Looking at Rasheed Wallace's case to be inducted in the NBA Hall Of Fame
Rasheed Wallace, now an assistant coach on Penny Hardaway's staff at Memphis, played 16 seasons in the NBA and was one of the most matter-of-fact athletes of his era. He played the game outside in, and was as formidable as any great power forward that was his peer - namely Hall of Fame 4's Chris Webber, Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan. Winning the NBA title in 2004 validated a Detroit Pistons team that appeared in six straight Eastern Conference Finals. Rasheed Wallace's tough and spirited play was the equalizer for a team playing some of the best defense ever in the NBA over that six-year span. Let's make a case for the man they call Roscoe to enter the Naimsmith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Rasheed Wallace and UNC
Named the top high school player in the nation by USA Today, the Simon Gratz legend out of Germantown in Philadelphia turned down offers from Philly powers Temple and Villanova to sign with Dean Smith and the University of North Carolina. His decision to leave his beloved Philadelphia was made after the iconic coach traveled to Philadelphia a day after UNC defeated Michigan and the Fab Five in the National Final. What's memorable about Rasheed Wallace and Dean Smith is Smith trusted Rasheed Wallace enough in a basketball sense that he played the freshman power forward unusually more than most young players, and Rasheed Wallace responded with stellar play highlighted by ferocious dunks by him and Jerry Stackhouse to advance flurries that put teams away. In his freshman year, he averaged 9.5 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game off the bench as UNC went 28-7 and lost in the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament. His sophomore numbers increased with the playing time: 16.6 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.7 blocks on 65% shooting. Rasheed Wallace was a second team All-American for a squad that advanced to the Final Four.
Rasheed Wallace with the best ejection in NBA History😂😂 https://t.co/i1G7WnUYK9
From Germantown to Washington, DC
Rasheed Wallace played in 61 games his rookie season as Chris Webber was limited to 15 games. The roster had a bevy of young athletic power forward talent with Rasheed Wallace, Webber, Juwan Howard and Ben Wallace. This footage of Rasheed Wallace and Chris Webber going back and forth in training camp is something to see. After his rookie season in DC, Rasheed Wallace was traded to the Portland Trailblazers for essentially veteran point guard Rod Strictland.
Rasheed Wallace the Portland Trailblazers force
This is where Rasheed Wallace began to show how special a player he was. He'd fit right in with today's style of stretch 4's yet he had a growl to him. There was nothing soft about Rasheed Wallace. I asked Shaq once what team was the best he faced and he was quick to say Rasheed Wallace's Portland Trailblazers. In 2000, the Lakers and Trailblazers played a classic Game 7 in the Western Conference Finals. Los Angeles was victorious after coming back from 15 down in the 4th to snatch a Finals trip away from Portland. Mike Dunlevy's squad finished 2nd behind the Lakers in the Pacific Division at 59-23 that season. Shaq and Kobe were just too much. The playoff success subsided, yet Rasheed Wallace continued to develop into an intimidating force, and averaged 17 points and seven boards in eight seasons in Portland.
14 years ago today, the Pistons stole Rasheed Wallace in a trade.
It led to one of history’s most unlikely champions. https://t.co/DWHhuyKjH3
The Detroit Pistons
Rasheed Wallace and Stephen Jackson were having drinks in a Miami bar when hefound out he was traded to the Detroit Pistons at the 2004 trade deadline. He'd just been dealt to Atlanta and played one game with the Hawks - scoring 20 points - before he was headed to the D. I think back to the times when Rasheed Wallace and the Detroit Pistons were the locker room standard of what an NBA team should resemble.
The professionalism of the Pistons locker room was the best I'd seen covering the NBA and NFL, and the only similarity in professionalism was the Boston Celtics of Big 3 fame with Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo. There was respect; a responsibility that worked as a built-in insulation. Rasheed Wallace was the missing piece. He commanded a double team. He ensured the Pistons understood how great they'd be in their camaradarie. It was a galvanized unit focused on defeating anything seeking to conquer it; to weaken it; to destroy its prominent chemistry and definitive brotherhood - in any way it could. There were no excuses, and the 2004 NBA championship was the culmination of hard work, drive, the experienced leadership of Larry Brown, and everything "What up doe?"
The following season, the Detroit Pistons advanced to the NBA Finals and lost in seven to Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs.
Techs
In 2000-01 Rasheed Wallace set an NBA record with 41 technical fouls in 80 games. Rasheed Wallace was the reason the NBA instituted a rule that after 15 techs, a player is suspended. It's safe to say this record will never be broken.
Karl Malone is the NBA's all-time leader with 332 technical fouls, Charles Barkley is second with 329, and Rasheed Wallace is third with 317.
Rasheed Wallace was outrageous at times, and hilarious in his exchanges with referees. Rasheed Wallace was one not to stand down, and his interactions with refs over his career reflected that. If he felt he was wronged, he most definitely let the refs know.
What's the case for the Hall of Fame?
It's perplexing at times why Rasheed Wallace's Detroit Pistons teams are underrated despite their Eastern Conference dominance. Rasheed Wallace was the ringer. Whenever Chauncey Billups or Rip Hamilton went to him on the block, best believe Rasheed Wallace had the confidence to score the basket on anyone guarding him. His offensive skills were elite and his Robert Parrish-like high arching jumper rained water when he was hot. His dagger three-point shots anchored the interior defense with Hall of Famer Ben Wallace and Tayshaun Prince, was as unselfish a teammate as ever and made four NBA All-Star games. After leaving the Pistons in 2009, Rasheed Wallace place 79 games for the Boston Celtics and 21 games with the New York Knicks.
Rasheed Wallace's basketball achievements:
- NBA champion (2004)
- 4× NBA All-Star (2000, 2001, 2006, 2008)
- NBA All-Rookie Second Team (1996)
- Consensus second-team All-American (1995)
- First-team All-ACC (1995)
- ACC All-Freshman team (1994)
- No. 30 honored by North Carolina Tar Heels
- Mr. Basketball USA (1993)
- USA Today's High School Player of the Year (1993)
- 2× First-team Parade All-American (1992, 1993)
- McDonald's All-American (1993)
The Pistons were a balanced unit sharing different responsibilities every night based on what it took to win. They were the team that would battle no matter who was injured or having a bad game. Ben Wallace is in the Hall of Fame; head coach Larry Brown is in the Hall of Fame. Cases can be made for Rip Hamilton and Chauncey Billups as well. Rasheed Wallace was the group's most talented player, and because Larry Brown's team was such a versatile squad on both ends, the numbers of each player are not as appealing as the other stars the Pistons sent home every year. A team should be honored for playing the right way as their coach used to say, and the offensive sacrifice made by a great Rasheed Wallace needs to be celebrated, not dismissed as just good enough. NBA champions are more than good enough, and inducting him into the Hall ensures the next generation understands that teams win championships, and the individuals on those teams make those teams great. It would be an ode to both offense and defense inducting Rasheed Wallace into the Hall of Fame, so do the right thing and advance the balanced frame.