Is Dikembe Mutombo a Hall of Famer?

[Guest]

Justin Kubatko, formerly of basketball-reference.com, put together an article looking at this:

http://statitudes.com/blog/2014/04/04/is-dikembe-mutombo-a-hall-of-famer/

The Keltner List is a series of subjective questions formulated by famed sabermetrician Bill James used to help assess whether or not a player deserves to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Although the system was designed to evaluate baseball players, with a few minor tweaks it can also be used to assess the Hall-worthiness of basketball players. Today I will assess the Hall of Fame chances of Dikembe Mutombo, who will be eligible for election for the first time in 2015.

1. Was he ever regarded as the best player in basketball? Did anybody, while he was active, ever suggest that he was the best player in basketball?

No on both counts.

2. Was he the best player on his team?

Mutombo was the best player on the Nuggets teams of the early 1990s, and I would also classify him as the best player on the Hawks teams of the late 1990s, although some people might go with Steve Smith. In Philadelphia he played second fiddle to Allen Iverson, and after his days with the Sixers he was mainly a role player, albeit a very productive one.

3. Was he the best player in basketball at his position?

Mutmobo’s career overlapped the careers of centers like David Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, and Shaquille O’Neal, so the answer is no.

4. Did he have an impact on a number of NBA Finals or Conference Finals?

No. Mutombo played on two teams that advanced to the NBA Finals. He was a key player for the 2000-01 Sixers, who lost to the Lakers in five games, and he was a bit player for the 2002-03 Nets, who lost to the Spurs in six games. In all fairness, though, the 2000-01 Sixers probably would not have advanced to the Finals without Mutombo, who was acquired in a late season trade with the Hawks.

5. Was he good enough that he could play regularly after passing his prime?

Mutombo was an effective player into his 40s, so the answer is definitely yes. In fact, his 2006-07 season (5.2 win shares, .193 win shares per 48 minutes) was probably the second-best season by a player 40 or older*.

* John Stockton’s 2002-03 season (9.0 win shares, .190 win shares per 48 minutes) was easily the best.

6. Is he the very best (eligible) basketball player in history who is not in the Hall of Fame?

I don’t think he is. It’s a close call between Sidney Moncrief and Kevin Johnson, but I would go with Moncrief.

7. Are most players who have comparable statistics in the Hall of Fame?

Mutombo had 117.0 career win shares. In addition to Mutombo, there are 12 other retired players who had between 110 and 125 career win shares: Elvin Hayes, Buck Williams,Horace Grant, Dominique Wilkins, Chet Walker, Bob Lanier, Bailey Howell, Walt Frazier,Kevin McHale, Jack Sikma, Terry Porter, and Wes Unseld. Eight of these players are in the Hall of Fame; the non-Hall of Famers are Williams, Grant, Sikma, and Porter.

8. Do the player’s numbers meet Hall of Fame standards?

Mutombo’s Hall of Fame probability is very low (0.064). Why? He didn’t do the things that the Hall of Fame voters seem to focus on. In particular, his career scoring average was very low (9.8 points per game), he received almost no MVP consideration (see number 11 below), and he never played for a championship team.

9. Is there any evidence to suggest that the player was significantly better or worse than is suggested by his statistics?

Yes, and this is where Mutombo’s case can best be made. Traditional statistics are inadequate, at best, for evaluating defense, and defense was Mutombo’s calling card.

First, let’s look at the qualitative evidence. Mutombo was named Defensive Player of the Year four times, tied for the most in NBA history with Ben Wallace, and he was also named to six All-Defensive teams (three First Team and three Second Team selections).

As for the quantitative evidence, Mutombo’s career defensive rebound percentage of 26.2 percent is the sixth highest in NBA history (minimum 5,000 defensive rebounds), his block percentage of 6.3 percent is the ninth highest (minimum 1,000 blocks), his 68.6 defensive win shares are the 15th most, and his rate of .089 defensive win shares per 48 minutes is the 18th best (minimum 25 defensive win shares).

Both the qualitative and quantitative evidence suggest that Mutombo was one of the premier defenders of his time.

10. Is he the best player at his position who is eligible for the Hall of Fame?

Yes, I believe he is the best center on the upcoming ballot.

