Robert Horry names three Houston Rockets players who helped him become an "all-around" player
Horry took every page he could from the books of his veteran teammates, Hakeem Olajuwon, Otis Thorpe, and Tree Rollins.
During his playing years in the league, Robert Horry didn’t really offer what a team would normally expect from a 6-foot-9, 240-pound power forward. He was neither a pure post player nor a bruiser, but that also didn’t mean he couldn’t do both.
In simpler terms, Horry’s game was hard to describe. However, the only thing we are sure about was that “Big Shot Bob” was not one of the top-tier fours, but he has proven that he can do almost anything whenever he’s inside the basketball court.
An overall player
To successfully make it to the NBA is one thing and to be one of the best is another. Therefore, none of us has the right to criticize a player for being good but not great. In Horry’s case, it seemed like he cared less about how fans viewed him. Instead, he focused on constantly improving and becoming an “overall” player.
Drafted by the Houston Rockets in 1992, Horry became a sponge, absorbed everything he could, and learned from his first coaches in the league. He took every page he could from the books of his veteran teammates, Hakeem Olajuwon, Otis Thorpe, and Tree Rollins.
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“Those guys took me under their wings and helped me a lot,” Horry told Glendale News-Press of his former Rockets teammates in 2019. “I learned a lot from them.”
“I learned from my coaches that if you can’t do everything on the court, then you are not a basketball player,” he explained. “I started to work on my overall game. I don’t care if you are a big or a small player, you need to always be working on your dribbling, shooting and passing.”
Horry’s advice
It’s safe to say that Horry could apply all the things he learned over the years as he had quite an amazing NBA career. On top of being regarded by some as arguably the most clutch player in the history of NBA Finals, Horry also has seven NBA championships to his name. Not to mention, Horry was not like other aging veterans who spent almost the entire season on the bench. In fact, in his 30s, “Big Shot Bob” was still drilling three-pointers in must-win championship games of the San Antonio Spurs.
While some of us are wondering how Horry did it, the man himself revealed that being a lasting overall player didn’t require any unique basketball abilities. Believe it or not, Horry stressed that it’s just about “sacrifices.”
“It’s about making sacrifices in life,” he pointed out. “Whether you are a doctor or lawyer or basketball player or a football player, you have to make sacrifices to get good at your craft. Sports is fun and playing sports is fun. Some turn it into a career. If you want to excel in your craft, you can do it.”
Delving into Horry’s advice, some may reckon that it’s a cliché. But, regardless of how we take it, it should be legit as it definitely worked out well for “Big Shot Bob who won 7 NBA championships in his career.
