On the Brink: Predicting the fates of 16 borderline NBA Hall of Famers
By Cal Durrett
15) Rasheed Wallace
17-year NBA veteran Rasheed Wallace was one of the most controversial players in league history but also very good. Although Wallace was talented, he also ended up being less than some of his parts. He could score in the post with a turnaround jumper, defend, and knock down threes during an era where big men didn't shoot them, but he still ended up being above average instead of outstanding.
To his credit, he was a part of two great teams during the 90s with the Portland Trail Blazers and the 2000s with the Detroit Pistons. He helped Portland make the Western Conference Finals in 1999 and 2000 and nearly beat the Shaq and Kobe Lakers during the first year on what turned out to be a 3-peat. He was later traded to the Pistons, where he was a key part of their dominance.
They won a championship in 2004, nearly won again in 2005, and had the best record in the NBA in 2006 en route to five straight Eastern Conference Finals. Wallace's team's were often very good and Wallace was too, though he only averaged more than 19 points per game twice and made four all-star teams. He did score 16,000 points but while he had the talent to be a Hall of Famer, he doesn't have a strong enough case to make it in.