Nine new members will be enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame this weekend at the Mohegan Sun Casino and Resort in Connecticut.
The class of 2020 includes Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and the late Kobe Bryant. But one player who didn’t make the cut was Tim Hardaway Sr.
And that rubs New Orleans Pelicans coach Stan Van Gundy the wrong way.
When Hardaway starred for the Miami Heat from 1996-2001, Van Gundy was an assistant coach at that time for the Heat. Thus, he watched Hardaway play so superbly that he was chosen to the All-Star team in 1997 and ‘98.
Hardaway also was an All-Star in ’91, ’92 and ’93, and was first-team All-NBA in ’97, second-team all-NBA in ’92, ’98 and ’99, and third-team All-NBA in ’93. Under that exceptional backdrop, Van Gundy said:
“I’m more focused on the Hall of Fame with the disappointment again of Tim Hardaway Sr. not getting in. That to me just makes no sense. It’ll never make sense to me.
“I know the numbers and the awards and everything on some of the other guards that are in there. It’s a huge disappointment and it’s hugely ridiculous that the voters are overlooking him.”
Hardaway averaged 17.7 points and 8.2 assists in his career, and scored 15,373 points in 14 seasons. The Heat also retired his No. 10 jersey on Oct. 28, 2009.
Hardaway played the 2001-02 season for the Dallas Mavericks, and his son — Tim Hardaway Jr – currently plays for the Mavs.
As far as Bryant, Duncan and Garnett getting their Hall of Fame papers, Van Gundy said: “I think those would be called no-brainers. I don’t know how anybody would vote against them going into the Hall of Fame. If somebody did vote against any of the three of them, they should lose their Hall of Fame vote. I mean that seriously.
“You look at those guys and think that any one of those guys isn’t deserving, you need to be out. You don’t need to be voting.”
The Hall of Fame ceremonies were originally slated for last summer, but were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Bryant was an 18-time All-Star and five-time NBA champion, Duncan was a 15-time All-Star and five-time NBA champion, and Garnett was a 15-time All-Star and one-time NBA champion.
“On top of greatness, you’re talking about three of the most competitive guys that have been in this league,” Van Gundy said. “At least in the time I’ve been in it since the mid-90s.
“Those guys were all great, great, great competitors on top of their talent. They deserve to be going in.”
According to Van Gundy, so does Tim Hardaway Sr.
Redick out: Coach Rick Carlisle said guard JJ Redick won’t play in any of the Mavs’ remaining regular season games this season. That includes Friday’s game against the Toronto Raptors and Sunday’s contest against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Redick left Tuesday’s game in Memphis with soreness in his right heel. It’s the same heel that was giving Redick problems when the Mavs acquired him in a trade from the New Orleans Pelicans on March 26.
Carlisle said: “He’s getting his right heel evaluated and we’ll see where we are.”
Briefly: Rookie guard Tyrell Terry was on the Mavs’ bench in street clothes on Wednesday night after being away from the team for about eight weeks for personal reasons. “It’s unlikely that he’ll dress for any of these three games because he’s been out for quite a while,” coach Rick Carlisle said before the game against New Orleans. “But I shouldn’t say that’s 100 percent, either. We’ll have to see what our numbers look like.” Terry was the first player chosen – by the Mavs — on the second round of last November’s NBA Draft. He has yet to play in any games for the Mavs this season. . .The Mavs are 14-13 against the nine Western Conference teams that would be either in the playoffs or the play-in tournament if the season ended today. . .The 45 points the Mavs scored in the second quarter Wednesday against New Orleans was their highest-scoring quarter of the season. The previous high were the 43 points the Mavs tallied in the first quarter of a game against Minnesota on Feb. 8.
Twitter: @DwainPrice
Share and comment