that so awful? At least he didn't turn it over at a high clip.
- There really isn't much else to say about Camby. He deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. His combination of all time great shot blocking and rebounding, along with not being a liability on offense makes him truly one of the best players in the leagues history. To say no will mean having to say no in the future to guys like Peter John Ramos, Dwight Howard, Roy Hibbert, and others.
Arguments Against Induction
- I feel like a broken record, lets say it again: NOT ENOUGH AWARDS.
- I have serious issues with his offensive game. Like serious issues. Yes, he was a liability offensively. Sure he didn't turn it over and he did score 13 points a game for a large part of his career, but he also shot below 40% the last four years of his career as well as only shooting 40.8% for his career. Is that a Hall of Famer?
- Yeah he played on some great teams, but did they fall short because of his atrocious offense? He went to the finals once with the Hawks and won the title with the Celtics, but on either team was he really that big of a reason for them going? Id venture not. Not really much of a winner.
- Look at his numbers and you really start to see him nose dive as the talent level in the league steadily rose. Was he a product of a weak league and him just being bigger, stronger, and better than the league? It is possible.
- If he was this All-World defender, why did it only say he was one of the two best defenders at his position five times in his twelve year career. And only once was he first team. Lets not even mention the fact that hes the All-Time leader in blocks and yet never own a Defensive Player of the Year.
- The biggest question I want to ask about Camby is, did you really fear him in the playoffs when you had to play the Hawks/Rockets/Knicks/Celtics? The answer has to be no. Camby is too dime a dozen a big in this league to be a Hall of Famer. The four guys I mentioned above, all way better than Camby was. You can easily say no to Camby and yes to all of those guys. Camby did it at a good level for long enough, his All-Time achievements aren't that impressive. You can't nominate a dime a dozen big to the Hall of Fame can you?
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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