Orlando Magic Daily Roundtable: Rounding for home
Does Grant Hill deserve to be in the Hall of Fame? How much does his time with the Magic hurt him? Should Magic fans be happy about this?
Rossman-Reich: Orlando Magic fans are not going to be happy when Grant Hill goes into the Hall of Fame. His seven years in Orlando were injury riddled and sapped him of his athletic prime. They should not be upset with him over that. The guy nearly died trying to play for this Orlando Magic team. Literally. But I understand it, his seven years here are a knock against his Hall of Fame credentials. I think he is a fringe case. But considering how influential his Duke Blue Devils teams were and what he did with the Detroit Pistons, I think a Hall of Fame bid is not out of the question or unreasonable. It is just frustrating the Magic did not get to share with that brilliance.
Racine: Grant Hill absolutely deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. He boasts five seasons of 20-plus points, 7-plus rebounds and 5-plus assists. He made a total of seven all-star teams. I don’t think his time with the Magic should affect him at all because he could not control being injured. Magic fans should be happy because he made an all-star team during his time here in Orlando. Also, he is known league-wide as an all-around nice guy. Hill spent more years (7) with Orlando than any other team, including the Pistons (6).
Scricca: I wrote about his case for Orlando Magic Daily before. While he is widely considered more of a “what-if” guy than anything else (for Magic fans especially), he had an incredible career in his own right. His prime was historically elite, he had one of the greatest NCAA careers in history. And his longevity and consistent evolution as a player despite the onslaught of horrible injuries he suffered is mind-boggling. He is an icon of the game and deserves to be treated as such.
Palmer: Grant Hill absolutely deserves to be in the Hall of Fame and really, the fact that you even have to ask the question proves his injuries in Orlando did hurt his case. As far as Magic fans feeling? I think they really should not care either way. Way too many Magic fans blame Grant Hill for Tracy McGrady leaving and Orlando really never becoming a dynasty. I promise you Grant Hill did not want to almost lose his foot.