Post by Rog on Jun 12, 2016 4:55:41 GMT
The 31st nominee of the NBN Hall of Fame, Anfernee Hardaway was an enigmatic force. On one hand he was an absolute monster on the defensive end who did things well in other facets like passing and rebounding. On another he was a below average offensive player. Does this all combine to create a legend, or someone not quite great enough to be a Hall of Famer? Lets take a look.
Career Stats
37 MPG, 17.5 PPG, 7.6 APG, 6 RPG, 2.4 SPG, 0.2 BPG, 2.6 TOPG on 43.3% fro the field, 79.7% from the line, and 35.7% from 3.
Best Season
Heat(2003) - 22.1 PPG, 9.4 APG, 5.9 RPG, 3.1 SPG, 0.2 BPG, 2.9 TOPG on 44.6% from the field, 76.2% from the line, and 39.7% from 3.
Career Highs
Points: 43
Rebounds: 18
Assists: 28
Steals: 9
Blocks: 3
Achievements
Championships: 1
Player of the Game: 140
Player of the Week: 0
Player of the Month: 0
Double Doubles: 257
Triple Doubles: 24
Career Awards
2001 - All-Defensive Team
2002 - All-Defensive Second Team
2004 - All-Defensive Second Team
Arguments For Induction
- Penny Hardaway was named to two All-Defensive Second Teams and an All-Defensive First team.
- Hardaway was one of the most destructive defenders in league history, despite the last season or two not playing a ton, Hardaway still averaged 2.4 steals a game. He holds the season record with Kobe Bryant for most steals per game in a season. In his five year peak he never dipped below 2.7 steals a game. He is now 12th all time in steals for his career, a number I would bet was quite a bit higher when he retired. There is no denying how great he was defensively.
- Anfernee was also a good passer. His career number may not look amazing, but in that five year prime he averaged over 8.9 assists every season. While in his prime Penny was a fantastic passer before he was forced to shooting guard. He is now 15th all time in assists.
- Probably his best quality but not his best "case quality", Hardaway was a fantastic rebounder, especially for a point guard. He averaged 6 a game, which is a great number for a point guard. He also had 24 triple doubles, proving his versatility.
- Overall, Penny was a versatile player who did a number of things very well, and really wasn't a negative anywhere on the court. He did everything at least adequately.
Arguments Against Induction
- Do I even have to fucking say it? NOT ENOUGH AWARDS.
- Jumping off that as well, he only has a total of three defensive nominations. If he was such a beast defender, why didn't he have more than that? That should set off a few red flags for his defensive prowess.
- He just wasn't a good scorer man. He only averaged 17.5 PPG for his career and only averaged over 20 a game once. He also was just not very efficient shooting the ball. He only shot 45% or higher twice in his career and never shot a very good 3 point percentage. While not being a negative on that end of the court, he just wasn't a positive. He even was a bit turnover prone at times.
- What is his case? He doesn't have an elite stat, he doesn't have enough awards, he doesn't have a lot of titles, where does he jump off from? In fact, his only title came as a small contributor on a Celtics title team. Honestly he just wasn't a championship level point guard, and that is the ultimate goal so why would he be a Hall of Famer?
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***