The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony is set for Friday, honoring some of the greatest players, coaches and executives that contributed to the game. NBA.com's staff has used Hall of Fame week to break down the careers of the members of the Class of 2018.
NBA.com's Micah Adams wanted to highlight Grant Hill's prime years, often forgotten because of his injury history. Adams suggested that, during Hill's peak, he was on par with some of the greatest to ever play the game.
Hill was every bit as productive as Kobe [Bryant]. Maybe not as a scorer, but in terms of overall value, the numbers suggest a peak player right on par with Bryant, even if that peak was substantially shorter. Given most arguments for Hill revolve around an acceptance of advanced metrics not yet in the public eye during his peak or even Bryant's, it's understandable why that might come as a surprise to some.
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And the comparisons did not stop there. Adams also addressed how the first couple years of Hill's career were on par with another 6-8 forward who might be considered the greatest player of all time. (Hint: It's LeBron James.)
Hill also served as his team's primary scorer, leading the Pistons in each of his first six seasons while topping out at 25.8 points per game his final season in Detroit. Carrying the mantle as his team's top scorer and distributor? Sounds awfully familiar.
Hill also sat down with NBA.com's Sekou Smith to explain how the call to the Hall of Fame gave him some much-needed validation.
"And maybe I'm getting too deep with this, but the Hall of Fame is very validating for me and I didn't realize how much I needed it, how much I needed that recognition that... I don't always see what I did back in the day, back in the 90s. I remember the end. And I remember the hard times, the struggles."
Despite the injuries and questions about what could have been, Hill is certainly a deserving Hall of Fame inductee.
