Post by Rog on Aug 1, 2017 3:34:45 GMT
The 88th nominee of the NBN Hall of Fame, Brandan Wright, was one of those guys who kind of came out of no where to be a good player and then you were surprised to find out that he wasn't good, he in fact was great. Was he good enough to be a Hall of Famer though?
Career Stats
34.3 MPG, 16.7 PPG, 12.5 RPG, 1.3 APG, 3.2 BPG, 1.2 SPG, 1.1 TOPG on 42.5% from the field and 73% from the line
Best Season
Raptors(2014) - 19.7 PPG, 13.6 RPG, 3.5 BPG, 1.4 APG, 1.2 SPG, 1.2 TOPG on 44.5% from the field and 73.2% from the line
Career Highs
Points: 43
Rebounds: 28
Assists: 8
Steals: 6
Blocks: 13
Achievements
Championships: 1
Player of the Game: 192
Player of the Week: 2
Player of the Month: 0
Double Doubles: 889
Triple Doubles: 2
Accolades
2007 - All-Star Rookie Game Participant
2010 - All-Defensive Second Team
2011 - All-Star Game Participant
2011 - All-Defensive Second Team
2012 - All-Star Game Participant
2012 - All-Defensive Team
2013 - All-League Third Team
2013 - All-Defensive Team
2014 - All-League Third Team
2014 - All-Defensive Team
2015 - All-Star Game Participant
2015 - Defensive Player of the Year
2015 - All-Defensive Team
2016 - Defensive Player of the Year
2016 - All-Defensive Team
2017 - All-Star Game Participant
2017 - All-League Third Team
2017 - All-Defensive Team
2018 - All-Star Game Participant
2019 - All-Star Game Participant
2022 - All-Defensive Team
2023 - All-Star Game Participant
Arguments For Induction
- Brandan Wright was one of the better defensive players in the league and was awarded as such. He was named to two All-Defensive Second teams and seven All-Defensive First Teams. He also was named Defensive Player of the Year three times. He played in seven All-Star Games and was named to four All-League Third teams. He also won a title with the Raptors.
- As mentioned above, Wright was seriously one of the best defenders in league history. Nine seasons he was on All-Defensive teams and three Defensive Player of the Years. He also carried at least an A rating for his entire prime, if not A+. For his career he averaged 3.2 blocks and 1.2 steals in his career. he played a long time though and for the vast, vast majority of his prime he was over 3.5 a game. Crazy good defender that is his shining star and damn near gets him into the Hall of Fame alone.
- Wright was also a a fantastic rebounder. He averaged 12.5 rebounds per game for his career. During his prime he went over 14 rebounds a game four times, and 15 once. You could count on him to help the other team miss their shot, hell or even steal the ball himself, and more times than not he'd finish the possession himself. Just a fantastic all around defensive player, including his rebounds.
- He wasn't anywhere near helpless on offense either, like a lot of other defensive monster bigs have been on these nominations. He averaged nearly 17 points a game for his career, and hit over 20 a few times as well. A guy with his defensive pedigree and the ability to also score at a really decent clip? What are we talking about, this is a Hall of Famer.
- Overall, its a super easy case to make. He was a double-double machine who was impossible to score on at the rim, and could score as an option or non option in whatever offense you ran. e helped the Raptors to a title, and he has plenty of the statistics and awards you'd look for in a guy, especially if you really need to see that he was actually a great defender as we've talked about in the past. Great player, an absolute Hall of Famer.
Arguments Against Induction
- I mean he has the defensive awards, which is cool, but he only has a handful of All-Star games and All-League teams. Wouldn't a Hall of Famer be considered a top 3 or 4 player in his position for more than a few years? I'd like to think so.
- His defense was fantastic, but was he all-time good? I mean he never appeared on a Best Defenders list and other players have more awards. I just think if we're using this as his launchpad its worth noting.
- Good, but never great scorer. Sure he could score in decent volume but his efficiency left a lot to be desired. He shot 42.5% from the field for his career and had some really bad percentages during the prime of his career. Tough for him to be rememebred as the all around player that everyone seems to think he was.
- Overall, there are a few things that you can point to pretty easily and question him and poke some holes in his case. Its not an easy case to make against, but you can certainly make a compelling one. Do you want a player who you can make a compelling case to deny actually in the Hall of Fame, especially as a first ballot? Seems to fall absolutely just 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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