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NBA: 50 greatest players who aren’t in the Basketball Hall of Fame

By Maxwell Ogden

AUBURN HILLS, UNITED STATES: Chauncey Billups of the Detroit Piston celebrates with the fans after the Pistons defeated the Lakers 100-87 to win the 2004 NBA championship final, in Auburn Hills, MI, 15 June 2004. The Pistons won the best-of-seven NBA championship series 5-1 and Billups was the series MVP. AFP PHOTO / Robyn BECK (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)
AUBURN HILLS, UNITED STATES: Chauncey Billups of the Detroit Piston celebrates with the fans after the Pistons defeated the Lakers 100-87 to win the 2004 NBA championship final, in Auburn Hills, MI, 15 June 2004. The Pistons won the best-of-seven NBA championship series 5-1 and Billups was the series MVP. AFP PHOTO / Robyn BECK (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Charlotte Hornets star Glen Rice
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES: Glen Rice of the Charlotte Hornets leaps for the loose ball over a fallen Charlie Ward of the New York Knicks in first quarter of game 10 February at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Knicks won 99-91. AFP PHOTO Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP via Getty Images) /

50 greatest players who aren’t in the Basketball Hall of Fame: 23. Glen Rice

Long before Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were rewriting the rules of three-point shooting, there were Ray Allen, Larry Bird, and Reggie Miller. Those names are spoken even to this day, whether it be by those who witnessed their success or those who have merely heard of it.

Inexcusably lost amongst the legends, however, appears to be one of the purest shooters in NBA history: Glen Rice. And believe me when I say it: Rice could shoot.

Between 1990 and 2001, Rice shot 40.7 percent from beyond the arc while averaging 1.7 three-point field goals made per game. That includes his historic 1996-97 campaign, when the Michigan Wolverines legend averaged 26.8 points per game and buried 207 three-point field goals.

Rice knocked down an awe-inspiring 47.0 percent of his attempts from distance that season. In the process, he became the first player in NBA history to record at least 200 three-point field goals made on 45.0 percent shooting or better from distance.

It was one of four seasons during which Rice shot above 40 percent from three-point range, and he added an additional seven over 38 percent.

Not to be confused with some of the other spot-up shooters who can make a similar claim to fame, Rice was a complete scorer who experienced both regular season and postseason success. He was the starting small forward when the Los Angeles Lakers won the championship in 2000.

Rice averaged 33.3 minutes played per game during that postseason, scoring 21 points in Game 2 of the NBA Finals and 16 in the close-out win in Game 6.

A 15-year veteran with two All-NBA selections, three All-Star Game appearances, a championship, and an All-Star Game MVP award, Rice is one of the best shooters and players outside of the Hall of Fame.

Throw in his iconic performance in the 1989 NCAA Tournament, when he led Michigan to its first and only championship, and Rice was great on multiple levels.