Vince Carter and Chauncey Billups will part of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2024, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
The rest of the 2024 inductees will be announced Saturday night during the NCAA men’s Final Four in Phoenix.
Carter was a standout for three seasons at North Carolina, helping the Tar Heels reach back-to-back Final Fours. He was a first-round draft pick by the Golden State Warriors before being dealt to the Toronto Raptors in 1998.
Known as “Air Canada,” Carter delivered highlight-reel dunks on a regular basis and won the 2000 NBA Slam Dunk Contest with one of the more memorable routines in the event’s history.
Carter was an NBA Rookie of the Year, an eight-time All-Star, and finished with an average of 16.7 points per night in a career that spanned eight teams. Internationally, he helped the United States win gold at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia and the 2003 FIBA Americas Championship.
He is also the only NBA player to ever play in four different decades.
“Mr. Big Shot” gets big honor
Before he earned the nickname “Mr. Big Shot,” Billups excelled at Colorado, earning second-team All-American honors. He was later selected No. 3 overall by the Boston Celtics in the 1997 NBA Draft.
Billups played for the Celtics, Raptors, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Denver Nuggets before signing a five-year, $35 million contract to join the Detroit Pistons in 2002. He quickly settled in and was a pivotal player in guiding the franchise to its third NBA title in 2004, where he was also named NBA Finals MVP.
Billups, who is in his third season as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, would go back to the Nuggets in 2008 before finishing his career with the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Clippers, and a final two seasons with the Pistons.
A five-time All-Star, Billups averaged 15.2 points and 5.4 assists per game in his 1,043-game NBA career. His 89.4 free throw percentage is sixth best in NBA/ABA history. The Pistons and University of Colorado have both retired his number.
Carter and Billups were among 14 finalists for the 2024 Hall of Fame class announced in February. The other North American Committee finalists include Michael Cooper, Walter Davis, Bo Ryan, and Charles Smith; Seimone Augustus and Marian Washington are the Women’s Committee finalists; Dick Barnett and Harley Redin are the Veteran Committee finalists; Michele Timms is the International Committee finalist; and Doug Collins, Herb Simon, and Jerry West are the Contributors Committee finalists.
The 2024 class will be inducted at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. on August 16-17.
Source Agencies