11. How many MVP-type seasons did he have? Did he ever win an MVP award? If not, how many times was he close?

The only season in which Mutombo received any MVP consideration was 1996-97, and that year he received just one fourth-place vote and one fifth-place vote in the balloting.

12. How many All-Star-type seasons did he have? How many All-Star games did he play in? Did most of the players who played in this many All-Star games go into the Hall of Fame?

Mutombo was selected to play in eight All-Star games, a very respectable total. In addition to Mutombo, there are eight other retired players with exactly eight All-Star selections:Rick Barry, Dave Cowens, Dave DeBusschere, Alex English, Larry Foust, Bob Lanier, Yao Ming, and Bill Sharman. All but Foust and Yao are in the Hall of Fame, and Yao is not yet eligible.

13. If this man were the best player on his team, would it be likely that the team could win an NBA title?

It’s unlikely. Mutombo was arguably the best player on five playoff teams in the 1990s, and none of them advanced past the conference semifinals.

14. What impact did the player have on basketball history? Was he responsible for any rule changes? Did he introduce any new equipment? Did he change the game in any way? Was his college and/or international career especially noteworthy?

Mutombo was a very good college player, although his collegiate career was not especially noteworthy.

On the court, Mutombo’s signature finger wag after blocking an opponent’s shot was banned in 1999 following complaints from other coaches and players, although eventually the NBA relented and allowed Mutombo to do it as long as he did not wag his finger in an opponent’s face.

Off the court, Mutombo has been involved in numerous humanitarian efforts to aid his home country, the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Verdict

I think Mutombo would be a welcome addition to the Hall of Fame. He was one of the finest defensive players of his generation and although he was never a high volume scorer, he was an efficient offensive player.

[Admin]

Yessir!

[macdaddy]

The point about measuring defensive prowess actually is a double whammy because there are several questions about 'best player on the team' which is really best offensive player. So when you say could he have won a championship if he was the best player on the team the answer is no even though he is obviously the best defensive player on the team. But the question isn't asked for offensive players. Like for Dirk. can he win a championship as the teams best player? Most would say yes, but so far not without Tyson Chandler.

That would be great for Deke. I wonder where he would rank defensively amongst centers in the modern era.

[benhillboy]

I've thought about this years ago, knowing his candidacy would be controversial, and I always thought hell yeah. Basically, if Mitch can get in, Deke should waltz in that bi&ch.

Defensively, he's a slightly more imposing Duncan: ALWAYS in the right place, and knows exactly what to do when it's time. He, Patrick, and Alonzo are all one in the same to me. The Great Hoya Centers whose impact on the game reach farther than the court, during and after their playing careers. 4 Time DPOY equals unquestionable induction in my mind unless you're talking about Ben Wallace. The humanitarian efforts, the upset over the Sonics, and his importance to that Sixers team that had no business in the Finals puts him over the top for me.

[Guest]

Don't even get me started. Deke is a hall of famer for sure. The scary thing is he's prolly a better humanitarian than a basketball player. Even if you somehow don't like Deke, you have to respect him for what he's done on and off the court.

His blocks alone should get him into the Hall.

[Sothron]

Deke is frankly the primary player that I can think of that advanced metrics were created for in able to fairly judge his career. He was a dominant defensive player. He absolutely should be in the hall. I also have to add his lifelong humanitarian efforts and ability to help spread the sport of basketball to Africa also help his case.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Is Deke in before Chris Webber?

If you say yes . . then Chris belongs in too. Because there's no way in hell that Dikembe was a better player than Chris.

[hazer]

Yup, HoF'er by a long shot.

Edited April 4, 2014 by hazer

[HawkItus]

The other thing is that it is the Basketball Hall of Fame. Not the NBA hall of fame. You add his college career and his significant contributions to the game, he is a shoe in.

[AHF]

The point about measuring defensive prowess actually is a double whammy because there are several questions about 'best player on the team' which is really best offensive player. So when you say could he have won a championship if he was the best player on the team the answer is no even though he is obviously the best defensive player on the team. But the question isn't asked for offensive players. Like for Dirk. can he win a championship as the teams best player? Most would say yes, but so far not without Tyson Chandler.

