The 2022 basketball hall of fame class has just been announced, and the finalists include players like Manu Ginobili and Tim Hardaway. I think there’s no question that Ginobili deserves to be a first-ballot hall of fame player, and I personally think that he got snubbed from the NBA 75th team. In my personal top 100 players, I have Ginobili at 75. Now I was pleasantly surprised to see that Tim Hardaway got in. It’s been 16 years since he retired from the game, and I didn’t think that he would ever get the call. But he did, and I’m happy for him. If you were watching basketball in the 90s, then Tim Hardaway was probably one of your favorite players to watch. I was personally always tuning in when the Miami Heat were on TV, and it was mostly because of him. I wasn’t old enough to remember the Run TMC Warriors, but from what I’ve observed from watching their games, he was one of the best individual talents in the league. His greatness is undeniable, but I think there was no one that was shocked that he didn’t make the NBA 75th team. There’s no legitimate case for him. But what about from 100 to 76? There are a lot of people who think he’s good enough to at least make the top 100. When I was writing my book and gathering the players to rank my top 100, I had to think long and hard about his legacy, and I ultimately decided to snub him. I’ll get to the reasons why in a second, but I want to first highlight the case for him. Since I don’t want this to be a video that just talks about the negative aspects of his game.
The first thing that most people think about when talking about Tim Hardaway is his offensive greatness. He had a modern game that paved the way for players like Allen Iverson, Stephon Marbury, Deron Williams, Kemba Walker, John Wall, and Kyrie Irving. He was the prototypical scoring point guard that also had incredible ball-handling skills. It was impossible to stay in front of these players, and it was even more impressive when the league allowed defenders to use their bodies to prevent the ball handler from passing them. And Tim Hardaway is one of the first players you think of when talking about the greatest ball-handlers in the history of the game
Here are some of the noteworthy things that he accomplished. His best year came in the 1991-92 season. He averaged a career-high 23.4 PPG on 46.1% shooting, 10 APG, 3.8 RPG, and 2 SPG. Those are numbers that only players like Magic Johnson, LeBron James, Oscar Robertson, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Tiny Archibald, and John Wall were able to top. These are mostly players who are not only in the pantheon of NBA greats, but players who either won the MVP award or were legitimate candidates for the MVP. In the prior season, he averaged 22.9 PPG on 47.6% shooting, 9.7 APG, 4 RPG, and 2.6 SPG. He also made five all-star appearances, five All-NBA selections (including one first-team selection), and there was one season where he finished 4th in MVP voting. That occurred in 1997.
From the analytical side, he currently ranks all-time 39th in career offensive box plus/minus, 60th in value over replacement player ranking, and 61st in box plus/minus. What impressed me most is that he currently ranks higher than players like Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony, Alex English, and Kevin McHale in career VORP ranking. And if we’re talking about what he accomplished in the playoffs, he was able to reach the conference finals once in 1997 as a member of the Miami Heat. His most noteworthy playoff series came in 1991 when the Warriors shocked the San Antonio Spurs in the first round. The Spurs were the second seed, and they won 55 games in the regular season, compared to the 44 games that the Warriors won. But the Warriors defeated the Spurs 3-1 in that series. Hardaway averaged 23.3 PPG on 47.4% shooting, 9.3 APG, 4.8 RPG, and 2.3 SPG. His best game came in the series-clinching game 4 when he led all scorers with 32 points on 52% shooting, 9 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals. And we should also point out his clutch performance in game 7 against the New York Knicks in the 1997 semifinals. He had 38 points on 60% shooting, including going 6/10 from the three, 7 assists, 5 steals, and 3 rebounds. He carried his team to victory in that game. So for right now, he’s got a pretty intriguing case to be mentioned among the greatest of all time.
But here’s why I decided to snub him. The first thing is that his prime didn’t last long enough, and that’s all thanks to injuries. He suffered a major knee injury in practice in 1993 while getting ready for the upcoming season, and it caused him to miss the full season. Unfortunately, he was never the same after that. He started playing at an all-star level three seasons later, but by that time, he was thirty years old. He only had a small window of opportunity left since his quickness and athleticism were diminishing at the advanced stage of his career. If it wasn’t for that, then I think he would have racked up major accolades for his career. I think he is definitely one of the biggest what-if players in history when it comes to players that had their prime shortened due to injuries.
That was something that was out of his control. But the biggest reason why I decided to snub him from my top 100 is that his playoff career resume is rather lackluster. If you were a fan of the Miami Heat in the late 90s, then there were plenty of times when you were frustrated and disappointed by the fact that Tim Hardaway was nowhere to be found in a huge playoff game. Let’s look at the evidence. From 1996 to 2000, we’re talking about a five-year period, the Miami Heat lost in the first round 3 out of those 5 seasons. For two of those seasons, the Heat were one of the best teams in the league and suffered major upsets, primarily to the New York Knicks in 1998 and 1999. But the 1999 first-round series is the biggest black mark in his career. He averaged 9 PPG on 26% shooting. There were even two straight games where he made just one field goal. Poor Alonzo Mourning was the only one that showed up for the Miami Heat. Then in the following postseason, Tim Hardaway had 1 point in game 3 of the second-round series against the Knicks. With the Heat up 3-2 in the series, he had 2 points in game 6. And he followed that up with 15 points on 6/20 shooting in game 7. And we can’t forget his performance in the 1997 first-round series against the Orlando Magic when he averaged 14.4 PPG on 30% shooting. This was the season where the Heat won 61 games, but they nearly got bounced in the first round. Credit to Penny Hardaway who nearly beat the Heat by himself.
But that was something that I couldn’t just ignore. If you read my book, you’ll see that the way a player performs in the playoffs is a big factor in determining their rankings. And there were too many times where Tim Hardaway had awful performances in the playoffs. The reality is that the Miami Heat underachieved during the Alonzo Mourning era. They won 55 games in 1998 and got bounced in the first round. They were the 1st seed in the east in 1999 and got bounced in the first round. They won 52 games in 2000, they were the 2nd best team in the east, and they lost in 7 games in the semifinals. Alonzo Mourning, as we know, was a beast in the defensive end, and was a respectable scorer. He could put up numbers on the offensive end, but he needed someone else to help carry the scoring load. Tim Hardaway was supposed to be that guy for the Heat, but he fell short too many times in important playoff games when the Heat needed someone to take over. In game 5 in 1999, the Heat lost by one point, and Hardaway was nowhere to be found. In fact, before Allan Houston made that legendary game-winning shot, Tim Hardaway turned the ball over giving the Knicks a chance to win the game. In game 6 in 2000, the Heat lost by two points. Then in game 7, the Heat lost by one point. For both games, Hardaway was nowhere to be found. I just can’t put you in this elite club with all these legendary players with that in your resume. I think he deserves an honorable mention, but I just can’t let you in the club.
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