#SLOE: People's Basketball Sim League

Listed in order from most recently retired. This will be updated every year with new retirees at the top.

Robot Pack
Tom Gugliotta
Jerry Stackhouse
Marcus Camby
Gary Payton (one failed nomination, up for nomination in 2011)
Doug Christie
Jim Jackson (one failed nomination)
Eddie Jones
Juwan Howard
Grant Hill
Bobby Jackson
Theo Ratliff
Vin Baker
Allan Houston
Shawn Bradley
Robert Horry
Vlade Divac
Dale Davis
Eric Piatkowski
Jon Barry
Mike Iuzzolino
Jayson Williams
Terry Mills
Dee Brown
Anthony Peeler
Arvydas Sabonis
Hubert Davis
Derek Strong
Rony Seikaly
Dennis Scott
Brad Daughtery (one failed nomination)
Derrick Coleman
Pervis Ellison
Tim Hardaway (one failed nomination)
Chris Gatling
Larry Johnson
John Stockton (one failed nomination)
Ervin Johnson
Greg Anthony
Mookie Blaylock
Randy Brown
Pooh Richardson
Glen Rice
Hersey Hawkins
Patrick Ewing (one failed nomination)
Sherman Douglas
Benoit Benjamin
Mitch Richmond
Scottie Pippen
Grant Long
Horace Grant
Clyde Drexler
Danny Manning
Rik Smits
Reggie Williams
Spud Webb
Scott Skiles
Dennis Rodman
Chris Mullin (one failed nomination)
Larry Bird
Doc Rivers
Derek Harper
Kevin McHale
Bernard King
Joe Dumars
Terry Cummings
Tony Campbell
Michael Cage
Reggie Theus
Robert Parish
Joe Kleine
Lester Conner
Orlando Woolridge
Darnell Valentine
Sidney Moncrief
Moses Malone
Rick Mahorn
Alton Lister
Walter Davis
Brad Davis
Maurice Cheeks
Tom Chambers
Danny Ainge
Larry Smith
Darrell Griffith
David Greenwood
Alex English
Wayne Cooper
Mark Aguirre
Patrick Eddie
Jack Sikma
Kurt Rambis
John Long
Vinnie Johnson
James Edwards
Dave Corzine
Scott Garner
Tree Rollins
Steve Johnson
Gerald Henderson
Rickey Green
T.R. Dunn
Adrian Dantley

Gentlemen, I present for your consideration Steve Smith...

http://pbsl.ijbl.net/1998/players/player744.htm <== Steve at the peak of his powers
http://pbsl.ijbl.net/2005/players/player744.htm <== Steve's career stats as he prepared to retire

Most of Steve's career, he was overshadowed. When he was leading the Pistons to three consecutive Central titles in 1992-1994, the Celtics' Green Monster led by Alonzo Mourning was dominating not just the East, but the entire league. Those Celtics squads knocked out the Pistons in the playoffs - usually the Eastern Conference finals - with regularity, and Steve - who was putting up the kind of efficiency numbers we would later see from guys like Penny Hardaway - could not ever quite seem to break through.

After three failed attempts to knock the Celtics off their perch, the Pistons finally gave in and sent off their defensive anchor Benoit Benjamin and Steve's high-scoring wingman Reggie Miller to the Magic for a couple of first round picks and some young players that never panned out. Steve carried the Pistons in those lean years, and continued to post ridiculous efficiency numbers and overall stats. You probably forget that while Kemp, Penny, and Zo dominated the league in the mid-90's, Steve Smith was seen as a guy just a step below them - the problem was he wasn't surrounded wit the talent they were. The Pistons continued to stubbornly hang on to him in hopes they could build something around him, but never were able to put the same talent around him that the Warriors, Mavericks, and Celtics dynasties had.

Finally, realizing they weren't going to be able to build around him in time, and fearing to lose him when he became an unrestricted Free Agent after his 1998 season saw him pick up an all-league first team selection as well as an all-defensive second team nod (showing he was one of the best in the league in his prime), the Pistons relented and sent Smith to the Jazz for a couple of first round picks and Derek Fisher. Smith's numbers naturally went down a bit (still over 20 ppg) as he was paired with young interior beast Tim Duncan and the Jazz quickly became a 50-win team.

Steve didn't get to stay in Utah long - the Jazz sent him off to the Hornets in a trade deadline deal for depth the following season (for Larry Johnson and Allan Houston), taking him from a team that had a legitimate shot in the West to a team that was good but unfortunately turned into cannon fodder for the Hawks' superteam (and a Bucks team that was almost as good) in the East. Steve, aware of Nick Malone's reputation, did not put down roots in Charlotte, and it turned out to be a wise decision as the Hornets shipped him off to a Knicks squad bereft of talent in a deadline deal for Eddie Jones the following season.

The Knicks, in rebuilding mode, shipped Steve off for flavor of the month Tony Delk of the Heat in the offseason. Smith, however, was not going to end his career toiling in obscurity for the Heat the way he had spent his prime years in Detroit. Just when it appeared that Steve's career would never again see him playing for anything that mattered, GM Soundwave of the Raptors saw Steve still had enough left in the tank to help his squad push over the hump and traded an incredible five players to the Heat get him (Theo "Maxliff", Antonio Davis, Lawrence Fuderburke, Troy Hudson and Dontonio Wingfield).

Plucked from the shadows and back under the bright lights in Toronto, a 34-year old Smith averaged 14.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4 assists - career lows - but became the final piece of the puzzle that worked with Tom Gugliotta, Elton Brand, Michael Finley, and Chauncey Billups to topple the Hawks' 70-win superteam, knocking them out in the Eastern Conference Finals and propelling the Raptors to their first (and to date, lone) title. If you ask WigNosy, he will tell you the Raptors bringing in Smith was the move that swung the balance of power to Toronto and that he didn't have a counter for.

He returned to the Knicks for a final paycheck and swan song in the spotlight of Madison Square Garden before finally hanging it up.

Smith made 6 All-Star appearances, was an all-league first-team selection three times, and an all-league third team selection twice. Among retired players whose entire careers were spent in Sim League, he is currently 6th all time in scoring with 22,214 career points (Kemp 35,098; Sprewell 23,178; Ceballos 23,141; Augmon 23,123; Eddie Jones 22,291) and was enough of a playmaker to finish 5th in assists with 5,687 (Robert Pack 7,544; Terrell Brandon 7,460; David Wesley 7,182; Sprewell 5,777)

Vote Steve Smith for the Hall of Fame.