Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame: 10 players who define the borderline for induction

#3 Sidney Moncrief

Moncrief guarded by Larry Bird

Moncrief is the 80s version of Ben Wallace in terms of having an extremely high defensive peak. What makes his non-induction even more puzzling is that his defensive peak also coincided with a sizeable offensive peak, as Moncrief averaged 20 points per game over the 5 seasons that were the best of his career.

Hailed by Michael Jordan as the best defensive player His Airness had ever faced, it was The Squid who handed the GOAT his first playoff exit in his rookie season, leading the Bucks to a first round series win by 3-1 in 1985 against the Bulls.

The DPOY award was basically created just so they could give it to him, twice in a row. Such a crazy good player, and to me he really meets the criteria of an outstanding basketball player because of his incredible defense combined with 20+ppg on good efficiency.

Unfortunately for the Hall of Fame committee, his peak was deemed to be too short for valid consideration, even though players like Grant Hill have been inducted for roughly the same amount of peak value.