The 2026 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class includes eight individual inductees, four of whom have NBA ties: Joey Crawford, Mike D'Antoni, Doc Rivers, and Amare Stoudemire. The other four individual inductees are men's college basketball coach Mark Few, and women's players Elena Delle Donne, Chamique Holdsclaw, and Candace Parker. The 1996 United States Women's National Team that won the Olympic gold medal is also being inducted; six members of that team--Teresa Edwards, Lisa Leslie, Rebecca Lobo, Katrina McClain, Dawn Staley, and Sheryl Swoopes--have already been inducted individually.
This website focuses primarily on the NBA, so this article will focus on the Hall of Fame inductees who have NBA connections.
Joey Crawford served as an NBA referee from 1977-2016, officiating in 2561 regular-season games, a record 374 playoff games, and 50 NBA Finals games. In 2005, he became the sixth referee to officiate in at least 2000 games, joining Mendy Rudolph, Jake O'Donnell, Dick Bavetta, Earl Strom, and Tommy Nunez. O'Donnell's career ended in disgrace after he openly had a vendetta against Clyde Drexler--culminating in ejecting Drexler from a 1995 playoff game for no good reason--and Crawford nearly met a similar fate, being suspended by Commissioner David Stern in 2007 after ejecting Tim Duncan without just cause. After the suspension, Crawford showed contrition, sought help, and was reinstated by Stern without missing any regular season games--but 2007 was the only year between 1986 and 2015 that Crawford did not officiate a game in the NBA Finals. The NBA was better off when it had a Commissioner who made decisions based on the best interest of the game, and not based on trying to be popular with media commentators (many of whom criticized Stern for suspending Crawford, and for other actions that they deemed to be too harsh). Crawford had a quick "hook" in terms of technical fouls/ejections, but in general he was respected as an excellent referee who was not swayed by the crowd; referees who are impacted by crowds are one reason that home court advantage exists, so players and coaches prefer referees like Crawford who do not pay attention to crowd reactions.
Mike D'Antoni won the NBA Coach of the Year award in 2005 with Phoenix and in 2017 with Houston. He ranks 22nd all-time in NBA regular season coaching wins (672), 32nd in regular season winning percentage (.560, minimum 400 regular season games), and 24th in NBA playoff coaching wins (54). He did not reach the NBA Finals in 16 seasons as a head coach, and he only reached the Conference Finals three times (2005 and 2006 with Phoenix, 2018 with Houston). D'Antoni's teams posted a .491 playoff winning percentage.
I enjoyed interviewing D'Antoni in 2007 and having a conversation about that year's MVP race featuring Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, and Kobe Bryant. D'Antoni unsurprisingly advocated for his player, Nash, but he acknowledged that the Suns would win at a high level if they had Bryant instead of Nash; that seems obvious in retrospect, but many media "experts" at that time questioned if then three-time NBA champion Bryant could lead a team as well as Nash, who won two regular season MVPs without reaching the NBA Finals during his career. Bryant finally won the regular season MVP in 2008, and he led the Lakers to two more NBA titles (2009, 2010).
D'Antoni received praise for his "Seven Seconds or Less" offense in Phoenix, as his Suns pushed the ball up the floor and shot as quickly as possible. He was lauded for his innovative offenses, but those offenses tended to sputter when it mattered most in the playoffs, and seemed better suited to pumping up individual players' statistics as opposed to generating championship level team success, as I noted in 2020 after D'Antoni's Rockets fizzled against the Lakers in the second round:
One might argue that D'Antoni is a master at developing players, but if that were the main story here then the players he "developed" would presumably retain what they had learned even after they no longer played for D'Antoni. No, the pattern above suggests that D'Antoni installs an offensive system that generates impressive individual statistics for his guards. It must be noted that D'Antoni has yet to reach the NBA Finals. In contrast, Phil Jackson's Triangle Offense did not elevate Michael Jordan's statistics but rather improved the team's offensive efficiency, resulting in six championships. Jackson's Triangle Offense had the same effect for the L.A. Lakers--the team improved (after failing to reach the Finals under previous coaches), as opposed to the individual players running amok outside of the context of playing championship level basketball...
Under D'Antoni, average point guards put up All-Star numbers, and All-Star point guards get vaulted into the MVP conversation. Steve Nash is a more durable Mark Price--and that is no slight: Price was a great player, but no one gave him serious MVP consideration during his career, and no one gave Nash serious MVP consideration before or after the time he played for D'Antoni.
Dave Berri and other "stat gurus" expected D'Antoni to turn around the flailing New York Knicks, but I correctly noted that the Knicks were unlikely to improve under D'Antoni unless D'Antoni emphasized defense for the first time in his career. The Knicks posted a 121-167 regular season record under D'Antoni, making the playoffs once in four years--and they got swept 4-0 in that lone postseason appearance. D'Antoni coached the L.A. Lakers for two seasons, and then spent four seasons coaching the Houston Rockets, resulting in James Harden posting gaudy regular season statistics before flaming out each year in the playoffs, which has been Harden's pattern throughout his career.
