Basketball Hall of Fame: Former Net Swen Nater was a rebounding force

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Swen Nater played 11 pro seasons, including a stint with the Nets. One of the game’s best rebounders still hopes for a call to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

For players from the 1970s and 1980s who worried the game had forgotten their achievements, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame induction class of 2019 provided an injection of hope for their respected causes.

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Four players from that era were tabbed for induction into the Hall this September, including two-time Defensive Player of the Year Sidney Moncrief, seven-time All-Star big man Jack Sikma, defensive ace and Sixth Man of the Year winner Bobby Jones and three-time All-NBA guard Paul Westphal.

That was particularly good news for one standout from the 1970s and 1980s, Swen Nater.

A former rebounding champ while with the San Diego Clippers, Nater made a living on the glass for 11 seasons in the ABA and NBA, in the process becoming the only player to lead each league in rebounding.

Nater spoke with Nothin’ But Nets about his Hall of Fame candidacy on Friday after he was nominated by Hall of Famer Bill Walton, a guy who knows a thing or two about great center play in the NBA.

The cases for the four 2019 honorees from yesteryear were made stronger by a dearth of slam-dunk choices among the first-time eligibles in 2019, a group headlined — as it was — by Shawn Marion, Carlos Boozer and Andrei Kirilenko.

For Nater and others still awaiting their call, 2020 may not be a good year for it to happen, what with legendary performers Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett all becoming eligible for enshrinement on the next ballot.

Sikma waited more than 20 years to be enshrined after playing 14 seasons with the Seattle SuperSonics and Milwaukee Bucks. The big man was named to seven All-Star games, but never made an All-NBA team and finished with career averages of 15.6 points and 9.8 rebounds per game.

That could similarly be a factor that damages Nater’s Hall of Fame claims. He never made an All-Star Game in the NBA, although he was picked in each of his first two pro seasons in the ABA.

Nater recalled the 1979-80 season, when he led the NBA in rebounding at 15.0 boards per game with the San Diego Clippers. The last center spot for the Western Conference came down to two players.

"“Sikma scored more than me, but not by a lot, but he got the All-Star Game spot over me. It came down to the two of us.”"

Sikma averaged 14.3 points and 11.1 rebounds for a Seattle club that reached the Western Conference Finals after winning the NBA title the previous season. Nater put up 13.4 points and 15.0 boards for a Clippers club that played before sparse crowds in San Diego.

This was, of course, long before the days of YouTube mixes and League Pass, when finding the NBA on your television dial was a chore — so much of one that the NBA Finals were aired on tape delay after the late local news. Digest that one for a minute.

Nater is 69 now and has remained close to the game since retiring after the 1984-85 season, a year he spent leading the Italian Serie A in rebounding at age 35.

He was complimentary of the players to be inducted this year, but also made the point that he — and others from his era — are still awaiting their turn.

"“They deserve it and so do others. Sikma scored more points per game than I, but I was a much better rebounder. But if Bobby Jones can get into the Hall, why can’t I? Is it because I didn’t win a championship?”"

His rebounding prowess aside, Nater should get some consideration for the Hall based on the fact that no player in pro basketball history may have traveled a stranger path to the NBA.