Hall of Fame

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El próximo mes de mayo Kevin Garnett recibirá el merecido reconocimiento de ingresar en el Salón de la Fama. La larga espera terminará en 15 de Mayo, en el Mohegan Sun Arena de Connecticut y sirviendo de maestro de ceremonias de la ilustre estrella de los Minnesota Timberwolves, otra leyenda de la NBA, Isiah Thomas (miembro del Salón de la Fama desde el año 2000).

Tendrá de compañeros de viaje, a ilustres personajes en la historia de la NBA, como son Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan o Rudy Tomjanovich.

“Siento que he dedicado muchas horas y a superar muchas adversidades para llegar hasta aquí”, dijo el legendario ex jugador de Wolves, en una entrevista concedida a ESPN. “No ha habido excusas, siempre aprendiendo y construyendo. Es la combinación de todo eso. Ser llamado para el Hall of Fame es todo”, añadió.

Todo ello cuando se dio a conocer la gran noticia de que la gran estrella de los Timberwolves de finales del siglo XX y comienzos del siglo XXI, estaría en el lugar que merece.

Si miramos las estadísticas históricas de la franquicia de Minnesota, Garnett está presente en el primer lugar de los más importantes apartados estadísticos, con los Timberwolves.

Disputó con los Timberwolves 970 juegos, para un total de 36189 minutos disputados con Minnesota, logrando un total de 19.201 puntos, 4.216 asistencias y 10.718 rebotes. Siempre siendo el líder histórico de los Lobos, en esas estadísticas, así como en lanzamientos a canasta, canastas anotadas, triples-dobles logrados, tapones y una larga lista de logros, que le han convertido en leyenda de los Timberwolves y de la NBA.

El próximo de mes de mayo, Garnett será honrado por la comunidad de la NBA, de forma merecida, pero también serán honrados de los Lobos de Minnesota, y esa fecha no solo será histórica a nivel particular para Garnett, sino que también será una fecha histórica para los Timberwolves de Minnesota, porque honrar a esta leyenda de Minnesota es también honrar a la organización.

Se acerca el momento, pasará a la historia y será una fecha para la celebración.

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Kevin Garnett Protagonista En El Salón De La Fama

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Photo Gallery | The Trip Of A Lifetime

It’s not quite the same as when you and your buddies went to tour it back in college. That was probably an amazing experience. You took some pictures, posted them on Snapchat and Instagram, and moved on.

It’ll be a memory, but it probably wasn’t the same as when Ron Grass went in September.

Grass operates the game clock at Minnesota Timberwolves home games.

He’s done this for 17 years and he’s met plenty of friends along the way. And it’s obvious why. Grass has a way that he carries himself that is noticeably popular among others. He uses the word “dude” quite frequently. He’s a family man. And he’s a basketball junkie.

One of those friends he met was Dick Bavetta, who was one of the most well-known referees in the league from 1975 to 2014.

Grass, of course, sees lots of referees throughout a regular season. He probably says hi to all of them, but that’s likely the extent of their relationship. So what made Bavetta so significant? Or better yet, why would Bavetta make friends with one of the league’s 30 game clock operators?

Back in 2001 (Grass estimates), Grass had his nephew at the scores table and Bavetta made his way over.

“Dick came over for pregame, just to chat and that stuff,” Grass said. “He latched onto my nephew and grabbed the hat off his head and signed it. My nephew never forgot that.”

“Since then, every time I saw Dick he would ask how my nephew is doing,” Grass said.

That was just the trigger that spurred the friendship between Grass and Bavetta, though. The two would form a friendship over the years. Grass’s nephew is now 24. An adult. But the friendship between the two old guys has never faded. In fact, if anything, it strengthened.

Bavetta reffed 2,635 consecutive games, passing baseball ironman Cal Ripken Jr.

“It really has been a great run,” Bavetta said.

His lifetime work in the NBA, including reffing the 1992 Olympics (the first involving NBA leagues), landed him in the Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA.

So, when Bavetta was inducted and was told he could bring a few guests to accompany him.

One of his invitees? His old pal Ron Grass in Minnesota. Grass was allowed to bring his wife Cindy and when Grass described his experience, he said “like a kid at a candy store” more than a couple of times.  It’s from his voice just how excited he still is from this opportunity.

He and Cindy arrived in Springfield at 2 p.m. They both dashed to the hotel room which was in the same hotel as Bavetta and the rest of the 2015 class of enshrinements, including Dikembi Mutombo and John Calipari.

After changing, Bavetta saw the couple, waived us in.

“We didn’t want to be too much because he’s got family and friends,” Grass said in a typical Minnesota nice fashion, perhaps forgetting that Grass himself lands in that second group.

Immediately they get on the bus before Friday night’s ceremony. Grass’s eyes wonder.

Boom. Hubie Brown. Bob Lanier. Pat Riley.

The bus took the group over to an event before the enshrinement, a three-hour cocktail party.

Grant Hill. Charles Barkley. Artis Gilmore. Bill Walton. Don Nelson.

“Are you kidding me?” Grass thought to himself. For a fan of basketball, a former player, this is a dream come true.

Grass was sure to snap off some pictures (probably not SnapChat or Instagram, though) before the group was paraded from the event to Symphony Hall.

“The road is blocked off and bands are playing,” Grass said. “I told my wife, ‘pinch me. Is this really happening? Are we really doing this thing?’ It was just unbelievable.”

As they entered the hall, everyone was seated before a couple hours of speeches from the enshrinees. After the event, the two hung out for about an hour. Not necessarily waiting for Bavetta to finish, but simply observing him.

“Dick was just in his element,” Grass said. “Right with all of his NBA people that he’s known for 39 years of doing this.”

Afterwards, each enshrinee held their own after party. Calipari’s was held at the actual Hall of Fame, while Bavetta had his at a nearby restaurant. It was a somewhat exclusive party with just around 100 to 125 people showing up. Bavetta received many gifts at the party, including a Cal Ripken Jr. signed ball that said “You are Iron Man.”

Grass connected with Aaron Seehusen, the Timberwolves Public Relations Manager, to brainstorm ideas for an appropriate gift for Bavetta.

“We came up with this idea for a jersey,” Grass said. “So (Seehusen) had his guy make up a Timberwolves jersey with Dick Bavetta’s name on the back and No. 27, which was his reffing number…. It was pretty dang cool.”

The next morning was an autograph day for many of the Hall of Famers and you better believe Grass wasn’t going to miss that opportunity. He got a Hall of Fame basketball signed by them. After the autograph event, they handed out the Hall of Fame rings.

Ron and Cindy got back on the plane. And if he wasn’t afraid of being arrested, Grass would have grabbed the PA microphone and asked people, “What just happened to us?!!!”

“It was awesome, dude,” Grass said, sounding like a 15-year-old after hitting a game-winning shot.

“I can show you pictures. I can tell you stories. But it just won’t do it justice.”

That’s the memory of a lifetime for a lifelong basketball fan. And that’s saying something for someone who is within arm’s length of NBA players 41 nights a year.

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Just Another Trip To The Hall Of Fame...

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