How Good Was Hall Of Famer Ben Wallace?

Presented by Wolfgang Sport, THE5THQTR stocks one of the most unique collections of vintage NBA and NFL jerseys and jackets. No BS. No counterfeits. THE5THQTR blog is an extension that continues the Wolfgang Sport passion for sports in the US & UK.

Ben Wallace's block on the 7'1" (2.16m), 325-pound (147kg) Shaquille O'Neale captured exactly how Wallace played the game -- with pure strength and the capability of matching up defensively on anybody in the NBA. April 27, 2002. It was Game 3 of the Pistons- Raptors first round playoff series. Ben Wallace blocked none other than Hakeem Olajuwan, the all-time leader of shot blocks.

Ben Wallace is now a Hall of Famer.

Related: The Six Best Blocked Shots of All-Time

Enshrined into the Hall of Fame in September 2021, Ben Wallace deserves his induction. A four-time NBA All-Star, Wallace also earned four NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards. But the pinnacle of Ben Wallace's career was winning an NBA championship with the Detroit Pistons in 2004.

The most intimidating defensive player of his era, Wallace was able to overpower the Lakers' offensive juggernaut of Karl Malone, Gary Payton, Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O'Neal in the 2004 NBA finals.

That helps to paint a picture as to why Ben Wallace deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. What he's been able to achieve is nothing short of remarkable. Wallace is the only undrafted player in NBA history to be voted to start an NBA All-Star Game. After all NBA teams passed up on the opportunity to draft Wallace out of the Virginia Union University, Wallace initially spent time on trial in Italy.

Related: Best NBA Draft of All Time: 1996 NBA Draft

Washington then gave him an opportunity, before a move to Orlando, and then to Detroit where he really made a name for himself. The well chiselled center also landed in Chicago in 2006, then moved to Cleveland in 2008 where he'd be moved to a power forward role as the team already had Zydrunas Ilgauskas on the books.

Wallace played 78 games for the Cavs starting in 75 of them. In the 2008 Finals he helped them to the conference semifinals and in 2009 alongside LeBron James they would make the conference finals.

You won't come across many Ben Wallace jerseys, and even rarer will be a jersey from his time in Cleveland where LeBron James is the most popular name on the white on wine uniform. We've got a 2008 Cavs Wallace jersey in THE5THQTR collection

Related: Ben Wallace Jersey 2008 Cleveland Cavaliers 4 M

Following his time in Cleveland, Wallace would rejoin the Pistons in 2009 for another three years before retiring. In his final NBA season he registered his 1,055th game, surpassing the record held by Avery Johnson for most games by an undrafted player. On 27th April 2012 and at 37 years old and 229 days, Wallace played his last ever game against the 76ers in a win at the Palace of Auburn Hills. The Pistons finished the season with a 25-41 record in a lockout shortened season.

Ben Wallace finished his career with 5.7 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists averages across 1088 games. He never averaged double-digit points per game in his entire career and is the lowest point-per-game scorer in the Hall of Fame. Wallace has many records but one of that sticks out is that he's the only player in NBA history with more blocks than fouls and more steals than turnovers.

Related: Ben Wallace Top Ten: The best of Big Ben

At the end of his 15 year career he was one of only three players in history to record 150 blocks and 100 steals in 7 consecutive seasons -- fellow Hall of Fame inductees Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson the only others to achieve the milestone.

Wallace has his jersey number 3 hanging up in the rafters at Little Ceasers Arena, his jersey retired by the Pistons in 2016. Another jersey you'll rarely see though is one of my most treasured in the collection - a Ben Wallace 2004 rare Nike Rewind Limited Edition. It's a throwback jersey to the 1978-1981 Pistons away uniform. A rarity that's symbolic of just how rare and special a talent Ben Wallace was, forever remembered by Pistons fans for bringing home a third NBA championship.

Related: Ben Wallace Jersey 2004 Detroit Pistons Rewind LE 4 M

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Presented by Wolfgang Sport, THE5THQTR stocks one of the most unique collections of vintage NBA and NFL jerseys and jackets. No BS. No counterfeits. THE5THQTR blog is an extension that continues the Wolfgang Sport passion for sports in the US & UK.