NBA@75 significant snubs

The National Basketball Association is on its 75th anniversary season and thru a panel of active and retired players, coaches, team executives, WNBA legends, sportswriters and broadcasters, picked at random 75 greatest players in league history regardless of playing position. 

All 50 players of the 1996 50th Anniversary Team were all named to the list which now included 11 active players (Giannis Antetokounmpo, Carmelo Anthony, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, James Harden, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Damian Lillard, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook).

Six international players are on the 75th Anniversary team namely Giannis (Greece), Tim Duncan (US Virgin Islands), Patrick Ewing (Jamaica), Steve Nash (Canada), Dirk Nowitzki (Germany) and Hakeem Olajuwon (Nigeria).  Ewing and Hakeem were on the 50th Anniversary Team. 

I would have liked to see the names of either Toni Kukoc (Croatia), Manu Ginobili (Argentina), Tony Parker (France), Yao Ming (China), Dikembe Mutombo (Democratic Republic of Congo) and Pau Gasol (Spain) on this list.  Ginobili and Parker were teammates at San Antonio and are 4x NBA champions. Kukoc (3x champion), Yao and Mutombo are inducted into basketball’s HOF.  Gasol won 2 rings with the Lakers.  These are the big-name international snubs

There are five other HOFers, a recently retired highflyer and a still active one that for me, are more than deserving to be on the NBA@75 team but were snubbed. 

GRANT HILL – inducted to the HOF in 2018, he was co-ROY with Jason Kidd (on the NBA@75 team) in 1995, 1995 All-Rookie first team, 1996 Atlanta Olympics gold medal winner, 7x All-Star and 5x All-NBA. 

TRACY McGRADY – 2017 HOFer, 7x All-Star, 7x All-NBA, 2x scoring champion, 2001 Most Improved Player.

ALONZO MOURNING – 2014 HOFer, 2019 FIBA HOFer, 2006 NBA champion, 2000 Sydney Olympics gold medalist, 7x All-Star, 2x Defensive Player of the Year, 2x All Defensive team, 2x Blocks leader, 1993 All-Rookie first team.

JOE DUMARS – 2006 HOFer, 2x NBA champion (1989, 1990), 1989 Finals MVP, 6x All-Star, 4x All Defensive team, 1986 All-Rookie team.

ALEX ENGLISH – 1997 HOFer, 8x NBA All-Star, 3x All-NBA second team, 1983 scoring champion.

VINCE CARTER – retiring last year, he’s the only player in league history to have played 22 seasons in four different decades starting from his rookie year in 1998. VC was an 8x All-Star, 2x All-NBA first team, 1999 ROY and All-Rookie team, 2000 Sydney Olympics gold medalist. Dirk Nowitzki and Paul Pierce, who were with VC on the 1998 Draft, are on the 75th Anniversary team.

DWIGHT HOWARD – now mainly playing as back-up center, Howard in his prime was an 8x All-Star, 8x All-NBA first team, 2x blocks leader, 5x rebounds leader, 3x defensive player of the year, 5x all-defensive first team, 2005 all-rookie team, 2008 Beijing Olympics gold medalist, 2020 NBA champion.