This year’s class includes 27-year NBA referee Darell Garretson, two-time NABC Coach of the Year Tom Izzo, the first African-American coach in a professional league John McLendon, three-time NBA Finals MVP Shaquille O’Neal and four-time WNBA Champion Sheryl Swoopes.
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Iverson isn’t sure how his speech will go tomorrow. Fans with No. 3 Iverson jerseys in the balcony cheered throughout. Izzo has gotten to know Iverson and Ming a bit in the last few days, but he remembers O’Neal when he was tasked with scouting LSU during the 1990 NCAA Tournament as an assistant under Jud Heathcote. So Shaq riffed on his sage-burning coach Phil Jackson, who once told him sage is the cousin of cannabis, so “Starting today, Phil and I will be opening medicinal sage dispensaries across the country”. It’s a big honor for him, not just him, but everybody that looked up to him. “This is first time I feel so small as I look around at the pictures in the Hall of Fame”. Rocking nervously from side to side, as if he were preparing to blow by an unseen defender, he went through a long litany of “Thank-you’s” and “I-love-you’s”. I don’t know if you all watch the Chappelle Show, but he talked about a certain incident where somebody’s seeing Rick James. I can’t stop looking at him.
Man, I love ya’ll, too.
“That’s the only thing that got me here, my teammates and my coaches”. It was my Mike.
Iverson got a standing ovation and fought his emotions before he could even be introduced. His thank yous to his friends included shoutouts to Jughead, Stanky Wanky and Stump.
In the ensuing days, the rumors as to where Iverson would be traded to seemed endless. Iverson will forever be linked with the 76ers, and with the fans in Philadelphia who packed the arena to cheer on the diminutive and charismatic guard.
Thanks for all the memories, Yao, and I can’t wait for your speech tonight. “You never jumped off the bandwagon, continued to support me like true fans are supposed to”.
Iverson had an awesome tribute to M.J. It was also amusing.
From making a lovely tribute to his family, to shouting out rappers, to honoring Michael Jordan, to mentioning Rick James and to – of course – saluting Philly, A.I.’s speech was gold. And I appreciate y’all for that. “It’s what I wondered would happen to me if I didn’t”.
O’Neal is set to be inducted later in the night. “I still don’t know how to deal with a lot of stuff”.
He thanked the Rockets owners and coaches, as well as his teammates. Great opponents push us forward, a great opponent like Shaquille O’Neal.
Slim are the chances that the Houston Rockets, or any other team, come across another player like Yao.
After detailing his on-court chess matches with Iverson, O’Neal turned his attention to fellow inductee Yao Ming. Without those guys, I wouldn’t be here.
“The game of basketball has been so good to me, and while I have left the court, I will never leave the game”.
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“I think it’s an extraordinary class”, Colangelo told The Associated Press. I got to Philadelphia and, man, those were some big shoes to fill with a size 10 foot.
