Robert Horry believes he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame

During his visit to the Philippines, Robert Horry spoke up about why he should be inducted in the Hall of Fame while also sharing his thoughts on the current Lakers and more

MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Seven-time NBA champion and Lakers icon Robert Horry paid a recent visit to the Philippines where he met some die-hard fans as well as the media in the country’s NBA Store located at SM Megamall, Mandaluyong, Metro Manila.

In his press conference, Big Shot Bob talked about his time as a Laker, his unforgettable game-winning buzzer beater against the Sacramento Kings in the 2002 Playoffs, the current state of the purple and gold and why he believes he deserves a spot in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame (HOF).

Here’s a rundown of everything the three-time Lakers champion said:

On the Hall of Fame

For as impressive as Horry’s resume is, the only achievement missing is the honor of being in the Hall of Fame. Since retiring in 2008, the forward has been outpoken about his desire to be inducted one day and it’s also become a topic as of late after Horry’s former coach, Rudy Tomjanovich, once again called for Horry to be in the Hall after he receiving the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award in Game 2 of the 2024 NBA Finals.

“He [Tomjanovich] said that for me and I shed a tear because a lot of people from the outside don’t know the sacrifices that players do to make things better,” Horry said. “You think about so many guys that can score and do these things but they know what they need to do in order to make a team better and I think one of the things that people forget or those that don’t know basketball is that it’s called “The Basketball Hall of Fame,” not the “NBA Hall of Fame” and if you look at my basketball career, it speaks for itself.

“I love that Rudy T backed me up and that’s another reason why he’s my favorite coach.”

Aside from the fact that he won seven championships, Big Shot Bob also holds the records for most playoff wins in the 2000s, most rings by any player since the ABA-NBA merger and ranks fourth all-time in playoff wins.

Suffice it to say that Horry isn’t exaggerating when he claims that he’s indeed a winning player.

Why Tomjanovich is Horry’s favorite coach

What also made Horry’s career so unique is the fact that he played for Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich, two of the best coaches in NBA history. Interestingly though, Horry’s favorite coach is Tomjanovich, who he won back-to-back championships with on the Houston Rockets.

“Rudy T is always going to be my favorite because he was the only one who ran plays for me,” Horry said. “They all were great coaches but Rudy T is always going to stick out. I always talk about like as a player, you always want to get patted on the back. You always want to get rewarded and I think for me, the hard work I put it on the defensive end and everything else that came with the game, Rudy T was like ‘’Okay, let’s run a play for Rob.’

“I don’t think Phil [Jackson] or [Gregg] Pop ever ran a play for me,” Horry added with a laugh.

He also said that, for as iconic as his three-peat run with the Lakers was, his second title with the Rockets remains as his favorite because of what he and the team went through.

Then of course, the ‘01 title with the purple and gold was, according to Horry, the best run in basketball history.

“My favorite championship is ’95 just for the journey,” Horry said. “If you think about it, we were down 3-1 to the [Phoenix] Suns, came back and won that series on the road and we went on to beat San Antonio, who David Robinson was MVP. Then Utah, who was hard to beat at home, beat them. There were so many teams with great records that we conquered and we swept Shaquille [O’Neal] and Penny [Hardaway].

“So when you think about that run, it doesn’t get talked about enough. That to me is the best run in basketball. You look a lot of guys who say we did this or we did that but if you take my run in ’95 and ’01, those were two of the best runs in basketball ever. In ’01, we should’ve went 16-0 in that year but we didn’t but those to me were two of the best runs in basketball.”

Horry on the Lakers’ offseason

What’s also nice to know about Horry is that he’s still very much involved with the Lakers even if he’s been retired for 16 years now. Horry is currently an analyst for Spectrum Sportsnet, where he regularly covers the team.

So when Big Shot Bob was asked about the current state of the team, he didn’t hesitate to express his disappointment in their lack of moves this summer.

Horry on his favorite clutch shot

To nobody’s surprise, Horry said that his favorite clutch shot that he’s ever hit was the one against the Kings in the 2002 Western Conference Finals. It’s the same moment that Horry said this summer he would like to be played during at his funeral.

It was a classic moment for him because as someone who grew up a Laker fan, hitting shots like that was everything he ever dreamed about. Horry also mentioned that moment was the first time he heard Lakers fans in Staples Center chant his name instead of Shaq’s or Kobe Bryant’s.

What also makes this shot so notable in Lakers franchise history is that it saved the series for the purple and gold. Remember, the Kings were up 2-1 ahead of Game 4 and led for most of that game until Horry’s buzzer beater tied the series up.

This shot was also what solidified Horry’s status as one of the most clutch players in NBA history. And that fact is one of the reasons why Horry believes he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.

You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani.