Friday, April 8th, 2011 at 12:46 pm  |  23 responses

Robert Horry Q + A

SLAMonline caught up with the seven-time champ.

by Michael Romyn / @michael_romyn

Another year, another Hall of Fame class, another discussion on who does and doesn’t belong. Take Robert Horry. Should a role player who averaged 7 points and 4.8 rebounds over his careerbeen shrined in basketball’s pantheon? Sure, he won some rings, but so did Jud Buechler.

Then again, Big Shot Rob is known as Big Shot Rob for a reason. The list of clutch postseason plays he made over the years is exhaustive. Whether a member of the Rockets, Lakers or Spurs, Rob always seemed to rise to the occasion. Certainly, without Horry, the Lakers and the Spurs would have a little more space in their respective trophy cabinets.

As for those rings, only six players in the history of the League have won more than Horry’s seven. And, if we’re talking history, he holds the record for most 3-pointers in the Finals, and has played in more playoff games than anyone; in 16 seasons, he never missed a postseason. Hall of Fame or not, Big Shot Rob has earned his place in NBA folklore.

SLAM: Which of your seven rings means the most to you?

Robert Horry: The Rockets in ’95 when we swept Orlando because all the teams we had to beat had top 50 players on them. The first team was Utah with Karl Malone, the second team was Phoenix with Charles Barkley, the third team was San Antonio with David Robinson, so that run was remarkable and in all those games we started on the road. We did some incredible things to win the championship that year.

SLAM: What was the best team you played on?

RH: The best team was the 2001 Lakers team when we only lost one game in the playoffs, that team was great. We could go maybe ten deep at one time. Most teams can only go maybe seven or eight team, but we had a team that could go ten deep, possibly even twelve deep. That team had all-around talent, everybody got along and everybody had one goal in common, you know, to win the championship and compete.

SLAM: So put that team in a series with the ’95 rockets team or the 2005 Spurs, and it’s winning every time?

RH: I think so, because you’ve got to look at overall we had great D, we had a great bench, we had great guard play, we had Ron Harper, Kobe at the guards, coming off the bench we had myself, Fish, B Shaw, Samaki Walker, we had a really good team, I don’t think anyone realizes just how good that team was.

SLAM: You played with some great players in Olajuwon, Duncan, Kobe and Shaq. Who was the best you played with?

RH: The best player as far as straight out talent was Hakeem Olajuwon. He was just very talented for a guy his size. But as far as straight work ethic, the guy that you knew was going to bring it every night was Kobe. He was probably one of the smartest guys you’d ever get to play with.

SLAM: You made a habit of making big shots in big moments…

RH: You know, it’s always up to the coaches to put certain players in the right situation. If a guys playing really well it’s up to the coaches to get him shots and get him opportunities, especially when there are no plays designed for him. I think my coaches put me in good situations where I could get shots and sometimes when you feel it you’ve just got to take over, and that’s what I did in most of the cases because I never had plays run for me.

SLAM: Is clutchness innate, or is it something that can be developed?

RH: It’s just opportunity. When the opportunity arises you’ve got to be able to knock it down and when you knock one down I think coaches get confidence in you, your teammates get confidence in you and it puts you in the position to have that happen again. Every team I was on they knew I didn’t mind taking the shot and nine times out of 10 I was probably going to knock it down, so they put me in a position to do it.

SLAM: Was there a point in your career when you decided to play a role rather than go for numbers?

RH: The goal is win basketball games. I think for me, I knew everybody can’t have the ball in their hands all the time, you’ve got to have somebody who wants to do the grunt work. All the stars that score the points and get all the accolades will tell you their job is a lot harder if you don’t have role players around you. You can go out and do all the stuff yourself, but if you don’t have guys that can step up when you need them on the nights you’re not feeling good, you’re not going to win a championship.

SLAM: Do you wish more players would take a leaf out of your book?

RH: You wish every player would because there are so many guys nowadays that think they can do things when they can’t. One of the greatest things that coaches like to tell a player is a man must know his limitations. If you’re out on the court and you can’t dribble, don’t try to dribble, if you can’t shoot, don’t try to shoot, so you must know your limitations on the court and excel at what you can do.

SLAM: Finally, Kobe’s effectiveness at the end of games has been discussed recently, with some saying he’s not particularly clutch. Where do you stand?

RH: People don’t know what they are talking about. He’s a very good player, he’s the smartest player and he makes people around him better. You talk to true basketball aficionados and they’ll tell you, the best players are those that make the players around them better.

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  • airs Posted: Apr.8 at 12:51 pm
    dope interview

  • Nima Zarrabi Posted: Apr.8 at 1:06 pm
    Great read. Would love to see Robert on TNT or NBA TV sharing his perspective from time to time.

  • Drew Posted: Apr.8 at 2:24 pm
    Mr Clutch!

  • MikeC. Posted: Apr.8 at 3:36 pm
    Another reason the NBA needs its own HOF. Horry is just a straight up winner with enough rings for 2 hands.

