Steve Kerr will be a Hall of Fame lock…but that is as a Coach.

…and he should be.

As a Head Coach, Kerr captained the Golden State Warriors to four NBA Championships, was a two-time Coach of the Year, and was named to the top 15 NBA Coaches in NBA History.  That places him in Hall of Fame air, but this list is about what you do as a player, and nobody understood his role better than Steve Kerr.

Kerr might be one of the greatest sharpshooters behind the arc of all time, and as of this writing, he holds the highest 3-point Field Goal Percentage ever, and in the right system, he was electric.  Luckily for Kerr, he found that often, aiding Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls win their second three-peat and the San Antonio Spurs capture their first two titles.  

Kerr’s high-end court vision, selfishness, and leadership made Kerr one of the most valuable teammates of the 1990s and early 2000s, and even though he was no superstar, he knew better than anyone how to work with them.

Pre-2019-20 Rank: #3, Pre-2020-21 Rank #4, Pre-2021-22 Rank: #3, Pre-2022-23 Rank: #4, Pre-2023-24 Rank: #4.

*Peak Period: 2007-08 to 2013-14.

There is no doubt that Chris Paul will enter the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on his first try, and he should.  With a resume of 12 All-Stars, 11 All-NBA Selections, five Assists Titles and six Steals titles, and the statistical landmark as the first player to compile 20,000 Points and 11,000 Assists, Springfield will roll out the red carpet for the legendary Guard.

Saying all of that, what would he have given up for a Title?  It is not that he has not been close, as he was on an excellent Clippers team and a Suns team that made the 2021 Finals, but he is now in a journeyman phase where he adds a veteran presence.  This year, he joined the San Antonio Spurs, his seventh team, and is still looking for that elusive NBA Championship.

Paul might challenge Charles Barkley and Karl Malone for the unofficial title of the best player never to win a ring.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB. Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players and executive.  As such it is news to us that the French newspaper, Le Parisien has reported that the San Antonio Spurs will be retiring the number 9 during their home game against the Memphis Grizzlies on November 11.

We do want to state that this has not been reported by the Spurs as of this writing, but this certainly seems like a plausible story.

The French native played all but his last season in the NBA with San Antonio, the team who drafted him 28^thOverall in 2001.  The Point Guard would go onto be a six-time All-Star who was part of the Spurs’ “Big Three” with Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan. Parker would help San Antonio win the NBA Championship four times (2003, 2005, 2007 & 2014) and was a NBA Finals MVP in 2007.  Individually, he was a three-time Second Team All-NBA Selection and a one-time Third Team All-NBA Selection.  He would average 15.8 Points and 5.7 Assists with a PER of 18.3.

Parker becomes the 10^thman in franchise history to have his number retired.  He joins Johnny Moore (00), Avery Johnson (6), Bruce Bowen (12), James Silas (13), Manu Ginobili (20), Tim Duncan (21), Sean Elliott (32), George Gervin (44) and David Robinson (50).  He is eligible for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to Tony Parker for earning this impending honor.

Regular visitors to Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 players ever of every MLB, NHL, NFL and NBA team.  Once that is done, our plan is to then look at how they honor their past players and executives by way of retired numbers, franchise halls of fame etc.  As such, it is important to us that last night the San Antonio Spurs retired the #20 of Manu Ginobili.

In what now has to be considered an absolute steal, San Antonio drafted the native of Argentina 57^thoverall in 1999 and he would join the team in 2002 after starring in Europe.  Ginobili would play his entire career with the San Antonio Spurs which would span 16 seasons and 1,057 Games.  He would be chosen for the All Star Game twice (2005 & 2011) and was an All-NBA Third Team Selection twice (2008 & 2011).  The Argentine star’s selfless and unique style of play meshed perfectly with San Antonio where he was part of an elite triumvirate with Tim Duncan and Tony Parker where they would the team to four NBA Championships (2003, 2005, 2007 & 2014).  The Shooting Guard would be named the Sixth Man of the Year in 2008 and scored 14,043 Points with a career PER of 20.2.

Ginobili joins Johnny Moore (#00), Avery Johnson (#6), Bruce Bowen (#12), James Silas (#13), Tim Duncan (#21), Sean Elliott (#32), George Gervin (#44) and David Robinson (#50).

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Manu Ginobili for earning this prestigious honor.  

As you all know we are working on our Top 50 Players from each major North American Team.  This will eventually bleed into a look at how each one of them honors their respective former players/executives with retired numbers, rings of honor, franchise halls of fame etc. 

This brings us to a huge announcement from the San Antonio Spurs, who have decreed that they will be retiring the number #21 of Tim Duncan on December 18.

