The 2010 NBA hall of fame nominees has officially been announced. The award is the highest honor bestowed to former NBA players due to their significant accomplishment and contribution during their playing career.
The list, which contains 24 names, includes Scottie Pippen, Karl Malone and a name that has created a debate on whether this person deserved the award. The man in question is non other than Dennis Rodman nicknamed as the worm and others preferred calling him Dennis the Menace. On the court his defensive and rebounding ability was truly exceptional. When you sample out his career achievements, one can’t help admiring it, he won the NBA championship 5 times, was voted NBA defensive player 2 times and got selected in the all start team 2-times.
The reason why his name brings a debate on whether he can win the award is because he was a very controversial player that led him to be known as a NBA’s bad boy. Those who were fortunate to see him play can recall several incidences he was controversially involved in. He had numerous tattoos, pierced his body and dyed his hair occasionally, something that most NBA players nowadays engage in.
Scottie Pippen, a former Chicago Bulls legendary player whose number 33 jersey is retired, is one person who is fancied by many to be inducted. Although he played second fiddle to Jordan his contribution to the Bulls team helped them win six NBA championships.
Karl Malone is the other name that is more likely to feature in the induction hall. When John Stockton got inducted into the hall of fame this year, many analysts raised questions as to why Karl Malone’s name was not among that list. The two were inseparable while playing for the Utah Jazz, they became one of the most marvelous dynamic duo the game has ever seen. Even though their attempts of winning an NBA championship were foiled by other great teams, the two were outstanding. Utah Jazz became a more recognizable franchise due to both them. The team honored the two by retiring their numbers and had statues of then, outside the Energy Solution Arena, their home court.
In the of his twilight of his career, Marlone went to play for the Lakers but couldn’t use his No 32 since it had been retired by the Lakers in honour of Magic Johnson. When Magic Johnson offered the number to be unretired for Marlone to use, Marlone graciously turned down the offer.
Just like the class of 2009, which had Jordan, a bull’s player and Stockton, a Jazz player, the class of 2010 is definitely going to have a representative of those two teams. However, all eyes will anxiously be waiting to see if the selecting panel of judges will overlook the controversial side of Rodman and use his superb achievements to ensure his name is engraved among the best of the best.