The Pistons of the 2000’s had a lot of success. They won an NBA title in 2004. They made it back to the NBA Finals in 2005 before losing to the Spurs and had a run of six straight conference finals appearances.
The next question for some of stars of those teams is which guys belong in the Hall of Fame. Rip Hamilton, Chauncey Billups, and Ben Wallace are all eligible for the Hall of Fame this year.
Chauncey Billups, who was a Finals’ MVP in 2004, believes that himself, Hamilton, and Wallace should all be in the Hall of Fame.
The case for himself(Billups):
“Being drafted the third-pick in the Draft, and really falling off after that, not having a good three or four years. Kind of falling off the map, almost being considered a bust at that point, and to get off the mat, at that point, and turn it all the way around and climb all the way to the top of the mountain. I think it’s Hall of Fame worthy,” Billups told TMZ Sports.
The case for Rip Hamilton:
“I think Rip’s a unique case as well because his game wasn’t sexy. He’s going to run all over the place. He’s going to shoot mid-range jump shots, he’s not really out there dunking on people, but like you said, he’s the instant 20 points a game scorer,” Billups said. “He was our go-to guy a lot of times, and he won. He won on the collegiate level (1999), he won in the NBA, so I think there’s a case to be made for Rip.”
The case for Ben Wallace:
“I think Ben is the easiest case out of all three of us, to be honest with you. Ben is a guy if look at (Dikembe)Mutombo’s stats, Dennis Rodman’s stats those are kind of his comparables. Ben should of been a first-ballot Hall of Famer,” Billups said. “This dude was lights out. He’s 6’7, they say he’s 6’9, he’s 6’7. He weighed probably 225, 230, and he banging with all these dudes every single night. Winning that match-up (against) Shaq; all of them he’s winning them match-ups most of the time. I think Ben Wallace is a Hall of Famer for sure!”
I think out of three, I agree with Billups, Wallace is the easiest case to be made. Wallace won the DPOY award four times, 4x All-Star, and won an NBA title in 2004. I think Wallace has done enough.
Regarding Billups and Hamilton, I believe they belong in the Hall of the Very Good. They had good runs with the Pistons, but neither player never was First–Team All NBA, and neither guy was the best at their position at any point in their careers.
Billups and Hamilton had very good careers, but they were never great. I think they fall short, but I would not be surprised if Billups gets in.
