Monday, February 2, 2009

Rick's Rockets Hall of Fame

My selections are based on the players' overall contribution to the Houston Rockets. Players such as Charles Barkley, Elvin Hayes and Rick Barry are all truly hall-of-famers, but they had their greatest years with other teams.

Centers
Moses Malone (1976-82)
Hakeem Olajuwon (1984-2001)
Yao Ming (2002-09)

Forwards
Rudy Tomjanovich (1970-81)
Robert Reid (1977-88)
Clyde Drexler (1994-98)
Otis Thorpe (1988-95)

Guards
Calvin Murphy (1970-83)
Mike Newlin (1971-79)
John Lucas (1976-78, 1984-86, 1989-90)
Tracy McGrady (2004-09)

There it is. Disagree? Convince me. I have an open mind.

5 comments:

Cindy said...

I totally agree with you.

Anonymous said...

Okay, I'm going to play devil's advocate. What makes these players "Hall of Fame"... I want to know what makes a marginally college educated, and in some respects a non-college educated person worth so much money? What exactly have they contributed to the betterment of the human condition?

Anonymous said...

I'm sure there are lots of 28K/year-paid teachers who'd love to know the answer to that question too...

Anonymous said...

It's not just 28K/year paid teachers asking the question. Is there a logical reasonable answer beyond the usual "it's what the market will bear" type of answer? Please don't think I am just picking on the Rockets here, this is a fundamental question I have regarding professional sports in general.

Anonymous said...

A teacher affects maybe a few dozen students per year, usually - but not always - in a positive way. Basketball stars entertain millions of people every day. So the answer to your question is: volume.
It has always been thus. I'll bet in ancient Rome the gladiators made hundreds of times more Denarii than the philosophers. That's because the athletes put more gluteus maximi in the Colosseum seats.