That would be great for Deke. I wonder where he would rank defensively amongst centers in the modern era.

No it isn't. The author notes that Dikembe was the best player on the Nuggets teams and Hawks teams and he was never close to the best offensive player on any of those teams.

[AHF]

The other thing is that it is the Basketball Hall of Fame. Not the NBA hall of fame. You add his college career and his significant contributions to the game, he is a shoe in.

The biggest ace in his pocket is that he is an international player. They get in very easily. Given the standards for international players, he is an easy admission.

Using the criteria for NBA players, he squeaks in, IMO, like Dennis Rodman. I don't know that he was ever a top 4 player at his position, but he was a stud in perhaps the greatest big man era in league history. He clearly did not have the career of guys like Hakeem, Shaq, etc. but he was a superstar on the defensive side of the court and was overall a solid All-Star level player and productive role player for many, many years. He gets credit for that longevity.

[benhillboy]

I always hated those Rockets teams with Yao and T-Mac. Both went down, and they had their best showing in the postseason with that edition behind Deke and Aaron Brooks if I remeber correctly. The difference in the team's defensive rating between he and Yao was crazy, and Deke was in the twilight. I'm pretty sure he was the anchor, although off the bench, for that squad that won 22 straight. You could make an instructional video on post defense with dude. You cant find a more liked and respected guy among NBA Alumni. The question is what jersey will be be inducted in?

[AHF]

Whaaaat?

I think you missed these key words:

"on the defensive side of the ball and was overall a solid All-Star level player and productive role player for many, many years"

His overall game was never at a superstar level - just the All-Star level I described in the same post you quoted but he was a defensive beast on the one side of the ball.

Kyle Korver is a superstar perimeter shooter. He isn't a superstar.

I think you can parse this distinction without much difficulty.

[macdaddy]

It's a great question though. Is being an elite defensive player 'as good' as being an elite offensive player? There are plenty of elite scorers who were so-so defenders that are considered superstars. Can you be a superstar the other way around.?

[Guest]

I always hated those Rockets teams with Yao and T-Mac. Both went down, and they had their best showing in the postseason with that edition behind Deke and Aaron Brooks if I remeber correctly. The difference in the team's defensive rating between he and Yao was crazy, and Deke was in the twilight. I'm pretty sure he was the anchor, although off the bench, for that squad that won 22 straight. You could make an instructional video on post defense with dude. You cant find a more liked and respected guy among NBA Alumni. The question is what jersey will be be inducted in?

This is the part I don't like. I heard he wanted to go in as a Rocket. :-( His best years were clearly with us.

[MaceCase]

I feel like this was an entire trap thread designed for AHF.

Fanatic is an elephant, he never forgets.

[AHF]

He was never a superstar but yet he was. Got it. Next week we discuss the word "is" and when it is and when it isn't.

Replace superstar with a top player in the entire nba. Deke was a top defender in the entire nba. He wasn't a top overall player in the nba in any season - always a tier or two away from that level behind the Hakeems, Jordan's, etc. Never a guy who could win a title as a team's best player, etc.

I think you are being deliberately obstinate on this.

[AHF]

You can't see the difference between Michael Jordan, Hakeem, Shaq, Duncan, etc. and Mt. Mutombo and think any gap is a meaningless distinction? That is like calling the difference between SAR and Deke meaningless.

There is a reason all of those guys were the most important player on multiple NBA finalists while Deke never was the best player on a team that even reached the conference finals let alone took home a ring. As the second most important player on the Sixers, his team was beaten badly in the finals by one of those guys who was a true superstar to no one's surprise.

We aren't going to agree on this.

[buckeye242424]

He was the best defensive player in the NBA for a long time. It's not just the blocks, which should get him in the HOF anyway, he changed how every team was going to plan offensively. Nobody was going to challenge him in the paint, so that's a huge part of an offense. With Deke patrolling the middle, teams really needed to make their jumpshots or they were going to lose.

Edited April 7, 2014 by buckeye242424

[Duff_Man]

He should get in on his Gold Club line "Who wants to sex Mutombo!?" alone.