Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond, Jerry Krause and Vlade Divac top the list of new nominees with league ties for the Hall of Fame, NBA.com learned Friday. They are among a field that joins returning headliner Reggie Miller as candidates for the Class of 2012 in Springfield, Mass. Â Read more after the jump.
The group is, in many ways, a continuation of the ’11 class. Chris Mullin was inducted in August, and now friends and Run TMC namemates Richmond and Hardaway are hoping to follow. The strength of the Divac nomination is his international impact and contribution to the worldwide growth of the game, much the same way Arvydas Sabonis was elected, with his NBA contributions secondary on the resume.
Miller is hoping to replicate the path of Dennis Rodman by going from not making it out of the first round of voting in the first year of eligibility all the way to being elected in the second. And former personnel boss Krause and ex-assistant coach John Bach, along with retired coach Dick Motta among the returning nominees, could make it a Bulls-heavy class for the second year in a row.
The Warriors are also well represented, with Richmond, Hardaway, Bach, Don Nelson, Mark Jackson, Al Attles, Sarunas Marciulionas, Bernard King and Ralph Sampson on the ballot. The Pacers have prominent ties with Miller, Jackson, Donnie Walsh and three leading candidates via the ABA committee; Slick Leonard, Mel Daniels and George McGinnis.
