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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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20,000 points club member Tom Chambers
LANDOVER, MD – CIRCA 1984: Tom Chambers #24 of the Seattle Super Sonics goes up to shoot against the Washington Bullets during an NBA basketball game circa 1984 at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. Chambers played for the Super Sonics from 1983-88. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Tom Chambers /

50 greatest players who aren’t in the Basketball Hall of Fame: 15. Tom Chambers

Tom Chambers makes this list with relative ease, as he has a statistical distinction that puts him in rather rare company. Of the 46 players who have scored at least 20,000 career points in the NBA, Chambers is one of just two eligible individuals who are not currently in the Hall of Fame.

There’s a case to be made that Chambers should be inducted into the Hall of Fame, but whether or not you agree, he most certainly belongs on this list of players on the outside looking in.

Chambers played 17 NBA seasons, which is reason enough to evaluate how valuable of a player he was. He scored upwards of 20,000 career points and pulled down 6,703 rebounds, all the while shooting an impressive 46.8 percent from the field.

He’s one of just 34 players in NBA history to record at least 20,000 career points and 6,000 career rebounds.

It wasn’t all about accumulation for Chambers as far as the statistics are concerned, as he averaged 22.9 points and 7.0 rebounds during the six-year period between 1984-85 and 1989-90.

Beyond being a productive player individually, Chambers helped his teams win. He appeared in 108 playoff games and was a go-to player on three different teams that reached the Western Conference Finals.

Chambers made the 1993 NBA Finals with the Phoenix Suns as a key rotational contributor.

Add another Conference Finals appearance with the Utah Jazz in 1993-94 as a role player, and Chambers has the combination of statistics and team success that should put him in the discussion.

Two All-NBA nods, four All-Star Game appearances, and an All-Star Game MVP award strengthen Chambers’ cause even further.