So if say Marcus Smart had spent his teens and early 20s in two Euro leagues dominating the competition with 20+ PPG and then spent seven seasons with the Celtics averaging 14.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists, that would make him a HOFer? I love Marcus, but no way is he a HOFer simply because he’s capable of being dominant in Europe (like so many other borderline NBA all-stars/all-defenders).
Obviously understand it is the basketball HOF, but that doesn’t put Christian Laettner in it, does it? Unlike Toni, Laettner actually made an NBA all-star appearance (and the same age when Toni was 6MOY)…Ultimately, a dude who started the NBA at 25 and never made it to a single all-star game is not a HOFer (nor is Laettner, who dominated stiffer competition in his late teens/early 20s than Toni did in Europe). Heck, Toni did not even make the FIBA HOF until 2017, so how much weight does that really carry?
His appearance in the basketball HOF greatly diminishes the caliber of the institution. Yes, it’s not the NBA HOF, but the NBA is King. Unless you absolutely humiliate Team USA as your country’s best player in your prime (see Sabonis, Arvydas, 1988 Olympics, who was never even given the choice to play in the NBA until past his prime; Argentina in 2004 had Ginobili, whose NBA career warrants the HOF that aside), really do not see competition overseas being a substitute for NBA experience as it relates to the basketball HOF. That’s what the FIBA HOF and College Basketball HOF are for…