Doc Rivers is a favorite target for casual fans on social media and for media members who don't understand basketball, but his coaching resume is impressive: 1192 regular season wins (sixth most all-time), 114 playoff coaching wins (fourth most all-time), and two Eastern Conference titles with the Boston Celtics (2008, 2010). He led the Celtics to the 2008 NBA title. Rivers' teams have reached the playoffs 22 times in his 27 coaching seasons. In 2022, Rivers was selected as one of the 15 greatest coaches in NBA history. Rivers' critics point out that he is the only coach in NBA history whose teams have blown multiple 3-1 playoff series leads, but they leave out the fact that Rivers' teams were the underdogs in two of those three series. Those who assert that Rivers can only be successful with stacked team forget or ignore that Rivers won the 2000 NBA Coach of the Year award after leading the "heart and hustle" Orlando Magic to a 41-41 record with Darrell Armstrong, a young Ben Wallace, Bo Outlaw, John Amaechi, and Tariq Abdul-Wahad as the five primary starters.
Amare Stoudemire was the high-flying, rim-running center for D'Antoni's Phoenix Suns. Stoudemire won the 2003 NBA Rookie of the Year award, and averaged 21.4 ppg and 8.9 rpg while shooting .544 from the field in 516 regular season games with the Suns. As a Sun, Stoudemire earned four All-NBA Team selections (including First Team honors in 2007) and made the All-Star team five times. Stoudemire earned his fifth All-NBA Team selection and made his sixth All-Star team in 2011 while playing for D'Antoni in New York. Injuries limited his availability and productivity--he did not play in more than 65 games in a season or average more than 18 ppg after the age of 29--but during his prime years he was a force in the paint on offense.
Thank you for this article. Was hoping you'd speak a bit more on Amar'e's induction. While I was a huge fan of his back in the day and pre-microfracture surgery he looked like a surefire HOF, I am a bit taken aback by his inclusion. I feel like he lowers the bar even further already lowered by the inclusion of Michael Cooper...whom I love, but don't think of as a HOF. Cooper at least has 5 championships and while it wasn't part of his inclusion, he did coach the LA Sparks to two championships and won a WAC title in college.
ReplyDeleteAmar'e did not go to college and never even made the finals, let alone win multiple championships. Does this open the door for guys like Joe Johnson, DeMar DeRozan, and Blake Griffin to one day make the HOF?
Doc always blames his players, as if he has no way to influence them. With Boston his 1 title involved 7-round series in the first two rounds. When he went to the Bucks I told everyone they were done. He's media savvy and that's it. I don't watch the 3-pt-miss league anymore. But if I did, I couldn't imagine wanting him to coach a team I root for; can you?
ReplyDeleteJordan:
ReplyDeleteThere are no explicit prerequisites for a player to be inducted in the Basketball Hall of Fame, and even the implicit prerequisites seem to shift, so it is difficult to say if the bar has been lowered by Amare's induction.
My understanding is that only about 3% of NBA players have been inducted in the Basketball Hall of Fame, so the notion that the Hall has been watered down seems a bit overblown, though perhaps the argument is that the watering down is a recent phenomenon. Also, the Hall recognizes accomplishments at all levels of the sport, so some of the NBA players who have been inducted were inducted at least as much for what they did in college and/or FIBA, which means that the number of players who have been inducted primarily for their NBA accomplishments is probably even less than 3%.
If one believes that only Pantheon or near-Pantheon players should be inducted, then the Hall was watered down decades ago; if one believes that the Hall is meant to recognize a certain level of excellence and historical significance, then the Hall is not necessarily watered down.
My biggest complaint about the Hall for many decades was the lack of recognition accorded to many ABA players, but that has been largely rectified with the inductions of (among others) Artis Gilmore, Roger Brown, George McGinnis, and Mel Daniels.
Anonymous:
ReplyDeleteI did not know that a championship is devalued by playing in a seven game series. Bill Russell went 10-0 in game sevens, and I always thought that sterling record was a tribute to his ability to rise to the occasion in clutch moments.
The 1988 Lakers--the first team to win back to back NBA titles since Russell's 1969 Celtics--were pushed to seven games in three of their four playoff series. Does that tarnish the legacies of Magic and Kareem, in your estimation?
Doc Rivers coached Chris Paul, who has managed to choke away playoff series for multiple coaches. He coached Kevin Garnett, who lost the first seven playoff series of his career and who had a 2-8 playoff series record before joining Rivers' Celtics. Rivers coached Joel Embiid, who has never made it past the second round with any coach. Rivers coached James Harden, perhaps the biggest playoff choker among perennial All-Stars in NBA history.
I agree that a coach should be hesitant about publicly throwing his players under the bus, but it is fair to say that Rivers has had a good amount of success with players who did not do much in the playoffs before and after he coached them.
same anon re Doc: I'm not GENERALIZING re G7s and certainly not denigrating Russell or Magic. just saying that the superteam 2008 C's did not pass the "eye test" for needing 22 of a possible 24 games to win. "Team sources said there was a season-long disconnect between Rivers and the players, including instances that rubbed the locker room the wrong way." https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/48470896/sources-doc-rivers-three-years-bucks-coach ... Failure + disconnect do not match HoF credentials to me. Would you want him to coach a team you root for?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous:
ReplyDeleteAs I pointed out, many teams that are considered great do not pass your "eye test" because they needed the full seven games to advance.
