I hope Allen Iverson never changes! While everyone showed up to the Hall of Fame nomination ceremony in suits and ties, AI came through just as you would expect him to. He showed up with gold chains hanging, sunglasses, doo-rag under his Yankees fitted and of course a Reebok shirt. A reminder of why he is still one of the most beloved athletes around! He was in Toronto along with many other NBA greats as they were officially nominated for the 2016 Hall of Fame class.
@IamJoeSports
The class of 2016 will be unveiled April 4 in Houston on the day of the NCAA championship game, and the enshrinement ceremony is set for Sept. 9 in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Along with Iverson are players like Shaq, Yao Ming, Kevin Johnson who are also up for enshrinement. O’Neal, Yao and Iverson earned a chance to be a part of it after a recent rule change that made players eligible for nomination after four full seasons of retirement. Previously, they had to wait five years, which meant they were actually six years removed from their playing days by the time they could take their place in the birthplace of basketball.
Shaq is pretty much a lock, but Iverson, Yao & KJ could have their work cut out for them. Iverson’s impact on the culture is impossible to measure and for that alone he deserves to be selected but at least for his first ballot that might not be enough. He was never able to get his teams over the hump even though he basically was his team and although he left everything he had on the floor every game, sometimes voters are corny like that. Same goes for Yao, will he likely eventually get in the hall of fame? Yes he will, but he may have to wait for future classes. Injuries killed his career but he did make a huge impact in his short time in the NBA.
Good luck to everyone who was nominated.
