Shaquille O’Neal, Allen Iverson Among Hall of Fame Finalists
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced the finalists for the 2016 class from the North American and Women’s Committees on Friday, with Shaquille O’Neal and Allen Iverson highlighting the group of 14. Chris Webber and Tim Hardaway didn’t make the cut.
O’Neal was one of the most dominating forces the NBA has ever seen, winning four NBA titles, three NBA Finals MVPs and one MVP in his 19-year career. He was a 15-time NBA All-Star and won All-Star Game MVP three times. The big man was voted to an All-NBA team 14 times, with eight All-NBA First Team honors. He ranks seventh on the all-time scoring list, eighth on the all-time blocks list and 14th on the all-time rebounds list.
Then there’s Iverson, who many like to call the best “pound-for-pound” player ever. The diminutive guard is one of the toughest players in NBA history, as he was always willing to sacrifice his 165-pound body. He was an 11-time All-Star in 14 NBA seasons, four-time scoring champion and two-time All-Star Game MVP. “The Answer” won MVP in 2001 when he took his Philadelphia 76ers to the NBA Finals before losing to O’Neal’s Los Angeles Lakers.
Here are the 14 finalists announced on Friday. The inductees will be announced on April 4 at the Final Four, and the 2016 class will be enshrined in Springfield on Sept. 9.
North American Committee
Charles “Lefty” Driesell (coach)
Darell Garretson (referee)
Robert Hughes (coach)
Allen Iverson (player)
Tom Izzo (coach)
Kevin Johnson (player)
John McLendon (coach)
Shaquille O’Neal (player)
Bo Ryan (coach)
Eddie Sutton (coach)
Women’s Committee
Leta Andrews (coach)
Muffet McGraw (coach)
Sheryl Swoopes (player)
Wayland Baptist University (team)