Plain and simple should Dennis Rodman be a Hall of Famer? At first reaction I said yes. Then I thought about it and went to look for comparables. I looked up 2 guys that are in the HOF, Wes Unseld and Nate Thurmond. Then I looked up 3 more that aren't in, Buck Williams, Ben Wallace, and Rick Mahorn. Comparables in per game averages are listed below. While looking at the list of HOFers I saw the name of one Drazen Petrovic, I know he died after only a short NBA career but if he's in the Hall then the doors should be flung wide open.
[Rodman actually was the league’s rebounding champion for seven straight seasons, from 1992 to 1998. While speaking at the Hall of Fame, he couldn’t help but make his case to eventually be enshrined with the game’s greats.
“I’ve had a helluva run. I think being here signifies that I should be in someday, one day before I die,” said Rodman.
Given his resume—five-time NBA champion, seven-time NBA All-Defensive First Team, two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and two-time NBA All-Star—the argument is certainly valid.] 1
Rodman 911games 7.3 points 13.1 rebs 1.8 assist .7 steal .6 blk
Unseld* 984 games 10.8 points 14 rebs 3.9 assist 1.1 steal .6 blk
Thurmond* 964 games 15 points 15 rebs 2.7 assist .5 steal 2.1blk
Williams 1307 games 12.8 points 10 rebs 1.3 assist .8 steal .8 blk
Mahorn 1117 games 6.9 points 6.2 rebs 1 assist .6 steal .9 blk
Wallace 972 games 6.2 points 10.1 rebs 1.4 assist 1.3 steal 2.1 blk
* hall of fame members
The wild card factors:
Rodman 5 titles, 2 AS games, 2 Def POY, 7 All Def 1st team
Unseld 1 title, 5 AS games, 1 MVP
Thurmond 0 titles, 7 AS games, 1 All rookie team, 2 All Def 1st team, 3 All Def 2nd team
Hall of Fame probability(explained here) # in ( ) is HOF probability rank in history.
Rodman .467(103), Unseld .539(94), Thurmond .758(76)
It's a tough call his wild card factors may put him over the top but some may say his antics keep him out.
1 - excerpt taken from Adam Fluck on bulls.com, full article here
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