Iverson, Shaq + More Inducted Into NBA Hall Of Fame, Watch Thier Speeches

This Friday evening welcomed 2016's new inductees into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The night was packed with emotional speeches and laughs. The ceremony ran at about three hours and took place at Symphony Hall in Springfield, Massachusetts - the birthplace of Basketball. The first inductee of the night, and the tallest to ever be inducted at 7'6, was Yao Ming who joked that the spot should have been given to Allen Iverson. The smallest of NBA Hall of Fame inductees coincidentally also happened to be a fellow Houston Rocket, 5'9 Calvin Murphy. Ming, who came from China in 2002 to play with the Houston Rockets, thanked teammates, mentors, coaches, and former NBA Commissioner David Stern. Watch Yao Ming's speech here. It goes without saying that Allen Iverson aka The Answer was one of the most amazing players to set foot on the court. His years as a basketball player and the history he made was also honored this evening at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Iverson delivered an emotional speech that tracked his career, the trials and tribulations as well as the triumphs, from being an "OK player" (as he described himself) fresh out of college to the greatness he achieved after taking some (constructive) criticism from his coach Larry Brown. Iverson even shouted out Dave Chappelle. Watch Allen Iverson's speech here and read more on the undeniable legacy of Allen Iverson by reading An Ode To The Answer: How Allen Iverson Impacted Philadelphia + The Worldhere. WNBA star Sheryl Swoopes,  Cumberland Posey, owner Jerry Reinsdorf, coach John McLendon, 27-year NBA referee Darrell Garretson, Zelmo Beaty, and coach Tom Izzo were also among the ten people that were enshrined into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Shaquille O’Neal, whose legacy can be described only as iconic, was also inducted. He closed out the night with the final speech and all though emotional delivered some laughs. O'Neal's career spanned nineteen years and four championship titles, three with the Los Angeles Lakers and one with the Miami Heat. He ranks as the seventh highest scorer in NBA history and won an Olympic gold in 1996. Watch Shaq's speech here.

H/T:ESPN