Basketball not all ‘about getting buckets,’ NBA legend Robert Horry reminds

MANILA, Philippines — A deterrent to playing the “right way.” 

That’s how seven-time NBA champion Robert Horry views the four-point line of the PBA as he fielded media questions during his third but brief stay in the Philippines.  

Nicknamed “Big Shot Rob,” Horry said the full implementation of the 27-foot line may take away the fundamentals of the sport.

“That’s the way the game is now, so many kids want to shoot the long ball… it’s about getting buckets,” said Horry.

“No matter if it’s two, three, or four in this case, get buckets and do it with a high efficiency… so to me, when you add a four-point play, it makes the kids not really want to play the game, they just want to shoot the ball,” he added.

It’s an opinion that runs counter to the view of Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma, also a recent Manila visitor who called the novel rule “good for the game.”

Despite his misgivings to the new PBA rule, Horry utilized the three-ball to deadly effect, etching himself as one of the most clutch playoff shooters of all time.

Horry nailed countless game-winning threes during the championship runs of the Houston Rockets (1994-1995), Los Angeles Lakers (2000-2002), and the San Antonio Spurs (2005, 2007).

Among his seven titles — which is one more than the legendary Michael Jordan’s haul — Horry considers the 1995 Houston Rockets title run as the best among the rest.

“We always talk about getting to a point, the journey to that point was so backwards for us, in a sense that we didn’t have home court advantage at one point throughout that playoff run,” recalled Horry.

“The teams we beat and what we were able to accomplish, to be back-to-back champions, and on a personal note, I had a good series,” he continued.

The sixth-seeded Rockets, still the lowest-ranked team to win the NBA title, took down the Utah Jazz trailing 1-2 in a five-game series; the Phoenix Suns, behind 1-3 to take the series in seven; the top-seeded Spurs, 4-2; and the upstart Orlando Magic in the finals, 4-0. 

The power forward also had the privilege of playing alongside three of the best big men of all time — Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O’Neal, and Tim Duncan.

Moreover, he also played alongside Hall of Famers such qs Kobe Bryant, Clyde Drexler, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili.

“It made my life easier. It was so weird because all my life, I was considered a big on a team, but I really wasn’t,” said Horry.

“I was always a small forward in a tall body, and all of a sudden, you go play with a larger one and everybody’s able to see what you do.”

Horry, who previously visited the Philippines in 2009 as part of the NBA Asia Challenge, and in 2013 during the NBA Global Games between the Houston Rockets and Indiana Pacers, met with throngs of fans inside the NBA Store at SM Megamall.

Fans flocked to take pictures, have their merchandise signed, and talk about the old days of the NBA. — Rappler.com