Basketball Hall of Famer Rudy Tomjanovich recently campaigned for one of his former players to join him in the Hall of Fame. Tomjanovich, who won two championships as the coach of the Houston Rockets in 1994 and 1994, believes Robert Horry deserves a spot in Springfield, MA.
“I really believe [Horry] belongs in the Naismith Hall of Fame,” Tomjanovich said during his accepting speech for the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award on Sunday. “He’s proven it time and time again. He’s made so many teams champions playing a role, and that’s so important. It isn’t about just the stats. It’s about getting results. I pray that one day he’s going to be able to stand up there and accept that honor.”
Tomjanovich coached Horry with the Rockets from 1992-1996, Horry’s entire stint with the team.
Horry does not have the stats to back up a potential Hall of Fame campaign, averaging 7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game over his 16-year NBA career. However, he is one of the greatest winners in NBA history. Horry won seven championships as an NBA player, averaging nearly one championship for every two years he played. In addition to winning two with Tomjanovich’s Rockets, Horry won five additional championships. This includes three with the Los Angeles Lakers and two with the San Antonio Spurs. To this day, Horry has the most NBA championships for a player who never played for the Boston Celtics. This includes legends like Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who all have six championships a piece.
Houston Rockets Legend Believes Multi-Time Champion Deserves HOF Spot
Rudy Tomjanovich is Not Alone in His Robert Horry Take
In 2023, Shaquille O’Neal, who was teammates with Horry with the Lakers, took to social media to say the seven-time champion should be in the Hall of Fame.
The answer is HMF YES, and yes I’m yelling pic.twitter.com/ValhsJiYV1
— SHAQ (@SHAQ) October 23, 2023
Additionally, legendary big man Bill Walton said Horry deserved to be in the Hall of Fame.
“You hear all the time about the coaches wanting sacrifice to make the team work; that’s what Robert Horry did,” Walton said on the ESPN broadcast Friday. “If you’re going to ask for sacrifice, you’ve got to reward sacrifice. Robert Horry sacrificed so the team could win. They did win. Robert Horry is a most deserving member of the basketball hall of fame.”
Robert Horry Would Rather Have His Rings Than a Hall of Fame Induction
Horry spoke about O’Neal’s comments on the October 24, 2023 episode of The Dan Patrick Show. Additionally, in the interview, Horry said he appreciated his former teammate’s praise. However, he also specified he would rather keep his championship rings in a hypothetical trade.
“Man, I have seven titles because, at the end of the day, the Hall of Fame doesn’t give you anything for it,” said Big Shot Bob. “There are even people in the Hall of Fame that do not know who they are and I don’t care about the Hall of Fame even if I feel like that I should be in it. But I don’t care about it. At the end of the day, it’s a team sport. I’ve done something that a lot of players would never do, I’ve done things that only a few players have done. “
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