This is how the press release I got begins
DETROIT, MICHIGAN - April 6, 2009 - The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is pleased to announce that Michael Jordan, David Robinson, Jerry Sloan, John Stockton, and C. Vivian Stringer have been named today as the Enshrinement Class of 2009
Not having DJ in the HOF is a travesty.
And what's almost as bad, is what I saw on TrueHoop. They're comparing HOF candidates to modern players. This is what they gave us with DJ
To many, he was always a tremendous role player on Larry Bird's Celtics teams -- and an elite defender. But Pelton points out there was more to the story of his career: "His earlier incarnation was as a high-scoring guard who could also distribute the basketball. Alas, Johnson's strongest skill in either role was his defensive ability, which is tough to measure here. Still, those comparables should remind everyone that DJ could score too."
- Tracy McGrady 95.5
- Vince Carter 95.3
- Francisco Garcia 95.0
- Josh Howard 94.7
- Kevin Martin 94.4
Ugh... Vince Carter... in the same sentence as DJ? That makes me sick. However, the John Stockton portion of that piece will make us feel better:
In the 1989-90 season John Stockton had the highest PER of his career -- about 24 -- but made just about half a 3-pointer per 36 minutes he played. His shooting percentages were high from everywhere, and he managed a shocking 14 assists and 2.6 steals per game. Who plays anything like that today? The normal first guess is that Stockton is like Steve Nash, but Pelton's numbers say Rajon Rondo and Chris Paul are more like it."The biggest reason Nash doesn't show up," explains Pelton, "is that while Stockton was one of the league's best thieves, Nash collects steals at a rate way below league average."
- Rajon Rondo 92.0
- Chris Paul 91.0
- Deron Williams 86.5
- Jose Calderon 84.8
- Devin Harris 84.7
That's right... Rajon Rondo. He deserves to be mentioned in this class. I'm glad to see it happening.
