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Jason Terry and the HOF

Editor's Note: Front-paged because I've been gone for five days and let the site deteriorate into nothingness! My b!

Public perception can be a damning thing, especially when it’s wrong. Jason Terry is in the midst of a stand out career yet I would be willing to bet if you asked anybody outside the Metroplex who is a better guard, Terry or Derek Fisher, people would select Fisher without a second thought. Never mind that Fisher has played three more seasons than Terry and scored nearly 6,000 less points, dished out over a 1,000 fewer assists, and racked up 38 fewer steals. Doesn’t matter, he has public perception on his side.

Terry meanwhile has never been able to get public perception on his side and unfortunately its probably going to cost him in the end. Jason Terry should go to the Hall of Fame. Okay, maybe not today, but assuming Terry plays four or five more years then Jason Terry should go to the Hall of Fame. And he probably won’t because public perception is that Terry is a good player, not great, and certainly not Hall of Fame. Here’s four reasons why that perception is wrong, and why Terry should be on his way to Springfield, MA when his playing days are over.

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Reason 1 - 20,000+ Points

Jason Terry is on pace to eclipse the 20,000-point barrier within the next four years. After 12 seasons in the NBA Terry has amassed 15,537 points. Should JET manage to score his nearly 1300 points per season average for the next four seasons he would comfortably surpass 20,000 point mark. Unfortunately for Terry, age is not on his side. JET will begin next season at 34 years old. Even still, the 20,000-point achievement remains in Terry’s grasp if he is able to post point totals in the ranges of 1,280, 1175, 1050, and 990 over the next four seasons. Those point totals represent no easy task to be sure but given Terry’s ability to stay healthy (he has missed a combined 13 games in the last four seasons), and his ability to remain viable as a spot up shooter long after he has lost the skill to create his own shot, its not inconceivable that Terry could remain a consistent scorer in this league for four or five more years.

So what exactly does 20,000 points mean? Well, to date only 37 players have scored more than 20,000 points. Of the 37 to score more than 20,000 points, 24 have already been inducted to the Hall of Fame, while 10 more are either still active or awaiting their first Hall of Fame eligibility date.

Active Players:

Kobe Bryant (27,868)

Kevin Garnett (23,323)

Dirk Nowitzki (22,792)

Ray Allen (22,286)

Tim Duncan (21,663)

Paul Pierce (21,410)

Vince Carter (20,520)

Awaiting Hall of Fame Eligibility:

Shaquille O’Neal (28,596)

Allen Iverson (24,368)

Gary Payton (21,813)

With the possible exception of Vince Carter I think we can all agree that each of those guys are getting in at some point. So that leaves just three out of the current 37 players who have scored 20,000+ points that have not been inducted in the Hall of Fame though they are currently eligible. If you can guess what each of these guys have in common but don’t share with Jason Terry you’ll know where I’m heading with Reason 2.

Not Inducted :

Reggie Miller (25,279)

Mitch Richmond (20,497)

Tom Chambers (20,049)

Reason 2 – JET was a key player for a championship team

You could almost say the difference between Terry and the "Not Inducted" 20,000+ point guys is that none of those guys ever won an NBA Championship, but that wouldn’t be quite accurate. Who could forget the Mitch Richmond Lakers squad of 2001 – 2002? (Richmond played in two playoff games for the Lakers, logged a total of four minutes, and scored three points.) However, you can accurately claim that unlike the three "Not Included", Jason Terry was a primary contributor for a championship team, and another that made the Finals but did not win.

During the 2005 – 2006 regular season JET averaged 17.1 points per game. He was able to increase that average to 18.9 during the playoffs, and once again increased his scoring average to 22 points per game in the Finals.

Terry averaged 15.8 during the 2010 – 2011 regular season and increased his scoring output to 17.5 for the Mavs during their post-season championship run. Most notably, Terry scored 16, 17, 21, and 27 respectively in the Mavs game 2,4,5, and 6 wins, and averaged 18 points per game for the series. In addition, Terry’s other big playoff moments this year included games of 29, 20, and 22 points against Portland, scores of 23 and 32 in wins against the Lakers, and pouring in 24 points and 20 points in victories over OKC.

More than just last seasons playoff run, or the playoff run on 2005 – 2006, it could be argued that Jason Terry has been the Mavs second best player for his entire tenure in Dallas. An era that has so far included a championship, another trip to the Finals, a 67-win regular season team, and seven straight trips to the playoffs.

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Reason 3 – Three-point shooting

Supplementing JET’s career point total and his value to a championship caliber team is Terry’s three-point shooting. Terry is a historically strong three-point shooter and currently ranks 8th all-time in three-point shots made with 1,650 makes. Should Terry play four to five more years he would easily move into 6th place, passing Dale Ellis and Peja Stojakovic. He could move as high as 3rd place as he only trails Jason Kidd by 145 3-pointers made, and through Terry’s career he has averaged 138 3-pointers made per season. Most likely Terry climbs to the 4th or 5th spot depending on how the careers of Rashaad Lewis (7th all-time) Chauncey Billups (5th all-time) shake out.

Reason 4 – College playing career

Keep in mind that the Basketball Hall of Fame is not separated into college and professional. As stupid as it may seem a players college career does impact whether or not they are elected to the Hall of Fame. In case you have forgotten, Jason Terry was an outstanding player for the University of Arizona. Terry helped the Wildcats defeat Kentucky and win the National Championship in the 1996 -1997 season. That season Terry average 10.6 points, 4.4 assists, and 2.5 steals per game. He was also widely praised for selflessly accepting a move to the bench (sound familiar?) to make way for freshman Mike Bibby.

As a senior Terry averaged 21.9 points, 5.5 assists, and 2.75 steals per game. Terry was selected as a 1st Team AP All-American and named National Player of the Year by Sports Illustrated, Chevrolet/CBS, and Rawlings/Basketball Times. Terry is to this day considered among the greatest basketball players in the history of the University of Arizona (Easily top five with Derrick Williams, Steve Kerr, Sean Elliot, Damon Stoudamire).

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Hall of Fame Resume

I project the Jason Terry Hall of Fame resume will look something like this in four years time:

· 16 seasons in the NBA

· NBA Finals Champ in 2011

· 20,000+ point scorer

· Ranks 4th all time in 3-pointers made

· Sixth Man of the Year (08-09)

· Finals appearance in 2006

· First Team All-American in 1998 -1999

· National Player of the Year in 1998 -1999

· National Champion in 1996 - 1997

Will it be enough to overcome public perception and get JET in the Hall of Fame? Should it be? And what if Dallas manages to put it all together one more time next year and Terry is able to claim another NBA Finals championship on that resume, would it be enough then?

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Reader submitted. Opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of our editorial staff.