Off the wire
• China's Zhang bemoans nerves after 10m air rifle silver in Rio  • FIFA uphold Real and Atletico Madrid transfer bans  • Wayne Rooney sends good luck message to Britain's Paralympic squad  • China's Jia sets 100m backstroke S6 world record in Rio  • Cort Nielson sprints to victory in Vuelta stage 18  • Urgent: U.S. launches first mission to collect asteroid samples  • Brazil's Supreme Court denies Rousseff request for Temer to remain as interim president  • Argentine, Brazilian industrialists stress tie with China  • Ford recalls 1.5 million vehicles due to door problems  • UN chief welcomes peacekeeping pledges on rapid deployment  
You are here: 　 Home

Yao Ming and Class of 2016 receive Hall of Fame jackets

Xinhua, September 9, 2016 Adjust font size:

Chinese basketball star Yao Ming and his Class of 2016 Hall of Famers were enshrined Thursday with inductee jackets for the upcoming Enshrinement Ceremony here.

The Class of 2016 will be one of the most memorable to date in the Basketball Hall of Fame history with the orange jackets and they will be honored with unique Hall of Fame rings for the first time on Friday's gala.

This year's class includes 27-year NBA referee Darell Garretson, 11-time NBA All-Star Allen Iverson, two-time NABC Coach of the Year Tom Izzo, the first African-American coach in a professional league John McLendon, three-time NBA Finals MVP Shaquille O'Neal and four-time WNBA champion Sheryl Swoopes.

Distinguished committee also selected global ambassador of the game Yao Ming, Chicago Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf, early African American pioneer Cumberland Posey and ABA superstar Zelmo Beaty.

Jerry Colangelo, USA Basketball Director, was presented with the first-ever orange Hall of Fame jacket, which was designed by Haggar, at the press conference.

"I've gone through the whole process of choosing the color. I thought of golf. I think we have specific color for sport. Orange fits perfectly for basketball," Colangelo said.

Yao, the 7-foot-6-inch center of the Houston Rockets, was the last to receive the jacket.

"When I walked into the hall, I felt so small," Yao said. "Look at the pictures above us. I wonder how many stories behind these pictures. Now I'm one of them. I just want to thank everyone."

The 2016 Enshrinement Ceremony will be held at the Symphony Hall in Springfield on Friday night. Endit