Who are the undrafted NBA players to make it to the Hall of Fame?

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Let us look at the undrafted NBA Players who have made it to the Hall of Fame

Dedicated to Canadian-American physician and inventor of the sport James Naismith, who invented basketball, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Established in 1959, the Hall of Fame is known as basketball’s most complete library. Furthermore, it also promotes and preserves the history of basketball.

According to basketballreference.com, as of the Class of 2021, the Hall of Fame has formally inducted 432 basketball personalities.

Are there any undrafted NBA players who has made it to the Hall of Fame?

There is a rare chance of an undrafted basketball player being inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. But exceptions do happen.

Ben Cameron Wallace, the defensive powerhouse of the Detroit Pistons’ 2004 NBA Championship team, has been elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class of 2021.

Wallace becomes the first undrafted NBA player in the modern era of basketball to ever achieve this feat. After being elected, his name will be enshrined at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, on September 11, 2021.

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Four-time Defensive Player of the Year, 2004 NBA champion, Ben Wallace of the Detroit Pistons. /VCG

Undrafted out of Virginia Union, Wallace has spent 16 seasons in the NBA, playing for Washington Wizards, Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls, and Cleveland Cavaliers. He has played a staggering total of 1,088 career NBA games!

He was acquired by the Detroit Pistons from the Orlando Magic in the year 2000 and he went on to play nine seasons for the Pistons.

Ben Wallace career

With the Pistons, he collected the NBA Defensive Player of the Year title four times (2002, 2003, 2005, 2006) and was named an NBA All-Star four times (2003-06). Wallace was an All-NBA Second Team selection three times (2003, 2004, 2006), All-NBA Third Team selection twice (2002 and 2005), an NBA All-Defensive First Team selection five times (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006), and an All-Defensive Second Team selection once (2007).

During his first stint with the Detroit Pistons, that is from 2000 to 2006, the Pistons made the playoffs five times, winning Eastern Conference Championships in 2004 and 2005 and the NBA Championship in 2004.

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Ben Wallace #3 of the Detroit Pistons walks away with the Larry O’Brien NBA Championship Trophy after the Pistons defeat the Los Angeles Lakers 4-1 in the NBA Finals at the Palace of Auburn Hills, June 15, 2004. /VCG

Wallace is the Detroit Pistons’ all-time leader in regular-season and playoff blocks (1,486 and 215, respectively) and ranks first among Pistons’ all-time playoff leaders in rebounds (1,237). 

He holds Pistons’ single-game records for blocks in a game (10 – twice), defensive rebounds in a quarter (10), and blocks in a quarter (6).

In 655 games with the Pistons, Wallace has averaged 6.6 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.3 blocks, 1.4 steals, and 1.5 assists in 32.6 minutes per game.

Hailing from White Hall, Alabama, Wallace recorded 10,482 rebounds during his career, becoming one of only 40 players, and the only undrafted player in NBA history to record 10,000 rebounds.

He is also one of only 11 players in NBA history to record 10,000 rebounds and 2,000 blocks and is the shortest player at 6’9” to record 2,000 career blocks.

Overall, in his career, Wallace averaged 5.7 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, 1.3 steals, and 1.3 assists in 29.5 minutes per game.

In 2012, Wallace retired from the NBA as a Detroit Pistons player and in his honor, the Detroit Pistons retired his jersey No. 3 in 2016.

Wallace is currently the President of basketball operations for the Grand Rapids Gold, an NBA G League team.

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Ben Wallace of the Detroit Pistons celebrates with his Defensive Player of the Year trophy before Game 1 of the NBA playoffs against the Toronto Raptors at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan, April 21, 2002. /VCG

Ben Wallace quick facts

Birth PlaceWhite Hall, Alabama
CollegeCuyahoga Community College (1992–1994) and Virginia Union University (1994–1996)
Age46
Date of BirthSeptember 10, 1974
Height (ft)6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Weight (kg)109 (240 lb)
NationalityAmerican
NBA Draft Year1996
NBA Draft PickUndrafted
Playing Career1996-2012
PositionCenter
TeamsWashington Wizards, Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers
AchievementsNBA champion (2004) 4× NBA Defensive Player of the Year (2002, 2003, 2005, 2006) 4× NBA All-Star (2003–2006) 3× All-NBA Second Team (2003, 2004, 2006) 2× All-NBA Third Team (2002, 2005) 5× NBA All-Defensive First Team (2002–2006) NBA All-Defensive Second Team (2007) 2× NBA rebounding leader (2002, 2003) NBA blocks leader (2002) No. 3 retired by Detroit Pistons First-team Division II All-American – NABC (1996)
Number30, 4, 3, 6

Ben Wallace Stats

Points6,254 (5.7 ppg)
Rebounds10,482 (9.6 rpg)
Blocks2,137 (2.0 bpg)

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