It's amazing that Grant Hill and TMac have never made it out of the first round. It's even more amazing that Robert Horry has advanced to at least the second round all 16 years he has been the league. He has led one of the most charmed NBA careers ever.
Statistically speaking, it is impossible for that be a 'charm.' That is what we call 'being the MAN.'
Robert Horry will always be "The Man". But he has also been unbelievably luck to play with the Rockets, Lakers, and Spurs when each time was in its prime. He of course contributed to each of those teams' success. 16 for 16 is just so incredible. It's hard to imagine any other player matching that.
True. But he is a key ingredient to helping those good teams be great. He always seems to have his imprint in clutch moments. Even last night when he poked the ball from Nash's hands in the last minute was huge.
Big Shot Robert has thrived as the big shot maker. He offers little to get to the play-offs, but as long as he is well surrounded he can, and does, come thru. Right guy at the right place at the right time. Just don't ask too much of him.
That is amazing. Tim Duncan is 11/11 but at least he pulled the wagon while Horry mostly went along for the ride.
Not true. Duncan's Spurs got eliminated in the first round in 2000 (I think) by the Phoenix Suns. Duncan's knee was bothering him, and I think he missed most if not all of that series.
There was a play before that one when Nash turned it over, and the commentators mistakenly thought it was Parker who poked the ball out, but it was indeed Bob. I love Bob. His contributions to Clutch City and my love for him as a child will never fade from my memory, no matter how many players he shoves or big shots he makes for other teams. The very first recollection of an NBA game I had was in 1994, I was 7, and the TV announcer said "Robert Horry...just FLEW through the air!" I really believed a basketball player had just flown. I remember excitedly telling my parents that I had seen a player fly. The trade for Chuck was devastating to me. My parents had just bought me his jersey too. I will always remember being a huge fan of him, and I'm glad he has had so much playoff success.
I think he's talking about the play at the top of the key where Nash tried to go around the screen. Horry stuck out his hand and snatched the ball away. I don't know if that was last minute, but it was clutch for sure. Bowen knocked the ball (off Nash, apparently) in the final seconds on the in-bounds play.
His luckiest moment was when he threw a towel at Danny Ainge and got traded to the Lakers for Ced Ceballos. Otherwise, he might've journeyed on mediocre teams with their local media hounding him for not playing up to his potential.
No. That was the Lakers luckiest moment. Otherwise Kobe and Shaq would have had 2 less championships. Horry already had 2 rings before he joined the Lakers.
If he wins a ring this year, he will be 8/16 in regards to championships. How many players can say that besides maybe Bill Russell.
I had Sam's career in mind. Sam was a great player post-Rockets but he didn't have the teams (except the trainwreck in Minny and now Boston) to take him there. Horry's nowhere productive than Sam during the regular season.
Horry was best when he was on the Rockets.. I remember a few times he looked like he jumped from the free throw line for monster dunks over people. He was much more athletic back in those days. We were lucky to have him.
After #2, the media was ready to call him the next Scottie Pippen. Great defender, reliable shooter, long lanky arms and smart overall player. It's too bad chronic tendinitis hampered his career, but he did alright. I'm just thinking how if Tmac was a victim of circumstances, then Horry has definitely capitalized and excelled in his.
Lets not forget that Horry is a good defensive player too. He can block shots, can steal the ball (tons of steals vs the Magic in 95) and get key rebounds (over charles vs phoenix). Plus Horry has changed lots of shots with his wing span and caused the other PF to guard him at 3 point line leaving the Center to wreak havoc.
