Is Robert Horry a Hall of Famer?

[bdm860]

I said yes to Horry, but would say no to Kerr (and Harper and Grant)
I said yes to Horry because I viewed him as a vital cog on multiple champhionship teams, even though Kerr and Harper and Grant were the same, I say no to them because I don't view them as important and vital as Horry.  I don't think every player who contributes to champioship teams deserves to be in, just like I don't think every player with good to great stats deserves to be in.

Horry (playoff statistics):

'93-'94 Rockets: 11.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 43.4% shooting
'94-'95 Rockets: 13.1 points, 7.0 rebounds, 44.5% shooting
'99-'00 Lakers: 7.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 40.7% shooting
'00-'01 Lakers: 5.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 36.8% shooting
'01-'02 Lakers: 9.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, 44.9% shooting
'04-'05 Spurs: 9.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 44.8% shooting
'06-'07 Spurs: 4.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, 41.7% shooting

Career playoff averages: 8.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, 42.6% shooting

In terms of being a "vital cog", maybe you can make that argument for Horry's Houston years, but the rest of his numbers are fairly pedestrian.  He's hit some big shots, but so have Steve Kerr and Derek Fisher. 

Horry has won seven championships because he has been fortunate / smart enough to play with three of the top ten big men in NBA history, Hakeem, Shaq, and Duncan. 

We may have different definitions of "vital cog" because I would also view James Posey as a "vital cog" to this team, and his numbers so far this postseason are: 6.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 42.4% shooting, which compare to all of Horry's lesser year numbers.  How about "key piece" or "essential role" or "integral member"?  Or I can just go back to my thesaurus and try again. 
My argument for Horry is definitely not based on numbers, unless we're counting rings and clutch shots.

[Finkelskyhook]

The hall of fame should feature champions if they're going to feature stat hounds. 

Players like Iverson, Carter, Marbury, and O'Grady to name a few, players  who never have and never will win anything close to a championship are called "future hall of famers" by so-called experts because they have selfish, gaudy stats.  Unfortunately, and sadly, they're probably right.

From Bakku
but Horry has never been more than mediocre, except for his "big shots", and that's nowhere near the kind of accomplishment to be afforded a HOF nod ... not remotely.

His ability to hit those big shots is what makes him unique.  And what has won the teams he's been championships.  That's what the Hall of Fame should be about.  Players like Dennis Johnson and Robert Horry, who for some unexplained reason, always end up on championship teams, are not worthy? Hello?? It ain't an accident.  The player who has hit more big playoff shots than any player in history isn't worthy?   The player who has seven rings isn't worthy and the player who has wrecked every team he's been on is??

Horry is a hall of famer ahead of anybody on our current roster until.....

 

[RebusRankin]

Please do not compare DJ to Horry. Yes, Dj's not in the Hall but he deserves to be, not just because he's a winner like Horry but because he was an all-star, a finals MVP, one of the top defenders in the league and a winner.

[Neurotic Guy]

The hall of fame should feature champions if they're going to feature stat hounds. 

Players like Iverson, Carter, Marbury, and O'Grady to name a few, players  who never have and never will win anything close to a championship are called "future hall of famers" by so-called experts because they have selfish, gaudy stats.  Unfortunately, and sadly, they're probably right.

From Bakku
but Horry has never been more than mediocre, except for his "big shots", and that's nowhere near the kind of accomplishment to be afforded a HOF nod ... not remotely.

His ability to hit those big shots is what makes him unique.  And what has won the teams he's been championships.  That's what the Hall of Fame should be about.  Players like Dennis Johnson and Robert Horry, who for some unexplained reason, always end up on championship teams, are not worthy? Hello?? It ain't an accident.  The player who has hit more big playoff shots than any player in history isn't worthy?   The player who has seven rings isn't worthy and the player who has wrecked every team he's been on is??

Horry is a hall of famer ahead of anybody on our current roster until.....

 

You just compared Horry with DJ.  Do some research; DJ has stats, was a starter, AND was a winner.  No one ever said Horry was the best player he'd ever played with.  One LB said that about DJ.  No comparison.

[celticmaestro]

no, he's not. and yes, it's that easy.

