timvp
03-21-2008, 03:36 AM
Robert Horry recalls his 2002 shot against the Kings as his biggest
By Scott Howard-Cooper
"Yeah, I've got a ranking," Robert Horry said.
Five biggest dagger shots of your career. Go.
"I have to start at the top. Number one is the shot I hit against Sacramento."
Naturally.
"Number two is the shot I hit against Detroit," Horry said. "And then I have to throw that dunk in there because I never dunk, so that's now two shots in one game – that dunk and the three."
Just getting started.
"The other one that was so funny was when I was in Houston. I was like 0 for 9 or whatever it was. We were playing San Antonio in the playoffs. Pump fake. Avery (Johnson) went for the pump fake. I took one dribble and hit the shot. That's No. 4.
"And then I'm tied for fifth. The shot in Portland that I hit with the Lakers in the corner, and the shot with the Lakers I hit against Philly in the corner. Those two are kind of tied."
Six spots to rate the five greatest moments.
How very Horry.
He can go top 10 with more time to sift through all the memories – playoffs only, of course, and the closer to 0:00 on the clock while stepping on someone's throat the better. On thing is certain, however: There never has been a career like his 17 seasons of coronary-inducing, bet-altering, dream-crushing moments, which could end with his retirement after 2007-08 and a final game against the Kings tonight in San Antonio.
Horry has won seven championships in what has been a Forrest Gump-like existence. He's the most accidental, unassuming hero – certainly in the NBA and maybe in the timeline of any sport. He'll be remembered as a role player who never made an All-Star team, never had an individual honor greater than second-team All-Rookie in 1993, never averaged more than 12 points or 7.5 rebounds as a 6-foot-10 forward … and yet he has consistently altered the course of history.
One of Horry's most memorable shots is a dunk just because it's a dunk. That unassuming.
Horry was the Laker hanging out near the top of the three-point arc in the closing seconds of Game 4 of the 2002 Western Conference finals against the Kings when a rebound was batted all the way out to him. Might as well shoot it. Lives changed.
A 3-1 Lakers deficit instantly flipped into a 2-2 tie with the reaction jumper that delivered the 100-99 victory. Los Angeles won two of the next three, won the series and won the championship with the same 4-0 rout of the Nets that probably awaited the Kings.
No. 1.
He was a Spur at the time of the second-shiniest bullet, the jumper against the Pistons in Game 5 of the 2005 Finals, plus the dunk. He was a Rocket in the '95 playoffs for No. 4 and a Laker for the final field entry, the corner shot in the 2000 playoffs against the Trail Blazers and the corner shot in the 2001 Finals against the 76ers. As if the victims need reminding.
"There's a lot of guys you can throw the ball to and they'll hit a shot here or there," said Rick Adelman, the Kings' coach at the time of The Shot and now facing another potential playoff meeting as coach of the Rockets. "But he did it continuously. And he was in the unique position that he played that power forward, and that was a spot that you couldn't cover sometimes when he was playing with two superstars."
Horry walked with Hakeem Olajuwon and, for a brief time, Clyde Drexler in Houston. He got to stand behind Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant in L.A. He rode sidecar to Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili in San Antonio.
But no one ever forgets him when talking about the titles. Again: 7.2 points a game, 4.9 rebounds, 42.6 percent from the field the first 16 seasons – and he has a superstar's playoff rep.
"I know how I'll be remembered in a couple places," Horry said. "In L.A., I'll be remembered pretty good. In San Antonio, I'll be remembered pretty good. In Phoenix, I'll be hated. In Sacramento, I'll be kind of somewhat hated. But that's just how it goes in the game of basketball. You can't be loved by everybody."
