What goes into being elected into the Naismith Hall of Fame? - The Boston Globe (2024)

That leads to the question of what made Davis a more viable candidate following his death than, say, five years ago?

“Walter had been considered a couple of times before,” Hall of Fame president and CEO John Doleva told the Globe. “His daughter [Laird] was there to represent him [during the announcement]. They were thrilled as a family, I can say that. There wasn’t any remorse or anything they would say about the Hall of Fame.

“What they’re really happy about is his career is going to be recognized and immortalized in the Hall of Fame. That’s what they really saw the value at and, of course, they wish their dad was there for that. It just didn’t happen.”

First, the voting committee is separated into categories, such as North American, Women’s, Women’s Veteran, Men’s Veteran, International, and Contributor.

Second, former players can be inducted as contributors, such as Doug Collins this year because of his playing, coaching, and broadcasting résumé. There have been misunderstandings when former players or coaches without standout statistics were inducted, such as Satch Sanders, Del Harris, or Rebecca Lobo.

Finally, former NBA players not born in the United States are also eligible for the International category because their overseas experiences — professional and amateur — are considered. Players such as Dino Radja, Vlade Divac, and Toni Kukoc are in this classification.

“We don’t manage the number of people that can go in,” Doleva said. “We have the process of the first hurdle, which is the screening committees. They’re being selective at that first level because their charge is, ‘Is this person worthy of being elected to the Hall of Fame?’ Those that are sent on, that group feels everybody they put forth should be elected to the Hall of Fame.”

After the initial group is suggested, another “Honors” committee examines that list; this group is not mandated to select a certain number of candidates.

The voting members are an anonymous group and the Hall plans to keep it that way. Voting is not made public and media members — unless named to the anonymous group that includes former players, coaches. and executives — are not part of the process.

“There’s not been any breach of confidentiality and their reason for confidentiality is to allow the voters to speak freely about the candidates,” Doleva said. “So if Mr. Smith votes and people know Mr. Smith is voting and your candidate didn’t get in, whether Mr. Smith voted yes or no, you’re calling him and asking, ‘Why isn’t he in?’ It puts that extra level of pressure and accountability on them publicly and what that means is eventually I’m not going to have voters for the Hall of Fame because people are going to say, ‘I don’t want to be outed like that because I voted with my heart and my head.’ ”

The Hall also shortened the waiting period from five years to three years after retirement.

“It’s all a matter of timing,” Doleva said. “If it’s not a high-level NBA player, it might be a high-level NBA coach or college coach. It might be a contributor who’s done something for the game. It might be someone from the International group or Women’s game. I’ve been doing this a long time and I don’t say we have high or low years. I’m always satisfied and quite surprised we always seem to have a good, high-level class of people that tell the story of the game of basketball.”

There has been a growing perception that several borderline Hall of Famers have been inducted, prompting criticism from those who have been passed over. Players such as Cooper, who never made an All-Star team, or Mitch Richmond, Tim Hardaway, Bobby Jones, Chris Webber, and Maurice Cheeks are recent inductees whose credentials have been scrutinized.

“We get some criticism because, ‘Aww, you’re letting too many people in,’” Doleva said. “But our classes are a bit of a celebration, if we don’t have a LeBron James name, we have a celebration of the entire game.”

ROUGH START

Reflections from Mr. Big Shot

Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups’s first game after being elected to the Hall of Fame was in Boston, the team that drafted him third overall in 1997. Billups played just 51 games for the Celtics before Rick Pitino traded him to Toronto in a deal that brought Kenny Anderson.

Billups eventually became a seven-time All-Star, NBA Finals MVP, and the unquestioned leader of some stellar Pistons teams in the 2000s.

Pitino has told the Globe over the years that he regrets making that deal, especially since Billups turned into one of the league’s top guards. Billups was 20 when he arrived in Boston and said he understood he wasn’t mature enough or skilled enough to help a team win immediately.

The Celtics were desperate for relevance and Billups wasn’t part of the short-term plan.

