SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Grant Hill made sure in his Basketball Hall of Fame induction speech to thank the doctors who kept getting him back on the court.
Hill had a 19-year NBA career before he finally retired at the age of 40 in 2013. He missed the entire 2003-04 season with an ankle injury and played fewer than 50 games in a half-dozen other seasons. But he made seven All-Star teams to go with a pair of NCAA championships at Duke and an Olympic gold medal.
The son of former Dallas Cowboys running back Calvin Hill thanked his parents and college Coach Mike Krzyzewski, a 2001 inductee. Hill is the first Duke player to be enshrined in the hall, and he said: "I might be the first Duke ballplayer in the hall of fame, but I can promise you I won't be the last."
Hill was one of 13 people inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday night.
Joining Hill for the induction ceremony were Ray Allen, Steve Nash, Jason Kidd and Maurice Cheeks; women's stars Tina Thompson, Katie Smith and Ora Mae Washington; coach Lefty Driesell; ABA and NBA star Charlie Scott; longtime executives Rod Thorn and Rick Welts; and Croatian star Dino Radja.
Allen gave a shoutout to former Celtics teammates Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce in his induction speech.
He called his teammates from the 2008 NBA champions "future Hall of Famers."
Things haven't been so smooth in their relationship since Allen left Boston to join LeBron James with the rival Miami Heat. Coach Doc Rivers said he wants to get everyone back together. Pierce said he's moved past it.
Allen said he holds no grudges. But he said this week he didn't expect to hear any congratulations from his former teammates.
Wayne Gretzky made an appearance in the video introducing fellow Canadian Nash.
The hockey great credited Nash with spreading the love of basketball across the country.
"From Vancouver to Newfoundland," Gretzky said, "he gave them the opening and belief that they could play in the NBA."
Nash talked about taking up the sport at 13 after playing hockey and soccer as a child, and struggling to get a Division I scholarship offer. But he entered the Springfield, Mass., shrine as the No. 3 assist man in NBA history.
Don Nelson was Nash's presenter. The former coach was almost unrecognizable with his deep tan and long, wavy gray hair and beard.
"You got Nellie off of Maui," Nash said. "And you got both of us in a coat."
Kidd went through his entire pro and college career and thanked those who helped him reach the Basketball Hall of Fame. He especially thanked his parents, his wife and his siblings.
Then, he paused and stared out the crowd at Springfield's Symphony Hall and said: "I'm done. I just wanted to enjoy this moment."
Cheeks, the former Philadelphia 76ers star, broke down in tears during his induction speech.
"Charles told me not to cry, but I'm about to talk about my mother right here," he said, calling her "my very first coach, Mama Cheeks."
Julius Erving approached him to pat Cheeks on the shoulder while he wiped his eyes.
Cheeks is now an assistant coach for the Oklahoma City Thunder. A four-time All-Star who was a member of the Sixers' 1983 championship team, he retired as No. 5 on the NBA's career assist list.
Cheeks said he was intimidated when he first arrived in Philadelphia.
"Can you imagine as a rookie, walking into the gym and the first person you see is Dr. J?" he said. "I remember almost turning around and walking out."
Sports on 09/08/2018