Iverson, Shaq headline 2016 hall inductees

Some big names, and big men, were announced as the newest members of the Basketball Hall of Fame on Monday.

Yao Ming, at seven-foot-six, one of the tallest players in NBA history and the player who drove the popularity of the sport in China, was enshrined. So was seven-foot-one Shaquille O’Neal, the colourful, quotable and dominant centre who won four NBA titles, in Los Angeles and Miami.

But for all the attention those two have earned, the focus Monday seemed to fall most heavily on a little guy, Allen Iverson, one of the league’s greatest players listed at six feet or under.

Iverson is remembered for almost single-handedly dragging an undermanned Philadelphia 76ers team to the NBA final in 2001, the season in which he won the most valuable player award. The Lakers were widely expected to sweep the series, but Iverson scored 48 points and pushed his team to an overtime victory in Game 1. O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and Co. won the next four games for the Lakers, but Iverson came out of the series with the plaudits.

Iverson will also forever be remembered for a single word: “practice.” After skipping a Sixers practice in 2002, he attended a news conference at which he played down his transgression in a monologue in which he repeated the word more than 20 times.

His tattoos and cornrows were ahead of the curve and alienated some old-school fans. Iverson had troubles with the law and financial problems after retirement. But his following was devoted and celebrated his big day Monday with gusto. In an interview on ESPN on Monday, Iverson came up with what might become another memorable quotation: “I wasn’t a point guard. I was a killer.”

Also inducted Monday were coach Tom Izzo, who has taken Michigan State to seven Final Fours, Houston Comets star Sheryl Swoopes, 1960s and 1970s pro star Zelmo Beaty and longtime Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf.

Coaches Lefty Driesell and Eddie Sutton were among the nominees passed over this year.