Justin Kubatko of Basketball-reference.com makes the argument for Dikembe Mutombo belonging in the HOF. http://www.basketball-reference.com/blog/?p=2218 [rquoter] After rupturing a quadriceps tendon in his left knee during Houston’s 107-103 playoff loss to Portland last Tuesday, Dikembe Mutombo announced his retirement from the NBA. Mutombo leaves behind a legacy of being not only one of the NBA’s finest defensive players, but also of one of its finest humanitarians. A reader suggested we run Mutombo’s career under the microscope of the Keltner List, so here we go… ... 1. Was he ever regarded as the best player in basketball? Did anybody, while he was active, ever suggest that he was the best player in basketball? No on both counts. 2. Was he the best player on his team? Mutombo was the best player on the Nuggets teams of the early 1990’s, and I would also classify him as the best player on the Hawks teams of the late 1990’s, although some people might go with Steve Smith. In Philadelphia he played second fiddle to Allen Iverson, and after his days with the 76ers he was mainly a role player (albeit a very productive one). 3. Was he the best player in basketball at his position? Mutmobo’s career overlapped the careers of centers like David Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, and Shaquille O’Neal, so the answer is no. 4. Did he have an impact on a number of NBA Finals or Conference Finals? No. Mutombo played on two teams that advanced to the NBA Finals, the 2000-01 76ers (lost to the Lakers in five games) and the 2002-03 Nets (lost to the Spurs in six games), although he was just a bit player on that Nets team. In all fairness, though, the 2000-01 76ers probably would not have advanced to the Finals without Mutombo, who was a late season acquisition from the Hawks. 5. Was he good enough that he could play regularly after passing his prime? Mutombo was an effective player into his 40’s, so the answer is definitely yes. 6. Is he the very best (eligible) basketball player in history who is not in the Hall of Fame? Mutombo is not yet eligible, so right now this question is moot. 7. Are most players who have comparable statistics in the Hall of Fame? Mutombo has 115.6 career Win Shares. There are six former players who have a career Win Shares total between 110 and 120: George Gervin, Horace Grant, Kevin McHale, Terry Porter, Jack Sikma, and Dominique Wilkins. Exactly half of these players (Gervin, McHale, and Wilkins) are in the Hall of Fame. 8. Do the player’s numbers meet Hall of Fame standards? Mutombo’s Hall of Fame probability is very low (0.006). Why? He didn’t do the things that the Hall of Fame voters seem to focus on. In particular, his career scoring average was very low (9.8 points per game), he received almost no MVP consideration (see #11 below), and he never played for a championship team. 9. Is there any evidence to suggest that the player was significantly better or worse than is suggested by his statistics? Yes, and this is where Mutombo’s case can best be made. Traditional statistics are inadequate, at best, for evaluating defense, and defense was Mutombo’s calling card. First, let’s look at the qualitative evidence. Mutombo was named Defensive Player of the Year four times, tied for the most in NBA history (with Ben Wallace), and he was also named to six All-Defensive teams (three 1st team, three 2nd team). Examining some more advanced defensive statistics, Mutombo’s career defensive rebound percentage of 26.2% is the 7th-best in NBA history (since 1973-74); his block percentage of 6.3% is the 9th-best (since 1973-74); and he has 67.9 Defensive Win Shares, 9th-most in league history (since 1973-74). Both the qualitative and quantitative evidence suggest that Mutombo was one of the premier defenders of his time. 10. Is he the best player at his position who is eligible for the Hall of Fame? Mutombo is not yet eligible, so right now this question is moot. 11. How many MVP-type seasons did he have? Did he ever win an MVP award? If not, how many times was he close? The only season in which Mutombo received any MVP consideration was 1996-97, and that year he had a mere four points in the voting. 12. How many All-Star-type seasons did he have? How many All-Star games did he play in? Did most of the players who played in this many All-Star games go into the Hall of Fame? Mutombo was selected to play in eight All-Star games, a very respectable total. Six former players have appeared in exactly eight All-Star games: Rick Barry, Dave DeBusschere, Alex English, Larry Foust, Bob Lanier, and Bill Sharman. All but Foust are in the Hall of Fame. 13. If this man were the best player on his team, would it be likely that the team could win an NBA title? It’s unlikely. Mutombo was arguably the best player on five playoff teams in the 1990’s, and none of them advanced past the second round of the playoffs. 14. What impact did the player have on basketball history? Was he responsible for any rule changes? Did he introduce any new equipment? Did he change the game in any way? Was his college and/or international career especially noteworthy? Mutombo was a very good college player, although his collegiate career was not especially noteworthy. On the court, Mutombo’s famous “finger wag” after blocking an opponent’s shot was banned in 1999 following complaints from other coaches and players, although eventually the NBA relented and allowed Mutombo to do it as long as he did not wag his finger in an opponent’s face. Off the court, Mutombo has been involved in numerous humanitarian efforts to aid his home country, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Verdict: Mutombo is a Hall of Famer. He was one of the finest defensive players of his generation and, while never being a high volume scorer, was also a very efficient offensive player. [/rquoter]
mutombo deserves a hall nod for his contributions beyond the nba. he has been recognized by world leaders around the globe for his charitable efforts.
