Monday, April 2nd, 2012 at 1:20 pm  |  77 responses

Reggie Miller, Don Nelson, Ralph Sampson Headline 2012 Hall of Fame Class


The 2012 Basketball Hall of Fame Class was announced today, and save for one glaring snub, there weren’t too many surprises. The Enshrinement gala will take place the weekend of September 6-8: “The inductees include five-time NBA All-Star Reggie Miller, the NBA’s all-time winningest coach Don Nelson, three-time National College Player of the Year Ralph Sampson, two-time Olympic gold medalist Katrina McClain, distinguished basketball official and coordinator Hank Nichols, former college and NBA star Jamaal Wilkes and the first women’s professional basketball team, the All American Red Heads. They join the five directly elected members who were announced during the NBA All-Star Weekend in February by distinguished committees focused on preserving all areas from the game of basketball. These direct-elects include Mel Daniels voted in from the American Basketball Association (ABA) Committee, Don Barksdale from the Early African American Pioneers Committee, Lidia Alexeeva from the International Committee, Chet Walker from the Veterans Committee and Phil Knight from the Contributor Direct Election Committee. […] To be elected, finalists required 18 of 24 votes from the Honors Committee for election into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Starting last year, the addition of the direct elect committees were incorporated into the election process to maintain a strong focus on keeping history on the forefront of the voting procedures and to preserve a balance between two eras of basketball. ‘The Class of 2012 is a true representation of the game of basketball, reaching all levels within the sport,’ said Jerry Colangelo, Chairman of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Board. “We are pleased with the changes to the voting process by adding the direct elects and the impact it will make on recognizing the game’s true ambassadors into the future.’”

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  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    Hi, my name is Bernard King, I have been screwed over.

  • abaci

    Congrats

  • shutup

    NBK nailed it right on the head, sad state of affairs. How is Reggie Miller a first ballot HOFer ? Did King have problems with the media? I know he was an intense dude on the court; there has to be a reason they haven’t voted him in yet.

  • http://slamonline.com KJ

    They put in Miller but not King?

  • http://slamonline.com LakeShow

    nbk, some a$$ hole named Bernard stole your tag bro.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    BK can have my name until he gets in the Hall.

  • jay

    Reggie should be in the Indiana Hall of Fame but not this one.

    How can you be a HOF’er if you were never 1st or 2nd ALL-NBA???? Please explain that. At no time was he ever considered a Top 10 player to voters.

    Mitch Richmond is probably celebrating because if Reggie gets in then he’s a shoe-in.

  • jay

    also with Ralph getting in I guess this means Laettner is on the ballot in a few years.

  • toinefan88

    T-Mac gotta be a hof’er

  • jay

    TMAC is in the same category as Reggie and Vince. Probably NOT a HOF’er in reality but he may sneak in somehow after a few years. The guy never left the first round and his prime was cut short.

  • bull22

    congrats to all of these nba players, very well deserved.

  • g

    Tmac is a shade behind vince, Vince will probly get in though.
    Plus Ralph Sampson? yet still no Bernard King. Travesty

  • bdogg

    happy for reggie but how does ralph sampson get in..he had one big shot his whole career..no chips? are you serious..if that is the case ghill and penny should get in…ralph sampson=bust nba.great college player thou!

  • Rainman

    @ Shutup: Reggie sint a first ballot hall of famer…he didnt make it last year…

  • bike

    Sampson shouldn’t be getting in because of college accomplishments. He was, in my opinion, a major underachiever in both college and nba considering his size, skill set, and athletic ability.

  • http://Www.achtamsterdam.nl Phil

    Do i really have to defend reggie here? One the the best clutch shooters ever??? Led his team to the finals as the best player on the team, many play offs played, gold medal etc etc. Mitch Richmond ( who i like) has none of these.
    Ralph sampson was a three time college player of the year…so yeah, he should be in the BASKETBALL hall of fame.

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    Mitch Richmond and Hal Greer are better than Reggie.

