MIAMI — It took a while, but former Miami Heat point guard Tim Hardaway will finally get his Hall of Fame moment.
Hardaway will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as member of the 2022 class, a source confirmed to the Miami Herald. The full 2022 Hall of Fame class is set to be announced on Saturday at the NCAA Men’s Final Four.
Hardaway, 55, had to wait longer than many expected to be voted in despite being named a finalist on past ballots, in part because of anti-gay comments he made on Dan Le Batard’s Miami radio show more than a decade ago. Hardaway has since become a gay rights activist and expressed remorse for his comments.
During Hardaway’s 13 NBA seasons, he was selected for the All-Star Game five times and earned All-NBA honors five times. He spent six seasons in Miami from 1996-2001 and teamed up with Alonzo Mourning to make the Heat a consistent playoff team, averaging 17.3 points while shooting 41% from the field and 35.6% from 3-point range, 7.8 assists and 1.5 steals 367 regular-season games.
Among the Heat’s all-time leaders, Hardaway ranks first in 3-pointers made (806), second in assists (2,867), sixth in steals (541), and ninth in points (6,335) and field goals made (2,252).
Hardaway’s son, Tim Hardaway Jr., plays for the Dallas Mavericks.
When asked about Hardaway’s Hall of Fame chances during All-Star Weekend in February, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra expressed optimism that he would get in.
“I am hopeful,” Spoelstra said. “He has been knocking on the door a few times and I think TMC is being recognized. But Timmy had a Hall of Fame career over the course of his entire career. [Golden State’s] TMC teams were must-see NBA TV and he was a major part of that. Then with us, he really put the Miami Heat, along with Pat [Riley] and Alonzo, on the map and changed the culture.”
Already enshrined in the Hall of Fame for careers that included time with the Heat are Chris Bosh Ray Allen, Mourning, Shaquille O’Neal, Gary Payton, and Riley. Former Heat assistant coach Bob McAdoo is also in the Hall, with Hardaway formally joining that list this year.
Hardaway already had his jersey retired by the Heat. Bosh, Dwyane Wade, O’Neal, Mourning, and Hardaway are the five Heat players who have had their jerseys retired by the organization.
With Hardaway on his way to the Hall of Fame, Wade will be the only one on that list who has not yet been inducted. Wade is eligible to enter the Hall of Fame in 2023 — four full seasons into retirement — and he’s expected to be a first-ballot inductee.
The Class of 2022 will be enshrined during festivities in Springfield, Mass., in September. Along with Hardaway, former San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, former NBA coach George Karl, college basketball coach Bob Huggins and former WNBA star Swin Cash are among those who will also reportedly be part of this year’s Hall of Fame class.
