Excerpt
"I was honored and beyond nervous as I stepped to the induction podium at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in September of 2009. Any previous excitement had long since evaporated as the weight of the task at hand bore down heavily in the minutes leading to my acceptance speech.
Seven months prior I was notified that I was a finalist for induction in February during the 2009 NBA All-Star weekend. It was the first time since my retirement that I had even thought about the honor. Selection for induction was nothing I had shopped for and wasn't a goal of mine, but I had heard the label "Future Hall of Famer" applied to me enough on the heels of our second Olympic gold in 1996 that I wasn't completely shocked to be under consideration."