Post by Rog on Nov 4, 2016 23:10:30 GMT
The 57th nominee of the NBN Hall of Fame was a flawed but uber talented point guard who could score a good as anyone in history but also was a turnover machine. Were his flaws enough to keep him out of the Hall of Fame, or was he truly an elite talent worthy of recognition?
Career Stats
37.4 MPG, 21.5 PPG, 9.3 APG, 5.1 RPG, 2.3 SPG, 0.2 BPG, 3.3 TOPG on 47.8% from the field, 88.3%
Best Season
Grizzlies(2007) - 25.7 PPG, 10.4 APG, 5.4 RPG, 2.5 SPG, 0.1 BPG, 3.1 TOPG on 49.1% from the field, 91.2% from the line, and 46.3% from three
Career Highs
Points: 52
Rebounds: 14
Assists: 21
Steals: 11
Blocks: 3
Achievements
Championships: 2
Player of the Game: 234
Player of the Week: 6
Player of the Month: 1
Double Doubles: 567
Triple Doubles: 28
Awards
2002 - All-Star Rookie Game Participant
2002 - All-Rookie Team
2006 - All-Star Game Participant
2006 - All-League Second Team
2006 - All-Defensive Team
2006 - Playoff MVP
2007 - All-Star Game Participant
2009 - All-Defensive Team
2011 - All-Star Game Participant
2014 - 3-Point Shootout Champion
2014 - All-League Second Team
Arguments For Induction
- Gilbert was has one of the most diverse award selection in the history of Hall of Fame nominations. He won a 3-Point Shootout a All-Star Weekend in 2014, won two titles and garnered a playoff MVP for his performance in that run. He played in three All-Star games. He was named to two All-Defensive teams and also two All-League second teams. He had quite the ride for his career with 8 seasons iArenn between his All-League team nominations, proving he never really lost it until the very, very end.
- Arenas was one of the most consistently good to great scorers in league history. He averaged 21.5 points a game, which was brought down by his first two season and last season, because for 12 straight seasons he was good for 19.6 a game or more, mostly way more. You seriously could count on Arenas to get you 24 points for his peak for six seasons.
- He didn't just have volume either. If we did things such as True Shooting Percentage or Effective Shooting Percentage here, he'd be in the top handful, if not the best all-time(besides Durant maybe). His 47.8/88.3/44.5 line is absolutely the best I've seen since I've done this, and thats including those three seasons at the beginning/end of his career where he just wasn't the player he was most of his career. In that peak we talked about earlier, he was good for 49/90/44, who the fuck does that while scoring 22+ points a game and doesn't get into the Hall of Fame?
- Arenas was a point guard and he distributed the ball exceptionally well for a guy scoring as much as he did. He averaged 9.3 assists a game for his career, a fantastic number for an entire career. He also averaged 9 or more assists for 13 of his 15 seasons, and had 4 seasons above 10 assists a game. Again who averages 22+ points, 9.5+ assists, on the percentages Arenas did for the amount of time Arenas did and isn't a Hall of Famer? I'll wait.
- Can we add good defender to the list of things Arenas did well? I think so, given his two All-Defensive team awards, 2.3 steal average, and 6 straight seasons where he averaged 2.5 or more a game, including 3.1 one year. Also carried an A- rating most of his career, and B+ towards the end proving he wasn't just a guy who took bad gambles here and there.
- With two titles, decent amount of accolades, good and at times great stats, what more could you want from him? He also had 28 triple doubles and was incredibly durable, playing in 1,205 of a possible 1,230 games missing 25 games total for an average of just over 1 a year. Thats pretty crazy. Its hard to say that with all this evidence that Arenas wasn't a Hall of Famer.
Arguments Against Induction
- He had a lot of accolades, but nothing substantial. Only two All-League teams overall, two All-Defensive teams, a handful of all-star games, and a playoff MVP. Sounds like a lot but its spread out and really isn't what you'd expect a Hall of Famer to garner over a 15 year career where he wasn't held back by injuries.
- Wasn't really an elite scorer, was he? Sure for 2 seasons maybe, but he was a good scorer who was incredibly consistent but was he a true great volume scorer? Maybe if he took some more shots to not ruin his FG% his teams would have been better off for it.
- No one can argue he wasn't an adequate defender but with his steals he only had 2 defensive awards and you have to wonder if that indicates his under the hood ratings weren't all that great.
- His turnover issues were really a huge issue, like huge. You seriously have to wonder with all of his flaws how much better his teams could have been with a guy who could get 28 points on 45% and could get 8.5 assists with 1.5 turnovers. His teams won 2 titles, and he won a playoff MVP, but did anyone ever fear running into Arenas? Kind of think the answer to that is no, and his Hall of Fame candidacy is kind of short.
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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