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The NBA continued with its season-long 50th Anniversary celebration by announcing the "50 Greatest Players in NBA History" during the halftime break of the 47th All-Star Game in Cleveland.
The 50 NBA greats were chosen late last year by a panel of media, players, coaches and team executives. The players selected to the distinguished list consisted of 33 basketball Hall of Famers, including such legends as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor and Dr. J., as well as obvious future Hall of Fame inductees the likes of Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and many of the eleven active players who were elected, including Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing.
Only three of the 50 players honored were not in attendance for the presentation: Jerry West and Shaquille O'Neal of the Lakers, and the late Pete Maravich, who was represented by his sons. O'Neal, who did not make the Western Conference All-Star starting lineup, losing out to Houstons' Hakeem Olajuwon, refused to make the trip to Cleveland either to participate in the halftime acknowledgments, or to play reserve center in the All-Star game.
Many of the fans booed as Shaquille O'Neal was announced as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. In only his fourth NBA season, O'Neal made the elite list, which excluded over two dozen NBA Hall of Famers such as Connie Hawkins, Walt Bellamy, Gail Goodrich, Bob Lanier, and many other NBA legends who helped to shape the history of professional basketball.
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