Pro Basketball Hall of Fame 2017: Full List of Nominees and Reaction
Seven-time NBA All-Star Tracy McGrady and five-time All-NBA forward Chris Webber headline the list of prospective inductees for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017.
The Hall of Fame announced the full list of eligible inductees Wednesday afternoon.
In addition to McGrady and Webber, the docket also includes legendary college coaches Bill Self, Gene Keady and Lefty Driesell.
Below are this year's Hall of Fame candidates:
| Mark Aguirre | Player |
| Geese Ausbie | Player |
| Bill Bertka | Coach |
| Muggsy Bogues | Player |
| Junior Bridgeman | Player |
| Irv Brown | Referee |
| Maurice Cheeks | Player |
| Terry Cummings | Player |
| Lefty Driesell | Coach |
| Hugh Evans | Referee |
| Bill Fitch | Coach |
| Cotton Fitzsimmons | Coach |
| Tim Hardaway | Player |
| Del Harris | Coach |
| Robert Hughes | Coach |
| Kevin Johnson | Player |
| Marques Johnson | Player |
| Bobby Jones | Player |
| Jerry Jones | Coach |
| Gene Keady | Coach |
| Rollie Massimino | Coach |
| Tracy McGrady | Player |
| Gary McKnight | Coach |
| Danny Miles | Coach |
| Sidney Moncrief | Player |
| Dick Motta | Coach |
| Swen Nater | Player |
| Jake O’Donnell | Referee |
| Jim Phelan | Coach |
| Mark Price | Player |
| Jere Quinn | Coach |
| Glenn Robinson | Coach |
| Lee Rose | Coach |
| Bo Ryan | Coach |
| Bob Saulsbury | Coach |
| Bill Self | Coach |
| Jack Sikma | Player |
| Steve Smith | Coach |
| Fred Snowden | Coach |
| Harry Statham | Coach |
| Eddie Sutton | Coach |
| Rudy Tomjanovich | Coach |
| Ben Wallace | Player |
| Chris Webber | Player |
| Paul Westphal | Player |
ESPN's Rachel Nichols tweeted she got to personally break the good news to McGrady:
Denver Nuggets forward Mike Miller saluted his former teammate:
The careers of McGrady and Webber mirrored one another to a certain extent. During the site's ranking of the top 100 players in NBA history, ESPN.com listed McGrady No. 63 and Webber No. 66.
Neither McGrady nor Webber captured an NBA title, and injuries curtailed their longevity on the court.
McGrady, who averaged 19.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists a game, was out of the league at age 33.
Webber posted 20.7 points and 9.8 boards a game, and chronic knee problems forced him to bow out in 2007-08 at 34 years old.
McGrady, in particular, will be an interesting Hall of Fame case. Unlike Webber, he doesn't have a collegiate record that can pad his candidacy, and his peak years constituted a somewhat small section of his career.
At his best, McGrady was one of the NBA's top players, and that may be enough to get him into the Hall.
In September, NBA.com's Scott Howard-Cooper argued a lack of star power could benefit Webber, Kevin Johnson and Tim Hardaway, all of whom have come up short in recent years.
Detroit Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy would like to see Hardaway in the Hall of Fame, per the Detroit News' Rob Beard:
Like McGrady, Ben Wallace is a first-time Hall of Fame candidate. Wallace was one of the league's most feared defenders in the 2000s, winning four Defensive Player of the Year Awards.
The Athletic's Sean Highkin argued that should be enough to get the former Detroit Pistons star enshrined in Springfield, Massachusetts:
Wallace is 13th in NBA history in blocks (2,137), according to Basketball-Reference.com, and he averaged the most rebounds in the league (12.9) between 2000 and 2006, a period during which he made four All-Star teams and was a five-timer on the All-Defensive first team.
According to ESPN.com, the finalists for the 2017 Hall of Fame class will be announced Feb. 18, and the induction process will begin Sept. 7.
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