The NBA honored the 75 greatest players of all time over the All Star break this week. The list was compiled based on a vote of 88 people and actually ended with 76 players being honored as a result of a tie. Whenever a list like this is made, there are going to be players left off who are well deserving of the honor. The system in place for this vote in particular did not help. All 50 players from the last team made 25 years ago were virtually granted an automatic bid with everyone feeling removing people would be disrespectful to that list. That left only 25 available spots for players who have played since. The limited number of open spots led to some disrespectful snubs as well as a couple of guys who you could make the argument that they should get on the list. So let’s take a look at the five biggest snubs on the list.
Honorable Mentions
Joe Dumars
16.1 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 4.5 APG
6x All Star, 2x Champion, 1x Finals MVP, 3x All-NBA, 5x All-Defensive
Vince Carter
16.7 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 3.1 APG
8x All Star, 2x All-NBA
Dikembe Mutombo
9.8 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 1.0 APG
8x All Star, 4x Defensive Player of the Year, 3x All-NBA, 6x All-Defensive
Chris Bosh
19.2 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 2.0 APG
11x All Star, 2x Champion, 1x All-NBA
Alex English
21.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 3.6 APG
8x All Star, 1x Scoring Champ, 3x All-NBA
Top 5 Biggest Snubs
Pau Gasol
17.0 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 3.2 APG
6x All Star, 2x Champion, 4x All-NBA
Pau Gasol was the second best player on two championship teams. It will be hard to find many players of that caliber held off of this list, but for some reason he was. Gasol was a machine of consistency for the Grizzlies and Lakers, where he played almost all of his prime years. He had 13 seasons averaging above 17 points per game and is definitely one of the best rebounding power forwards the game has seen. He ranks 28th all time in career rebounds and 59th in career playoff points. Those numbers combined with his championship pedigree should have been enough to get him on the list, but with only 25 spots for new generation players, he got the short end of the stick.
Tony Parker
15.5 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 5.6 APG
6x All Star, 4x Champion, 1x Finals MVP, 4x All-NBA
Tony Parker was the second most important piece of the Spurs 2000’s dynasty. He was the perfect point guard to play alongside Tim Duncan and lead the Spurs to four titles during his career. Parker won the Finals MVP in 2007 after averaging 24.5 points in the series. He is 19th all time in career assists and 5th all time in career playoff assists. All that passing, yet he’s a score first player. There’s no question that he should be on this list ahead of some of the older guards who were grandfathered in for no reason.
Klay Thompson
17.1 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3.1 APG
5x All Star, 3x Champion, 2x All-NBA, 1x All-Defensive
There’s only one player in NBA history who can claim to hold the following records. Most threes made in a game with 14, most threes in a playoff game with 11, and most points in a single quarter with 37. Klay Thompson is arguably the second greatest shooter of all time, trailing only his teammate Stephen Curry. Klay has earned the nickname “Game 6 Klay” for a reason. He’s had a legendary career so far and will continue to add to his Hall of Fame resume for years to come. He currently sits at 18th all time in threes made and 4th all time in playoff threes made. By the time he retires, expect him to be top three in both of those categories.
Tracy McGrady
19.6 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 4.4 APG
7x All Star, 2x Scoring Champ, 7x All-NBA
Tracy McGrady is more known for his legendary 13 points in just 35 seconds against the Spurs than anything else. His career was incredible. His statistics, as good as they are, don’t do his game justice. McGrady would have fans jumping out of their seats with his shifty handle, crazy athleticism and fantastic finishing ability. McGrady could score at all three levels and showed it off on a nightly basis. McGrady finished top 5 in MVP voting twice in his career. His prime was cut short due to injuries, but when he was healthy, he was unguardable. There are a handful of guys voted in ahead of him who he is clearly more talented than.
Dwight Howard
15.8 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 0.5 APG
8x All Star, 1x Champion, 3x Defensive Player of the Year, 8x All-NBA, 5x All-Defensive
This was by far the biggest snub by the voters. There is zero logic behind Dwight Howard not being on that list. He is one of the greatest defensive players of all time and in his prime was a dominant paint presence on offense as well. He has fallen off as an elite player in the NBA recently, which probably had the voters leaning against him, but his prime stacks up to half the big men on the final roster. He’s 6th all time in rebounding, 15th all time in blocks and 7th all time in field goal percentage. The numbers keep coming when you get more advanced as well. He’s 11th all time in Defensive Win Shares and 31st in Win Shares in general. He is also 52nd in career Player Efficiency Rating, which is astounding for a player who couldn’t shoot or pass. This one was just a mistake by the voters and he should be a lock for the top 100 team they make in 25 years from now.
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