“I was so excited to get drafted here, the rich tradition and history and all the great players that played here, I was just so excited,” he said. “At that time Rick was coming here and the way [Kentucky] played in college kind of suited my game. They went up and down, played defense, shot threes. I just thought it was going to be perfect.

“It wasn’t. But it was nobody’s fault. I just didn’t have time to be that guy. It just took time. One of the things I’m most proud of is if I look back and say ‘Dang, what would I tell myself and what would I do differently?’ To be honest it’s probably nothing because I worked my butt off. It’s not that I said could have worked harder. I did.”

Billups would play just 29 games with the Raptors before he was traded to his hometown Nuggets. He played 58 games in Denver before signing with the Timberwolves as a free agent. Two years later, he signed with Detroit, a decision that changed the trajectory of his career.

“I’m grateful for the struggles I had early,” he said. “I thought it made me so much better in my prime and the rest of my career, and now being able to help [Portland’s young players] and other people around the league that come to me for advice and things. Had I not gone through that, then who knows? Everything happens that was supposed to, I always believe that.”

Billups averaged 15.2 points and 5.4 assists over his career. And he was considered one of the bigger shot-makers of his generation. There has been increased appreciation for his contributions as observers have had a chance to reflect on his career. Billups waited six years to reach this seminal moment, but he has no issue.

“I’ve always been pretty patient, that’s a characteristic that I get from my father,” Billups said. “I’ve always known there’s a due process that needs to happen too. I come from that oven generation, not that microwave generation. You’ve got to let it cook for a while and just see. That’s always been a good thing of mine but I always thought I could do anything if given the time. Sometimes in this sport, you don’t get the time to mature. There’s different pressures everywhere and you don’t get the opportunity sometimes.”

Billups is in his third season with the Trail Blazers, who are in a rebuild after trading Damian Lillard to the Bucks last summer.

“Look at what I’m doing now in my current job, my current situation, I’ve been surprised how patient I’ve been, it’s grown even more,” Billups said. “This has been a real challenge. But like my playing career, it’s going to end up the same way. I’m going to win. I believe that. I believe that 100 percent.”

ETC.

Whistles seem to have been put away

Dozens of NBA coaches and players have noted the officiating has changed dramatically since the All-Star break. Games that used to be filled with whistles, ticky-tack calls, and official reviews are moving along quickly, quietly, and with less interference.

The prime example was the Celtics’ April 9 game against the Bucks. Although two high-level and physical teams played hard for 48 minutes, just two free throws were attempted, by Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The Celtics became the first NBA team to finish a game with zero free throws attempted. The Celtics attempted to pass it off as an aberration, but reduced foul calls and increased physical play could be a staple as the postseason begins.

“Just coming out of two days of meetings with our teams, our teams are very happy with the state of the game, as am I. I think we’re seeing fantastic competition on the court,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said.

“[The Celtics-Bucks game was] obviously an anomaly. But when you look at the data for the season, it’s true as the season went on, foul calls came down. Roughly two fouls per team per game.

“As we’ve said now along the way [the NBA operations staff] are constantly meeting with the competition committee. I participate in that meeting, and we get feedback from our teams and we calibrate as we go in terms of how people view the game.”

The first half of the season was filled with high-scoring games and stellar individual performances, and the perception that the NBA favors offense became a reality. Silver wants to change that belief.

“I think there was a sense earlier in the season that there was too much of an advantage for the offensive players, whether — I think Steve Kerr said offensive players were using themselves as projectiles or hunting for fouls,” Silver said. “So that was a point of emphasis on behalf of the league. We were transparent with our teams about that.

“Everyone can see what’s happening on the floor and make their own judgments about the calls being made. So, yes, there was a bit of an adjustment made along the way. But, again, the context is two fouls per team per game, and the end result, most importantly, we think is a better game. It’s all about competition.”

The playoffs are usually more physical and intense than the regular season and it will be fascinating to see how this adjusted officiating will affect offensively gifted teams such as the Celtics.

