A pair of point guards who set the standard at their position for more than a decade are among the nominees for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's Class of 2018.
MORE: NBA All-Star voting 2018 is now LIVE on NBA App and NBA.com
Steve Nash and Jason Kidd join Ray Allen, Grant Hill and Chauncey Billups in a group of first-time nominees who came on the NBA scene in the mid-to-late 1990s and excelled through the next decade.
Nash started his career as Kidd's backup in Phoenix before both moved on to careers that also included lengthy stints in Dallas for each. Nash ended up winning a pair of NBA MVP awards, while Kidd was a 10-time All-Star. Allen matched Kidd's All-Star total while Hill and Billups also earned multiple All-NBA team honors.
Other first-timers on the ballot for next year include longtime college coaches Bob Huggins and Steve Fisher and man with whom those two had plenty of disagreements: legendary NCAA referee Ed Hightower. On the women's side, Katie Smith, Tina Thompson, Becky Hammon and Valerie Still are the first-timers on the ballot.
The list of candidates was announced Friday (AEDT), the 126th anniversary of Dr. James Naismith inventing the game in a Springfield, Mass., gymnasium. Finalists for the Class of 2018 will be announced during NBA All-Star weekend in February and the class itself will be unveiled at the Final Four in April. Finalists will need to receive at least 18 votes from the 24-member selection committee for induction.
Eligible candidates for class of 2018 Basketball Hall of Fame. Finalists announced All-Star weekend and inductees announced Final Four weekend: pic.twitter.com/P243isQ6Uv
— Jeff Zillgitt (@JeffZillgitt) December 21, 2017
