6. Zelmo Beaty (1974-75)
Zelmo Beaty didn’t get his Hall of Fame call until 2016, three years after he’d passed away.
The posthumous honor was long overdue for the 6’9″ big man who was a two-time NBA All-Star and three-time ABA All-Star, a two-time All-ABA pick , and the best player on the 1971 ABA champion Utah Stars.
The original “Big Z” (not Zydrunas Ilgauskas), Beaty was a consistent 20-and-10 producer for the Hawks in the NBA.
He then forfeited a full season during his prime when he left for the ABA — imagine an antiquated version of the NCAA transfer rule forcing an athlete to sit out — but when he arrived in the ABA, he was immediately a star.
Beaty averaged 22.9 points and 15.7 rebounds per game in 1970-71, leading the ABA in field goal shooting (55.5 percent) and leading the Stars to a championship while winning postseason MVP.
After four seasons in the ABA, Beaty returned to the NBA with the Lakers. The franchise was still recovering from the end of the Chamberlain-West-Baylor era, and would finish Beaty’s only season with them 30-52.
Beaty turned 35 years old a few days after the season began. He averaged 5.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game in what would be his final year of pro basketball.