ON the day he was formally enshrined into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Uncasville, Illinois, Rudy Tomjanovich made a pitch for one of his best players.
Tomjanovich, a two-time NBA champion at Houston and a gold medalist as a US Olympics coach, was presented by former teammate Calvin Murphy and Akeem Olajuwon who the former described as the best to ever play with the Rockets.
But in the course of his speech, Tomjanovich, 72, didn't forget one of Olajuwon's former teammates who, in the course of a 16-year career, distinguished himself as one of the best clutch shooters in the game. Ever.
"I want to speak up for Robert Horry being inducted into the Hall of Fame," Tomjanovich, a member of an illustrious Hall of Fame batch that included Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, and Tim Duncan, said to cheers from the crowd on Sunday.
"He is truly a legendary player, he has made so many clutch shots, he has seven rings to prove it. This is where he belongs," Tomjanovich added.
Horry, who retired in 2008, won seven career championships - the most by any NBA player who played beyond the 60s. He is also one of only four players to win titles with three teams, including two under Tomjanovich at Houston in 1994 and 95.
The 50-year old also won three championships with the Los Angeles Lakers and two more with the San Antonio Spurs in a career studded with so many game winners he deservedly earned the moniker 'Big Game Rob.'
Hall of Fame career?
You bet.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
