Last Friday, seven greats of the game were inducted into the Basketball Hall Of Fame.
Now, ok, the hall has lost a lot of respect in the years gone by due to the questionable decisions made by its shrouded committee, but that is another issue, one that will not be discussed today. Whatever the hall's faults, they should not be transferred to the inductees; past, present or future, it is still a tremendous honour and one of the best things that can happen to a baller.
And it is none too soon for some of them.The three biggest names in this year's class are two of my favourite all-time players in Hakeem Olajuwon and Patrick Ewing, and easily one of the best coaches in NBA history Pat Riley.
You could have made a good case for all three of them even ten years ago, that is how brilliant they are.
Also inducted was Adrian Dantley, a great player of his time; Bill Davidson, long time owner of the Detroit franchises of the Pistons and the Shock; and finally Dick Vitale, probably the best-known college announcer. Also inducted was Cathy Rush, a great coach in women's hoops.
In my belief, not a big enough deal is made about the hall of fame inductions each year, but as I mentioned previously, this may be due to the loss of respect and the reputation that it has earned itself as a place you get into for "who you know" rather than what you have achieved.
Still, few higher honors than this can be bestowed on a hoops lover. So congratulations to the inductees.
Below are my thoughts on each of the inductees, I’m sure most know enough about Olajuwon, Ewing and Riley, but I will give more background information on the others:
Olajuwon and Ewing: I am doing these two together, because as they mentioned in their speeches, their entire careers were intertwined. The two were great as individuals, but today we will look at them both. Both are easily in the top 10 centers or even players of all-time conversation, both are possibly the best of their franchises (as in Houston and New York, let's not count Toronto or Seattle etc) all-time players. But that does not even do them justice; you have to see them to believe how brilliant they were. And not just in the NBA, but both had extraordinary Collegiate Careers also. Hakeem was a truly unique player, the only of his kind to combine finesse, skill and strength into such a devastating force. There truly was no way to stop him, he could beat you in all ways and he would. He was a class act, a great guy as well as a player; he helped Houston to consecutive Chips not only by the tangibles on the court but through leadership and unselfishness also. In the same way that Tim Duncan does today, he did what was needed to win, not what was needed to get his name in the paper. Pat was the same way, easily one of the greatest players to have never won a ring; he was the face of New York for a long time and serves very well now as an assistant coach first in Houston and now in Orlando. Heralded as one of the best jump shooting centers of all-time, Ewing was a great player from the moment he put on a Georgetown uniform, every night he was feared but still respected, he could crush any team, any defender that came his way.
Pat Riley: As slick as they come, Riles became something of a legend in the 80's due to his championship success, though his trip through New York didn't bring him any
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