“I think that if you look now at sort of what we’re hearing from our fans, I think the fans want to see great offense, but they want players to be allowed to play defense, as well, and I think that’s what we’re seeing,” Silver said. “So I’m very happy with the state of the game, and my expectation is as we move into the playoffs, we’re going to continue to see great competition.”

League starts to consider expansion

Silver has maintained the league will begin the process of expansion once it signs a new television contract, and negotiations are expected to be tough with expanded interest from several outlets. Once that is completed, Seattle is expected to get the first opportunity for an expansion team, according to industry sources. Silver is still vague about the prospects.

“We haven’t set that process yet, but just based on historical precedent, generally we formed a committee of our governors,” he said. “Often, it’s either an expansion committee or sometimes an existing committee takes jurisdiction of the process. But one of our goals is to be very clear and transparent, because we’ve received inquiries from many different potential buyers in many different cities. I just want to make sure everyone feels fairly treated here. It’s why I’ve gone out of my way, when I’m asked, to say this is only on one track.”

Las Vegas, Kansas City, and Louisville are among other cities interested in a team. Las Vegas is a prime candidate because of the success of the Aces, Golden Knights, and Raiders. If the NBA adds Las Vegas and Seattle, at least one Western Conference team is expected to move to the East. The most likely candidates are Memphis and New Orleans.

“There aren’t private conversations happening right now,” Silver said. “No one has an inside track to getting a deal done, that at the time we will, with our committee, look at the cities that are interested, talk to the groups that are interested, and then go from there.

“But we’ve really drawn a bright line here to say to potentially interested parties, ‘Thank you, but we’re not ready to start that process yet.’ We do think it’s important that we finish this set of media deals, in part so that any possible potential buyer, and we understand what the economics are so nobody is guessing as to what — and media is our most important form of revenue, so that will be known as we’re assessing what the value is of a potential expansion team.”

Layups

The ownership situation with the Timberwolves remains in limbo as a group led by former Major League Baseball star Alex Rodriguez claims current owner Glen Taylor reneged on an agreement to sell the team. Taylor, who has taken the team off the market, claimed the Rodriguez group didn’t meet agreed-upon criteria and he decided to keep the team. Rodriguez claims Taylor had seller’s remorse and never intended to sell. So the matter is expected to go to court. Taylor has claimed the Rodriguez group was going to slash payroll, meaning trading top players, and Taylor believes the Timberwolves’ championship window is now . . . A couple of recent home wins ensured the Wizards won’t the worst home record in NBA history. The 1993-94 Mavericks were 6-35 at Reunion Arena and the Wizards picked up their seventh home win April 2 against the Bucks. The club is expected to begin an extensive coaching search following the season after Wesley Unseld stepped down and accepted a front office role and was replaced by Winchester native Brian Keefe on an interim basis. A familiar group of quality assistants, such as the Celtics’ Charles Lee, Miami’s Chris Quinn, and Sacramento’s Jordi Fernandez, are expected to be candidates. The Wizards rattled their loyal fans with a plan to move the team (along with the NHL’s Capitals) to Northern Virginia, but that plan has been scrapped and the Wizards will stay in downtown D.C. until at least 2050. Charlotte also has a coaching vacancy . . . The Nets, who are being led by former UConn coach Kevin Ollie, could also be in search of a new coach. The Nets are 11-15 under Ollie, who replaced Jacque Vaughn . . . The NBA got exactly what it wanted for the final day of the regular season: major intrigue for playoff seedings. Of the 15 games Sunday, 13 could have playoff implications. The NBA arranged that every Eastern Conference team besides the Pistons, who are out of playoff contention, plays at 1 p.m. while all the Western Conference teams play at 3:30, so no team has an advantage heading into these key games. This was the primary goal when Silver helped devise the Play-In Tournament system, which allows 20 teams to occupy playoff spots.

Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at gary.washburn@globe.com. Follow him @GwashburnGlobe.