  • The Fresh Prince of Nsam Posted: Apr.8 at 3:50 pm
    Great write-up from a very smart man, and HE was clutch!

  • larrylegend Posted: Apr.8 at 4:10 pm
    That’s my boy!!! thanks michael, co-sign airs.

  • IAMORANGE4EVER Posted: Apr.8 at 7:14 pm
    7 rings, one for each day of the week. Nice.

  • BossTerry Posted: Apr.8 at 11:47 pm
    Dude has more rings than Elgin Baylor, Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley, John Stockton, and Karl Malone combined.

  • Jukai Posted: Apr.9 at 12:43 am
    You heard it here: Olajuwon > Kobe.

  • Jukai Posted: Apr.9 at 1:42 am
    BossTerry: If you add Jerry West, Dr J, Moses Malone, Wilt Chamberlain and Dwayne Wade, dude would STILL have more rings combined.

  • David Posted: Apr.9 at 2:39 am
    BossTerry: Adam Morrison has more rings than those hall of fame players. So does Darko.

  • BossTerry Posted: Apr.9 at 2:57 am
    @Jukai/David…. Hahaha and the list goes on

  • K.a. Posted: Apr.9 at 5:00 am
    Im still trying to fathom how kobe makes guys around him better. I mean, even with mj i excused him in the sense he had pippen to do that. I like kobe but i could never see him as a magic like player.

  • arthur Posted: Apr.9 at 8:43 am
    Well, Horry said Hakeem was more talented, which isn’t the same thing. And I’d say that Kobe’s definitely helped guys like Gasol and Odom become better players.

  • arthur Posted: Apr.9 at 8:45 am
    Also, I’m surprised that Horry picked Hakeem over Shaq in terms of talent. Obviously Hakeem had more finesse, but Shaq was just unstoppable.

  • K.a. Posted: Apr.9 at 11:59 am
    Shaq may be more dominant but not necesarily more talented. Shaq was super duper raw coming outta college n even at his most finesse would never be mistaken to be as smooth n fluid as hakeem, whos only apparent weakness is size really.

  • Jukai Posted: Apr.9 at 6:23 pm
    Author: Uh, how is more talented different from better?

  • HAMMER Posted: Apr.9 at 9:22 pm
    2001 Blazers had better talent than the Lakers that yr. Just unfortunate that they couldn’t keep it 2gether when it counted the most

  • K.a. Posted: Apr.10 at 11:38 am
    ^ tru dat! Its not like 2001 lakers are clearly less talented but ‘talented’ is thrown around when stuff like luck n good fortune dont come into play. The 2003(2?) kings were more talented than eventual champion lakers. So were the 92 blazers. It just goes to show that the opposing team one upped talent by another intangible: tenacity, belief, confidence, luck etc.

  • DarkHorse Posted: Apr.10 at 4:11 pm
    I dont know if Robert Horry is HOF material. I mean, he did his thing in the playoffs, no doubt, but he played a supporting role to legends like Shaq and Kobe, Tim Duncan and Hakeem. But Robert Horry definitely did make an impression in his time in the league. So, I say we make another wing in the Hall of Fame for guys who may not have had the digits to be a 1st ballot HOF, but nevertheless made an impression in their careers. Let’s call it “The Cult Heroes” Wing of the Hall. You know, for guys like Robert Horry, Rasheed Wallace, Muggsy Bogues, Spud Webb, Darryl Dawkins, Sam Cassell, Bill Lambier, Ben Wallace- guys who never averaged huge numbers, but guys who we still remember. Whether we love em, hate em, whether they won alot of championships, whether they didnt, whether they were studs, or whether they were scrubs, if we remember them even today, we should dedicate something to them. And while I’m on my rant, I say we should add an “Infamy” Wing of the Hall, for guys like Vernon Maxwell and Latrell Sprewell.

  • DarkHorse Posted: Apr.10 at 4:24 pm
    And very interesting that Horry views Hakeem as the most talented player he ever played with. But if you think about it, it makes sense. Hakeem was 6’10, but he had the moves and athleticism of a small forward. He could jab step you, pump fake you, and Dream Shake you- and STILL block 4 shots and grab 12 boards and lead your team to the chip! If you think about it, he was kind of like the prototype for Kevin Garnett and Dirk Nowitzi- the New Age, face-up do it all 4s we’ve been seeing nowadays. Kobe’s one of the greatest, no doubt. But Kobe already followed Jordan’s blueprint, who followed Dr J. But Hakeem? The Dream was an original.

  • arthur Posted: Apr.11 at 8:52 am
    Well I’ve left it far too late to post a response, but I guess what I meant Jukai is that talent is only one component when evaluating a player. I mean, Tracy McGrady was probably more naturally talented than Kobe, but there’s no question who’s the better player.

  • Cheryl Posted: Apr.11 at 9:45 am
    I would have asked him about Tim.

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