Nets' Vince Carter, Knicks' Dick Barnett elected to Hall of Fame
Vince Carter (left) and Dick Barnett were elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Credit: Associated Press
On Saturday, Vince Carter was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Carter is part of a class that includes Chauncey Billups and Knicks great Dick Barnett
Barnett spent the last eight seasons of his career with the Knicks and was part of their 1970 and 1973 championship teams. He was an All-Star in 1968 and the Knicks retired his No. 12 jersey in 1990.
Barnett, who later earned his Ph.D at Fordham, becomes the latest member of those Knicks teams enshrined in Springfield along with Walt Frazier, Willis Reed, Bill Bradley and Dave DeBusschere.
Carter made his mark as one of basketball’s greatest dunkers. He left the NBA as the first player to appear in four different decades, including five seasons with the Nets.
Carter joined the Nets during the 2004-05 season after a trade with the Raptors, who drafted him in 1998 with the fifth overall pick. In five seasons, Carter made the All-Star team three times and averaged 23.6 points and 5.8 rebounds in 374 games.
"To get the call on April Fool's Day, I needed a moment just to process it and make sure this was real," Carter said on ESPN after the announcement. "It's a wonderful moment. I have such an appreciation for the Hoop Hall of Fame and obviously it is the elite of the elite in the Hall and I get to be a part of it, it's still so surreal."
This past season, Carter made his debut as an analyst for several Nets games on the YES Network. The full 2024 class will be inducted on Aug. 16-17 in Springfield, Mass.
Nets interim coach Kevin Ollie had many meetings against Carter and the most memorable came in the 2001 playoffs. Ollie and the 76ers defeated Carter and the Raptors in seven games and he praised Carter for the joy he had playing basketball.
“Just the competitive nature that he had, just the innovation he had,” Ollie said this week. “All the different things that he brought to the game. It's just the uniqueness of his God-given talent and him crafting his game and continuing to build those, and to having a Hall-of-Fame career, which is awesome."
Carter played for 22 seasons, an NBA record, and suited up for eight teams. The seven-time All-Star had his greatest impact with the Raptors, where he played seven seasons and helped the franchise establish a foothold after it began play in 1995.
Billups, currently the Trail Blazers coach, played 17 seasons, including 21 games for the Knicks in 2010-11. He helped lead the Pistons to the 2004 championship and was named Finals MVP that season
Billups made five All-Star teams and three All-NBA teams in his career.
Cooper was a five-time NBA champion with the Lakers. He won the 1987 Defensive Player of the Year and is regarded as one of the NBA’s greatest defensive players.
West was already inducted previously as a player but this selection recognizes his work as general manager, which includes overseeing six championships with the Lakers.
The 13-member class also includes players Seimone Augustus, Walter Davis and Michele Timms. The coaches elected include Charles Smith, Harley Redin and Bo Ryan, broadcaster/coach Doug Collins and owner Herb Simon.
Evan Barnes covers the Nets for Newsday. He previously covered Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
