PHOENIX (AP) -Michael Jordan, John Stockton and David Robinson were among the 16 finalists for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced on Friday.
NBA coaches Don Nelson and Jerry Sloan and Rutgers women’s coach C. Vivian Stringer also made the cut from a field of 164 nominees, as did former NBA stars Dennis Johnson, Chris Mullin and Bernard King, and two-time WNBA MVP Cynthia Cooper.
“I’ll step out on a limb and speak for all of them and say thank you,” said Robinson, the former San Antonio stalwart and lone finalist who attended the announcement during NBA All-Star Game festivities. “We understand the honor that goes along with being nominated. We know everyone doesn’t get in.”
Mass. All 16 finalists may be elected, according to Hall policy.
Jordan, regarded by many as the greatest player in history, led the Bulls to six NBA titles and won an NCAA championship at North Carolina. He was a five-time NBA MVP and a six-time NBA Finals MVP. He also won two Olympic gold medals.
Jordan and Stockton dueled in two memorable NBA Finals, with Jordan’s Chicago Bulls defeating Stockton’s Utah Jazz in 1997 and 1998.
Stockton retired as the NBA’s career leader in assists and steals, and he also won a pair of Olympic gold medals.
Jordan and Stockton were teammates on the 1992 U.S. Olympic Dream Team, and now they’re poised to enter the Hall together.
“I mean, those two are a lock,” Robinson said. “But think about the rest of these guys. Who’s not going to get in?”
rr, a longtime Chicago Bulls commentator who was named NBA Coach of the Year in 1967 after leading the expansion Bulls into the playoffs in their first season.
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