“I don’t believe in talent,” he said. “I’m here because I worked hard my whole life.

Without that hard work, no one in this room would know who I am, except my family.”

Cheeks, from a previous generation of NBA point guards, grew emotional when talking
about his mother. At one point, he teared up enough that former teammate Julius Erving
stepped over from his presenter’s chair to lend support.

“There was nothing you wouldn’t do for us,” Cheeks said, directly addressing his mother
in the audience. “I love you so, so much, Mama.”

Others talked through tears, too, including early WNBA legend Tina Thompson.
Legendary NCAA coach and raconteur Lefty Dreisell, meanwhile, had fellow Hall of
Famers and audience members wiping away tears with some of the funniest tales, and
delivery of them, of the night.

Repeatedly wondering if he was going over his allotted time, Dreisell preemptively wrote
off any possibly mistakes to the fact he was 86 years old. “When you get old you spend
all your time trying to remember names and going to the bathroom,” he said.

Longtime team and league exec Rick Welts drew laughs a few times too with a speech
written as if a letter addressed to his younger self. Of his early days with the Seattle
SuperSonics when Bill Russell was the team’s coach, Welts warned himself. “ ‘Now,
he’s going to call you ‘white boy down the hall’ a lot,’” he said.

And of his time spent working for, learning from and sometimes being leery of a driven
NBA commissioner David Stern, Welts said: “There are some who would say that
working for him for 17 years and living to tell about it will be your greatest professional
achievement.”

The rest of the night went similarly, with smiles and emotions sharing the spotlight with
kudos and nods to the glittery group of presenters hovering to the inductees right or left,
supportive but silent.

Here is the Class of 2018 and the Hall of Famers they chose as their presenters:

- Nash, a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player (2005, 2006), finished his 19-season
career with Phoenix, Dallas and the Lakers ranked third all-time in assists. The league’s
lifetime leader in free-throw percentage (.904) was presented by legendary NBA coach
Don Nelson, who spends his days in Hawaii and – with his swept-back silver mane and
deep tan – looked like a bass player from a tribute band.

- Kidd was a 10-time All-Star who shared the 1995 Rookie of the Year award with 2018
HOF classmate Grant Hill and helped Dallas win the NBA championship 16 years later.
Second all-time in both assists (12,091) and steals (2,684), the five-time all-NBA first
team selection had his mentor and tormentor Payton present him.
- Grant Hill, despite injuries that kept him from reaching his full potential, still achieved
enough to merit first-ballot inclusion. He was co-Rookie of the Year with Kidd in 1995, a
seven-time All-Star and a three-time winner of the NBA’s Sportsmanship Award. He
also racked up credentials as a two-time NCAA champion with Duke and a gold medal
winner in the 1996 Olympics. Hill was presented by former NBA stars Patrick Ewing,
Alonzo Mourning and Isiah Thomas and his college coach, Mike Krzyzewski.

- Allen won championships with Boston and Miami, hit double digits in All-Star
invitations and retired after 18 seasons as the league’s all-time leader in 3-pointers
taken and made. The former UConn star who played for the Bucks, the Sonics, the
Celtics and the Heat was presented by kindred sharpshooter Reggie Miller.

- Cheeks has been involved in the NBA since 1978 as a player or a coach, beginning
with his work for the Philadelphia 76ers and pivotal role as point guard on the 1983
championship squad. Cheeks, who ranked fifth in steals and assists when he retired
and was a four-time all-Defensive team selection, chose Sixers cohorts Erving and Billy
Cunningham as his presenters.

= Charlie Scott began his pro career in the defunct American Basketball Association
and averaged 34.6 points in two seasons before jumping to the NBA’s Phoenix entry.
The first black scholarship athlete at the University of North Carolina, Scott helped the
Boston Celtics win their 1976 NBA title. Scott chose a hardwood murderer’s row of
hoops legends as his presenters: Erving, Dave Cowens, Larry Brown, James Worthy,
Jerry Colangelo, Roy Williams and Spencer Haywood.

- Katie Smith, one of two selections by the Hall’s women’s committee, was a two-time
WNBA champion with Detroit and the league’s MVP in 2008. Smith ranks as the all-time
leading scorer in the women’s game between her years in the ABL and the WNBA. Her
presenter was Dawn Staley.

- Thompson helped Houston win the WNBA’s first four championship after becoming the
league’s first draft selection ever in 1997. Like Smith, Thompson was named as one of
the WNBA’s Top 20 players when the league commemorated its 20th anniversary in
2016. Thompson’s chosen presenters, Magic Johnson and Cheryl Miller, were unable to
attend.

- Dino Radja became known to NBA fans in four seasons with Boston, but most of his
career and production came overseas, with multiple EuroLeague championships and
MVP honors. Chosen by the international committee, Radja was named as one of
FIBA’s 50 greatest players in 1991. He tabbed Celtics legend Larry Bird to present him.

- Thorn has served the NBA for more than 50 years as a player, coach, team executive
and league official. He spent nearly 17 years as the league’s executive vice president of
basketball operations, between and after stints in Chicago’s and New Jersey’s front
offices. Thorn was presented by fellow West Virginian alumnus Jerry West.
- Welts began his career in the league 40 years ago as a ball boy for Seattle, moved
into a Sonics public relations job, then worked his way up to oversee the Phoenix Suns
(2009-2011) and Golden State Warriors (2011-present). In a leadership role with the
league, Welts developed the marketing campaign for the 1992 “Dream Team.” He
chose Russell, Stern, Lenny Wilkens, Annie Meyers and Russ Granik as his presenters.

- Driesell might best be known for coaching at the University of Maryland, but he
happens to be the only coach in NCAA history to win at least 100 games at four
different schools and one of only 11 to take four schools to the NCAA tournament.
Driesell had coaching peers John Thompson, George Raveling and Krzyzewski present
him.

- Ora Mae Washington, selected by the early African American pioneers committee,
was born in 1898 and, in her prime, was considered one of the greatest female athletes
of her time. In 18 years as a player and coach in Germantown and Philadelphia, her
teams lost just six games – all to men’s teams. Washington, also a nationally ranked
tennis player who was segregated from competing against top white players, died in
1971 and was elected posthumously.

Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his
archive here and follow him on Twitter.
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