Ray Allen, Steve Nash lead Naismith 2018 Hall of Fame class full of '90s nostalgia
If you’re a staunch believer that the golden era of the NBA took place in the 1990s, then this year’s Naismith Hall of Fame class is certainly for you.
Headlined by Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, Grant Hill and Ray Allen, the newest members of basketball’s most hallowed club are among the most notable athletes from the decade that saw franchises like the Bulls, Suns, Pistons and Bucks become must-watch teams.
This man rewrote the record books as one of the greatest shooters in @NBA history. He currently holds the record for most three-point field goals made at 2,973. We congratulate 2x NBA Champion Ray Allen. #18HoopClass
: Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images pic.twitter.com/frd3a4oxsG
— Basketball HOF (@Hoophall) March 31, 2018
One of the greatest college players of all-time and a 19-year @NBA veteran, this man has made an impact on and off the court. We congratulate 2x @NCAA Champion and 7x NBA All-Star @realgranthill33. #18HoopClass
: Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images pic.twitter.com/IBdmpy4Ukb
— Basketball HOF (@Hoophall) March 31, 2018
A 19-year @NBA veteran and 8x NBA All-Star, he was a magician with the basketball and could always find the open man, usually in 7 secs or less. We congratulate 2x NBA MVP @SteveNash. #18HoopClass
: Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images pic.twitter.com/zumwforidk
— Basketball HOF (@Hoophall) March 31, 2018
Rounding out the 2018 class is former Sixers point guard Maurice Cheeks, WNBA superstar — and the first pick in the league’s inaugural draft — Tina Thompson, former University of Maryland coach Lefty Driesell, Charlie Scott, Rick Welts, Dino Radja, Katie Smith, Ora Mae Washington and Rod Thorn — who drafted Michael Jordan as the Bulls’ general manager in 1984.
Smith is the all-time leading scorer in women’s professional basketball having scored more than 7,000 points during her career in the ABL and WNBA while Scott was the first African-American athlete to receive a scholarship from the University of North Carolina.
Kidd and Hill famously shared the 1994 NBA Rookie of the Year award, so it only makes sense that they enter the Hall together.
Most entertaining of all is the story Allen told about being informed that he was being inducted with the 2018 class.
“I was in between doing promotions for my book and the phone kept ringing and I didn’t know who it was,” Allen said on ESPN. “And I don’t answer calls when I don’t know who they’re from. It was almost like one of those conversations that knocks the wind out of you.”
Kidd almost didn’t pick up the phone, either. Until he realized the area code was from Springfield, Massachusetts, Kidd was content to let the call go to voicemail.
The moral of the story here? It’s OK to talk to strangers as long as they are reaching out on behalf of the birthplace of basketball.
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Blake Schuster is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at blakeschuster@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Schustee
