Legendary Indiana Pacers sharpshooter Reggie Miller was among 12 others inducted into the basketball Hall of Fame on Friday night (September 7), during a ceremony in Springfield, Mass.
The 47-year-old former NBA pro was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, joining his sister Cheryl as the first brother-sister pair to be added. "I just so happened to live across the hall from absolutely, positively the greatest women's basketball player ever," Miller said, as his sister stood by with tears in her eyes. "I'm proud to say I am not on this stage if it wasn't for you, Cheryl Deann. We rode your shoulders all the way here. So thank you for your help."
Closing out the ceremony, Miller expressed the high honor he holds for joining the ranks of other greats.
"This is awesome,"he said. "I don't take moments like this for granted. I'm so honored to be part of this great evening with all these great players. It's special for me because I'm going in with two men I grew up admiring so much, Jamaal (Wilkes) and -- I call him my uncle -- uncle Mel Daniels."
Miller retired as the most prolific 3-point shooter in NBA history, making 2,560 in his career for a record that stood until Ray Allen surpassed it in 2011.
The induction was big for UCLA. Not only did Miller attend the Los Angeles university, but so did Barksdale (1940s) and Jamaal Wilkes (also a forward for the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1970s), who were also in the 12-person class of 2012.
Two-time ABA Most Valuable Player Mel Daniels was also inducted, but he was unable to attend due to illness.
Also honored on Friday night were Don Nelson, the winningest coach in NBA history; three-time NCAA player of the year Ralph Sampson; Nike co-founder Phil Knight; the All-American Redheads, known as the female Harlem Globetrotters; seven-time NBA All-Star Chet Walker; two-time Olympic gold medalist Katrina McClain; former Soviet women's coach Lidia Alexeeva; and longtime NCAA referee Hank Nichols.
Follow us on Twitter.com/Globalhiphop
No comments:
Post a Comment