The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, what a mouthful. I start this piece with a quote by Kenny Rogers, “The Hall of Fame is forever, baby!!”.
This last weekend, the Class of 2023 were inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, and it was beautiful to experience. This class was unique because it provided a lot of firsts, first German and French players inducted into the Hall, as well as the first coach and player combo inducted in the same year. It was befitting to see three European players getting into the hall, coming from the dominant performance we saw from another European Nikola “Horseman” Jokic this past season.
As usual, debates about the credibility of some of the people in the Hall were revived. Debates about criteria, and the true meaning of what the Hall of Fame represents, and why some people shouldn’t make it.
This year, though, not a single peep about the Class of 2023. The greatness was stacked on this roster, winners both for club and country, champions in the NBA and abroad, pace setters and trend setters.
One of the most intriguing details about this Class of 2023, is how intertwined the members actually are. Playing against each other in so many important legacy defining games, so many epic battles to choose from. Dirk Nowitzki’s immortal series performance against the stacked Miami Heat in 2011, Coach Pop and Tony Parker’s eternal battle with both the Dallas Mavericks and Lakers in the Western conference, and the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals, Dwayne Wade becoming Finals MVP and winning his first title against Dirk in 2006. The storylines are so rich, and they capture a unique period of the NBA, where parity, effort, competition and excellence were celebrated.
Very few things make me tear up, but the authenticity from the speeches from this class, at the ceremony proper, were quite the tear jerkers. I was moved by some of the stories and details we didn’t know about some members of this class. The growth of Becky Hammon, and the leap of faith from Coach Pop to bring her in as a member of staff, especially in a tough environment like the locker room of ego-stroked men. The relationship she developed with the players, and her personal growth into one of the best coaches alive, (male or female) in basketball.
The Journey of Nowitzki, Pau Gasol and Tony Parker as young European men, navigating the waters of competitive America, and the drive to be successful. These three essentially captured an era of European players growing from fringe peripheral players to stars and main cogs of championship-winning teams, challenging even the Almighty USA basketball team at FIBA and the Olympics. They brought speed, flash, style and uniqueness to the game of basketball. The Dirk one-leg fadeaway is still a fan’s favourite and a classic move to this day, efficient and effective when players master it.
The highlight and star of the event though was none other than Dwyane ‘Flash’ Wade Jr. He was classy and stylish on the day, as though he was on the court. He belonged in the Hall, and it was evident from everything about him, his speech was touching and the bonding moment with his father made it all too real. You could tell he was made to be in the Hall.
It was wonderful to see great people get their flowers, and praises for their hard work and dedication. This realisation made the death of Kobe Bryant even more painful. I tried to imagine what his speech would have sounded like, and how he would have approached it. Death stole that experience from us. RIP Kobe and Gigi.
To close this article, I would like to say cheers to the inductees, and keep up the good work to the players still writing their legacy.
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