I’m a sucker for Hall of Fame Weekend. I’ll most likely catch most of the ceremony tonight, and by the time NBATV is done replaying the broadcast one hundred times over the next month I’ll have eventually caught each and every word from each and every speech.
I’m looking forward to hearing Artis Gilmore, and Chris Mullin, and Tex Winter, and everybody else in this year’s class reflect on their careers of collective greatness. I always feel like there’s a life lesson or two that anybody can pick up from the types of stories inevitably told on weekend’s like this. All that said, and to take nothing away from any member of this year’s class, I kinda really sorta wish each Hall of Fame Presenter had a moment or two to talk about the people they’re representing.
That list of Presenters is as follows, by the way, according to The Naismith Hall of Fame’s website:
Tara VanDerveer, presented by Hall of Fame Coach Jody Conradt (’98)
Dennis Rodman, presented by Hall of Fame Coach Phil Jackson (’07)
Artis Gilmore, presented by Hall of Fame Player Julius Erving (’93)
Herb Magee, presented by Hall of Fame Coach Dr. Jack Ramsay (’92)
Tex Winter, presented by Hall of Fame Coach Phil Jackson (’07)
Reece “Goose” Tatum, presented by Hall of Fame Players Marques Haynes (’98) & Meadowlark Lemon (’03)
Teresa Edwards, presented by Hall of Fame Players Ann Meyers (’93) & Charles Barkley (’06)
Arvydas Sabonis, presented by Hall of Fame Player Bill Walton (’93)
Tom “Satch” Sanders, presented by Hall of Fame Player Tom Heinsohn (’86)
Chris Mullin, presented by Hall of Fame Coach Lou Carnesecca (’92)
How awesome would it be to hear Bill Walton talk about anything for five minutes, let alone the career of Arvydas Sabonis? I miss Bill like crazy on NBA telecasts, and when I first heard he was presenting Sabonis I got pretty pumped. Unfortunately, I realized, the role of Presenters in the Basketball Hall of Fame Ceremony is to simply walk up and stand next to each class member. They don’t talk. If they did, we could’ve heard Walton as well as other must-see TV like Phil Jackson introducing Dennis Rodman, Charles Barkley talking about Teresa Edwards, Dr. Jack going Dr. Jack, and so on it goes. Maybe somebody can catch these guys milling around over the weekend and post a collection of those videos on YouTube somewhere though. I’d be sure to watch that too if anybody did.
To check out our Profile of a Hall of Famer Series over the last couple weeks, click on all these links: Tex Winter, Reece “Goose Tatum, Arvydas Sabonis, Dennis Rodman, Artis Gilmore and Chris Mullin.
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Photo Credit: SMC
