Post by Rog on Apr 7, 2017 0:47:35 GMT
The 74th nominee of the NBN Hall of Fame was a really nice breed of center. He could score, defend, rebound, everything and he did it well. He got a slow start but then just burst onto the scene in a crazy way. Did he do enough to induct him into the Hall of Fame or does he fall just short?
Career Stats
34.9 MPG, 18 PPG, 12.8 RPG, 3.5 APG, 2.2 BPG, 1.1 SPG, 2.1 TOPG on 42.7% frmo the field, 76.8% from the line, and 25.1% from three
Best Season
Heat(2010) - 22.8 PPG, 13.7 RPG, 4.4 APG, 2.3 BPG, 1.1 SPG, 2.5 TOPG on 41.3% from the field, 80.5% from the line, and 29.2% from three
Career Highs
Points: 44
Rebounds: 29
Assists: 11
Steals: 7
Blocks: 11
Achievements
Championships: 0
Player of the Game: 155
Player of the Week: 2
Player of the Month: 0
Double Doubles: 724
Triple Doubles: 8
Awards
2007 - All-Star Rookie Game Participant
2007 - All-Star Game Participant
2007 - Rookie of the Year
2007 - All-Rookie Team
2008 - All-Star Rookie Game Participant
2010 - All-Star Game Participant
2010 - All-League First Team
2012 - All-Star Game Participant
2012 - All-Star Game MVP
2012 - All-League First Team
2014 - All-Star Game Participant
2014 - All-League Second Team
2015 - All-Star Game Participant
2016 - All-Star Game Participant
2016 - All-League Third Team
2017 - All-Star Game Participant
Arguments For Induction
- Gasol played in 7 All-Star games, even winning an All-Star MVP in one of those games. He was named to one All-League Third team, two All-League Second teams, and two All-League First teams.
- The greatest asset of Marc Gasol was his elite rebounding. In his career Gasol averaged 12.8 rebounds per game, which as a career would put him near the top 10 most years. But five seasons of his career he averaged over 13 rebounds a game for his career, which is the best of the best for a big. Despite a somewhat short career and some nagging injuries in his career, Marc Gasol finished his career 9th all time in rebounds.
- Gasol was also a really good scorer, though not quite elite. He averaged 18 points a game for his career. He averaged over 18 points a game 7 consecutive seasons, three of which he averaged over 20 points a game. He also showed some good range and a rock solid free throw percentage. He shot 6 free throws a game and hit nearly 77% of them. Fantastic job.
- He was also a damn good defender. While not a huge shot blocker, he did average 2.2 blocks per game and over a steal a game. He was near 2.5 blocks a game for a lot of his career, and all of his prime. He also showed up on several "Best Defenders" lists throughout his career. He was a fantastic rim protector, awesome at playing the rims, and you better bring your brute if you're trying to back him down because he could take it. Absolutely a fantastic defender. Might be his second best skill behind his rebounding, but scoring is slightly more important to establish.
- Gasol was an elite passing big. He averaged 3.5 assists a game for his career and averaged over or near 4 assists a game in his career.
- Put it all together and you have a 19 point, 13 rebound, 4 assist, 3.5 stock guy who had range and didn't turn it over at a high rate. Never won a title, but for years upon years the Heat were contenders because he anchored their defense, set up their shooters, and scored at a damn good rate. Gasol isn't quite in the argument for best big ever, but he sure as hell is a Hall of Famer.
Arguments Against Induction
- Better than the other three so far, but he just doesn't really have quite enough awards, does he? Hes just short.
- Horribly inefficient offensively. He averaged a good volume number scoring, but he only shot 42.7% from the field and took too many threes when he just wasn't very good at it. Sure he was a good free throw shooter and sure he shot a lot of those, so its hard to say he was a bad scorer, but he certainly wasn't a great one, at best he was good and that isn't really a great argument for induction.
- He was somewhat turnover prone, averaging 2 over turnovers a game for his career.
- Didn't garner any defensive awards, making it a hard case to make that he was a great defensive player, no?
- Overall between not winning a title, a slight lack of awards especially defensive ones, and being a pretty inefficient scorer it all adds up to a pretty stark, if not all that convincing, argument against his candidacy here. He also didn't rack up a solid amount of counting stats to add to his legacy. It all just shows a bit of cracks in the facade of him being a Hall of Famer. Is it enough to deny him? Up to you really.
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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