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Jordan elected to Hall of Fame

AIR Jordan has a new name: Hall of Famer.

Michael Jordan was elected to the class of 2009 on Monday, set for induction on September 10-12 with his Dream Team teammates David Robinson and John Stockton. Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan and Rutgers women's coach C. Vivian Stringer are also part of a class announced in Detroit.

"I don't like being up here for the Hall of Fame because at that time your basketball career is completely over," Jordan said. "I was hoping this day would be 20 more years, or actually go in when I'm dead and gone."

Jordan's Hall of Fame selection was a slam dunk after he retired as perhaps the greatest player in history. And he gave much of the credit on Monday to his college coach.

"There's no way you guys would have got a chance to see Michael Jordan play without Dean Smith," he said.

His soaring dunks, TV commercials and "Air Jordan" nickname helped stamp him as one the most recognizable athletes around the world. He finished a 15-year career with the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards with 32,292 points - the third-highest total in National Basketball Association history, behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone. His final career average of 30.12 goes down as the best, just ahead of Wilt Chamberlain's 30.07.

Jordan was a five-time NBA MVP and won six championships with the Bulls.

He retired twice during his career. He first came back to the Bulls in 1994 and won three more championships before retiring again in 1998, then had an ill-fated two-year stint with the Washington Wizards before calling it quits for good in 2003. He's now managing partner of the Charlotte Bobcats.

Jordan won two of his titles in the 1990s against Sloan, Stockton and the Jazz. Stockton spent his entire career with Utah and finished with 19,711 points, and holds NBA records with 15,806 assists and 3,265 steals. He also holds NBA records for most assists in a season (1,164 in 1990-91) and highest assist average in a season (14.5 in 1989-90).

"Growing up I never thought about the Hall of Fame," he said. "All I wanted was a chance to go to college."

Utah took Stockton in the first round of the 1984 draft and he became one of the top point guards.

Robinson joined Stockton and Jordan as members of the NBA's 50th anniversary team.

He had a stellar 14-year career with the San Antonio Spurs that included two NBA championships, an MVP season, a rookie of the year award, 10 All-Star selections, a scoring title and two Olympic gold medals. Unlike Jordan's inability to stay home after his final shot in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA finals, Robinson was content to retire after winning a second title with the Spurs in 2003.

Sloan, who did not attend the ceremony, is the longest tenured head coach in major league sports with a single franchise. He is the only NBA coach to win more than 1,000 games with a single team.

Stringer has led three separate schools to the Final Four in her 38-year career and has an 825-280 mark spanning four decades.





 

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