Hall of Fame Class of 2013 Announced

Payton, Hardaway lead list of Hall finalists

Gary Payton, Tim Hardaway and Mitch Richmond were among 12 finalists announced Friday for election into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Former Houston Cougars coach Guy Lewis, current Louisville coach Rick Pitino and UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian also are finalists for the 2013 class. The others included former NBA stars Maurice Cheeks, Spencer Haywood and Bernard King, longtime North Carolina women's coach Sylvia Hatchell and five-time WNBA All-Star Dawn Staley. Boston Celtics great Tom Heinsohn, already inducted as a player, is a finalist in the coaching category.

The announcement of the finalists kicked off All-Star Weekend in Houston. The 2013 class will be announced at the Final Four in April.

Given the usual approach of not inducting too many NBA players at once, there's probably going to be a couple of tough snubs once again this year.

UPDATE: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Announces Class of 2013

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced today the 12 members of the Class of 2013 to be honored September 6-8, 2013 during this year’s Enshrinement Ceremonies. This year’s list includes nine-time NBA All-Star Gary Payton, seven-time NCAA Final Four coach Rick Pitino, four-time NCAA Final Four coach Jerry Tarkanian, five-time WNBA All-Star Dawn Staley, five-time NCAA Final Four coach Guy Lewis, four-time NBA All-Star Bernard King and three-time National Coach of the Year Sylvia Hatchell. They join the five directly elected members who were announced during the NBA All-Star Weekend in February by distinguished committees focused on preserving all areas from the game of basketball. These direct-elects include Roger Brown voted in from the American Basketball Association (ABA) Committee, Dr. E.B. Henderson from the Early African American Pioneers Committee, Oscar Schmidt from the International Committee, Richard Guerin from the Veterans Committee and Russ Granik from the Contributor Direct Election Committee. The Class Announcement, supported by the Hanover Insurance Group, was made at a press conference in Atlanta, the site of the 2013 NCAA Final Four, and televised live on NBA TV with host Jim Nantz from CBS Sports.

I'd say yes to Gary Payton. I have a feeling Hardaway might get snubbed this time around (I know the slur was 6 years ago, but it might still count against him). As for Mitch Richmond... I'm not really sure. But he was a great player and I'd like to see him in there.

Interesting to see Tarkanian's name in there, since I saw the Chris Herren documentary "Unguarded" a couple of nights ago.

Not sure you can argue against Gary Payton, Tim Hardaway or Mitch Richmond. I've always kinda felt like Hardaway, Richmond and Mullins all needed to be in there in some capacity. All three were really, really good, but event though they were good apart, they were a big deal when they were Run TMC — even if there isn't much for wins to back it up.

Not sure you can argue against Gary Payton, Tim Hardaway or Mitch Richmond.

Needless to say, I think anyone who witnessed their era could all agree that it was so much fun to watch those three playing with so much character. But honestly, I'm not too sure about Mitch and Tim being deserving though GP is clearly an HOF in my standard.

For what it's worth, Mitch Richmond is 40th all-time in career points while Tim Hardaway is 14th all-time in career assists, both were multi-time All-Stars being two very significant players of their era, so I think they've earned an induction at some point. It wouldn't be completely inappropriate.

Bernard King's a player who's overdue for induction, Maurice Cheeks is at least worthy of consideration. Spencer Haywood's career on the court also makes him a good candidate, plus there's the historical significance of him opening the door for underclassmen to enter the NBA.

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Announces Class of 2013

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced today the 12 members of the Class of 2013 to be honored September 6-8, 2013 during this year’s Enshrinement Ceremonies. This year’s list includes nine-time NBA All-Star Gary Payton, seven-time NCAA Final Four coach Rick Pitino, four-time NCAA Final Four coach Jerry Tarkanian, five-time WNBA All-Star Dawn Staley, five-time NCAA Final Four coach Guy Lewis, four-time NBA All-Star Bernard King and three-time National Coach of the Year Sylvia Hatchell. They join the five directly elected members who were announced during the NBA All-Star Weekend in February by distinguished committees focused on preserving all areas from the game of basketball. These direct-elects include Roger Brown voted in from the American Basketball Association (ABA) Committee, Dr. E.B. Henderson from the Early African American Pioneers Committee, Oscar Schmidt from the International Committee, Richard Guerin from the Veterans Committee and Russ Granik from the Contributor Direct Election Committee. The Class Announcement, supported by the Hanover Insurance Group, was made at a press conference in Atlanta, the site of the 2013 NCAA Final Four, and televised live on NBA TV with host Jim Nantz from CBS Sports.

Guy Lewis may be a HOF coach, but he did a lousy job in the 1983 championship game.