I would suggest that Giannis Antetokounmpo missing a large portion of the season due to injury was a major factor for Milwaukee's disappointing season. I don't know what happened in the locker room, the reporter quoting anonymous "team sources" does not know, and you do not know. I know that the record shows that Doc Rivers is one of the most successful coaches in NBA history.
The answer to your question depends on what kind of team I have and which coaches are available. Would I choose Doc Rivers over Phil Jackson or Pat Riley to coach a ready-made contender? No--but that just means that I don't place Rivers among the top five or 10 coaches of all-time. That does not mean he was not great or does not deserve to be in the HoF.
same anon re Doc: "eye test" means I watched the games in 2008, but not the prior years (my "eyes"). 2008 round 1 Atlanta: Joe Johnson & Josh Smith (https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/ATL/2008.html) vs. Boston's HoF Big 3 plus Rondo. Should NOT have gone 7. I'm not commenting generally re other G7's. Also, take that series in context of Doc's record of blowing 3-1 series. And blaming his players. I'll pass on him as my team's coach -- and celebrate his hire by a rival team. When the Bucks hired him, I congratulated Celtics fans -- who celebrated a title at year's end
ReplyDeleteAnonymous:
ReplyDeleteWhat specifically do you think that Rivers did or did not do that caused the Atlanta series to last longer than you think it should have lasted?
Are you aware that Rivers' teams were underdogs in two of the three series with the squandered 3-1 leads? So should Rivers be blamed for losing those series, or credited for pushing those teams to seven games? After all, you credit Atlanta--or blame Rivers--for that 2008 series that went seven games before Rivers' team won. It seems like you are trying very hard to have things both ways, and grasp at any possible reason, no matter how flimsy, to criticize Rivers; if Rivers' team wins you will say they didn't win by enough and if Rivers' team loses as an underdog then you blame him for not beating the superior team.
How do you think that Rivers' coaching in Milwaukee enable Boston to win the 2024 NBA title?
Anon: him being the Bucks coach meant they were not serious Conf title contenders in the East, helping to open the path for the C's
ReplyDeleteAnonymous:
ReplyDeleteWould you consider the possibility that Milwaukee's decision to trade Jrue Holiday--who became Boston's starting point guard during that championship season--may have had at least something to do with Boston improving and Milwaukee declining? Is it possible that Khris Middleton missing 27 games had at least something to do with Milwaukee declining? Or do you prefer to ignore any facts that do not fit your anti-Rivers narrative?
Good points, but I'd say all of the above. Saying he's not a HoF coach isn't anti-Rivers. The HoF should be for the all-time greats. He isn't one of them
DeleteAnonymous:
ReplyDeleteI think that it is evident that trading Holiday and losing Middleton to injury harmed the Bucks much more than anything that Rivers did or did not do.
How do you think that all-time greatness should be defined regarding coaches? Rivers was selected to the 75th Anniversary Team as one of the 15 greatest coaches in NBA history. He ranks sixth all-time in regular season wins and fourth all-time in playoff wins.
Rivers ranks 45th in reg season winning %, and 47 in playoff winning % (https://www.basketball-reference.com/coaches/NBA_stats.html); tied for 15-38 in NBA titles (with 1), but far lower in titles per year. Having coached 27 years (tied for 4th most ever), his 2 conf titles and 1 NBA title are good but far from all-time great. But admittedly, the optics are big.
ReplyDeleteHis Clips team blew a 19-pt lead in an elimination game v the Rockets, where the final score (in Houston's favor) wasn't even close. Throwing players under the bus is a terrible look.
He had the C's superteam for multiple years and a very competitive Clips' team and a very competitive Philly team and the Bucks with Giannis. I believe he's vastly underperformed in the playoffs relative to players' talent level for most of his career, but admittedly I don't have an algorithm to prove it.
His abrasiveness just doesn't match the leadership persona I'd want, https://www.rightstorickysanchez.com/p/the-downfall-of-doc-rivers-reputation
Anonymous:
ReplyDeleteHow sloppy of a researcher are you? Did you even look at that page before you linked to it? The list includes every coach without applying a minimum games requirement, so Rivers is behind a bunch of coaches who coached a small number of games, but apparently you think that Adrian Griffin is the fourth greatest coach of all-time, David Blatt is the sixth greatest coach of all-time, and the immortal legend Dick Fitzgerald is the 10th greatest coach of all-time.
Also, I can figure out who can coach and who can't coach without consulting Dirty Sanchez or whoever is involved with that second link.
I've heard enough from you on this topic to understand that we are not going to have a constructive, evidence-based conversation, so enjoy your hatred of Doc Rivers and move along to a fan website that caters to your way of thinking as opposed to a website that analyzes the sport objectively.