  • Da-Meat-Hook

    THERE NEEDS TO BE AN “NBA HALL OF FAME”!!! THAT WAY, ALL-TIME GREATS LIKE BERNARD KING AND ARTIS GILMORE CAN GET THE RECOGNITION THEY DESERVE. I AM SICK AND TIRED OF HEARING ABOUT NOBODIES LIKE “AIR BUD” AND “SLAMDUNK ERNEST” AND THE 1-LEGGED COMEDIC BALLBOY FROM THE CROATIAN NATIONAL BASKETBALL TEAM GETTING ELECTED AHEAD OF ALL-WORLD NBA PLAYERS FOR THE SAKE OF “preserving all areas from the game of basketball”. THIS IS A TRAVESTY AND AN INSULT TO BOTH BERNARD KING AND ALL OF THOSE WHO HAD THE PLEASURE OF WATCHING HIM PLAY!

  • http://www.twitter.com/_dfrance dfrance21

    Well Teen Wolf still hasn’t got in so Bernard is not alone.

  • Da-Meat-Hook

    Teen Wolf had SERIOUS game. Billy Hoyle, too!

  • john

    Reggie I understand, RALPH SAMPSON? Great college player but come on, i agree they need a HOF for college and pro bc this guy dosent deserve it. Why dont we just call TMAC CARTER IVERSON and screw it call Jamison too….. he was good at one point so hes automatically in the hall, SOMEONE CALL SCALABRINE!!!

  • jay

    Reggie was a great 3 pt shooter. Not sure how that qualifies you for the Hall of Fame though.
    .
    No 1st or 2nd Team appearances, no MVPs, no rings. You usually need at least one of those to get in. He was great for about one week a year in the mid 90s. Other than that he was a 19ppg player who couldn’t finish near the rim and refused to play defense. There’s hope for Joe Johnson!

  • T-Money

    reggie is a tricky one. the couple of great games he had at the garden probably put him in the hof as his resume is clearly not deserving. but on the other hand, these games DID happen and he is probably the most recognizable shooting guard after MJ for cats that grew up watching 90s ball. in that sense, he is truly a HOF. kinda like joe namath, good but not great QB who had a profound impact.

  • http://hibachi20.blogspot.com Moose

    Does it make sense for Sampson to get in solely on the basis of a great college career??

  • Heals

    It’s called the Basketball Hall of Fame, not the NBA Hall of Fame. If a guy/lady does something legendary on any level it should be up for consideration. Having said that, Reggie and Ralph shouldn’t be there.

  • shawnkemp4prez

    Ralph Sampson is a legend on the college level, so yes, he deserves his ticket. And have people forgotten that until last season, Reggie Miller was the NBA’s all-time leader in three pointers? And all of his big clutch moments in the league against the best in the game? They did a 30 for 30 about the man on ESPN for goodness sakes, he’s an NBA legend. Of course he deserves to be in the hall

  • http://theurbangriot.com The NUPE

    I’m a bit surprised the Reggie got in as a first ballot guy. He was a great shooter and has a much better than average resume, but I don’t think he’s HOF worthy when looking at his career acomplishments from a team or individual perspective. I’m not sure how influential he was to basketball fans either, I wonder how many kids grew up in the 90′s saying they wanted to be like Reggie Miller. What surprises me most about Ralph Sampson is that he didn’t get inducted sooner. He’s a 3 time national college player of the year, with the way kids have 1 or 2 good years in college and then leave, it’s unlikely that we’ll ever see another player receive this award 3 times (maybe not even twice). Based on awards alone, you can argue that Sampson is the greatest college basketball player of all time. Granted his NBA career wasn’t so great, but since there is only one HOF, he deserves to be in. If they ever seperated college from pro (I hope they don’t), then it’s obvious which one he would go to.

  • Da-Meat-Hook

    @ Heals, I know what it is called, which is why I suggested there be an “NBA Hall of Fame”. Some guy coaches a bunch of foreign kids in a foreign country who end up playing for a C-level local club is great. So are the first, 2nd, and 3rd travelling female basketball teams. Feel good stories? Yes! Transcending time the way Bernard King dropped 44 points while playing with multpile broken fingers on both hands? Doubtful! Like I said, Players like Bernard King, Artis Gilmore, Dennis Johnson IMHO accomplished just as much if not more than L. Margaret Wade(2005), Aleksandr Gomelsky (1995), and Geno Auriemma (2006). I had to Google those names because I have no clue who those people are, but they’re in the HOF.

  • shutup

    I was under the impression this was his first year for nomination, I didnt hear anything about him last year

  • KHALID SALAAM

    People who don’t think Reggie Miller is a worthy HOF addition either don’t watch basketball or don’t like basketball. Those are really the only 2 explanations.

