Spike Lee’s 1st trip, Michael Jordan’s welcome to newcomers and more from basketball Hall of Fame

AP Basketball Writer

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) — Spike Lee got a photo with Larry Bird and a technical foul from a Hall of Fame referee.

Not a bad first trip to basketball’s birthplace to pick up an honor he didn’t know existed.

The film maker was added to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s superfans gallery. He had been to baseball’s Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, and loaned some items to basketball’s, but never made his way to it until being told he was being honored for his passion for his New York Knicks.

“Here’s the thing, though. I didn’t even know this thing existed,” Lee said. “So it was a complete shock when I got the phone call.”

Lee joined Jack Nicholson, Philadelphia businessman Alan Horwitz and Billy Crystal in this year’s additions. During a ceremony a few hours before the 2024 class was enshrined, Crystal, a Clippers fan, told Lee that he’s already in a Hall of Fame.

“I’m in Cooperstown, too, you know. They put my movie in the film archive, ‘61(asterisk),’” Crystal said, referring to the film he directed about the 1961 home run chase between the Yankees’ Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle.

Dressed in Knicks-colored orange throughout the weekend and telling anyone who would listen that this is their year, Lee said he enjoyed getting to interact with people he has been talking to for so long from his front-row seat at Madison Square Garden.

“I got to take a picture with Larry Bird, standing between Larry and Artis Gilmore,” Lee said. “I got into a fake argument with Dick Bavetta. He called a ‘T’ on me and pulled a whistle out of his pocket and blew it. Dick Bavetta and I go way, way back. He’s from Brooklyn, too, so we got that love, but it was just great seeing all these guys. I see them in action sitting courtside.”

Michael Memories

Vince Carter was in a room full of Hall of Famers when he came upon one dressed in what appeared to be the familiar shade of Tar Heel blue.

“Congratulations, dog!” Michael Jordan said, standing up to shake hands Saturday night before asking Carter how he was doing as they embraced.

Carter then introduced his family to Jordan, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame 15 years earlier.

Carter drew comparisons to Jordan early his career. He had also played at North Carolina, won a Slam Dunk Contest and quickly became a nightly producer of NBA highlights and a perennial All-Star. It was during one of those All-Star games, in 2003, when Carter gave his Eastern Conference starting spot to Jordan, so the six-time champion could start in his final All-Star Game.

Jordan also had a warm embrace for Doug Collins, who coached him in both Chicago and Washington.

“I know he told you a bunch of lies!” Jordan told the group around them, while patting Collins’ stomach.

Actually, the story Collins told about Jordan during his induction speech appears to check out.

It was his first game coaching the Bulls. Collins said he had been nervously chewing gum while his team played the New York Knicks and when he called a late timeout, it was smeared around his lips.

“I was soaking wet with sweat and I had a headache and I started to look up and I saw this Black hand reach out like this,” Collins said, imitating Jordan reaching forward. “He said, ‘Coach, take a drink of that water, clean that (stuff) off your mouth. I’m not going to let you lose your first game.’”

Collins said the Bulls did win and Jordan scored 50. And indeed, Chicago beat New York 108-103 on Nov. 1, 1986, behind 50 points from Jordan.

Story Time

Collins was about 25 minutes into a speech that would last nearly a half hour when he mentioned the importance of story telling when broadcasting games. That was advice Dick Ebersol gave him when he joined NBC.

Collins sure told a lot of stories.

He had a lot to cover while being inducted as a contributor, from his four All-Star appearances as a player with the 76ers, his memories of playing in the U.S. loss in the controversial 1972 Olympic gold-medal game, his two coaching stints and his time on television.

But he had gone on long enough for event organizers. A clock inside Symphony Hall read: 0:00 WRAP NOW!!!

Collins said felt like former North Carolina State coach Jim Valvano, who during his famous ESPY’s speech as he was dying of cancer refused to be rushed off stage.

“Do I care about that red light? Are you kidding?” Collins said.

When he finally finished, he was followed by former Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan, who immediately made clear he would be no Collins.

“I’m not a story teller,” he began. “I have former players back there that are doing the over/under on how many minutes I’m going to take.”

Wow, WNBA

Michele Timms played in the WNBA’s inaugural season, one of the original players picked by the Phoenix Mercury. That’s all the way back in 1997, so of course the game looks different now.

But she’s blown away by just how different.

“Wow,” the Australian said. “Proud.”

Attendance was up nearly 44% from last season, with 37 WNBA games in the regular season drawing crowds of at least 16,000. Six different league television partners set viewership records this year for its highest-viewed WNBA game.

Much of that was due to the popularity of Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark. Timms, who cheers for her Mercury and supports the New York Liberty, coached by friend Sandy Brondello, is a fan.

“I mean, you can’t talk about the WNBA unless you talk about Caitlin Clark and she is absolutely phenomenal,” Timms said. “I mean, I’m a Phoenix girl and I love Phoenix and I love New York — well, not love them, I like New York — but I’ve watched every single Indiana game this season and it’s just an exciting time in women’s basketball and it’s grown and evolved since my time.”

The Liberty and Minnesota Lynx are tied 1-1 in the WNBA Finals. Seimone Augustus helped the Lynx win four championships while playing from 2006-20. She sees the growth since then, the future teams arriving in Golden State, Portland and Toronto, and said she couldn’t ask for much more that what the league has become.

“To be honest, they’ve checked off a lot of stuff that I wished I had when I was playing. Obviously charter flights, increase in pay, taking care of the mothers in our league,” Augustus said.

“So I mean, just continuing to head in the direction and put these young ladies in places that we haven’t been and be able to use their voices in ways that we have never been able to.”

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