2010 Black History Month: #19 Black Sports Moment - Robert Horry

By: Luke Florence

2010 Black History Month: #19 Black Sports Moment

Robert "Big Shot Rob" Horry

Al Michaels said it best during the 2005 NBA Finals, "this guy is off the chart." There's no other way to explain the brilliance of Robert Horry. First of all, he looks just like Will Smith, so you know he's going to be good. His seven NBA rings are physical proof.
If you were to look at Horry's NBA resume it could be assumed he was nothing more than an NBA journeyman, jumping from team to team throughout his career. He did play for four different teams in his 16-years of NBA action. And even if we were to assume that he was an NBA journeyman, then there is little questioning he was the greatest NBA journeyman ever.

16 seasons, seven NBA titles, countless big shots. Robert Horry is the epitome of a moment, and his nickname "Big Shot Rob" only reiterates that notion.

Horry was the 11th pick in the 1992 NBA Draft and found himself playing for the Houston Rockets and Hakeem Olajuwon. In his first year in the NBA Finals, Horry broke two records. Most steals in a game (7), and most 3-pointers in a quarter (5).

The next year, Horry sank the game-winning 3-pointer in the opening contest of the 1995 Western Conference Finals. After two rings with the Rockets and a one year stint with the Phoenix Suns, he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers where he would win his next three NBA Championships.

His buzzer-beating 3-pointer against the Sacramento Kings not only capped a 20-point comeback, but is my personal favorite Robert Horry moment.

Then with the San Antonio Spurs, Horry won two more rings, playing a huge role in Game Five of the 2005 NBA Finals.

Two years later he knocked out Steve Nash in the playoffs, which sparked a controversy thanks to several key suspensions for the series-deciding game. So even when he's not making big shots, he's dishing them out.

It's hard to sum up how great Robert Horry was. Great is probably not the word of choice here. What we are looking for is clutch.

In big games, most players don't want the ball, they are afraid of it. Horry is the exact opposite. He will defer in the regular season, but when the playoffs come around, and the game is in the balance, Horry wants it.

It's a unique trait ... having seven rings is unique too.

Hint for #18: Greatness + Sickness = #18

Until next time, "read it, roll it, hole it."