The 2016 Basketball Hall of Fame Class has been formally announced and the three names that everyone expected to be in it, are indeed in it. Shaquille O’Neal, Allen Iverson and Yao Ming headline a class of 10 names that are all well deserving of their election in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Following from Fran Blinebury of NBA.com.
For so many years they were the long and short of excellence in the NBA, so it was only fitting that Shaquille O’Neal and Allen Iverson led the way together for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2016.
The 7-foot-1 O’Neal played 19 seasons in the NBA, averaging 23.7 points and 10.9 rebounds. He was MVP in 2000 and a three-time MVP of the NBA Finals.
The 6-foot Iverson played 14 seasons, averaging 26.7 points and 6.2 assists. He was named MVP in 2001.
O’Neal and Iverson are among 10 new inductees for 2016. They were joined by:– Yao Ming, who was the No. 1 pick in the 2002 NBA draft and spent his entire career with the Houston Rockets before it as cut short by injuries in 2010.
– Jerry Reinsdorf, long-time owner of the Chicago Bulls, whose team dominated the NBA by winning six championships in the 1990s.
– Sheryl Swoopes, three-time U.S. Olympic gold medalist, four-time WNBA champion and three-time WNBA MVP.
– Tom Izzo, head coach at Michigan State, where he has led the Spartans to the 2000 NCAA title and seven trips to the Final Four.
There are four posthumous inductees:
– Zelmo Beatty, who spent most of his career in the ABA, averaging 17.1 points and 10.9 rebounds.
– Darell Garretson, former referee.
– John McLendon, former coach who won three NAIA championships.
– Cumberland Posey, a star in the early 1900s, who is also in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
