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Gary Payton, Reinsdorf, Divac nominated for 2013 Naismith class

Gary Payton

Gary Payton among nominees for 2013 Naismith Hall of Fame class

Gary Payton is a among a list of 31 basketball notables to be nominated to enter the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.

Payton, affectionately known as “GP” or “The Glove,” was drafted second overall in the 1990 NBA draft by the Seattle SuperSonics, played 19 seasons in “the association,” was a 9-time NBA All-Star, winning a World Championship with the Miami Heat in 2006. He is considered a shoe-in for this years Hall class, as he should be.

Jerry Reinsdorf, owner of two sports franchises, the Chicago Bulls and Chicago White Sox, was also nominated. Reinsdorf has owned the Bulls since 1985, and enjoyed the fruits that the labor of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and crew brought along with six championships.

Also on the list is Dick Bavetta, 73, who has been officiating the NBA for 38 years without EVER missing a game.

The FULL LIST of nominees includes Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond, Paul Silas, Maurice Cheeks, Rick Pitino, Bernard King, and Cotton Fitzsimmons, just name a few.

Vlade Divac is an International nominee. Former WNBA players Theresa Weatherspoon (now head women’s basketball coach at La Tech) and Dawn Staley are on the Women’s nominee list, and notably, and quite epic if I must say, Paul Robeson is among the list of Early-African American Pioneers.

Finalists will be revealed during NBA All-Star weekend, being held February 15-17, 2013 in Houston, Texas.

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