i like the analysis. while I think that Mutombo should be in the Hall of Fame... I think that the evidence presented in this specific article leans strongly towards him NOT getting in. I find it hard to believe that, using only these questions as evaluation criteria, they still somehow came to the conclusion that he should be in. but again, i do think he should be in based on his top-5-defensive-players-of-his-generation status, his top-5-all-time-shot-blocker status (saying top 5 assuming others may or may not have been above if the stat was kept in the past), and his presence as a role model/ambassador/humanitarian (like it or not, off the court stuff does seem to count...see Drazen Petrovic being an international presence helping him get in)
I think he'll get in. They will say it was because of his defense but he'll get in because he is a great humanitarian and was just overall a great person for basketball. Them calling Deke a very efficient offensive player seems to be a bit misleading though.
It distinguishes him from a player like, say, Ben Wallace or Dennis Rodman in the second half of his career. Players who on average were not efficient offensively.
BasketBall hall of fame does not mean only basketball, Deke does well in his services in multiple NBA teams, and he does more to market NBA to someone do cares, and he should be in HOF without a second thoughts
I don't see how Mutumbo doesn't make the HoF. If he doesn't that is a travesty of the voters, while not a scorer, defensively he was top tier in the NBA during his time. His impact can be questioned but of all the guys they will have in the HoF, Mutumbo's impact on the game and beyond should not be questioned.
David Robinson was voted ahead of him on the All-Defensive Team in 94/95, when he won his first DPOY. Maybe coaches do one of them, and the media the other.
I only say that because fg% talk is in right now. Deke was not a great offensive player. I admit he's 7'2 so if he catches the ball in great position he will score. I think his fg% (i assume that's what they mean by offensive efficiency, even though there is much more to offense than that) is not really all that relevant particularly later in his career. He was only taking a couple shots a game, so he was only taking gimme's. His fg% dipped from 54% last year to 39% this year...did you notice? I didn't, because it had very little impact on the game. Question: Is Dwight a more offensively efficient player than Yao?
Seriously, why do we have threads like this? No way he's in the HOF. Yes, he was a great defensive player and amazing human being in his charitable work, but come on, being a NBA elite player. I wish this was true but he's not. Then we have to look at all defensive stoppers who had some sort of impact. True, I do agree that we have HOF players that were only scoring machines, but that sticks out more than blocks/defense. Let me ask you this, is Alonso Mouning a HOF? I don't think so, and I do think he's better than Deke.
He could be referring to Offensive Efficiency, which sort of can be described as "effective points produced per individual possession." It's a really complicated metric described in Basketball on Paper that's been on basketball-reference.com for a long while. Deke's career offensive efficiency is 111, which is pretty good even for a low usage center (saying "very good" is perhaps a stretch). His previous 3 seasons with the Rockets it has been well over 120, which puts him amongst the league leaders.
I like the verdict, he should be a hof. although I'm a little surprised to read the verdict after saw so many "no"s
