Further undeniable proof that the NBA sucks

Well, in this case, it isn't really the NBA, but rather the Basketball Hall of Fame. If the early reports that Dominique Wilkins did not earn election to the Hall are accurate, the electing body is a joke. Seriously, this is complete and total bullshit.

Halls of Fames are a point of annoyance to me. One day I'll probably post my longstanding beef with the Baseball Hall of Fame for excluding Dale Murphy, while inducting fatass womanbeater Kirby Puckett on the first attempt (look at the numbers, seriously). The exclusion of Murph and the supposed Nique exclusion makes me think even less of the "honor". The electing bodies make Middle School Student Council elections look like the paragon of democracy.

Now, I could spend the rest of this post bitching about New York bias, or more accurately, anti-southern bias. But I'll leave that to Furman Bisher on Sunday (Terrence Moore can handle the race angle, though he might have more trouble considering the other nominees).

Instead, I'll just look at the numbers. I ask, no I freaking dare, anyone to tell me that ANY of the other nominees were more deserving than Nique.

The coaches, women and foreigners I can't adequately compare using any form of objective set of data, so I'll just take a look at the other NBA players.

THE NOMINEES

Maurice Cheeks: 11.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 6.7 assists pg, 2.1 steals pg, 0.3 blocks pg. Four time all star, 8th all time in Assists, 3rd all time in Steals. Never led the league in any statistical category. One NBA title. According to Basketball-Reference, the most similar players in his prime are Ricky Green and Mark Jackson.

Adrian Dantley: 24.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 3.0 assists pg, 1.0 steals pg, 0.2 blocks pg. Six time all star, Rookie of the Year, 17th all time in points, 14th all time in ppg, 6th all time FT made. Never won a title. Most similar player: Bernard King.

Joe Dumars: 16.1 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 4.5 assists pg, 0.9 steals pg, 0.1 blocks pg. Six time all star, 2 NBA titles, one Finals MVP. Not in the top 25 in any statistical category for his career. 29th all time in 3pt FGs. Most similar player: World B. Free (not a HOFer).

Dennis Johnson: 14.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 5.0 assists pg, 1.3 steals pg, 0.6 blocks pg. Five time all star, 2 NBA titles, one Finals MVP. Not in the top 25 in any statistical category for his career. 30th in steals. Most similar player: Doug Christie (!!!).

Bernard King: 22.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 3.3 assists pg, 1.0 steals pg, 0.3 blocks pg. Four time all star, no NBA titles. 21st all time in ppg, 18th all time in turnovers. Most similar player: Adrian Dantley.

Chet Walker: 18.2 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 2.1 assists pg, steals and blocks not tallied for much of his career. Seven time all star, one NBA title. 23rd in FT attempts, 22nd in FT made. 40th in points. No similar player given. NBA.com says he was a behind the scenes guy on a teams that had other Hall of Famers (Wilt, Hal Greer, Billy Cunningham, Bob Love).

Dominique Wilkins: 24.8 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 2.5 assists pg, 1.3 steals pg, 0.6 blocks pg. NINE time all star, no NBA titles. 9th all time in points, 11th in ppg, 7th in FG attempted, 13th in FT, 22nd in offensive rebounds, 25th in minutes played, 24th in turnovers. Most similar player: MICHAEL FREAKING JORDAN!!!!

Sure, you're not supposed to compare the nominees against each other. Rather, you should decide on whether the player deserves it. But if ANY of these guys get in and Nique doesn't, that's bullshit. Mo Cheeks will get in because of the steals and assists, and he's probably a borderline first ballot kind of guy anyway. But more than anything else, because he's considered a good guy (and I have a feeling the blow up with Darius Miles probably helps him with the old guard), he'll probably get in. Dantley and King both should probably get in, but neither are definite first ballot players. If either get in ahead of Nique, it's wrong. I probably can't comment too much on Chet Walker. If the NBA.com story is right, he looks like he's a better version of Sam Cassell. He's been around a while, so who knows? Dennis Johnson is also kind of like Chet Walker, though maybe not quite as accomplished. I'd lean towards no with both. Dumars is not a Hall of Famer. Dominique Wilkins was badly snubbed with the 50 Greatest Players list. This is an even worse slap in the face. Shame on the voters. Shame on the Hall of Fame.