Carter, Billups headline Hall of Fame class

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Vince Carter wowed the basketball world with his high-flying dunks for more than two decades. Chauncey Billups was a clutch guard and Finals MVP for the Detroit Pistons.

Two icons from the 2000s era of basketball are headed to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Tears welled in Carter’s eyes multiple times Saturday as he discussed what the honor means to him.

“I think that’s where the emotion comes from,” Carter said. “I have such a great appreciation for what this is and who is in the Hall of Fame. I get a chance to be a part of that. Say what you want, believe what you may, but there were some days I never thought I was on this level.”

Then he grinned.

“But they allowed me in, so I’m going to take it.”

The 13-member class announced Saturday also includes former Lakers, Grizzlies and Warriors executive Jerry West, who has already been inducted as a player and as a member of the 1960 U.S. Olympic team. Also in the class: players Seimone Augustus, Michael Cooper, Walter Davis, Dick Barnett and Michele Timms, coaches Charles Smith, Harley Redin and Bo Ryan, broadcaster/coach Doug Collins and owner Herb Simon.

The 2024 class will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, in August.

Carter, 47, was an eight-time AllStar and the NBA Rookie of the Year in 1999 with the Toronto Raptors. He had the longest career in NBA history, playing 22 seasons for the Raptors, Nets, Mavericks, Grizzlies, Hawks, Magic, Kings and Suns, and finished with 25,728 career points, good for 21st in league history.

Billups, 47, was a five-time All-Star and won an NBA championship with the Detroit Pistons in 2004. He was also the MVP of the Finals that season and is now the coach of the Portland Trail Blazers.

Lakers 116, Cavaliers 97: At Los Angeles, D’Angelo Russell scored 28 points, LeBron James added 24 and Los Angeles extended its winning streak to four, moving into eighth place in the Western Conference.

Anthony Davis added 22 points and 13 rebounds in the Lakers’ (45-33) ninth win in 10 games.