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Manu Ginobili, Tim Hardaway, Swin Cash and George Karl in the Hall of Fame!

It was the big night for 13 new Hall of Famers. On the Springfield side last night, Manu Ginobili, Tim Hardaway, Swin Cash, George Karl and nine other elected officials had the great honor of joining the Basketball Hall of Fame. Return to an evening full of emotions as usual, with speeches as we like them.

Manu Ginobili

“I’m not here because I was super special. I am here because I was part of two of the most important teams of the 2000s: the Spurs and the Argentine national team. “ Here’s how to summarize Manu Ginobili in one sentence. A humble man who will always be associated with the San Antonio franchise and the Golden generation of the Albiceleste. As Manu himself says, with Tim Duncan alongside him on stage and the duo Gregg Popovich – Tony Parker sitting across from him, he has had two careers in one. One with Spurs where he won four NBA titles and one with Argentina where he won an Olympic gold medal. Two careers necessarily very different in their development, but which each brought to Manu everything he was looking for in basketball: the pleasure of playing, the strong relationships with teammates and coaches, and of course the titles. All this, however, would not have been possible for Gino without his stay in Italy between 1998 and 2002, his first major trip where he grew up, in particular under the orders of Ettore Messina with whom he won the Euroleague with the colors of Bologna. All this would not have been possible without his father, president of the very first club in which Manu played a stone’s throw from his home in Bahía Blanca, nor without his mother, who looked for him at school and then cooked him. at the local gym. So Ginobili obviously did not fail to thank them, closing his magnificent speech in Spanish – and with a few tears – to pay homage to all of his beautiful family. Never change Manu.

Tim Hardaway

When we think of Tim Hardaway, we mostly think of Run-TMC, his killer crossover, or his association with Alonzo Mourning in Miami. But Tim Hardaway is above all a ” Chicago boy “ and his speech breathes the sometimes dark and dangerous streets of the Windy City. It is no coincidence that Isiah Thomas and Yolanda Griffith were on stage with him, along with his former Warriors teammates Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin. The former Bad Boy point guard of the Pistons is also the son of Chitown, just like Yolanda who is one of the best WNBA players in history. These big names have brought inspiration and support to Mister Hardaway on a journey that is not always rosy. Son of divorced parents, Tim was deeply affected by the separation of his parents, he who did not think so at a young age “Couples could break up“. Fortunately, his mother and father have remained very present in his life. His mother to bring him tenderness and support, his father to play the role of protector and guide him on the path of basketball. A path that will lead him to the NBA thanks to the various coaches with whom Tim was able to support from childhood in Chicago until his stay at UTEP university under the orders of the legendary Don Haskins. What followed was an All-Star career that began at the Warriors with manager Don Nelson, “Who lied to all the NBA teams saying they had my knees scrubbed to be able to select me in the draft”. From Golden State to Miami, Tim Hardaway has established himself as one of the best point guards of his generation and above all one of the greatest ankle breakers in NBA history. The Killer Crossover is now officially in the Hall of Fame.

Swin Cash

Swin Cash the insured, “I’m probably one of only three people to have seen Bill Laimbeer shed a tear”. It was 2004 when he suffered a knee ligament rupture while playing for the Detroit Shock and Billou was his coach. One of the very difficult moments in his career, one of the many trials he had to face on and off the pitch to reach the Hall of Fame. As she says on the Springfield stage, being an African American woman in the United States can quickly limit your ambitions, but Swin never wanted to accept certain rules imposed in the society she evolved into. Inspired by her mother Cynthia, Swin Cash has always held her head high, with confidence and character. To prove that she is, we quote, “Perfectly comfortable in my skin and in my body, because it is MY BODY”, a sentence that resounds enormously after the events of last June in the States on the right to abortion. And in all this basketball has often represented the means, the platform, to express oneself and simply to grow. So Swin Cash wanted to thank all those who accompanied him on his journey. His high school coach, who knew how to bring him toughness and work ethic. His college coach, the legendary Geno Auriemma, with whom he won two NCAA titles losing a perfect season (39 wins – 0 losses) in 2002 alongside Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird. He discovered the dream team. About her Her friends Tamika Catchings and Tina Thompson, with whom she won Olympic gold, without forgetting the great Teresa Weatherspoon who today works with her in the organization of the New Orleans Pelicans. Considered one of the greatest WNBA players in history, Swin Cash has won three league titles by participating in four All-Star Games, the kind of resume that’s enough to inspire any girl looking to make a great career in the orange ball world. That’s okay because inspiring future generations is Swintayla’s ultimate mission.

Giorgio Carlo

Player then coach, passed from the famous University of North Carolina, from the American minor leagues, from ABA, from Europe and of course from the NBA, George Karl has had an intense career. So for the Hall of Fame podium thanks in Springfield, the former Sonics coach of the 90s necessarily had a list as long as his arm. On this list, several coaching greats who inspired and guided George on his journey. The legendary Dean Smith (North Carolina), thanks to whom he had “the latest basketball education”, but also the second most successful coach in NBA history and mentor Don Nelson, not forgetting Doug Moe or Del Harris also just back in the Hall of Fame. All of these coaches helped George Karl win 1,175 games during his NBA career (the sixth highest total of all time). As well as his family – always there to support him, especially when he had to fight cancer on several occasions – and the great players he had under his orders, such as a certain Gary Payton, present at his side at the time of his speech tonight . And then there were very unique experiences that helped shape coach George Karl. In particular the one at the CBA (Continental Basketball Association) where he learned “that coaching sometimes required becoming a psychologist”. Or that of Real Madrid, “One of the most important moments” of his life in which one of his players, Fernando Martin, tragically died in a car accident at the age of 27. All these inspirations, all these moments, all this love for basketball ended up bringing George Karl to Springfield. An honor he never imagined when he began a career spanning over three decades on the benches.

But also

And the magnificent tribute to Bill Russell

Manu Ginobili, Tim Hardaway, Swin Cash, George Karl, Lindsay Whalen, Marianne Stanley, Theresa Shank-Grentz, Bob Huggins, Hugh Evans, Lou Hudson, Larry Costello, Del Harris. The Hall of Fame was a dream for them, now it is a reality.

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