Skip Bayless is always good for a hot take here and there, but his most recent one leans more toward shock value than reality.
If you look back through NBA history, the only non-active player who has won an MVP award and isn’t in the Hall of Fame is Dirk Nowitzki, who recently retired and isn’t yet eligible, but will clearly get in as soon as voters have the chance to select him, yet Skip believes one other active MVP shouldn’t make the HOF.
In a recent episode of The Skip Bayless Show, Skip said he would not put new Denver Nuggets point guard Russell Westbrook in the Hall of Fame because “He’s a solo act of a stat machine who always proves to be more trouble than he’s worth.”
.@RealSkipBayless explains why he would NOT put Russell Westbrook in his Hall of Fame:
“He’s a solo act of a stat machine who always proves to be more trouble than he’s worth.” pic.twitter.com/v1o617ezS9
— The Skip Bayless Show (@SkipBaylessShow) July 27, 2024
Calling Russ a stat machine is fair, but there is no denying his accomplishments even if he has padded his stats here and there throughout his career.
He still has nine All-Star selections, two scoring titles, an MVP, a pair of All-Star Game MVPs, has led the league in assists three times, averaged a triple-double four times (a feat that hadn’t been done even once since Oscar Robertson since 1962) and has scored over 25,000 points en route to being named to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary team.
There is absolutely no argument to keep Russ out of the Hall of Fame regardless of how fans may feel about him, as it would completely reset the precedent for what a Hall-of-Famer is in this league.
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