Phil Jackson, Steve Francis and Aaron McKie Share Memories of Shaq, Yao and Iverson
2016’s HoF Class is remembered by their closest companions.
What better way to remember this year’s NBA Hall of Fame Class than with memories from their fondest comrades. Shaquille O’Neal, Yao Ming and Allen Iverson steadily provided inspiration along with highlights while on the hardwood, but Phil Jackson, Steve Francis and Aaron McKie all have memories that their fans have yet heard of.
Using The Player’s Tribune as an outlet, Aaron McKie has fond memories of Iverson drawing his teammates as cartoons and slipping the images under their lockers. In addition, McKie shares that Iverson is a true student of the game, more so than what people assumed him to be. McKie states that “He knew that the Lakers were going to use Tyronn Lue to try to shut him down. Allen took exception to that sort of thing. He’d say, ‘You know what? I’m going to destroy this motherf***er.’”
When it comes to Yao Ming, Steve Francis sheds light on his extreme work ethic and humble personality. From being present during the Rockets’ draft lottery selection to rehabbing injuries right with Yao, Francis admit that at times he felt that Yao worked a bit too hard to get better and wanted him to “take it easy.”
Lastly is Phil Jackson. Reminiscing upon the days when he first met Shaq, Jackson noticed O’Neal’s likeness of “entertaining rather than showing off.” In addition, Phil recalls Shaq’s love for learning and his unofficial police work.
Iverson, Yao and O’Neal are the most notable names within 2016’s NBA Hall of Fame class; which former NBA player do you have the fondest memories of?
