Wow, you know, first of all, thank you for those kind words of mine, thank you. You know, watching that video up there, you know, I tell you,
it's good to be remembered for more than just dragging Jeff Van Gundy around on my leg. You know, sorry about that Jeff.
You know, those Knicks-Heat games got pretty intense back in the day, so. . . First of all, coach Thompson, coach Riley, thank you for presenting me.
I'm gonna get to you all in a minute, you guys mean a lot to me, and I got a lot to say about that. And Jerry Colangelo, the Hall of Fame Committee, thank you for creating this, this amazing atmosphere this weekend, so thank you so much to the committee.
First of all, congratulations to my fellow Hall of Fame Class members. This is the greatest honor possible, you know, to be here with each of you makes it even more special.
And Commissioner Stern, you know, 22 years ago, I never forget walking across that stage, I'm going the NBA draft and having you warmly welcomed me to the NBA.
And now we're going into the Hall together, so thank you Commissioner Stern. You know, the best part and most amazing piece of this incredible journey,
is that I understand the obstacles I had to overcome to get here, which makes it even more rewarding. I am not supposed to be on this stage, you know, considering what life threw at me.
The only reason I'm here, and the only reason I'm on this stage, and the only reason I did survive is because of God's grace. And also other people's contributions. Those individuals and influences in my life gave me the greatest gift possible.
They gave me a piece of themselves to a kid from Virginia. . . They gave a piece of themselves to a kid from Virginia who didn't understand how important selflessness truly was until it saved his life.