With all due respect to the “The Admiral”, David Robinson, Tim Duncan is the best player that the Spurs have ever had.  A nineteen year veteran (all with San Antonio), Tim Duncan brought San Antonio to five NBA Championships and would win two NBA MVPs. 

The 1997 #1 Draft Pick out of Wake Forest would make the All NBA First Team ten times and the NBA All Defensive Team eight times.  He should be a lock for the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021, his first year of eligibility.  This marks the eighth time that the Spurs have retired a number.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Tim Duncan for this latest honor and give a shout to the Spurs for doing this immediately…as it should be!

This is truly the end of an era for basketball fans in San Antonio.

Actually it is an end of an era period.

After 19 years in the National Basketball Association, 40 year old Tim Duncan has announced his retirement from the sport.

Drafted out of Wake Forest first overall in 1997, Duncan enter the professional ranks making an immediate impact on the sport.  Duncan was named the Rookie of the Year and would be named to the First Team All-NBA squad.  Not a bad rookie year right?  In his sophomore season, he would take San Antonio to the NBA Title and win Finals MVP in the process.

Duncan was a quiet beast who did everything right.  With the most appropriate nickname in sports, “Big Fundamental”, Duncan would have one of the most decorated careers in sport.  He would take the Spurs to three more NBA Titles, and was a two time NBA MVP (2002 & 2003).  The 15 time All-Star was also a First Team All-NBA selection 10 times and a First Team All-Defensive player eight times.  He retires with a career record of 19 Points, 10.8 Rebounds and 2.2 Blocks per Game.  This is in addition to his career PER of 24.2 and 206.4 Win Shares.

Duncan will be eligible for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021, and you can believe in two things.

1. He will be ranked #1 by us that year.

2. It will only be for one year as he is a first ballot Hall of Famer.

Thank you Tim Duncan for your class.  Thank you Tim Duncan for your skill.  Thank you for the memories.  It does not get much better than you. 

Simply put how in the heck did Rod Strickland never make an All-Star Game?  He is easily one of the best ten point guards in league history. Strickland is in the top ten for all time assists and 54th all time in games played.  14,000 points and almost 8,000 assists are pretty good career numbers.  Sure he bounced around a lot playing with a total of ten teams in his career but that just shows how malleable he was.  Strickland was a very good player who knew how to run a team and really knew how to get the ball to his teammates but never really learned how to get along that well with others and never was on a consistent winner; but he should have made at least one All-Star Game.

Alvin Robertson may be the best perimeter defender to ever play the game of basketball.  Michael Jordan certainly thought so.  Robertson still leads the league in most steals per game, and is one of a handful of backcourt players to win Defensive Player of the Year.  A four-time All-Star, Robertson wasn’t only about defense as almost 11,000 points can attest.  He was a complete player who averaged 14 points and both 5 assists and boards a game.  However it is the legacy of Alvin Robertson to be known as that of a big guard who could shut down anyone in the league.

Larry Kenon is one of the least appreciated players ever.  A great big man who led Memphis to the title game in his only year there, Kenon won an ABA title with Dr. J and the Nets in his first year in the ABA.  He was a three-time All-Star in the ABA but his legacy is as one of the greatest players who made the transition to the NBA.  Kenon continued his solid play with the San Antonio Spurs where he teamed with George Gervin to form one of the best scoring duos in the NBA for years.  He made two more All-Star trips in the NBA and had four consecutive seasons of twenty points a game.  Kenon was a twenty-ten guy for most of his career but was also very versatile.  How versatile?  He holds the league record for steals in a game with eleven.  Sounds like a well rounded player to us.

Dale Ellis was a great shooter, although we don’t think the Basketball Hall of Fame likes shooters.  His 19,000 career points and sixth position all time in three pointers easily gets him on this list.  Quite simply, he was a great shooter at Tennessee, he was a great shooter in Milwaukee and he was a great shooter in Seattle.  Oh and did we mention that he played forever?

If you look at the career statistics or even the season stats of Robert Horry, you would not think that he belongs on this list at all. However, the man known as “Big Shot Rob” won seven NBA Championships with three different teams, and was known for always performing in the clutch. It was not a misnomer, as constantly when the need was at its greatest, Horry was at his best.  Those seven championships were no accident and though his stats do not reflect it, this was a player, everybody wanted to have on their team.

A very solid player throughout his career, Michael Finley was capable of brilliant flashes of offense in the open court, and a stronger commitment to defense in his later campaigns. In his prime, Finley was a two-time All-Star and an electric player to watch. He was a workhorse on good Dallas Maverick teams (three times he led the NBA in minutes played) and was part of the ‘Run and Gun’ that they executed so well. Like so many of these players though, he found his championship ring in a supporting role where he won with San Antonio in 2007 coming off the bench.