It seems appropriate to post my favorite Bill Simmons article. It's about Big Shot Bob just after Game 5 of the 2005 Finals. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/050620 Somebody needs to go through Robert Horry's playoff games, pluck out all the big plays and shots, then run them in sequence for like 10 straight minutes with one of those cool sports video songs playing (like Aerosmith's "Dream On," or Led Zeppelin's "The Rain Song"). Who wouldn't enjoy that? I bet Horry has made at least 20 to 25 humongous shots over the years. Seriously. Now … You might be asking yourself, "Wait, that opening paragraph sounded a little familiar." Well, it should. I wrote it two summers ago. Here's the point: Even if Horry had retired in 2003, we would have remembered Big Shot Bob for life. But he saved his defining moment for Sunday night, throwing a rattled Spurs team on his back in Detroit and making … I mean … it would almost demean what happened to write something like "some huge 3-pointers" or "a number of game-saving plays." Considering the situation (a budding Spurs collapse that seemed eerily reminiscent of the 2004 Lakers series), the circumstances (nobody else on his team was stepping up) and the opponent (one of the best defensive teams ever, playing at home), Horry's Game 5 ranks alongside MJ's Game 6 in 1998, Worthy's Game 7 in 1988, Frazier's Game 7 in 1970 and every other clutch Finals performance over the years. If Horry hadn't scored 21 of his team's last 35 points, the Spurs would have been "Dead Man Walking" heading back to San Antonio. Instead, they're probably going to win the title Tuesday night. Robert Horry Big Shot Bob driving to the hoop is NOT what the Pistons want to see at crunch time. (And forget about saving the season; Horry probably altered the course of Tim Duncan's career. If the Spurs had lost that game, they would have eventually blown the series and everyone would have blamed Duncan all summer, mainly because of his epic stink bomb down the stretch that brought back memories of Karl Malone and Elvin Hayes. Now he's just another great player who had an atrocious game at the wrong time. That's the power of Big Shot Bob. And if you think a rejuvenated/relieved/thankful Duncan isn't throwing up a 35-15 Tuesday night, you're crazy.) My favorite thing about Sunday night's game: When Horry drained that go-ahead three at the end of the third quarter, it was like sitting at a poker table with a good player who plays possum for an hour, then suddenly pushes a stack of chips into the middle. Uh-oh. He's making his move. You could just see it coming. The rest of the game played out like that – the Spurs always one mistake from blowing the game, Horry bailing them out again and again. By the time he jammed home that astounding lefty dunk in overtime, everyone knew the game would somehow end up in Horry's hands. Well, everyone but Rasheed Wallace. (That reminds me. We're always too quick to demolish athletes who make dumb plays or screw up at the worst possible times, from Byner's fumble to C-Webb's timeout to poor Bill Buckner … but at the same time, I feel like 'Sheed's brainfart will somehow get swept under the rug in the afterglow of such an electric game. Let the record show that Wallace's decision to leave a scorching-hot Horry to double-team Ginobili was the single dumbest play in the history of the NBA Finals. For sweeping significance and staggering inexplicability, it cannot be topped. I'm telling you.) Horry's career has always been a nice litmus test for the question, "Do you understand the game of basketball or not?" Nearly all of his strengths aren't things that casual fans would notice. He's the kind of guy who would be useless on the "And 1" tour. For instance, he's a terrific help defender who constantly covers for his teammates. He's big enough to handle power forwards and quick enough to handle small forwards. He picks his spots and only asserts himself in big situations when his team truly needs him. He doesn't care about stats or touches – at all – which gives him something in common with maybe 2 percent of the league. And he gets better when it matters. What more would you want from a supporting player? Robert Horry Horry just might be screaming his way into the Hall of Fame. Lord knows I've written about him enough times. I once compared him to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, explaining that "Nobody ever talks about him, but he's always there when you need him, just like the Peebee and Jay." I compared him to Nate Dogg, John Cazale and every other famous person who flew under the radar screen but always ended up in good situations. When someone asked me in a recent mailbag whether I would have Horry's career (multiple rings and rich) or Barkley/Malone's careers (no rings and obscenely rich), I opted for Horry's career (and didn't even think twice). Imagine playing on five (soon to be six) championship teams, ending up with a cool nickname, making $50 million, earning the everlasting respect of everyone who ever played with or against you … and you didn't have to deal with any of the superstar BS? Have a great game, everyone notices you. Have a terrible game, nobody notices you. And that's your life. Doesn't that sound like the ultimate gig? In a league loaded with guys who believe they're better than they actually are, Horry understands his own strengths and limitations better than anyone. That's what makes him so great. And that's why I like the poker analogy for him. He's the guy sitting at the table with a towering stack of chips, the guy who never chases a bad hand, the guy who makes your heart pound when he's staring you down. You never remember the hands he lost, but you always remember the ones he won. And when he finally cashes out and gets up from the table, you hope you never have to see him again. Does that make him a Hall of Famer some day? Before this spring, I would have said no … and then Steve Nash won the MVP. Now I'm prepared for anything. But you know where I stand. Instead of making Horry's case in full, I'm telling you a story that hasn't even happened yet. Maybe it will be this summer, maybe next summer, maybe 15 years from now. But when ESPN Classic shows Game 5 of the 2005 Finals some day and I'm calling my buddy House just to tell him, "Turn on Classic, they're showing the Robert Horry Game," I can pretty much guarantee his response: "Which one?"
