Is ‘Big Shot Bob’ really one of the 10 most overrated players in NBA history?

Robert Horry’s accomplishments in basketball should be clear any time he visits his safe deposit box.

When Horry gazes at his seven championship rings — two from Houston, three from the Los Angeles Lakers and two from the Spurs — his value as a key player on those NBA title teams should be indisputable.

Apparently, however, Horry isn’t to the bloggers over at the Bleacher Report.

Horry is ranked y in a fancy video production.

“Seven titles and clutch playoff shots make you accomplished,” the Bleacher Report video presentation said. “But let’s not put Horry on too much of a pedestal. He played with Hakeem, Shaq, Kobe and Duncan. He had help.”

Some of  their rationalization about Horry is true, but Horry never was presumed to be the best player on any of his championship teams. Instead, he was one of the most valuable role players in NBA history. He provided clutch shooting, defense, rebounding and passing to all of those championship teams. It’s no coincidence that he has as many championship rings as he does.

Instead of calling him one of the NBA’s most overrated players, I think a better case can be made for a spot in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame one day. Horry’s unique talents and championship-caliber play makes him a better fit in the Hall than on the NBA’s overrated list.

For debate, here are the Bleacher Report’s top 10 most overrated players in history. Some of the players deserve their rankings.

Horry, however, doesn’t.

1. LeBron James.

2. Carmelo Anthony

3. Amar’e Stoudemire  

4. Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway

5. Steve Francis

6. Stephon Marbury

7. Derek Fisher 

8. Robert Horry

9. Patrick Ewing

10. Bill Laimbeer  

How about it Spurs Nation? Do you agree with the list?

Who would you add to it? And which players merit their inclusion?

Moot point? NBA plans to unveil full 2011-12 schedule

It could just be an exercise in futility, but the NBA — still in the throes of a contentious labor impasse —

When will the Spurs face the defending champion Dallas Mavericks? When will LeBron James and the Miami Heat come to town? When will the Spurs get their first crack at Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers? Who will they face in the season opener, and when and where?

We’ll know the answers soon. But only in theory.

Obviously, the league has to prepare for a full season, which means releasing a full schedule in timely fashion. Still, chances are good most of what is unveiled on Tuesday will be erased by work stoppage.

It’s all tentative at this point.

In a way, the planned nationally televised schedule announcement could be considered cruel and unusual punishment for NBA die-hards: Hey fans, here’s the fun you would have been in for, if only owners and players could get their stuff together.

It’s sort of like showing a kid a picture of Disneyland, then refusing to take him there.

For the Spurs, games against the Eastern Conference might as well come written in pencil. Should the lockout shorten the schedule, which seems to be the consensus expectation, games against the opposite conference will be the first to go.

When the last lockout truncated the 1998-99 season to 50 games, the Spurs only played six against Eastern opponents.

Considering it’s three weeks into the current work stoppage, and the sides have not yet scheduled a formal next meeting, it appears we could be heading that way again this season.

In the meantime, enjoy a 2011-12 schedule that, for now, will exist only in theory.

Mahinmi takes verbal potshot at Kobe

And we just thought the rivalry between the World Champion Dallas Mavericks and the former champions, the Los Angeles Lakers, was simmering.

First, we had the dust-up late in the regular season between Jason Terry and Matt Barnes.

Throw in Andrew Bynum’s clothesline and resulting suspension for waylaying J.J. Barea at the end of Game 4 in Dallas’ four-game sweep in the Western Conference semifinals.

And now, even backup Dallas center Ian Mahinmi is getting into the act of throwing dirt on the old champs.

Despite the tumbling reputation of Miami’s LeBron James, Mahinmi told  (hat tip to Hoops Hype.com) that the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant remains in a class by himself as the NBA’s most arrogant player.

“Kobe is super arrogant but everybody loves him,” Mahinmi said. “To me, Kobe is more arrogant (than LeBron James).”

Something tells me those comments will be relayed to Bryant between now and the end of the lockout.

And it will just make that first game between the Lakers and Mavericks that much more intriguing and highly anticipated once it ends.