The official announcement is on Monday but a couple of the names to be inducted into the basketball Hall of Fame have already leaked. Read more after the jump.
Bernard King, one of the great pure scorers ever to play in the NBA, has finally made it into the basketball Hall of Fame. The small forward averaged 22.5 points per game in his career and a career-high 32.9 for the Knicks in the 1984-’85 season. King could just flat out score the basketball, averaging 22.5 points a game over a career that included four All-Star Games as well. For a few years in the mid 1980s — when Los Angeles and Boston seemed to be the center of the basketball universe — King brought Madison Square Garden the most entertaining basketball in the league.
Gary Payton has also finally made it into the hall. Payton is a nine-time All-Star, an NBA champion (2006 Miami Heat), a career 16.3 points and 6.7 assists a game guy. But it was on the defensive end Payton made his name — a nine-time NBA All Defensive Team selection and one time Defensive Player of the Year.
Spencer Haywood also has gotten in, reports Chris Tomasson at Fox Sports Florida. Haywood was one of the more graceful big men ever in the league, he is a four-time All star, plus has both an NBA championship ring and a gold medal.
