Ben Wallace has been named one of the 14 finalists for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class of 2021 after a career that saw him become one of the strongest defensive forces in the league, helping the Detroit Pistons return to the glory in 2004, upsetting the all-powerful Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals.
Now he’s aspiring to get his name into the hall of the immortals and even though he wasn’t the flashiest player of all, a lot of people believe Big Ben has earned the right to be inducted. One analyst has made the case for the 2004 NBA champion, comparing him to two players who are perceived as future Hall of Famers, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwight Howard. Jonah Kubicek of Piston Powered claimed that if Wallace doesn’t get in, then Melo and Dwight shouldn’t, either.
I do think that Wallace is certainly deserving, as he was the best defensive player throughout the 2000s and the best Piston of the 21st century. He also won a title without ring chasing and was a central part of that team. He was one of the best players in the league and led the league in both blocks and rebounds at one point.
The only thing missing is scoring, but that’s only one aspect of the game.
I personally think the Hall of Fame is too easy to get into, and it should be reserved for all-time greats but Wallace was a generational player, and no matter what the criteria are, he deserves a spot.
But if he isn’t inducted in 2021, then the voting committee must also reject Dwight Howard and Carmelo Anthony when their time comes.
He explained how Wallace has a better case than these two, explaining that Melo was always a great scorer but his teams never were better with him. In fact, they underperformed with the forward as their leader.
Carmelo dominated one side of the ball, but he was inefficient and made the teams around him worse. The Knicks underperformed with him for seven years, and he was run out of Oklahoma City. He has not won a ring, nor will he at this point in his career.
Yes, he has a scoring title and six All-Star appearances, but Wallace has four and was a better and more important player on better teams that always overperformed and never were underwhelming.
As for Howard, he was a better player on the offensive side of the ball and has actually won a ring, but he didn’t do it as a starter, unlike Wallace.
Dwight Howard and Ben Wallace actually have had very similar careers. Howard’s was admittedly longer so he has more individual accolades, but he never won a championship as a starter. And isn’t that how we measure NBA success?
If the voting committee determines that Wallace doesn’t make the cut, I won’t be outraged. But the standard will have been set. Big-time names who had similar careers must also be left out, but since they played a more popular style of basketball, I’m not optimistic.
This is a very interesting point of view and plenty of people will agree with this claim. Wallace and Chris Webber are the biggest names on the list of finalists this year and a lot of fans are hoping to see him joining the best players the league has seen.
