Current NBC Sports Chicago Analyst Kendall Gill really know his hoops- both college and pro. The Olympia Fields, Illinois native led the NBA in steals during the 1999 season, and he still holds the record for most single game steals in NBA history. A legend at the University of Illinois, where he helped lead the Illini to the 1989 Final Four, Gill was the fifth overall pick in the 1990 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets.
We discussed numerous college and pro basketball topics with Gill during our exclusive conversation with him.
Perhaps the highlight of our discussion was Gill’s has an interesting and unique choice as basketball G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time). He we with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, noting that “the G.O.A.T.” is a very different entity than “best NBA player.”
On this point, Gill is entirely correct, if you are basing this off the entire body of work on the hardwood. Look at the given player’s entire career, professional and college. The G.O.A.T. discussion is timeless, and it involves many names. According to NBA veteran C.J. Miles, Steph Curry now needs to be in this discussion. Miles said so to RG.org, as he gave his take on Team USA’s Olympic Gold Medal triumph in Paris.
Curry, like Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson, are definitely in the conversation. And Abdul-Jabbar is a fine choice as well. When Kareem was known as Lew Alcindor, in college at UCLA, he did some big things that really transcended the game.
Of course, we have to bring up the fact that one of Gill’s best games of his career came against Michael Jordan, the baller that most regard to be the G.O.A.T. Gill actually scored 32 points while His Airness was guarding him that night.
Another highlight of our Kendall Gill exclusive was when he revealed that he’s never actually played the video game NBA Jam Session. It’s a classic sports arcade game in which he prominently features. Gill is definitely one of the most selectable characters in the game, as he’s one of the Charlotte Hornets’ big three (with Larry Johnson and Alonzo Mourning); that comprise one of the best overall teams in the early 1990s video game.
In addition to the Hornets, Gill also played for the New Jersey (now Brooklyn) Nets, Milwaukee Bucks, Seattle Supersonics, Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat over the course of his 15 year career.
While Gill will not be in consideration for the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA, he is still very much “hall of very good!”
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.