Sacramento for the obvious reason (he was the Laker who reached into the Kings' chests and yanked out a still-beating heart), and Phoenix for two reasons. While playing part of 1996-97 for the Suns, between better-remembered stays with the Rockets and Lakers, he threw a towel in the face of coach Danny Ainge on the bench in an uncommon fit of frustration. Then, last season with the Spurs in the conference semifinals, he hip-checked Steve Nash out of bounds, sparking the scuffle that led to two Suns suspensions and a possible turning point of the entire playoffs.
"I think what I've done has been pretty good," Horry said. "It hasn't been great, but it's been pretty good. And I've been a great teammate. I've always respected my teammates. I think if you asked every teammate I every played with, I think they loved me as a teammate. And if you ask any coach I've played for, they've loved me as a player, except for maybe Danny Ainge. But other than that, I think I was respected by my teammates and my peers and by my coaches and by the fans that I played for.
"I'm just going to say I was a great role player. I told everybody, 'If you had a Hall of Fame A, where it was just playoffs, I think I could make that.' People always ask me if I could make the Hall of Fame, I say no because my numbers aren't good enough. My best year was 12 points (per game). That was my fourth year in Houston, when I just started coming into my own and then I got traded. I've never been a big rebounder – four or five rebounds a game. I don't think I'll make it."
The Hall of Fame debate gained momentum about a year ago, somewhere around the seventh title and the 700th clutch shot and turning into, at least, an interesting debate ever since. Horry hears both sides.
Click here to find out more!
Underwhelming stats. Never close to a star in a season, let alone an extended period of time. Strictly a complementary piece.
But if winning is the greatest testament to a player, he's in a championship stratosphere with just seven others, all former Celtics pulled along by the 11 titles of the Bill Russell era. He played big in the playoffs, the most important time of any season. He hit clutch shots over and over and over, and changed league history like few others.
"The numbers won't do it for him," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "But the aura of what he was and the reality of what he accomplished might be pretty impressive to a good number of people."
The aura. He was averaging 2.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and shooting 31.4 percent in 13.2 minutes entering Thursday night's game in Chicago, but one meaningful basket in the next few months and everyone starts putting him in with the greats again.
How very Horry.
http://www.sacbee.com/100/story/802375.html
By Scott Howard-Cooper
"Yeah, I've got a ranking," Robert Horry said.
Five biggest dagger shots of your career. Go.
"I have to start at the top. Number one is the shot I hit against Sacramento."
Naturally.
"Number two is the shot I hit against Detroit," Horry said. "And then I have to throw that dunk in there because I never dunk, so that's now two shots in one game – that dunk and the three."
Just getting started.
"The other one that was so funny was when I was in Houston. I was like 0 for 9 or whatever it was. We were playing San Antonio in the playoffs. Pump fake. Avery (Johnson) went for the pump fake. I took one dribble and hit the shot. That's No. 4.
"And then I'm tied for fifth. The shot in Portland that I hit with the Lakers in the corner, and the shot with the Lakers I hit against Philly in the corner. Those two are kind of tied."
Six spots to rate the five greatest moments.
How very Horry.
He can go top 10 with more time to sift through all the memories – playoffs only, of course, and the closer to 0:00 on the clock while stepping on someone's throat the better. On thing is certain, however: There never has been a career like his 17 seasons of coronary-inducing, bet-altering, dream-crushing moments, which could end with his retirement after 2007-08 and a final game against the Kings tonight in San Antonio.
Horry has won seven championships in what has been a Forrest Gump-like existence. He's the most accidental, unassuming hero – certainly in the NBA and maybe in the timeline of any sport. He'll be remembered as a role player who never made an All-Star team, never had an individual honor greater than second-team All-Rookie in 1993, never averaged more than 12 points or 7.5 rebounds as a 6-foot-10 forward … and yet he has consistently altered the course of history.
One of Horry's most memorable shots is a dunk just because it's a dunk. That unassuming.
Horry was the Laker hanging out near the top of the three-point arc in the closing seconds of Game 4 of the 2002 Western Conference finals against the Kings when a rebound was batted all the way out to him. Might as well shoot it. Lives changed.
