Hipster Basketball Hall of Fame: An Introduction

A few months ago, Neil Paine wrote an interesting article speculating on whether Shawn Marion, he of the two-handed push shot favored by many rec league players, was worthy of induction in the basketball hall of fame. The article shed light on a player who the general population will not remember 10 years from now, but who every serious basketball fan once knew about, respected, and loved or feared depending on whether he played for your team. In the end, Paine concludes that Marion falls short of the criteria for induction by using the Keltner List to aid his analysis. Whether or not you agree with his conclusion in this particular case, it is certainly true that Marion is just one of a large collection of players to fall into the category of "not a household name, but a solid, and at times dominant, player in his prime."

As a big NBA fan, I feel as though these players deserve some sort of recognition beyond the occasional epithet from an NBA color commentator. In many cases, these players had unique attributes to their games (like Marion's jump shot) which appeared unusual but which true fans could grow to appreciate. Generally living under the radar, whenever a player like this ends up making it big (James Harden), a portion of his fans were inevitably disappointed that they could no longer keep him a secret to themselves. Who do these players sound like??? Indie bands beloved by hipsters across the country! This is such a good concept I am amazed I didn't think of it earlier.

From here on out, Volume Shooters will run sporadic pieces on "inductees" into this hall of fame chosen by our staff writers, with Shawn Marion as the inaugural member since he inspired the hall's creation. To give it some sense of legitimacy, we will need our own version of the Keltner list (which, for those of you who didn't click on the above link, is a set of 15 questions designed to determine whether a player is a worthy inclusion into the Hall of Fame in his or her respective sport). Here's our initial stab at a list:

1. Did this player have something unique or unusual about his game that distinguished him from many, if not all, of his peers? A must for inclusion, although this is a very broad category. Marion's jump shot, as covered above, was such a thing.