Occasionally it takes decades, with players as accomplished as Spencer Haywood, Artis Gilmore, Paul Westphal, Jack Sikma, Sidney Moncrief and dozens others having to wait. Sometimes it takes years, going through the process two or three times for a player or coach to land the invitation. Players like Chauncey Billups, Tom Chambers, Michael Cooper, Michael Finley, Mark Jackson, Marques Johnson, Maurice Lucas and Shawn Marion – terrific hoopers all, and that was just from the first half of the alphabet. The list of nominees released in December - and whittled down to the 12 finalists announced in an afternoon news conference at Vivint Arena - included a great many household names who unsuccessfully had gone through this before. The thing is, folks sometimes forget how high the walls of Springfield can be to scale. There could be four or five first-timers.” But this is going to be that unique a class. “This is unique in that we have a lot of first-time people. “It’s unusual when somebody makes it on the first ballot,” said Jerry Colangelo, chairman of the Naismith Hall who acknowledged it’s a “loaded” field. There likely won’t be a second for the likes of Dirk Nowitzki, Dwyane Wade, Tony Parker, Pau Gasol and Gregg Popovich. ![]() No fewer than five of the men announced Friday as finalists for the Hall’s Class of 2023 are going through this electoral process for the first time. ![]() Some players and coaches have done so much over 15 seasons, 20 seasons or longer that their call to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame seems almost a formality. ![]() It can relate to a select few near the back end, when there really is but one hoops accolade remaining. SALT LAKE CITY – One-and-done isn’t just for the young guys starting out in their professional careers. 2023 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Finalists Pau Gasol and Dwyane Wade revisit their NBA journeys.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |