should defensive players make the HOF?

[Nick O]

and by defensive i mean like strictly players known for their defense who lack a bit on the offensive end... players i had in mind were Mutumbo , MWP, ben Wallace and shane battier.. players who didnt score much during their career but were lock down defensive players.. can strictly defense get you in the hall of fame? .. im not sure about Battier but i personally believe the other 3 should be there...

edit: im also gonna throw AK47s name out there

[D-Leethal]

Wallace probably should. Dennis Rodman did.

[bigsams50]

I think Big Ben is a HOF.

[abe_froman]

with rodman getting in,it kind of opens the gates.not on battier ,but def be ok with mutumbo and wallace getting in(think he's been severally underrated, his importance/impact has been glossed over),mwp is on the bubble of such a group

[Nick O]

with rodman getting in,it kind of opens the gates.not on battier ,but def be ok with mutumbo and wallace getting in(think he's been severally underrated,glossed over),mwp is on the bubble of such a group

true but MWP actually did have some offense to go with his game. so he might get in... but true. i was a huge mutumbo fan hoping he gets in

[thenaj17]

with rodman getting in,it kind of opens the gates.not on battier ,but def be ok with mutumbo and wallace getting in(think he's been severally underrated, his importance/impact has been glossed over),mwp is on the bubble of such a group

Thing is Rodman was rebound leader for a few years in a row even at 6ft 7 or whatever he was and he had 3 rings. Wing defenders like Battier and Artest will have a harder time getting in unless they get a couple more rings playing a decent role. (1 of them a big possibility this year). Artest would need another defensive player of year in my mind and another ring.

[Nick O]

Thing is Rodman was rebound leader for a few years in a row even at 6ft 7 or whatever he was and he had 3 rings. Wing defenders like Battier and Artest will have a harder time getting in unless they get a couple more rings playing a decent role. (1 of them a big possibility this year). Artest would need another defensive player of year in my mind and another ring.

its kinda of weird how MWP and battier are playing the exact same role this year.. the 5th starter on a "super team" in just for their defense really... qhweird

[Hellcrooner]

rodman is in.

but other defensive greats like bobby jones, alvin robertson have been snubbed.

so theres no definitive criteria about it from the hof rulers.

IMO they should, and if they dont then they should remove the "pure scorers" that neglected their d and their passing like say, gervin or english.

[Nick O]

rodman is in.

but other defensive greats like bobby jones, alvin robertson have been snubbed.

so theres no definitive criteria about it from the hof rulers.

IMO they should, and if they dont then they should remove the "pure scorers" that neglected their d and their passing like say, gervin or english.

rodman was helped by the team he played on... he was just such a big figure...

[Raidaz4Life]

Mutombo and Wallace definitely should imo.

[DreamShaker]

Depends on the player. I am much more confident about Mutombo because of the impact he made off the court as well as on.

[FOXHOUND]

Rodman also won 5 rings as a top 3 player on his team, a couple of DPOY awards, was All-NBA a couple of times, made a ton of All-Defensive teams and won about 2 million rebounding titles.

He's not like normal defensive players, he's got quite a resume. Maybe he opened the door for a few of them, but definitely not many. Ben Wallace, Dikembe Mutombo and a guy like Michael Cooper shouldn't be overlooked either.

[KnicksorBust]

Agree with ^^ above. There is no criteria. Each case needs to be judged by a case by case basis. If there were primarily a defensive player then you need the hardware and team success to back it up. In my opinion here are some examples...

Guys who fit that description: Bobby Jones, Michael Cooper, Dennis Rodman, Dikembe Mutombo, Ben Wallace
Guys who don't: Charles Oakley, Larry Nance, Doug Christie, AK47, Shane Battier, Tayshaun Prince

[FOXHOUND]

Agree with ^^ above. There is no criteria. Each case needs to be judged by a case by case basis. If there were primarily a defensive player then you need the hardware and team success to back it up. In my opinion here are some examples...

Guys who fit that description: Bobby Jones, Michael Cooper, Dennis Rodman, Dikembe Mutombo, Ben Wallace
Guys who don't: Charles Oakley, Larry Nance, Doug Christie, AK47, Shane Battier, Tayshaun Prince

Good lists. As much as I love the Oak man, he would belong on the not list. Great Knick, though

[baller101200]

Agree with ^^ above. There is no criteria. Each case needs to be judged by a case by case basis. If there were primarily a defensive player then you need the hardware and team success to back it up. In my opinion here are some examples...

Guys who fit that description: Bobby Jones, Michael Cooper, Dennis Rodman, Dikembe Mutombo, Ben Wallace
Guys who don't: Charles Oakley, Larry Nance, Doug Christie, AK47, Shane Battier, Tayshaun Prince

I personally would add Bruce Bowen to your first list then.