The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2016 lived up to its lofty billing with an epic three-hour induction ceremony on Friday night at Springfield’s Symphony Hall, with Iverson and O’Neal stealing the show. “That’s when I became an MVP, that’s when I became an all-star”, he said.
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After he slipped on his custom orange blazer, O’Neal theatrically waved off Hall of Fame president and CEO John Doleva, clearing the way for the man who once called himself “The Big Aristotle” to strut solo across the stage as camera bulbs flashed. “I’ve got to make sure I thank them all”.
An eight-times All-Star, he played 486 games over nine years, all with the Houston Rockets, averaging 19 points and 9.2 rebounds before foot and ankle injuries forced his retirement in 2011.
Every time it seemed that one of the best guards of all-time looked like he was finally arriving, the crowd of high school students cheered. I was looking forward to getting down to basketball. “I remember the first time I played against him”. He noted, “I love you, Pat”. It was when the 76ers traded the perceived savior of Philadelphia basketball, Allen Iverson. Listing former Philadelphia stars like Erving, Moses Malone, Billy Cunningham and Bobby Jones, Iverson lamented “having to come in there and fill all those shoes – when I was only a size 10 – and those guys are greats”.
“I wondered when this was gonna happen and I feel like it’s long overdue”, Green said. That’s what took me to the next level. I was poor all my life. All of a sudden you rich and famous. I don’t know if y’all watch the Chappelle Show, but he talked about in a certain episode where somebody’s seeing Rick James, and, like, I literally saw his aura. He was a pioneer for all future Chinese players who dream of coming to the National Basketball Association. Im still finding my way..
Also scheduled to be inducted on Friday night are Shaquille O’Neal, Yao Ming, Sheryl Swoopes, Tom Izzo and Jerry Reinsdorf.
“I always looked at it and felt like, why isn’t it cool being you?” he said. “When I heard people say that Shaq is similar to those guys, all that stuff he was telling me was correct”.
“[Yao’s] career was cut short, and I think he didn’t achieve everything he wanted to on the floor”, National Basketball Association commissioner Adam Silver said at last year’s All-Star Weekend.
At the Hall of Fame press conference on Thursday, both players talked about how the connections between them were built.
Iverson was a no-show at the 2 p.m. ceremony where inductees were presented with their Hall of Fame jackets. Its unusual for an inductee to miss the event; even posthumous honorees are usually represented by a family member.
His speech had serious moments like thanking his parents, Phil Harrison and Lucille O’Neal, for giving him the discipline and drive that drove his National Basketball Association dream. The fact that even at his own Hall induction he again was out of step with the basketball establishment was an irony not lost on anyone. “And you can argue it all you want to, but it’ll go down as me being the best dominant little man in the world”.
Brown says when he got let go from Charlotte, he visited college programs to learn as much as he could.
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“O’Neal noted he spent three years thinking Yao could not speak English, then was dazzled by a move from the Asian superstar and said, ‘Hey Yao, nice move'”. “I’d instruct my agent that if Michael Conley got $150 million, I’d probably have to get $250 [million], tax free”.
