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Poll: Vote for the Fantasy Basketball Hall of Fame

Posted by Neil Paine on May 5, 2010

A select few in the annals of the game will be elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, but those who don't make the cut shouldn't despair. If you compiled great conventional stats on losing teams, or powered many a fantasy league championship despite never quite getting over the hump in the real NBA playoffs, this idea is for you...

The premise: create a Hall of Fame for the best fantasy basketball players of all time. The requirements:

  1. Only stats compiled from 1990 to the present are considered, because fantasy hoops was not really a mainstream activity until the nineties.
  2. Players must have played at least 5 years as a fantasy starter in a 12-team league (or similar) from 1990-present.
  3. The player must be retired and/or out of basketball in 2010 (no current players allowed).
  4. Only consider fantasy value in standard league setups -- i.e., 12 teams, 8 categories, roto, head-to-head, or basic points. In other words, no super-shallow or deep leagues, and no exotic scoring systems.
  5. Players are ineligible if they have more than a remote chance of making the real Basketball Hall of Fame.

To be enshrined, players must receive at least 75% of the vote; those with 5% or fewer will be dropped from future elections. Here's the inaugural ballot (voting will close in 1 week):


31 Responses to “Poll: Vote for the Fantasy Basketball Hall of Fame”

  1. downpuppy Says:

    I wrote in Reggie Miller.

    25279 pts, all time 3pt leader, & your HOF toy has him at 6%.

  2. Neil Paine Says:

    I would have included him & Dikembe Mutombo as well, but I feel like they are almost certainly going to be real Hall of Famers someday, especially Miller. The premise here is that the player needs to have little practical chance of making the real HoF, and I don't think any of the listed players have much of a chance (except for Mullin as a member of the Dream Team, but that doesn't really count).

  3. Drewg Says:

    Shawn Marion should be first ballot, and he's not even on your list!

    #1 overall player for 3-4 years straight.

    In his prime, he was an 18/11, 2 steal/1.5 block/1 three, 52%/80% machine.

  4. Drewg Says:

    Ah, no current players. My bad.

  5. Neil Paine Says:

    Agreed, Shawn Marion is an absolute mortal lock to make this team when he retires. I might give him his own wing of the FBHoF, in fact.

  6. Jason J Says:

    Terry Porter, the SPM king?

  7. Neil Paine Says:

    Ah, yes, Terry Porter, outstanding fantasy seasons in 1990 and 1991, if you were playing back then. The trouble with Porter is that he wasn't really a viable fantasy starter once fantasy hoops really hit the big time in the mid-90s. By the time he was on Minnesota, he might have been a backup PG on your team, maybe, but mostly he'd be a waiver-wire injury-replacement type at best for the majority of the mid-to-late 90s and early 2000s. Good player in real life, probably not so much in fantasy basketball because he was already past his prime when the mid-90s rolled around.

  8. Neil Paine Says:

    Active players who are tracking for the FBHoF: Shawn Marion, Andrei Kirilenko, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter (if he isn't a real HoF, which is at least debatable), Grant Hill, Marcus Camby, Elton Brand, Baron Davis, Andre Miller, Andre Iguodala, Amare Stoudemire, Pau Gasol (or is he a real HoF candidate?), Mike Finley, Joe Johnson, Gilbert Arenas, Josh Smith, Brad Miller, Chris Bosh, Lamar Odom, Antawn Jamison, Carlos Boozer, Rashard Lewis, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Jermaine O'Neal, Mike Bibby, Emeka Okafor, Jason Richardson, Gerald Wallace, etc...

  9. Neil Paine Says:

    Whoops, forgot Rasheed Wallace, who was a solid top-10 fantasy PF for most of the 2000s. Ben Wallace I think might be a borderline, Rodmanesque candidate for the real HoF, which is why he wasn't mentioned. In fantasy he always gave you ridiculous value in blocks, rebounds, and steals, was usually eligible at C or PF, and even threw in some decent value in FG% some years. He was either the best or 2nd-best center in fantasy basketball for about 6 years. And if you were in a keeper league in 2000 and you got him as a backup C, you suddenly had the biggest bargain in the league for a half-decade.

  10. Jason J Says:

    Paul Pierce as a rookie and soph was HUGE for my fantasy team. I guess a finals MVP w/ his stats is too likely to make the HoF to be on the future FHOF list?

  11. Neil Paine Says:

    Yeah, Pierce is going to the real Hall of Fame -- or at least he's close enough to be disqualified from the FBHoF.

  12. Johnny Twisto Says:

    Chris Mullin has more than a remote chance of making the HOF. He was a finalist a couple years ago.

    Am I crazy to think Tim Hardaway has some chance as well?

  13. Johnny Twisto Says:

    And Kevin Johnson?

  14. Neil Paine Says:

    Mullin has a 12.4% probability according to our predictor. I know the HoF probability isn't infallible, but the only guys who overcome those odds are people whose basic stats didn't reflect their complete value, whether because of defense, a championship pedigree, clutch moments, an iconic college career, perceived ability to raise teammates' games, or groundbreaking contributions to basketball. Mullin meets none of those criteria -- what exactly separates him from a handful of other non-Hall of Famers like Mitch Richmond, Detlef Schrempf, Glen Rice, and Rolando Blackman? He was your quintessential good but not great player, which basically makes him the poster child for the Fantasy HoF.

  15. Neil Paine Says:

    I talked about Tim Bug here:

    And Justin discussed KJ here:

    If I were voting, I'd put KJ in because of his advanced stats, but conventional wisdom says his resume is pretty weak to be a Hall of Famer -- he wasn't a prolific winner, he wasn't a standout defender, he wasn't even considered the best PG in basketball during his prime, etc. Good player, but I don't see much chance of him ever getting in.

    Tim Bug is probably closer, but his peak was way too short and he didn't really meet any of the "beyond the numbers" criteria for extra consideration. He has an outside chance, but in an era dominated by John Stockton, Jason Kidd, and Gary Payton, I think the next tier of PGs is going to be forgotten because those 3 are all-timers and KJ/Hardaway/Mark Price/Mookie Blaylock were/are considered a notch below that.

  16. Luke Says:

    I'm a little confused by the percentages. Kevin Johnson looks to be the highest right now at 8.3% and 48 votes. Am I right in assuming that this means 48 votes represents 8.3% of all the votes that have been cast for everyone, including votes for multiple players on the same ballot? So, like, if two people voted for Kevin Johnson and Mitch Richmond, and only those two people, and those were the only two ballots submitted, the results would show each as having 50% despite being both named on 100% of the ballots? So is there any way to see which players are approaching the 75% of ballots mark? Or are we just in the dark until you get all the results in?

  17. wise_drunker Says:

    KJ wasnt that good of fantasy Option after 1992.. He missed too many games.. highest game play after 92 was 70 Games. Im surprise Antoine Walker have so few votes. I know he sucked on 2 categories (FG%, FT%) But he was good on 5 (points, 3PM, Steals, Reb, 4-5 APG for a PF) and like 50 blocks per season, while not missing many games. It says it use the 8 category system so his TOs arent an issue here. He is imo a Fantasy Player HoF

  18. Luke Says:

    And what about Chris Webber? I suppose he's got a shot at the Hall, but I always viewed him in the Richmond/Mullin/Hardaway class of players.

  19. Neil Paine Says:

    Re: Luke #16 - Yes, for some reason it's measuring not the % of total ballots that mention a player, but rather the % of total votes that the player got (i.e., your example of a ballot mentioning KJ and Richmond being counted as 50% for each player instead of 100%). I might be able to see the total # of ballots cast by each IP address and divide by that to get the legit percentages. Failing that, I'll just multiply all the percentages by 10, which will approximate the correct percentages (working under the assumption that everyone voted for 10 players, which obviously isn't completely true, but should be close enough).

  20. AYC Says:

    KJ is the most underrated player in NBA history; does anybody remember the 46 pts and 10 assists he dropped on the rockets in a game 7? #17 is prob right, he missed too many games, but he was one of the best PG's of the 90's when healthy... and don't forget all those dunks on 7-footers

  21. Neil Paine Says:

    C-Webb was really borderline to me because of his outstanding college career and the Fab 5's influence on basketball culture. For those reasons, on top of a fairly strong NBA career, I think he's probably more likely to make the Hall than anybody on the list of FBHoF nominees above.

  22. Jason J Says:

    Let's not forget that Webber would have won a title as the best player on the Kings if not for the most one sided officiating I think I've ever seen in a playoff game and a separate game lost to a tip out last second three by Big Shot. Sorry just had to let my inner Laker-hate free for a minute.

  23. Neil Paine Says:

    Yes, that's it, let the Laker hate flow...

  24. Dionysus2.0 Says:

    In response to Neil #8 and somehow forgot Troy Murphy on your list of current players...a double double nearly every night with threes...he's is at least as good as Rasheed.

  25. Neil Paine Says:

    True. I also forgot Antonio McDyess -- although he loses points in the hearts and minds of fantasy players because some poor sap took him before the 2002 season expecting 20 & 10, and ended up with only 10 games & a blown-up knee.

  26. Neil Paine Says:

    Al Jefferson and David Lee are also shaping up to have FBHoF careers if they can keep compiling big numbers on losing teams. Theo Ratliff, Zach Randolph, Samuel Dalembert, and Tyson Chandler will also be in the mix, and who could forget Ricky Davis' several years of top-10-SG production? The emptier the numbers in real life, the better the Fantasy Hall of Fame resume.

  27. Drewg Says:

    Danny Granger.

  28. Gilbert Subpoenas Says:

    Chris Mullin has more then a remote chance to make the basketball HOF. So does Sabonis and Vlade Divac. You have to understand that it isn't the NBA HOF but it's the basketball HOF. This is good reason why all 3 have at least a solid chance of making the HOF and a good reason why I completely disregard the HOF monitor when I come to this website. Especially Sabonis since the myth surrounding his european/russian career almost reaches Earl Manigault status.

    As much as I love KJ and think he's one of the more underappreciated basketball players of my generation, he simply didn't play enough games to make the HOF.

  29. Gilbert Subpoenas Says:

    By the way, Detlef Schrempf's '93 season is such an awesomely underrated year.

    And I wish I was the guy who drafted Terrell Brandon in the 8th round before the '96 season.

  30. Max Says:

    I did not see future Hall Famers, such as Steve Nash (two time MVP), no Jason Kidd. Nash lead the NBA in free throw percentage at 94%. just behind Larry Bird on 3pointers made.At the top in assists. Hello?

  31. Neil Paine Says:

    Nash and Kidd are mortal locks to make the real Hall of Fame, which makes them ineligible for the fantasy one.