We already knew that Vince Carter, Shawn Marion, Chauncey Billups, Bill Laimbeer, Tom Chambers and even Michael Cooper and Terry Cummings were among the candidates for the 2024 vintage of the Hall of Fame. The 2008 “Redeem Team” could also enter the basketball Hall of Fame.
Just like referee Joey Crawford or David Blatt, Ettore Messina, Andrei Kirilenko, Jorge Garbajosa, Fabricio Oberto, Juan Carlos Navarro and Andres Nocioni in the “international” section.
A list to which is now added Penny Hardaway, last minute guest among the candidates.
The current coach of the University of Memphis, in the NCAA, left his mark on a generation of fans, taking the NBA by storm in Orlando alongside Shaquille O'Neal. Quadruple All-Star (1995–1998), twice member of the All-NBA First Team (1995, 1996), and finalist in 1995, the spectacular leader was nevertheless quickly stopped by injuries.
“If you talk about pure play, at my peak I was better than anyone”, he explained recently. “You know, there are guys who played fewer years than me and are in the Hall of Fame, even though I have the same stats as them. It doesn't bother me, given the way they judge me. 'If he hadn't been injured so early, he would have been there, that's for sure.' If I had a good two more years, I probably would have been there. I know I'm a Hall of Famer. I can play eye to eye with any of them.”
This list will be refined during All-Star weekend, February 16, with the announcement of the finalists. To find out the final (and so secret) choice of the committee and the new entrants, you will have to wait until April 6, during the Final Four.
