WATCH: Webber, Adelman & Griffith Deliver Hall Of Fame Speeches
Sep 13, 2021, 9:48 AM | Updated: 9:48 am
(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Sacramento basketball legends were celebrated over the weekend as they were inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Three of Sacramento’s greatest athletes became members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame over the weekend in Springfield, Massachusetts on Saturday in what was an emotional day for basketball fans around the world.
Former Sacramento Kings All-Star forward Chris Webber, legendary head coach Rick Adelman and former WNBA MVP Yolanda Griffith were all inducted into the Hall of Fame together–a fitting way for three of Sacramento’s basketball icons to achieve basketball immortality.
“I just want to talk a little bit about God’s grace. I want to talk about the fact that God has to lead you,” Webber said on Saturday. “You’re not always supposed to know where you are going or how good it’s going to be when you come out on the other side. It’s about trusting him, trusting God, trusting the process.
“Sacramento, my faith will forever be strong, because God gave me you.”
Over 15 years in the NBA, the five-time All-Star averaged 20.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. Webber was a force for years while acting as the franchise player for a Kings team that made the postseason in each of his seven seasons in a Sacramento uniform.
Webber played all of his seasons in Sacramento under fellow 2021 Hall of Fame inductee Rick Adelman, whom also showed plenty of love and admiration for those exciting early 2000’s Kings teams.
“We had Vlade. We had Chris. Players like Peja Stojakovic, who’s here today. Mike Bibby, Doug Christie, who’s here today. Bobby Jackson, who’s here today. Brad Miller,” Adelman said on Saturday of his former players in attendance.
“We also had Jason Williams, who’s here today. What a great group.”
Adelman is ninth on the NBA’s All-Time wins list by head coaches, holding a win/loss record of 1,042-749 over 23 seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves.
Rounding out the trio of Sacramento’s newest members of the Hall of Fame was Monarchs legend Yolanda Griffith, a decorated member of the 2005 championship team and two-time Olympic Gold medalist.
Griffith was a seven-time WNBA All-Star, 2005 WNBA Champion, WNBA MVP and two-time gold medalist with the United States women’s national basketball team during the 2000 and 2004 Olympic games.
