I get his point though on Howard. I think he’s a border line HOF guy. The NBA by far is the easiest of the big 3 to get into. Once Euros and WNBA got in it basically opened the flood gates. As a guy more in line with his generation I get why Dwight isn’t an automatic lock first ballot. Dwight isn’t as good as Hakeem, Ewing, Robinson, Shaq yet he will go in 1st ballot. 1st ballot was a thing in our day.
Howard was an eight-time all star, an eight-time all-nba center (twice as hard as any other position), five of which were as a first teamer. he won DPOY three times and was a five-time all-defensive player (four times first team). he won a gold medal, a slam dunk contest, and was a mcdonalds all-american plus he frequently led the league in blocks and rebounds. he still has career averages of 17/13 despite being broken down for the last five years or so. if dwight howard isn't a hall of famer, there shouldn't be a hall of fame. his resume is beyond obvious.
Oh man i'm extremely here for the get off my lawn ranting about women and Europeans being let into the basketball hall of fame
(also, imo every hall of fame would be better if they'd be less restrictive. they're museums. a football museum would be far better at telling the story of football in the 1980s if it included 80 players instead of 20.)
He's not even 40, he's our premier Moxin syndrome sufferer now that the condition's namesake only posts on McLaughlin Group message boards
the old man stuff with Moxin became self-parody after a while, he got off on having the schtick of being anti-fun and anti-youth. The racism was the real him the whole time, though.
them giving Shackleford the boot while letting Joe House run a golf pod solo with a rotating ringer co-host was something else. They tried claiming Callaway no longer wanted Shack (per him) on the podcast...sureeeee, lets get rid of the guy who actually knows Golf and keep Simmons' college roommate who knows squat. His golf knowledge is akin to him on House of Carbs talking to whichever chef about bold flavor profiles or great cocktails.
dwight is a first ballot hall of famer. i loathe the dude but it’s beyond idiotic to even have a discussion about this
those pods were so great if nothing else for haralabob's disagreeability in addition to his general intelligence
i wish i had saved the podcast to get the actual quotes, but my favorite simmons moment ever was when something like this exchange happened "we agree on pretty much everything when it comes to basketball" "ehhh" "yeah we agree on pretty much everything"
38 He's a HOFer but to me not a first ballot guy. First ballot is the elite. I like the basketball HOF the least because it's the easiest to get into. I wish they had a strictly NBA HOF. It's why I like baseball. some years its only 1-2 people.
yeah the elite HOF that just elected Harold fucking Baines and Jack Morris, talk about elite baseball players
Dwight Howard is a Terrell Owens HOFer. I wouldn't feel great about voting for either because it had to suck playing with either of them and they're both really annoying, but you kind of need to have a vendetta against the guy to say he doesn't belong.
I would vote no on Dwight Howard. He was the best center of the 2010s, but every team who employed him couldn't wait to get rid of him.
IMO, they didn’t deserve to get in either. It’s more of a product of none of the PED guys getting in and having to get 1-2 in each year. At least they had to wait 15-20 years after they played. It’s definitely harder to get into though than the basketball still. Again not saying he’s not a HOFer, I just don’t consider him a first ballot guy.
if you're a HOFer, you're a HOFer. the whole notion of making a guy miss on getting in on the first ballot is stupid.
I wish there were like pyramid levels. It's why I love Simmons idea of that in Book of Basketball and advocating for a NBA only HOF.
I dont think so at all. He was a better rebounder. Ewing was a better scorer, more skilled offensively, and a better shot blocker plus his competition from a position stand point was much more difficult. Per 36 mins, Per 100 possessions and VORP all favor Ewing as well.
Dwight is a hall of famer but also all the shit said about him. TO is a decent comparison but for basketball it’s probably Rick Barry. All his teammates hated him but he could play.
I think people also are mad that Dwight never really developed offensively. He had ridiculous potential with his size and athleticism.
Was he really the best center of this decade? His last 1st Team All-NBA came in 2011-12. He fell off drastically on both ends of the court not long after that, and I'm not sure he would make my top 3 of this decade. Just off the top of my head, give me Marc Gasol, Horford and Boogie over him, and that's not counting guys like Davis or Green who play a lot of center.
While we're on the subject, All-Decade Teams from the 2000s and 2010s: 2000 PG: Steve Nash G: Dwyane Wade G: Kobe Bryant F: Tim Duncan C: Shaquille O'Neal 2010s PG: Steph Curry SG: James Harden F: Kevin Durant F: LeBron James C: Anthony Davis
also if being a shitty teammate is an issue for you with dwight, then it probably should be with cousins too
I agree, but look at Cousins' numbers this decade compared to Howard's numbers this decade. I shouldn't have brought that back because it's irrelevant and nit-picking. Howard's not the best center of this decade or (probably) the previous one, but he was the best center from the decade of 05-15 (or however you want to work that). His peak split the two in the middle there.
Steve Nash won two MVPs and did as much or more than any single player to redefine how basketball is played since..... I have no idea when.
Would be fascinating to watch, obviously. Both teams would have serious problems guarding the other, but in the end I think LeBron exploits Duncan more than Shaq exploits Davis and the 2010s win.
howard was also a 3x DPOY. there are probably 10 minutes worth of highlights of cousins not even running back on defense. howard was the main cog of those orlando teams that were consistent playoff teams and even made it to the finals. cousins' first time to the finals will be this year with the GSW which is basically cheating. to put cousins in the same class as howard is ridiculous. he has a more refined offensive game but he's never been anywhere near as good. his career WS is ~44. dwight's is ~130. people seriously underrate howard because they have a short memory and he's been bad for a while and was on awful teams. (and because he's unlikable)
I'm not underrating him. I don't have a short memory. You just don't understand what I'm talking about and because of that are arguing something that has nothing to do with what I've written.
2010 team can shoot the ball so much better and they can run. Shaq couldnt defend AD 25 feet outside. 2000 would be trading 2's for 3's most of the game.