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With the support of SuperSonics owner Sam Schulman, who had signed Haywood to a $1.5 million, six-year contract, and a sharp legal team headed by Pete Brown and Al Ross, Haywood sued. But when he tried to play, he was served an injunction just prior to tipoff, and he had to leave the arena. “The P.A. announcer would say to the crowd, ‘We have an illegal player on the Seattle roster,’ and that’s how I was introduced,” Haywood said. “Then I’d have to leave the building after they’d serve me with the injunction. I remember being in Cincinnati, and we were playing the Royals and I stood outside of Cincinnati Gardens in the snow waiting for the game to end so I could rejoin the team. I went through a lot of humiliation.” Las Vegas Review Journal

Hall of Fame, Spencer Haywood 

Yet, the ghosts of the past still seem to cling to Haywood. He said today’s players don’t seem to understand what he did in 1970. “I’m still a pariah,” Haywood said. “I’ll be around Kobe, LeBron, Carmelo (Anthony) at USA Basketball camp and they won’t talk to me. What they don’t know, or want to know, is without me, there’s no them. But they’re in denial.” Las Vegas Review Journal

Hall of Fame, Spencer Haywood 

Marc Berman: Bernard King finally elected to the Hall of Fame, according to source. Deserved it a while ago. Twitter @NYPost_Berman

Hall of Fame, Bernard King 

The announcements will become official Monday at the Final Four in Atlanta. Ironically, King lives in Atlanta and attended the Knicks game Wednesday. King played from 1982-87 with the Knicks and his career was shortened by knee trouble. He was disappointed in recent years about being passed over for the Hall. His name came up this week when Carmelo Anthony nearly acheived his feat of posting back-to-back 50-point games. King did that during the 1984-85 season. King averaged 26.5 points during his Knicks career. New York Post

Hall of Fame, Bernard King 

Spencer Haywood was a star on the court and an even bigger one off it. That will be recognized Monday by the Basketball Hall of Fame, when Haywood is announced for enshrinement. FOXSports Florida

Hall of Fame, Spencer Haywood 

Al Ross, Haywood's agent in the early 1970s when he sued the NBA and won the right by the Supreme Court to enter as an underclassmen out of college, confirmed Haywood's election on Friday to FOX Sports Florida. The forward will be enshrined Sept. 8 in Springfield, Mass. "It's one of the most important things ever (in NBA history),'' Ross said of Haywood's case. "It opened the door for all these superstars like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson to enter the NBA.'' FOXSports Florida

Hall of Fame, Spencer Haywood 

It was decided on March 1, 1971, by a 7-2 vote by the Supreme Court that Haywood was eligible to play. That has paved the way for countless stars to enter the NBA before their college eligibility expired. The attorney representing the NBA in the Haywood case was David Stern. He later became NBA Commissioner and will leave office next February. "Isn't that ironic?'' Ross said of Haywood getting into the Hall of Fame in the last class in which Stern is the commissioner. FOXSports Florida

David Stern, Hall of Fame, Spencer Haywood 

Chris Tomasson: Spencer Haywood is in Atlanta now after flying in from Las Vegas. So one could assume he has made the Hall of Fame. Twitter @christomasson

Hall of Fame, Spencer Haywood 

Ira Winderman: Word has trickled down through the Heat that Tim Hardaway did not get the votes needed for the Hall of Fame. Twitter @IraHeatBeat

Hall of Fame, Tim Hardaway 

Tim Hardaway said he got the news Wednesday, that he had fallen short in the final vote for 2013 induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame. He was disappointed, but hardly crushed. "Because I'm going to the Final Four anyway," the former Miami Heat guard joked Friday. South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Hall of Fame, Tim Hardaway 

"I think you should never anticipate going in unless you're Michael Jordan or John Stockton or Karl Malone or someone like that," he said. "I'm happy for everyone who got in." Among those who formally will be named for induction Monday is Gary Payton, who will become the first former Heat player to be enshrined in Springfield. Payton helped the Heat win the 2006 NBA title, also spending the following season with the team. "I'm happy for Gary," Hardaway said. South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Michael Jordan, Gary Payton, Karl Malone, Hall of Fame, John Stockton, Tim Hardaway 

Win or lose at the Final Four, Louisville coach Rick Pitino will leave Atlanta with a greater legacy than the one he arrived with -- he has won induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, a source told ESPNNewYork.com on Friday. Pitino, 60, will be introduced with the rest of the 2013 Hall of Fame class Monday before a national championship game he hopes to be coaching in. His Cardinals will face Wichita State in Saturday's semifinals, and the winner will face the survivor of the Syracuse-Michigan game that follows. ESPN.com

Coaching, Hall of Fame, Rick Pitino 

Give a big hand to the “The Glove." A source confirmed Thursday that Gary Payton will be named Monday to the Basketball Hall of Fame at the Final Four in Atlanta. The guard had his greatest seasons with the Seattle SuperSonics. However, he won his only NBA title with the Miami Heat in 2006, and could become the first former Heat player in the Hall of Fame at the Sept. 8 induction ceremonies. Former Miami star guard Tim Hardaway also is a finalist this year for election. FOXSports Florida

Gary Payton, Hall of Fame 

Another player with South Florida ties revealed Thursday he did not make the Hall of Fame. Former star guard Mitch Richmond, a native of Fort Lauderdale who was among the 12 finalists, revealed on Twitter, “I just Got some Bad News, i Didnt make the hall of fame. Sad day.’’ FOXSports Florida

Hall of Fame, Mitch Richmond 

Also, a source said Boston Celtics legend Tom Heinsohn, who already is in the Hall of Fame as a player, will not be named Monday as a coach. Heinsohn was trying to join John Wooden, Lenny Wilkens and Bill Sharman as men inducted as both a player and a coach. FOXSports Florida

Hall of Fame, Tom Heinsohn 

Scott Howard-Cooper: Gary Payton very excited yesterday after getting word he had been elected to the Hall of Fame. Official announcement coming Monday. Twitter @SHowardCooper

Gary Payton, Hall of Fame 

Chris Tomasson: Source says Gary Payton will indeed choose John Stockton and George Gervin as his presenters when inducted into the Hall of Fame on Sept. 8 Twitter @christomasson

Gary Payton, Hall of Fame, John Stockton 

Chris Tomasson: Source tells FOX Sports Florida that Tommy Heinsohn, a finalist as a coach, did not make the Hall of Fame. He's already in as a player. Twitter @christomasson

Hall of Fame, Tom Heinsohn 

Two-time Hall of Famer Bill Sharman is auctioning his 2010 Lakers championship ring, with the proceeds going to charity. The Bill's Ring of Hope campaign kicked off Wednesday and will close at 8 a.m. Pacific time on June 7. Tickets cost $2 each with a minimum purchase of five ($10 overall). Tickets can be purchased at www.billsringofhope.com. Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Lakers, Hall of Fame, Bill Sharman 

A fellow NBA coach said George Karl is a no-brainer for the Hall of Fame. "Without question,'' said Brooklyn's P.J. Carlesimo. "Without question.'' Karl is the sixth-winningest coach in NBA history with 1,124 wins and is closing in on fifth-place Phil Jackson, who totaled 1,155. But Karl, like his players, often doesn’t get a national spotlight while toiling in out-of-the-way Denver. “I don’t think he gets enough credit for the numbers he puts up year in and year out and the way he adapts (to different personnel),’’ Carlesimo said of Karl. “I think (the Nuggets are) very good. They’re one of the elite teams in the league.’’ Sulia

Denver Nuggets, George Karl, Coaching, Hall of Fame