la Hall of Fame si arricchisce di quattro nomi.

[tzara]

http://www.nba.com/2009/news/04/06/halloffame.ap.ap/index.html

Testo:
The Basketball Hall of Fame announced its inductees today, with Michael Jordan, David Robinson, John Stockton and coach Jerry Sloan garnering NBA honors.

Michael Jordan wanted to put on his shorts and play one final time.

The decorated NBA champion and MVP already had two failed retirements, so what was one more return to the court? Sharing a stage with former Dream Team teammates David Robinson and John Stockton, Jordan was all out of comebacks.

Air Jordan has a new name: Hall of Famer.

Jordan was elected to the class of 2009 on Monday with Robinson and Stockton. Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan and Rutgers women's coach C. Vivian Stringer are also part of a class announced in Detroit, site of the men's Final Four.

Induction is Sept. 10-12 in Springfield, Mass., home of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

"I don't like being up here for the Hall of Fame because at that time your basketball career is completely over," Jordan said. "I was hoping this day would be 20 more years, or actually go in when I'm dead and gone."

Jordan's Hall of Fame selection was a slam dunk after he retired as perhaps the greatest player in history. And he gave much of the credit Monday to his college coach.

"There's no way you guys would have got a chance to see Michael Jordan play without Dean Smith," he said.

His soaring dunks, Nike commercials and "Air Jordan" nickname helped stamp him as one the most recognizable athletes around the world. He finished a 15-year career with the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards with 32,292 points -- the third-highest total in league history, behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone. His final career average of 30.12 goes down as the best, just ahead of Wilt Chamberlain's 30.07.

The five-time NBA MVP won six championships with the Bulls and another in college with North Carolina. The Tar Heels play Michigan State in the national championship game Monday night.

Jordan will root on the Tar Heels, but had no plans to give them a pep talk.

Tar Heels coach Roy Williams was an assistant with Carolina on that 1982 championship team and was at Monday's induction, where Ty Lawson won the Bob Cousy award as the nation's top point guard.

Jordan retired twice during his career. He first came back to the Bulls in 1994 and won three more championships before retiring again in 1998, then had an ill-fated two-year stint with the Washington Wizards before calling it quits for good in 2003. He's now managing partner of the Charlotte Bobcats.

On Monday, he joked that when he saw Stockton and Robinson he was ready to put his shorts on again.

"I always want to be able to have you thinking I can always go back and play the game of basketball and put your shorts on," Jordan said. "Hall of Fame to me is like, OK, it's over and done with."

Jordan won two of his titles in the 1990s against Sloan, Stockton and the Jazz. Stockton spent his entire career with Utah and finished with 19,711 points, and holds NBA records 15,806 assists and 3,265 steals. He also holds NBA records for most assists in a season (1,164 in 1990-91) and highest assist average in a season (14.5 in 1989-90).

"Growing up I never thought about the Hall of Fame," Stockton said. "All I wanted was a chance to go to college."

Utah took Stockton in the first round of the 1984 draft, using the No. 16 pick on a relatively unknown player from Gonzaga who became one of the top point guards.

"I haven't given this much thought over the course of a lifetime," he said. "I'm not sure it quite strikes home until you're standing here."

Robinson, who earned the nickname "The Admiral" from his college career at Navy, joined Stockton and Jordan as members of the NBA's 50th anniversary team.

He had a stellar 14-year career with the San Antonio Spurs that included two NBA championships, an MVP season, a rookie of the year award, 10 All-Star selections, a scoring title and two Olympic gold medals. Unlike Jordan's inability to stay home after his final shot in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals, Robinson was content to retire after winning a second title with the Spurs in 2003.

"If I had to pick one night in my career, it would probably be walking off the court as a champion and knowing that was going to be my last memory of basketball," Robinson said.

Sloan, who did not attend the ceremony, is the longest tenured head coach in major league sports with a single franchise. Sloan is the only NBA coach to win more than 1,000 games with a single team and has the Jazz in seventh place in the Western Conference going into Monday night's games.

He was missed by Stockton.

"He's not only a coach and a mentor, but a friend," Stockton said. "I enjoy him very much. The honor to share it with him, terrific."




Ultimo riconoscimento per tre giocatori che hanno dato tantissimo alla NBA (Stockton, Robinson, Jordan) e un allenatore che continua a dare tantissimo al mondo (Sloan).

[Khaiowalter]

che dire ? 
Mai nuove inductees sono state così azzeccate e prevedibili.

[PistooolPeeete]

sbaglio o Rodman pur potendo essere inserito nella HOF non lo è stato?anche se credo sia solo una posticipazione..

[Sheeeeeed]

sbaglio o Rodman pur potendo essere inserito nella HOF non lo è stato?anche se credo sia solo una posticipazione..

Per me ancora un paio d'anni e sarà introdotto...è solo questione di tempo

[Paso 00]

Ma Scottie Pippen?

[Alex171]

beh per ora mi sembra che i quattro nomi siano perfetti...tutti gli altri possono passare in secondo piano...

Sloan, Robinson, Jordan e Stockton
non si puo dire altro che 

[Sheeeeeed]

beh per ora mi sembra che i quattro nomi siano perfetti...tutti gli altri possono passare in secondo piano...

Sloan, Robinson, Jordan e Stockton
non si puo dire altro che 

Nulla da eccepire,gran classe quella del 2009 

[andreaR]