  • Heals

    So are you suggesting that unless it involves an American male, no other type of case should be in the HOF? It’s “foreign” or female so it’s only noteworthy?

  • Wet

    Reggie, wasn’t 1st team. Or voted into all star games because of a guy named Michael Jordan ahead of him. Until last year he was the leading 3 point shooter of all time. Replaced by another future HOF’er. He should have been in the HOF last year.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    the 3pt shot has only been around in the NBA since 1980. Really, leader in 3pt made is not prestigious enough to act like it makes him a HOF’r. And nobody enjoys shooting as much as I do.

  • B

    Wet,
    Reggie was never 2nd Team either. He was 3rd team like three times in 17 years. He’s not a HOF’er. He’s a taller Mark Price. That’s it.

  • http://www.nba.com VanCityBBall

    dont get me wrong im very happy for all of the HOFer’s but BERNARD KING is a name still stuck in my head

  • Dennisthemenace

    I always rooted for Reggie and the Pacers but the man is not a Hall of Famer. He’s just a really good former All Star. Going to be a pretty lame Hall of Fame ceremony. Hopefully Don Nelson will take the stage with a beer in his hand.

  • http://slamonline.com Ugh

    @Da-Meat-Hook – You had to Google those names because you’re ignorant, not because those people weren’t worthy of induction. You don’t know everything worth knowing, you’re just arrogant and uninformed,

  • http://Slamonline.com Datkid

    Reggie miller was the one of the greatest 3 point shooters ever though… A 50-40-90 guy. Everybody else who did that WILL be in the hall of fame. That plus the gold medal, multiple all-star appearances, and the games at the garden put him in there IMO. and the fact that he played w/ MJ excuses him making a 1st team.

  • http://thahiphopcorner.com/forum Kevin

    Ralph Sampson is NOT a Hall Of Famer. He had what? 3 good years as a pro, Bernard King got robbed

  • T-Money

    Khalid: in 17 seasons, 5 asg and three 3rd team all-nba. I would put him in the HOF too but lets not pretend it is because of his game.

  • http://www.basketball-reference.com/about/ws.html nbk

    Kid, Reggie had 1 50-40-90 year.

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    Congrats to these guys… But where the hell is Bernard King?!! He probably deserves it the most out of anyone who made it this year–and that’s no knock on them. Wow.

  • Da-Meat-Hook

    Ugh, how about you put down your Rebecca Lobo jersey down and educate me on how the individuals I mentioned deserve to be recognized more than Bernard . . . how they have done more for the game of basketball and excelled at a greater level against greater talent than those who did it in the NBA (the undisputed #1 basketball league (which includes Euros – shout out to Disco Dirk who IMHO is a first-ballot hall of famer) and would include any woman who could hang)in the basketball universe).

  • Dennisthemenace

    Reggie was a really good player but this is getting ridiculous. Mark Price, Mitch Richmond, Joe Johnson, and Glen Rice are next I guess. HOF is watered down.

  • Dennisthemenace

    ^ throw Rip Hamilton into that list as well.

  • reeld

    @Dennicthemenace NONE OF THOSE GUYS HAD EVEN CLOSE PLAYOFF APPEARANCES OR PLAYOFF NUMBERS TO REGGIE, HIS TRUMPS ALL OF THEM. PPL ARE PAYING TO MUCH ATTENTION TO THE REGULAR SEASON.

  • http://slamonline slams chuck barkley

    Toast a bud light to nellie!

  • …

    Cheryl Miller must have serious connections to have gotten her brother in the hof

  • Dennisthemenace

    Reeid,
    Who knew that 8 seconds could get a guy into the HOF? The nice people of Indiana are the only folks not laughing hysterically at today’s news. I watched his whole career from UCLA to Larry Brown calling the timeout so everyone could applaud him. If he’s a HOF’er then I have a long list of guys who have been shunned.

  • http://slamonline.com tealish

    Mitch Richmond is more talented than Reggie. He can do much more on the court. But you are out of your damn mind if you think he belongs in the Hall over Miller. Iconic moments that stand out in NBA History are actually worth something. If you’re in enough of those iconic moments, you’re likely Hall of Fame material.

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