USA - Olajuwon, Ewing Among 7 Elected To Basketball Hall Of Fame

From www.click2houston.com
Download source here

Houston Rockets legend Hakeem Olajuwon was among the seven elected to basketball's Hall of Fame on Monday, KPRC Local 2 reported.

Olajuwon was drafted with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft in 1984. He played 17 seasons with the Houston Rockets, leading the team to two NBA titles in 1994 and 1995. He was selected as the NBA's Most Valuable Player in 1994 and holds the league record of 3,830 blocked shots. In 1996, the 12-time NBA All Star was named one of the 50 best players in NBA history. He is also an Olympic gold medalist, having won with the 1996 Olympic basketball team.

Patrick Ewing, one of Olajuwon's longtime rivals, was also elected to the Hall of Fame. Ewing was the New York Knicks' center from 1985 to 2000. Ewing had one-year stints with the Seattle Supersonics and Orlando Magic at the end of his playing career. He later became an assistant coach of the Houston Rockets during Jeff Van Gundy's tenure as head coach.

Olajuwon and Ewing also battled each other in the 1984 NCAA championship game. Ewing led the Georgetown Hoyas to victory over the University of Houston Cougars. Olajuwon got revenge in 1994, leading the Rockets to the NBA title in a seven-game series against the Knicks.

The man who led Ewing and the Knicks to the 1994 NBA Finals was also named among the class of 2008. Pat Riley has seven championship rings that he won with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat. He was named one of the Top 10 Coaches of All Time in 1996 and guided his teams to 50 or more wins in 17 of his 22 seasons as a coach, including seven seasons in which his teams won 60 or more games. Riley's playing career started with the San Diego Rockets, the team that later moved to Houston. He played with the Los Angeles Lakers for five years and ended his career with the Phoenix Suns in 1976.

"It's unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable," said Riley.

Six-time NBA All Star and 1976 Olympic gold medallist Adrian Dantley was also elected to the Hall of Fame. Dantley was drafted by the Buffalo Braves in 1976 and was named NBA Rookie of the Year. He was later traded to the Indiana Pacers, where he played 23 games before he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. He was traded to the Utah Jazz before the 1979-1980 season and averaged 26.6 and 30.7 points per game between the 1980-1981 and 1985-1986 seasons. He was traded to the Detroit Pistons in 1986 and later traded to Dallas Mavericks in 1989. He finished his NBA career with the Milwaukee Bucks and played with a team in Milan, Italy, for one summer.

Also among the Class of 2008 are broadcaster Dick Vitale, coach Cathy Rush and Detroit Pistons owner Bill Davidson.

Vitale was overcome with emotion during Monday's announcement and admitted he "cried like a baby" upon learning he was in the Hall of Fame.

"I sit here in awe," Vitale said. "I can't run, can't jump, can't shoot but just have had a tremendous -- I'd like to think -- passion about the game."

It's a passion he shares with every member of the new class, which will be inducted Sept. 5 in Springfield, Mass., home of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.