Basketball Hall of Fame Special: Grant Hill…the LeBron James 10 years prior!

The Basketball Hall of Fame had their induction ceremony this past weekend. We take an in-depth look at Grant Hill, who was one of the inductees.

Grant Hill was honored this weekend as the NBA celebrated true basketball greatness by adding a new class into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Hill was added along with Jason Kidd, Ray Allen and Steve Nash.

There are too many stories about all of the enshrines to get into. But I would like to use the Lake Show Life platform to honor some players that are blessed to get in the Hall with an NBA Hall of Fame special and the linkage to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Hopefully, this article will show that as great as LeBron James is in his era, there was another player that for a period of time was doing the same things as James in his.

No, I am NOT talking about Michael Jordan!

Lake Show Life presents this Basketball Hall of Fame Special…

Grant Hill…The LeBron James ten years prior.

For the last few years, the most common debate about LeBron James comparisons has always been linked to Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant and most notably Michael Jordan. But most NBA fans miss maybe the player that probably mirrors LeBron James the most; the newly enshrined Hall of Famer Grant Hill.

There may be comments that say…there is no comparison. Grant Hill was not as great as this article states or maybe…What in the world are you talking about? Well let’s go through it, shall we? Let’s start in college…

We all remember the Grant Hill at Duke when he went Inspector Gadget and caught that alley-oop from Bobby Hurley in the National title game against Kansas. We remember Grant Hill led the Blue Devils in the second half rolling over the “Fab 5” led Michigan Wolverines (If you thought Christian Laettner or Bobby Hurley was the reason they won…please stop!) We remember the clean-cut college player at Duke that was not universally hated like his counterparts, Hurley and Laettner.

We forget how good Grant Hill actually was in the pros. We just remember the injuries that derailed a potentially iconic career.

But for the first six years in the NBA, Grant Hill was a bad dude…

Not bad being bad, but bad being good. One of my all-time favorite commercials was when Nike did an ad showing former Detroit Piston “Bad Boy” Bill Laimbeer trying to train Grant Hill into being a tough guy.

But Grant Hill’s first six years in the NBA was epic. His statistics put him in some elite company…

Yes, Grant Hill was on the short list to average 20 points, five assists and five rebounds a game in his first six years in the NBA.

Like LeBron James, he could dominate a game in all aspects. Plus, like what LeBron James did (like a ton) in Cleveland, Grant Hill handled a lot of the point forward duties among other things under head coach Doug Collins in Detroit.

You see, when Michael Jordan retired (The first time), the NBA went through a laundry list of…”The Next Michael Jordan” for 18 months until he stopped trying to chase two-strike curveballs (No disrespect Mr. Jordan…I quit baseball for the same reason. It is one of the hardest things to do in sports!) Grant Hill was one of the first to carry that burden.

When Michael Jordan was not in the NBA, Grant Hill was the perfect superstar for the NBA to build around. He grew up in a nice neighborhood and successful parents. His father played football for the Dallas Cowboys. His mother was roommates in college with Hillary Clinton at Georgetown and was equally as successful. With his background and well-spoken demeanor, he was perfect to be the ambassador of the league.

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Remember those FILA kicks Grant Hill wore? Those were just as hot as Air Jordans for a minute. Before Hill hit the floor, you wouldn’t be caught dead with FILA shoes without getting laughed off the court. They are so funky, when they got released again, I got the classic blue and whites.

How about that lethal crossover he had? Everybody remembers Allen Iverson‘s killer crossover, but Grant Hill had that smooth quick crossover that could catch opposing big men dunked on. Ask Dikembe…or Alonzo.

Where the comparisons would probably get heated is the playoff success between the two players. Even though they both were far and away the best players on their respective teams, their supporting cast was not strong.

Overall in the six-year period that Grant Hill had most of his success, the Pistons made it to the playoffs four times. All of those trips ended early with a first-round exit. While James, in his seven years, mirrored five playoff trips with more success.

Now, before everyone starts making assumptions, understand Hill’s runs was done when the Eastern Conference was much stronger than it is today or even when LeBron was making his runs through the Eastern Conference playoffs.

When Jordan was playing in the 90’s and had his basketball legs under him, NO ONE was having success. On the other hand, when the Cleveland Cavaliers made the Finals in 2006-07, there were no 60 win teams in the conference and only two teams that won 50 games that year.

Check out this excerpt from ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan’s interview for Sports Illustrated in 1996 with Grant Hill’s coach at the time Doug Collins about his game in its prime…courtesy of SB Nation.

"“Grant doesn’t have the killer instinct in scoring that Michael has,” says Collins. “He can dominate a game more subtly by getting the ball to open people, by rebounding and, with two dribbles getting his team into the open floor the way Magic did as a rookie.”Collins made Hill into a point forward which reduces his opportunity to pick up transition baskets and high percentage shots in the paint. On defense, Collins, at various times assigned Hill to guard muscular Knick forward Anthony Mason in the post and harass Anfernee Hardaway in the backcourt. Because of Hill’s success in these diverse roles, Collins now compared him not to Jordan but to Julius Erving and another Bull–Scottie Pippen."

This is the perfect way to analyze LeBron James’ game as well. He dominates the game by reading the opponent and adapting to what the game dictates over periods of time. This is what you see when the triple doubles show up in stat sheets after the game is over. Plus, LeBron James does not have the killer scoring instinct of Jordan. But then again, who does?

I’m sure that readers saw the graph above and noticed that Hill had the least amount of points scored compared to his colleagues on the list. But notice what was said about the responsibilities Collins put on Grant Hill.

The late Anthony Mason was huge and he was accompanied by Charles Oakley and Patrick Ewing. You had to have heart banging with him. And Penny Hardaway? Before his own injuries derailed his career was so dominant at point guard, he WAS the next Magic Johnson teaming up with Shaquille O’Neal in Orlando.

Plus, with the physicality that he dealt with at that time, his stats are in my opinion amazing. Doug Collins had Grant Hill do everything short of selling season tickets and flying the team plane.

Well, you will see the similarities in the number of responsibilities listed above placed on LeBron James at times this season. He is the player on the Lakers that can guard all five positions on the floor at times during a given basketball game.

Now when the comparisons of LeBron James start flowing out again…say about two weeks from now, if you are on the basketball courts debating after full court runs or in a barber shop, you can steer away from the usual suspects (they will probably come up before you can speak anyway) and mention Grant Hill…the first six years.

I hope you enjoyed this Basketball Hall of Fame special shining the light on Grant Hill on Lake Show Life.