Vince Carter, the eight-time NBA All-Star who is much more than a dunking legend — although he is that, too — as well as the 2008 Olympic gold medal Redeem Team captained by Kobe Bryant, could be headed to the Hall of Fame.
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced its list of candidates for the Class of 2024, and Carter and the Redeem Team top an impressive list. The finalists for the Hall will be announced in Indianapolis during NBA All-Star Weekend, with the class headed to Springfield being named during the Final Four next April in Phoenix.
Here’s a look at some of the nominees for the Class of 2024:
• Vince Carter. The eight-time NBA All-Star and two-time All-NBA player who also has an Olympic gold medal, being the leading scorer on the 2000 USA Basketball team in Sydney. Carter evolved his game from being a 20+ point-a-game scorer early in his career with the Raptors and Nets, to more of a role player with the Grizzlies and Hawks towards the end of his NBA run. He played 22 NBA seasons averaging 16.7 points a game overall.
Carter deserves to be in the Hall for just the greatest Slam Dunk Contest performance in league history.
Half-man, half-amazing. ✈️
— NBA TV (@NBATV) August 25, 2019
Vince Carter's 2000 Dunk Contest win will forever be iconic. #TeamDay | @Raptors pic.twitter.com/tPCLFWZ0gu
• 2008 USA Basketball men’s gold medal team (Redeem Team). The 2004 Olympics were viewed by USA Basketball as a failure: A bronze medal and losses in the tournament to Puerto Rico by 19 points, Lithuania and (a stacked roster and eventual gold medalist) Argentina. USA Basketball was shaken up, with Jerry Colangelo taking over as the director of the program and Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski brought in as coach. They recruited a team for the 2008 Olympics that was a force: Kobe Bryant was the captain, Dwyane Wade was the leading scorer, Jason Kidd, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh among others who fit specific roles on the team such as Michael Redd (shooter) and Tayshaun Prince (defender). That team went on to win the gold and never had a game closer than 11 points.
• Bill Laimbeer. One of the stars of the Bad Boy Detroit Pistons, he was a four-time All-Star and an NBA rebounding champion in 1986 who was ahead of his time with his ability to space the floor as a shooter. He averaged 12.9 points and 9.7 rebounds a game over the course of a 14-year NBA career.
• Mike Fratello. Known to many fans now as the “Czar of the telestrator,” before broadcasting Fratello spent 16 seasons as an NBA head coach with the Hawks, Cavaliers and Grizzlies. He was the 1986 NBA Coach of the Year and had a career 667-548 record (54.9 winning percentage) as a head coach.
Other nominees with NBA ties to the Hall of Fame class of 2024 are:
• Chauncey Billups
• Shawn Marion
• Marques Johnson
• Maurice Lucas
• Michael Cooper
• Andrei Kirilenko (International)
• Juan Carlos Navarro (International)
• Andres Nocioni (International)
• Reggie Theus
• Tom Chambers
• Terry Cummings
• Joey Crawford (referee)
• Rick Barnes (coach)
• John Beilein (coach)
• Rollie Massimino (coach)
• David Blatt (coach, international)
• Ettore Messina (coach, international)
