As Ray Allen enters the Hall of Fame, does Kevin Garnett extend an olive branch?

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) – Lefty Driesell made the crowd laugh. Dino Radja resisted the tears. Blue Devils and Tar Heels brought their rivalry to the Hall of Fame basketball, and Ray Allen made an offer of peace to his teammates rejected by Celtics.

And they did it with the help of three of the biggest rush guards in the history of the NBA.

The Springfield Shrine on Friday night inducted a 13-member class, recognizing players, coaches and contributors who have broken records and obstacles to the same extent.

Rick Welts, the first openly homosexual NBA coach, accompanied Charlie Scott, the first African American to receive a North Carolina athletic scholarship. Ora Mae Washington was honored for a career before the Second World War during which she won 11 consecutive women's color basketball championships. Tina Thompson was the first draft pick in the WNBA.

New York Freedom coach Katie Smith, the best scorer in the history of women's basketball, was also inducted; long-time NBA leader Rod Thorn; and Grant Hill, Duke's first player in the Hall.

"It's a real honor to be with you all," said Steve Nash, who has been inducted alongside Jason Kidd and Maurice Cheeks.

"I was not even supposed to be here," said Nash, who was born in South Africa and grew up in Canada and then won two NBA MVP awards. "Play long game. You do not have to be elected. If you are patient, the trays will become stepping stones.

Allen gave a shout to Celtics teammates Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, calling the 2008 NBA championship teammates "the future Hall of Famers"; Both sent messages of congratulations on social media, a thaw in relations that have been chilled since he left Boston for Miami to pursue another title in 2012.

But Allen Allen spent most of his speech describing a life "repeating these old boring habits" that made him the most prolific three-point shooter in league history.

"What's amazing is that I loved it," he said. "I would not have been anywhere else in the world."

Kidd climbed the steps in the Springfield Symphony Hall with a stroller. Nash carried his son in his arm. Dikembe Mutombo stopped to take a selfie with Julius Erving and Kyrie Irving. Mark Cuban and Dirk Nowitzki have climbed the red carpet. Larry Bird was a late arrival.

Wayne Gretzky appeared in the video introducing Nash, attributing him the love of basketball throughout the country amateur hockey.

"From Vancouver to Newfoundland," said the Hockey Hall of Fame member, "he gave them the openness and conviction that they could play in the NBA."

Welts was a different pioneer.

The president and chief operating officer of the Golden State Warriors, who debuted in the NBA as a Seattle SuperSonics baseball player, read a letter that he wrote to his 10-year-old boy. going out gay in 2011 "will be the most important thing you have to do".

Radja, a champion in three different European leagues and a two-time Olympic silver medalist, said he cried for 10 days when he learned he would be inducted into the room and choked at the beginning of his speech.

"Playing basketball was easier," he said.

The cheeks also struggled to hold back their tears at some point until his presenter, Dr. J., came forward to comfort him.

"Charles (Barkley) told me not to cry, but I'm about to talk about my mother here," said Cheeks, the caller "My very first coach, Mama Cheeks."

Driesell's sinuous speech was so pleasant that every time he stopped to ask if his time was up, the crowd shouted, "No!

Scott followed Driesell and Hill and said that if the guys from Duke went over their time limit, the Carolina guy could too.

"Duke and a little speech is an oxymoron," said Scott, who broke through the color barrier at Chapel Hill and brought the Tar Heels to two quarter-finals before winning the 1976 title in Boston. "I'm very proud to be here as a black man who took a patch that was not easy, but it was the right way to go."

Thorn played eight years in the league, coached both in the NBA and ABA and played basketball for half a century. But he knows it's Michael Jordan's selection when Thorn was the general manager of the Chicago Bulls in 1984, reinforcing his place in basketball traditions.

"Thank you, Michael, for your friendship," said Thorn. "I know I will not have a Wikipedia page without you."