Vlade in the HOF

Should Vlade be elected in the HOF?

  • YES

    Votes: 69 57.5%
  • NO

    Votes: 51 42.5%

  • Total voters
    120

SacTownKid

Hall of Famer
#2
I don't quite understand the question. While personally I would love to see Vlade enter the HOF, I just don't think it would be all that realistic, so I vote no.
 
#4
SacTownKid said:
I don't quite understand the question. While personally I would love to see Vlade enter the HOF, I just don't think it would be all that realistic, so I vote no.
I think it is very realistic that he can make the hall of fame. Most people do not realize that the basketball hall of fame is not only for NBA but all of international basketball since Vlade beeing a forefather to international players I can see him realistically making to the hall.
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#5
This is a tough question, and you are going to get radically different results depending on whether you are talking to an American or European audience.

As a player? Not a chance. Not even remotely close. Shaq is a Hall of Fame player, not Vlade. But for his overall role in developing and popularizing basketball around the world? It could happen. I can only guess at his impact since I was not there, but entirely apart from his work on the court, he has played the role of international ambassador for the sport for 15 years during which time basketball has grown exponentially in popularity around the globe.
 

SacTownKid

Hall of Famer
#6
AleksandarN said:
I think it is very realistic that he can make the hall of fame. Most people do not realize that the basketball hall of fame is not only for NBA but all of international basketball since Vlade beeing a forefather to international players I can see him realistically making to the hall.
I just look at the list of people inducted and that is a pretty dang exclisive list.
 
#7
HOF is not all about NBA players. I could name a couple of players that only those of serbian background would know that are in the hall of fame.

As a pioneer of european players into the NBA, as an ambassador of basketball throughout the world as well as his countless achievements througout his career, he would have to be considered.
 

SacTownKid

Hall of Famer
#8
Čarolija said:
HOF is not all about NBA players. I could name a couple of players that only those of serbian background would know that are in the hall of fame.

As a pioneer of european players into the NBA, as an ambassador of basketball throughout the world as well as his countless achievements througout his career, he would have to be considered.
He absolutely deserves consideration.
 
#9
He deserves to be be on the ballot because of his international influence on the game of basketball. The HOF is not just for level of play, but also the impact a person has on the game. Vlade's influence is felt all over the league. He was among the first to open the door of players from across the seas. He is also among the most successful. Therefore, I believe that he should and will be elected tot he HOF.

That aside, he is the best flopper to ever play the game!!!
 
#10
I'd put him in, but I don't know about it being realistic. He's done a lot for the sport overall and is one of the best passing bigmen that the game has ever seen.
 
#12
My first "off-the-cuff" reaction was no, but reading Bricklayer's post reminded me that this is the "Basketball" Hall of Fame, not the "NBA" Hall of Fame, and Vlade's contribution to the game of basketball is considerable to say the least, even if his individual accomplishments aren't comparable to other NBA Centers that have been inducted.
 
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ONEZERO

Guest
#13
u know whats going to get vlade in the HOF? its if he becomes a coach or front office worker and he has done alot for the sport, then he might get in.... but not for his playing... and i know hes already done alot for the sport, but it might take more than hes done. and by the way, being it is the "basketball HOF, not the "NBA" HOF, then he has an easier chance of getting in.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#14
I love Vlade, but I voted no. Retire his number? Without a doubt. Put him in the hall of fame? Only if they add a room for really nice guys who were ambassadors of good will.

He just doesn't have the stats to compare with the other centers in there.
 
#15
VF21 said:
I love Vlade, but I voted no. Retire his number? Without a doubt. Put him in the hall of fame? Only if they add a room for really nice guys who were ambassadors of good will.

He just doesn't have the stats to compare with the other centers in there.
Stats in the NBA no. But his international career is one of the most decorated of any international player. We are talking about a guy who made a debut representing his country at the age of 18 at a senior level. By the age of 19 he was the starting center for the NT. This is a country that has won more world championship than any other. He was won world championships, european championships, won Olympic silver medals. He was a the captain of his country.

His international career alone will at least deserve consideration. He might not have the stats in the NBA but his contribution to basketball at international level simply cannot be questioned because there simply aren't many out there that have achieved what he has achieved.

He is the probably the best basketballer that Serbia and Montenegro has ever produced and when you consider that there alredy are players from former yugoslavia in the hall of fame then I think its fair to say that Vlade will be in with a pretty good chance.
 
#16
i love Vlade... but if Dominique Wilkins cant make the Hall of Fame, it would be pretty messed up if Vlade did. Even with everything that Vlade accomplished, 'Nique has done much much more for the sport of Basketball.
 
