I heard on sports radio that Artis Gilmore isn't in the basketball Hall of Fame. I didn't believe that, and looked it up. It's true, and it's a travesty. The wikipedia article says that none of the nine anonymous members of the screening committee have put his name in the last three years. Something smells here.
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In his book, Bill Simmons ranks him as the 76th best player of all time - a few spots ahead of Westphal, a few spots behind Joe Dumars and Sidney Moncrief. He would say, though, that Gilmore should be in the Hall, since his list is the 96 players who would be in the Hall if he was in charge (including active players, of course).
His comment was "Artis would have started at center for the Looks Better on Paper All-Stars if not for Bellamy." He commented that Gilmore was so huge that he always seemed like he should be more imposing, more dominating, but his instincts were a step slow, so that opponents hammered at him, and he eventually earned the nickname "Rigor Artis."
I can see that. He was massively strong and got rebounds and points in the paint largely by wrestling others out. But still, they count just as much. The expectations factor may indeed have worked against him. He was expected to be Kareem or Wilt. He wasn't. Not much splash. I'm not sure people's expectations should count against him, though. See also Ewing, Shaq. Hmm, maybe it's more of a hurdle for centers.
Actually, I'd probably have Gilmore as one of the top 40 players in NBA history. He was one of the best scorers in NBA history as far as efficiency is concerned.
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