[Congrats to Gary Payton - word just broke that he's officially been elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame. We will have more on GP and his ascension to Springfield in the coming days. In the meantime, check out this post we put together when it was first announced that he was on this year's ballot.]

With the announcement that Gary Payton will be on his first Hall of Fame ballot this spring, it started the reminiscing for me. As a kid growing up in the Northwest, the Sonics during the Shawn Kemp/GP/George Karl era were my favorites for reasons I couldn’t have detailed at the time. But they played fast, Kemp was like a video game character come to life and Payton carried an attitude that was unmistakable, even at age 8. Having been too young to remember the Portland Trail Blazers’ glory years and NBA Finals runs, the Sonics ran the Northwest as far as I was concerned. Payton was their ring leader, and it’s obvious why. Read More »

First-time nominees for the 2013 Hall of Fame were revealed today by NBA.com, a list that includes just one big name but many more, lower-profile influencers on the game as it’s played today. Gary Payton is the headliner on this ballot, though this is just one step to join the Hall, whose results will be revealed at the NCAA Final Four in April. Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf, Trail Blazers founder Harry Glickman, longtime coach Del Harris and Vlade Divac, among others, are some of the nominees. Read More »

Reggie Miller waited patiently, but now is in. Nellie, too. Jamaal Wilkes and even Nike’s Phil Knight are alongside them.

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced its 2012 class of inductees today at an event in New Orleans and 11 individuals and one team made the cut. The well-known inductees are Miller, Ralph Sampson, Wilkes, Don Nelson and Chet Walker, the seven-time All-Star for 76ers. Read More »

Everyone has at least one NBA logo hat in their collection, but what about one with the logo flipped? Los Angeles boutique Hall of Fame has teamed up once again with Mitchell & Ness to release five snapbacks featuring upside-down logos from the ’90s for the Hornets, Lakers, Heat, Spurs and Mavericks. Check ‘em out: Read More »

While we might’ve seen this coming – the end of the road for Yao Ming – we weren’t ready for it just yet. Now the next phase in Yao’s life has all but begun. Gone will be the 20/10 nights. Gone will be the All-Star games. And gone will be any chance at a championship.

The focus has shifted to his place in history. Is he a Hall of Fame player? Some say he didn’t do enough on the court, and that should be the only thing that matters. Others say his overall impact was greater than probably half of the players already elected into the Hall of Fame. Read More »

“I grew up and wanted to go to Carolina to play basketball, but then I woke up and went to Wake Forest,” said Chris Paul at the NBA Store yesterday as he made an appearance to promote his new children’s book, “Long Shot: Never Too Small to Dream Big.” Growing up in North Carolina, every kid wanted to go to UNC for of one reason, and one reason only: Michael Jordan. Yesterday, CP3 was taken aback as he was presented with a gift honoring his childhood hero. Read More »

After the Hall of Fame festivities ten days ago, reader J.Tobias hit us up wanting to share his personal HOF experience. While the majority of the world was watching from home, J actually made it to Springfield. Here is his story: Read More »

We guess Bryon Russell had to do something save face after getting the business from MJ in his speech on Friday night:

Young, angry MJ would carve you up.

Tomorrow, the national sports media will be all about all things Michael Jordan (come here for our own special coverage – not only will we be at the ceremony, but we will also be rolling out our own unique MJ content that will be different from the same stuff you can get at every other outlet). And with good reason.

And you can bet that 99.9% of all coverage will be of the loving/adoring/fawning variety, with lots and lots of video montages of Mike exacting his wrath on legions of NBA opponents. But not everyone will be up for blindly celebrating MJ and his legacy, Read More »