The 13 Finalists for the Basketball Hall of Fame have been announced and three former Suns are among them.
In a season full of bad, some good has emerged for the Phoenix Suns. Maybe not the current Suns but for some former ones it couldn’t get much sweeter other than, you know, actually being inducted.
Steve Nash, Jason Kidd and Grant Hill are on the list of nominations to be the newest inductees into the Hall of Fame.
Phoenix Suns
Grant Hill was a prototypical do-it-all swingman, who even though limited by injuries for a large portion of his prime, has a loaded resume which should still be more than enough to get him a nod. He was a back-to-back National Championships and All-American with Duke who went on to win Co-Rookie of the Year. His stay in the league lasted 19 seasons. He was named to All-NBA teams five of his first six years and was selected to participate in seven All-Star games. He had to re-style his game after being bit by the injury bug and even though one could say he didn’t even see his prime due to that, he still managed to finish in the Top-100 all-time in total points scored. He also defied his age for a good run with the Suns.
Jason Kidd was the ultimate defensive, play-making PG. He won Pac10 Freshman of the Year and Pac10 Player of the Year honors in college and shared Co-Rookie of the Year Honors with Grant Hill. Kidd was selected to five All-NBA First Teams, nine All-Defensive teams and 10 All-Star games. He won a title with the Dallas Mavericks and gold medals in the 2000 Syndey Olympics and 2008 Beijing Olympics. JK retired from the league 2nd all-time in total assists and steals as well as ninth in 3-pointers made. Jason transformed the Suns of the late 90s into a perennial playoff squad.
Steve Nash was a pass first PG with a sweet shooting stroke (see four seasons in the 50-40-90 club). He was a 2x WCC Player of the Year who led a memorable upset over #2 seeded University of Arizona in the NCAA Tourney. Nashty was named to seven All-NBA teams and eight All-Star games. Steve also won back-to-back MVP awards, becoming one of only 13 players to win multiple MVPs, and is the only one that has but isn’t yet in the HoF. He helped kick start the development of the sport in Canada, is GM of their National Team, and won a ring as the Golden State Warriors’ Player Development Consultant. Upon retiring from the Association, Nash finished with All-Time ranks of 12th in 3-pointers made, 10th in 3-point percentage, 1st in free throw percentage and 3rd in assists. His 7 Seconds or Less attack helped revolutionize the future of offense in the NBA.
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In order to be inducted nominees must get a minimum of 18 out of 24 votes from the Honors Committee. Inductees will be announced at the Final Four.
Good luck guys!