Finally, a wrong has been righted — this weekend Spencer Haywood enters the Hall of Fame.
Why it’s overdue you see in the video above.
Haywood was a phenomenal player. He averaged 20.3 points and 10.3 rebounds a game over his career, was a five-time All-Star, the ABA’s MVP in 1970, and he has both an Olympic gold medal and an NBA ring (1980 Lakers). But that’s not the biggest impact he had on the game.
It was Haywood who sued the NBA to allow players to leave college early to enter the league. The went all the way to the Supreme Court, which sided 7-2 with Haywood. He paved the way for everyone, including Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, to enter early.
Here’s the NBA’s tribute video: