Please help me deliver justice.

[NiceCatch]

[ QUOTE ]
Why did he get in, in the first place?

(also... wasnt he mentioned in the 'most dominating athlete' thread?)

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not completely sure how he got into the Hall. He won two championships, one with Portland early in his career, and one later on in his career with the Celtics (he was not a starter at this point). My hunch is that he got in mainly based on his reputation as one of the greatest college players in history (which he was, by most definitions). However, college success should not get one into the professional Hall of Fame.

[Bulldog]

It's not the PROFESSIONAL Basketball Hall of Fame, it's the Basketball Hall of Fame. I despise Walton as an announcer, but there is no question about his HoF cred.

[pudley4]

[ QUOTE ]
I'd like to start a petition to have Bill Walton removed from the NBA Hall of Fame. Does anyone know how I could go about doing this?

[/ QUOTE ]

It's not just the NBA Hall of Fame, it's the Basketball Hall of Fame (which is why there are women and foreign players who never played in the NBA, as well as college coaches).

Walton absolutely deserves to be in based on his collegiate career (he's a top-10 all-time college player.)

[hoopsie44]

You're right. The reason he's in is based on his college career. Same with Bill Bradley. Great college player at Princeton. A good player at best with the NY Knicks.

[hoopsie44]

Take him out of the basketball hall of fame and induct him into the rock and roll hall of fame as an honorary deadhead.

[West]

At his peak in the NBA, Walton was a bit better than "a good player at best". And he was beset by injuries from the moment he entered the league.

[trying2learn]

No one argues he was one of the greatest college players ever, period. He won two titles in the NBA. These things are all stated here - add those things along with the fact that it's the basketball hall of fame - and you have a ludicrous petition and cause.

he is bad at doing color - but he's bad in that howard stern way that even his largest critics always have something to say about him even if it's bad...and that makes for good broadcasting.

[hoopsie44]

I'm not comparing Bradley and Walton. And being injury prone isn't a criterion for getting in the hall of fame.

[West]

Of course you were comparing them.

Obviously Walton had a stellar college career, but that isn't the only reason he's in the hall of fame. I mentioned his injuries to give context to his NBA career (which included leading Portland to an NBA championship, and being named league MVP the following year).

[West]

Here is a list of NBA MVP winners from when they apparently were first handed out (1955-56):

1955-56 - Bob Pettit, St. Louis
1956-57 - Bob Cousy, Boston
1957-58 - Bill Russell, Boston
1958-59 - Bob Pettit, St. Louis
1959-60 - Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia
1960-61 - Bill Russell, Boston
1961-62 - Bill Russell, Boston
1962-63 - Bill Russell, Boston
1963-64 - Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati
1964-65 - Bill Russell, Boston
1965-66 - Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia
1966-67 - Wilt Chamberlain, Phildadelphia
1967-68 - Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia
1968-69 - Wes Unseld, Baltimore
1969-70 - Willis Reed, New York
1970-71 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Milwaukee
1971-72 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Milwaukee
1972-73 - Dave Cowens, Boston
1973-74 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Milwaukee
1974-75 - Bob McAdoo, Buffalo
1975-76 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles
1976-77 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles
1977-78 - Bill Walton, Portland
1978-79 - Moses Malone, Houston
1979-80 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles
1980-81 - Julius Erving, Philadelphia
1981-82 - Moses Malone, Houston
1982-83 - Moses Malone, Philadelphia
1983-84 - Larry Bird, Boston
1984-85 - Larry Bird, Boston
1985-86 - Larry Bird, Boston
1986-87 - Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers
1987-88 - Michael Jordan, Chicago
1988-89 - Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers
1989-90 - Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers
1990-91 - Michael Jordan, Chicago
1991-92 - Michael Jordan, Chicago
1992-93 - Charles Barkley, Phoenix
1993-94 - Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston
1994-95 - David Robinson, San Antonio
1995-96 - Michael Jordan, Chicago
1996-97 - Karl Malone, Utah
1997-98 - Michael Jordan, Chicago
1998-99 - Karl Malone, Utah
1999-00 - Shaquille O'Neal, Los Angeles Lakers
2000-01 - Allen Iverson, Philadelphia
2001-02 - Tim Duncan, San Antonio
2002-03 - Tim Duncan, San Antonio
2003-04 - Kevin Garnett, Minnesota

Here is a list of players on the above list who are NOT in the Hall of Fame, AND who have been eligible to be elected in the past:




.