[Mr October]

No. He is not a Hall of Famer. He was a very, very good role player.

But the dude was just a role player, and epitomized the "i'm going to coast through the regular season, and then just turn it on in the playoffs" attitude.

You have to make a few all star teams AND be a big time winner in order to be a hall of famer.

[the_Bird]

I just think the whole concept of "the greatest role player of all time" is a logical fallacy.  A role player, by defintion, is someone who is limited in some major capacity - otherwise, they'd be considered to be MORE than a role player.  It's like saying someone's the best backup center in the league, it's basically a backhanded compliment; "You're the best player who's not good enough to start."

[MBz]

Nope.  You can call him a great role player, I'll call him an underachiever.  He had the abilities to be a rather good player in the league and chose not to.  He will never deserve to be in the hall of fame.

[Reyquila]

Being a winner is not something that a player can control. PP has won nothing yet and he may well not win anything. That means he cannot be a Hall of Famer? I dont know. A team wins if it has enough players to win it all. KG and PP wont win a Pennant cause the dont have enough players to back them up. So they wont be winners? Is that it? Bird was a winner; so was Magic and so was Cousy, etc. But they played with a whole orchestra. Some guys could have won it all with more support; They had the tools to be a superb player and if they had had the right complemental players. they would have won their share of players; they didnt. So being a Hall of Famer depends mostly in their individual achievements, and winning a pennant or two helps, but not determinative. How many MLP are Hall of famers and they never played for a winning team: You know who Ernie Banks was, by any chance?
  

[Steve Weinman]

The hall of fame should feature champions if they're going to feature stat hounds. 

Players like Iverson, Carter, Marbury, and O'Grady to name a few, players  who never have and never will win anything close to a championship are called "future hall of famers" by so-called experts because they have selfish, gaudy stats.  Unfortunately, and sadly, they're probably right.

From Bakku
but Horry has never been more than mediocre, except for his "big shots", and that's nowhere near the kind of accomplishment to be afforded a HOF nod ... not remotely.

His ability to hit those big shots is what makes him unique.  And what has won the teams he's been championships.  That's what the Hall of Fame should be about.  Players like Dennis Johnson and Robert Horry, who for some unexplained reason, always end up on championship teams, are not worthy? Hello?? It ain't an accident.  The player who has hit more big playoff shots than any player in history isn't worthy?   The player who has seven rings isn't worthy and the player who has wrecked every team he's been on is??

Horry is a hall of famer ahead of anybody on our current roster until.....

 

I'm right there with ya, Finkel.  Very well put.

As I mentioned in today's Daily Babble, it was about a year ago that I first began my campaign for BSB to gain a place in Springfield, with this column: http://mvn.com/nba-source/2007/05/01/big-shot-bob-shooting-his-way-toward-springfield/

As a few others have mentioned, his team successes have not occurred by coincidence.

One other brief note -- it was mentioned earlier (my apologies for being in a rush and not checking the name) that Horry has been "terrible" in San Antonio.  Note please that they don't win the 2005 title without his ginormously huge Game 5.

-sw

[Neurotic Guy]

John Havlicek, Player
Cornelius L. Hawkins, Player
Elvin E. Hayes, Player
Thomas W. Heinsohn, Player
Bailey Howell, Player

These are the modern(ish) players enshrined in the Basketball HOF under the letter 'H'.  Robert Horry fits in this group how exactly? Look at these guys -- you think they are all about stats?  How about being among the best players of all time.

Truthfully, I don't really care much about sports museums and who is officially enshrined.  Horry's name will make its way there via his clutch shots as his shots are part of basketball history and are noteworthy, just as Shilling's sock will make it to Cooperstown as will recognition of Clemens' Cy Youngs and 20 strikeout performances even though neither may be officially enshrined. 

[bostonfan23]

absolutely not.

[Celtic]

Robert Horry as a hall of famer is laughable at best. If it took Dominique this long to get in, Horry will never get in, and absolutely does not deserve to.

[OmarSekou]

*Thread Closed*

[LB3533]

Sure Robert Horry can be a hall of famer, but not before Antoine Walker.