Dec 15, 2015 SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Basketball players will now be eligible for the Hall of Fame four years after they retire, which creates the potential for Shaquille O'Neal and Yao Ming to headline a powerful class of 2016. This is one of the new rules for the Springfield, Massachusetts, shrine. The previous requirement was that a player be retired for five full seasons. Because of the enshrinement calendar, that meant players would be out of the game for six years before they could be inducted. O'Neal, a four-time NBA champion and one of the game's most dominant centers, and Yao, the No. 1 pick of the 2002 draft whose success was a catalyst for basketball's growth in China, both retired after the 2010-11 season. In other changes, the Hall shut down its ABA committee. Hall chairman Jerry Colangelo said the group has served its purpose. Another change was to allow the women's screening committee to name four finalists instead of two. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame will announce its candidates for next year's enshrinement ceremony next week. Finalists will be announced during the NBA All-Star weekend in February, and the inductees will be unveiled April 4 in Houston on the day of the NCAA championship game. http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/14367832/basketball-hall-fame-cuts-wait-retired-players-4-years
Dec 16, 2015 Webber and Tim Hardaway gonna have to wait another year if Iverson, Shaq and Yao get in this year apparently.
