ISH Hall of Fame Project: Class of 1965 Voting

[L.Kizzle]

After Sharman, Martin and Yardley were my next of choice.

[G.O.A.T]

Final Voting Results

11 ballots cast

(11) Bob Pettit
(11) Bob Cousy
(10) Dolph Schayes
(9) Paul Arizin
(7) Bill Sharman
-----------------------
(4) Goose Tatum
(4) Bob Davies
(4) Neil Johnston
(2) George Yardley
(2) Tarzan Cooper
(2) Leroy Edwards
(2) Clyde Lovellette
Nat Holman
Marques Haynes
Pops Gates
Cumberland Posey
Dick McGuire
Frank Ramsey
Slater Martin

Players Inducted Thus Far
Arizin, Paul
Cousy, Bob
Fulks, Joe
Macauley, Ed
McDermott, Bobby
Mikan, George
Pettit, Bob
Schayes, Danny
Sharman, Bill
Stokes, Maurice

[dankok8]

I realize the voting is over but I strongly disagree with you here G.O.A.T. To say Sharman was a better scorer is an understatement. He was miles and miles better.

Slater averaged 9.8 ppg for his career on 36.4% shooting. In his 5 titles years he averaged 4.0 ppg, 9.3 ppg, 10.6 ppg, 9.9 ppg and 12.0 ppg.

Sharman averaged 17.8 ppg on 42.6% shooting for his career. In his 4 title years he averaged 21.1 ppg, 20.4 ppg, 19.3 ppg, and 16.0 ppg.

And I'm pretty sure you made a mistake with the All-NBA selections.

Martin - 5x All-NBA 2nd Team
Sharman - 4x All-NBA 1st Team, 3x All-NBA 2nd Team

It doesn't seem like Martin is significantly better in aspects of the game like passing or defense and yet Sharman is WAY BETTER as a scorer not even a comparison.

Being a shooter isn't really that big a deal but Sharman was an elite shooter. He led the league in FT% 7 times which is an NBA record. He had 3 seasons and 7 postseasons in which he shot >90% from the free throw line.

Maybe I exaggerated slightly when I called Sharman a lock. He's not a 1st ballot HOF because of his lack of longevity. But he's definitely way ahead of Martin in my eyes.

[G.O.A.T]

I realize the voting is over but I strongly disagree with you here G.O.A.T. To say Sharman was a better scorer is an understatement. He was miles and miles better.

Slater averaged 9.8 ppg for his career on 36.4% shooting. In his 5 titles years he averaged 4.0 ppg, 9.3 ppg, 10.6 ppg, 9.9 ppg and 12.0 ppg.

Sharman averaged 17.8 ppg on 42.6% shooting for his career. In his 4 title years he averaged 21.1 ppg, 20.4 ppg, 19.3 ppg, and 16.0 ppg.

And I'm pretty sure you made a mistake with the All-NBA selections.

Martin - 5x All-NBA 2nd Team
Sharman - 4x All-NBA 1st Team, 3x All-NBA 2nd Team

It doesn't seem like Martin is significantly better in aspects of the game like passing or defense and yet Sharman is WAY BETTER as a scorer not even a comparison.

Being a shooter isn't really that big a deal but Sharman was an elite shooter. He led the league in FT% 7 times which is an NBA record. He had 3 seasons and 7 postseasons in which he shot >90% from the free throw line.

Maybe I exaggerated slightly when I called Sharman a lock. He's not a 1st ballot HOF because of his lack of longevity. But he's definitely way ahead of Martin in my eyes.

I was wrong about the All-NBA selections (4-3, not 3-2), my spreadsheet had it wrong, not sure why. But the points still stand. I will not deny that Sharman's edge as a shooter is very large, but shooting is a very small portion of the game.

While I again emphasize I do rank Sharman higher all-time, I would ask you how can he be "way ahead" if they were considered the 2nd and 3rd best guard in the league by all-nba votes during their prime and neither was considered a top five, but both top ten before the all-NBA teams were distinguished by position?

Outside of the shooting, Martin does everything else better, even if slightly, that's significant when considering two guys who despite being very different stylistically were both guards and the 3rd/4th best player on their team during their prime and peak seasons.