A 3-1 Lakers deficit instantly flipped into a 2-2 tie with the reaction jumper that delivered the 100-99 victory. Los Angeles won two of the next three, won the series and won the championship with the same 4-0 rout of the Nets that probably awaited the Kings.
No. 1.
He was a Spur at the time of the second-shiniest bullet, the jumper against the Pistons in Game 5 of the 2005 Finals, plus the dunk. He was a Rocket in the '95 playoffs for No. 4 and a Laker for the final field entry, the corner shot in the 2000 playoffs against the Trail Blazers and the corner shot in the 2001 Finals against the 76ers. As if the victims need reminding.
"There's a lot of guys you can throw the ball to and they'll hit a shot here or there," said Rick Adelman, the Kings' coach at the time of The Shot and now facing another potential playoff meeting as coach of the Rockets. "But he did it continuously. And he was in the unique position that he played that power forward, and that was a spot that you couldn't cover sometimes when he was playing with two superstars."
Horry walked with Hakeem Olajuwon and, for a brief time, Clyde Drexler in Houston. He got to stand behind Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant in L.A. He rode sidecar to Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili in San Antonio.
But no one ever forgets him when talking about the titles. Again: 7.2 points a game, 4.9 rebounds, 42.6 percent from the field the first 16 seasons – and he has a superstar's playoff rep.
"I know how I'll be remembered in a couple places," Horry said. "In L.A., I'll be remembered pretty good. In San Antonio, I'll be remembered pretty good. In Phoenix, I'll be hated. In Sacramento, I'll be kind of somewhat hated. But that's just how it goes in the game of basketball. You can't be loved by everybody."
Sacramento for the obvious reason (he was the Laker who reached into the Kings' chests and yanked out a still-beating heart), and Phoenix for two reasons. While playing part of 1996-97 for the Suns, between better-remembered stays with the Rockets and Lakers, he threw a towel in the face of coach Danny Ainge on the bench in an uncommon fit of frustration. Then, last season with the Spurs in the conference semifinals, he hip-checked Steve Nash out of bounds, sparking the scuffle that led to two Suns suspensions and a possible turning point of the entire playoffs.
"I think what I've done has been pretty good," Horry said. "It hasn't been great, but it's been pretty good. And I've been a great teammate. I've always respected my teammates. I think if you asked every teammate I every played with, I think they loved me as a teammate. And if you ask any coach I've played for, they've loved me as a player, except for maybe Danny Ainge. But other than that, I think I was respected by my teammates and my peers and by my coaches and by the fans that I played for.
"I'm just going to say I was a great role player. I told everybody, 'If you had a Hall of Fame A, where it was just playoffs, I think I could make that.' People always ask me if I could make the Hall of Fame, I say no because my numbers aren't good enough. My best year was 12 points (per game). That was my fourth year in Houston, when I just started coming into my own and then I got traded. I've never been a big rebounder – four or five rebounds a game. I don't think I'll make it."
The Hall of Fame debate gained momentum about a year ago, somewhere around the seventh title and the 700th clutch shot and turning into, at least, an interesting debate ever since. Horry hears both sides.
Click here to find out more!
Underwhelming stats. Never close to a star in a season, let alone an extended period of time. Strictly a complementary piece.
But if winning is the greatest testament to a player, he's in a championship stratosphere with just seven others, all former Celtics pulled along by the 11 titles of the Bill Russell era. He played big in the playoffs, the most important time of any season. He hit clutch shots over and over and over, and changed league history like few others.
"The numbers won't do it for him," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "But the aura of what he was and the reality of what he accomplished might be pretty impressive to a good number of people."
The aura. He was averaging 2.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and shooting 31.4 percent in 13.2 minutes entering Thursday night's game in Chicago, but one meaningful basket in the next few months and everyone starts putting him in with the greats again.
How very Horry.
http://www.sacbee.com/100/story/802375.html