#17
tetsuo916 said:
i love Vlade... but if Dominique Wilkins cant make the Hall of Fame, it would be pretty messed up if Vlade did. Even with everything that Vlade accomplished, 'Nique has done much much more for the sport of Basketball.
Yeah, the guy's got a point... Vlade sure did help basketball on a worldwide scale but Dominique had a far better NBA career than him.

As much as I love Vlade, he just simply wasn't good enough
 
#18
tetsuo916 said:
i love Vlade... but if Dominique Wilkins cant make the Hall of Fame, it would be pretty messed up if Vlade did. Even with everything that Vlade accomplished, 'Nique has done much much more for the sport of Basketball.
Wilkins SHOULD be in. No idea why he was not voted in. It makes no sense at all. He will be in the HOF.
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#19
chelle said:
Wilkins SHOULD be in. No idea why he was not voted in. It makes no sense at all. He will be in the HOF.
Its the empty numbers theory. The HOF is really quite exclusive. Fellow super Sf scorers such as Adrian Dantley, Alex English, Kiki Vandeweghe, Mark Aguirre etc. etc. also aren't in, and those guys all used to be absolutely prolific 25-30ppg SF scorers. I think Nique will eventually get in because he did it with flair and was one of the perennial faces of the game for years and years, but I'm not surprised he's a borderline case.
 
#20
tetsuo916 said:
i love Vlade... but if Dominique Wilkins cant make the Hall of Fame, it would be pretty messed up if Vlade did. Even with everything that Vlade accomplished, 'Nique has done much much more for the sport of Basketball.
Nique will get in eventually. I'm not sure about "much much more." Vlade has done a lot...
 
#22
super guy.....

will he receive consideration? possibly, if for nothing else, his personality and ambassadorship

will he get in?? highly doubtful...

for a guy who spent 16 seasons in the nba to be an allstar one time and expect to get into the hall of fame....well....

there are guys that are probably about as nice who probably were allstars more than once that dont and wont get in....

sabonis isnt even in the HOF yet....based on the argument some use for vlade, sabas would have to be admitted long before vlade...

vlade will be remembered as a very good player and a great ambassador to the game.....however hall of famer is probably a bit of a stretch...and theres certainly no shame for that....its a very exclusive club....and u just dont think of vlade in the same breath as u do wilt, kareem, etc...
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#23
foretaz said:
sabonis isnt even in the HOF yet....based on the argument some use for vlade, sabas would have to be admitted long before vlade...

I think Sabas will get in -- but he has the advanatage of having a period in his early pre-injury career where people felt he might be as good as any center in the game anywhere. He's kind of like Walton I think.

With Vlade its all about the intangibles and how they weigh. Mentioned above not a prayer for the on court work. It all comes down to how important they feel the trole he played off the court was.
 
#24
Yoda said:
Heart says yes, head says no.
Yup, pretty much sums up how I feel.

There is no way you can make an argument for him being there as a player. He did have a great career, but players who get selected for the HOF usually are OUTSTANDING players, and players with great stats. With all fairness, Vlade never was a stat-padder, he was just a perfect team-mate...and nowadays those guys usually do not get consideration.
 
#25
He'll make it as soon as he is eligable - as an international player. While his NBA record does not come even close in terms of numbers, his overall contribution to the NT and high intrnational profile will get him there. As an NBA player? Of course not.
 
#26
Vlade Divac lead his native country to TWO world championship titles. Not to mention his other acheivements on the international stage. This is the "Basketball Hall of Fame" and not the "NBA Hall of Fame"... Correct?

Divac understood that basketball was a team game and he played it as such. He did not pad stats for personal glory.

He should not get into the hall of fame for being a decent human being, however his skill and life acheivements should put him there.
 
#27
yeah he ll get in, only because he was one of the first international players to come over and have success, he painted the way for players like peja, dirk etc...
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#30
Stoked said:
yeah he ll get in, only because he was one of the first international players to come over and have success, he painted the way for players like peja, dirk etc...
Yeah, that might be the route in for him. There have been a number of suspect HOFs over the years, and even the recent HOF picks from Europe would not have been HOFers if they had spent their career in the NBA (with the possible exception of Petrovic, but he wasn't based on NBA work at the time he died). But there is a separate class of lesser talented HOFs that might be called just "firsts" -- composed of people who broke down barriers or invented new twists to the game. Might be Vlade's best shot. If he can claim any significant portion of credit for the flood of the best international players into the NBA, than he has been a very significant figure indeed and changed the game forever.

Be tough for him though, because having played his whole career opposite the great NBA centers, when it comes time to put him down as an inductee, I suspect many voters are going to ask how he can get in ahead of some of those other guys who were better than him head to head. However, I'm not sure if the rules dictate one international inductee a year or not, but that has been the pattern for a number of years now. So maybe through that device -- put him on a separate track from his NBA brethren to avoid the direct comparisons.