Spencer Haywood’s long wait is finally over.
and 13-year NBA veteran was voted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Monday, 32 years after retiring from pro basketball.
Haywood, 65, joined former Nugget and legendary center Dikembe Mutombo as one of the 11 members of the Hall’s Class of 2015.
Haywood, a 6-foot-9 former power forward, had the single greatest season in Denver pro basketball history, in 1969-70, when he averaged 30.0 points and 19.5 rebounds per game while leading the Rockets to a Western Division title. Only 20 years old at the time, Haywood was named the ABA’s top rookie and MVP while also earning all-star MVP honors.
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“It began in a cotton field in Silver City, Miss., population 300 people,” Haywood said during the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2015 announcement Monday morning in Indianapolis. “My brothers and I, in between doing farm work, we played basketball in our bare feet. … It was basketball. It was my way out.”
After his lone season with the Rockets, Haywood signed with the NBA’s Seattle SuperSonics, a move that broke the league’s rule requiring players to be four years removed from high school before turning pro. His landmark case against the NBA, Haywood v. National Basketball Association, went all the way to the Supreme Court, which voted in his favor in 1971 and paved the way for high school players and underclassman to enter the league early.
“The NBA brings me in to talk with all of the young players, from LeBron James all the way up to the current guys now,” Haywood said. “And when we talk about it, they don’t remember when you used to have to play for four years before you could come in to the NBA or come in to professional sports. Fortunately for me, I was able to break that rule, and go all the way to the Supreme Court, and it has paved the way for the goodness of this great game. And I just feel overwhelmed by this joy I have here today.”
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Haywood holds ABA single-season records for total minutes played (3,808), field goals made (986) and rebounds (1,637) and is still Denver’s franchise leader (in both the ABA and NBA) for most points in a season, at 2,519. He’s also the franchise’s leader in single-season win shares (17.1) and player efficiency rating (28.0), four points higher than the No. 2 guy, Alex English.
Haywood retired from the NBA in 1983, with 14,592 career points, 7,038 rebounds and an NBA Championship, with the Lakers in 1980.
Mutombo, an eight-time all-star who played with the Nuggets for five seasons after being drafted by Denver in 1991, was one of the league’s greatest defensive centers and ranks No. 2 all-time in career blocks. He led the league in blocked shots for five straight seasons from 1994-98 and was a four-time NBA defensive player of the year.
Mutombo retired in 2009.
Also inducted were 39-year NBA referee Dick Bavetta; three-time college coach of the year and current Kentucky coach, John Calipari; seven-time NBA all-star Jo Jo White; and three-time WNBA MVP Lisa Leslie.
“The Class of 2015 is a group of outstanding individuals who represent many eras and facets of basketball,” Jerry Colangelo, chairman of the Hall of Fame’s Board of Governors, said in a statement. “Their commitment to the game is undeniable and the impact they have had on others is even greater. We are very pleased to honor this remarkable group of inductees.”
They will be inducted into the Hall in a ceremony in Sprinfield, Mass., Sept. 10-12.
Nicki Jhabvala: njhabvala@denverpost.com or
