The Man that Haunts your Dreams...

I never got to see Pete Maravich play basketball. Sure I've seen the highlights, read the books, and heard the stories, but I never got to sit in an arena and see the man who created showtime basketball play it in it's purest form. Its one of the things I regret most, but I guess that's what happens when you're born two years after a hero stops playing. Still, the Maravich legacy is one of the strongest in basketball. True, he never had the stats or the playoff pedigree to warrant such attention, but it was his affect on the game and how it has been played that made him one of the 50 greatest players in history. Without him we don't have guys like Magic Johnson and Steve Nash to look up to now.

That's why legacies are a funny thing, because its not always the stats, but instead the imprint a player makes that defines him.

If anyone is facing this reality now, its 36 year old Robert Horry, the geriatric power forward for the San Antonio Spurs who often gets confused for Will Smith. His career numbers of 7.2 points and 4.9 rebounds aren't even good enough to get him into an all star game much less the hall of fame, but ask any Kings fan, any Pistons fan, any Magic fan, and most recently any Nuggets fan who they'd least like to have the ball when their team is up in the waning moments of a game and the response should unanimously be, "Robert #$%&ing Horry". ESPN could cut together an hour long special of stomach punches he's delivered to hopeful fans with big shots.

Still, big shots alone don't get you a place in history, instead it's been Horry's consistency that has set him apart from everyone else. Consider this: In his fifteen year career, Horry has never missed the playoffs. He's played in the second most career playoff games, has the second most career playoff threes, and holds the record for most career NBA Finals three pointers, passing Jordan in 2005. Most impressively, he has six championship rings with three different teams. A seventh ring this year would give him the most by any player never to wear a Celtics uniform. All this from a guy who never suited up for an all star game and hasn't averaged double figures in 10 years. Meanwhile he's helped solidify the legacies of Olajuwon, Shaq, Kobe, and Duncan.

Where does that put him in history? Who knows. He probably won't make it into the hall of fame and I have a hunch my kids won't be asking me about Horry as much as they'll be asking me what it was like to see Jordan, Bird, or Magic play in their primes. Still when it comes down to making big shots in clutch situations, there's never been anyone bigger than "Big Shot Rob."

Sometimes a name can say it all.


The Shots: (From NBA.com)

* June 11, 1995 | NBA Finals Game 3 | Orlando Magic at Houston Rockets

With the score tied at 103 and the shot clock winding down, Hakeem Olajuwon kicks out the ball to Robert Horry, who launches a three over Orlando's Horace Grant, propelling the Rockets to a 106-103 victory and a 3-0 series lead on the way to a sweep and back-to-back NBA titles.

* May 6, 1997 | Western Conference Semifinals Game 2 | Los Angeles Lakers at Utah Jazz

Horry drains all seven of his three-point shots, which is still a playoffs record for most attempts without a miss. Unfortunately, the Lakers lost the game 103-101, and were defeated in the series 4-1.

* June 10, 2001 | NBA Finals Game 3 | Los Angeles Lakers at Philadelphia 76ers

With the series tied at 1-1, the Sixers were within one point with under a minute to play. Brian Shaw found Horry in the corner and he drilled the three with 47.1 seconds left to give the Lakers a four-point lead.

* April 28, 2002 | Western Conference First Round Game 3 | Los Angeles Lakers at Portland Trail Blazers

Down by two with 10.2 seconds left, Kobe Bryant drives on Ruben Patterson and kicks the ball to a waiting Horry. Scottie Pippen tries to help out, but Horry's three finishes a first round sweep of the Blazers.

* May 26, 2002 | Western Conference Finals Game 4 | Sacramento Kings at Los Angeles Lakers

Up by two points with two seconds remaining, Vlade Divac knocked the ball away as far away from the hoop as he could. Unfortunately for the Kings, Robert Horry was there waiting behind the three-point line. Horry caught and shot in one fluid motion. The three-pointer was pure. Instead of going to Sacramento down 3-1, the Lakers tied the series at 2-2. L.A. would go on to win the series and their third consecutive NBA title.

* June 19, 2005 | NBA Finals Game 5 | San Antonio Spurs at Detroit Pistons

Horry capped a unbelievable Finals performance with a three-pointer with 5.9 seconds left in overtime to give the San Antonio Spurs an 96-95 victory and a 3-2 series lead heading into Game 6.

* April 30, 2007 | Western Conference First Round Game 4 | San Antonio Spurs at Denver Nuggets

Up one point with about 35 seconds left, Tony Parker drove on Allen Iverson and kicked the ball to a waiting Horry. Marcus Camby tried to block the shot, but Horry nailed a clutch three pointer from the right corner and put the San Antonio Spurs up 3 games to 1.