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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) – Latest news on the Basketball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (local at all times):
10:25 p.m.
Ray Allen shouted out former Celtics teammates Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce in his Hall of Fame inducement speech.
He called his teammates future World Champions in the 2008 NBA.
Things have not been so easy in their relationship since Allen left Boston to join LeBron James with his Miami Heat rival. The coach Doc Rivers says that he wants to bring everyone together. Pierce says that he's past the stage.
Allen says that he has no grudge. But he said this week that he was not expecting to receive congratulations from his former teammates.
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9:50 p.m.
Wayne Gretzky made an appearance in another Hall of Fame on Friday night – in the video featuring his Canadian compatriot Steve Nash.
The hockey player credited Nash with spreading the love of basketball across the country.
"From Vancouver to Newfoundland," said Gretzky, "he gave them the openness and conviction that they could play in the NBA."
Nash talked about playing sports at age 13 after playing hockey and soccer when he was still young and struggling to get a bursary for Division I. But he entered the Springfield Sanctuary , Massachusetts, as # 3 man in the history of the NBA.
Don Nelson was Nash's presenter. The former coach was almost unrecognizable with his dark gray hair and beard, long and wavy.
"You have Nellie from Maui," Nash said. & # 39; & # 39; And you both have us in a coat. & # 39; & # 39;
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9:40 p.m.
Tina Thompson was alone on the podium in her Hall of Fame induction speech, as presenter Cheryl Miller was unsuccessful.
Thompson said that it would not be fair to have someone else to replace them.
Thompson was the first pick in the WNBA draft, four-time champion in this league and two-time Olympic gold medalist.
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9:25 p.m.
Jason Kidd has known his entire professional and academic career thanking the people who helped him reach the Basketball Hall of Fame. He thanked his parents and his wife and siblings.
Then he paused and looked through the crowd at Springfield Symphony Hall and said, "I'm done, I just wanted to enjoy this moment."
Kidd is one of three goalkeepers in the class of 2018. Steve Nash and Maurice Cheeks were also among the 13 players, contributors and coaches to be inducted on Friday night.
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9:15 p.m.
Dino Radja wore a red and white check tie for his induction into the Hall of Fame in a cry for his Croatian heritage. The motif is the national symbol of its nation of origin.
Radja played four years for the Boston Celtics, but he won the Hall of Fame in Europe, where he was champion in three different countries. He has also won two Olympic silver medals, one for Yugoslavia and one for Croatia.
Radja said that he had been crying for 10 days when he had learned that he would be inducted into the room and choked while he was beginning his speech.
"Playing basketball was easier," he said.
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8:40 p.m.
Former Maryland coach Lefty Driesell broke the crowd at the Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony, with a recap of his career.
Driesell said that he had been told to talk for five minutes, but every time he stopped to ask if his time was up, the crowd at Springfield Symphony Hall shouted: " No!"
Charlie Scott, the old tar heel, followed Driesell and said that if the Dukes were going to exceed their time limit, the North Carolina guy too. Scott was the first African American to receive a track and field scholarship in North Carolina. He led the Tar Heels to two consecutive final matches and was five-time star in the ABA and NBA, winning the NBA title in 1976 with the Boston Celtics.
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8:25 p.m.
Rick Welts, president and chief operating officer of Golden State Warriors, took advantage of his basketball hall of fame inducement speech to read a letter that he could have himself write to the age of 10 years.
Welts became a baseball player for his hometown of Seattle, SuperSonics, at age 16. He then landed the position of Sonics Public Relations Director at age 24.
But Welts told his young man that the most important thing he had done was to become gay in 2011. He was the first leader of the openly gay NBA, and he said that he was " overwhelmed and humbled by support ".
New York Liberty coach Katie Smith took advantage of her speech to shout her state of Ohio. The former Ohio State Buckeye is the best scorer in the history of women's professional basketball.
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7:50 p.m.
Maurice Cheeks is the first of three great goalkeepers in this year's class.
The former star of the Philadelphia 76ers burst into tears during her induction speech Friday night.
"Charles told me not to cry, but I'm about to talk about my mother here," he said, calling it "My very first coach, Mama Cheeks."
Julius Erving approached him to pat his shoulder while he was wiping his eyes.
Cheeks is now an assistant coach of the Thunder Oklahoma City. All-Star four times, a member of the Sixers' Championship team in 1983, he retired as No. 5 on the NBA's list of career aides. Jason Kidd and Steve Nash are also in this year's class.
Cheeks said he was intimidated when he arrived in Philadelphia.
& # 39; & # 39; Can you imagine as a rookie getting into the gym and the first person you see is Dr. J? & # 39; & # 39; He said. & # 39; & # 39; I remember almost going back and forth. & # 39; & # 39;
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7:40 p.m.
Rod Thorn, a long-time NBA leader, knows what he will remember.
Although he played eight years in the league and coached in both the NBA and the ABA, it was the selection of Michael Jordan who, in 1984, was the general manager of the Chicago Bulls, which reinforced his place in basketball.
Thorn made sure to scream in Jordan in his Hall of Fame induction Friday night.
& # 39; & # 39; Thank you Michael for your friendship, "Thorn said. & # 39; & # 39; I know I will not have a Wikipedia page without you. & # 39; & # 39;
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7:20 p.m.
Grant Hill ensured in his induction speech to the Hall of Fame thank the doctors who continued to bring him back to the field.
Hill had a 19-year career in the NBA before retiring at the age of 40 in 2013. He missed the entire 2003-2004 season with an ankle injury and played less than 50 games in one. half a dozen years. But he has made seven All-Star teams with a pair of NCAA championships at Duke and an Olympic gold medal.
The son of former Dallas Cowboys defender Calvin Hill, thanked his parents and university coach Mike Krzyzewski, inducted in 2001. Hill is the first Duke player to be registered in the lobby and he said, "I may be the Duke's first ballet player in the Hall of Fame, but I can promise you that I will not be the last.
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