Stockton and Sloan elected to Hall of Fame

[jonthefon]

ESPN.com: Report: Stockton, Sloan get Hall passes

No surprises there.

Stockton, the greatest pure point guard ever, all-time leader in assists and steals, formed the best two-man tandem ever seen with Malone, denied a ring only because of Jordan. My favorite player growing up. Sloan, one of the longer-tenured and more successful coaches of the modern era.

I'd probably add more, but I'm a little dry right now.

[Andrew]

Great to hear that both have been elected, with Michael Jordan and David Robinson seemingly joining them according to that report. Surely, there would be no way that those three would be passed over on the first ballot and Jerry Sloan is certainly a worthy candidate too.

[Martti.]

Both certainly worthy of it. Sloan I think is the best coach in the game today and Stockton the best pure point guard in NBA history.

[Andrew]

Sloan's tenure with the Jazz is truly impressive; it may not include a title but the number of playoff appearances, appearances in the Conference Finals and the two NBA Finals appearances along with 50 and 60 win seasons are nothing to sneeze out. It certainly says a lot for the way the Jazz do business, but also the way that Sloan has been able to work with different rosters and outlast his contemporaries in a league where we've seen coaches fired just a few months into their tenure.

[shadowgrin]

Because the late owner, Larry Miller, has more confidence with Jerry Sloan, more than some GM or star player.
I wonder if that's going change now since LHM passed away.

[Andrew]

True, though I think Sloan had earned that trust and the confidence that was placed in him.