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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- When Shaquille ONeal was 10 years old, his father made a prediction.Friday night when his son became a Hall of Famer, it was realized.Shaq and Allen Iverson headlined the 10-member Class of 2016 enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. One of the most star-packed classes in recent memory, it also featured international star Yao Ming, WNBA great Sheryl Swoopes, coach Tom Izzo, and owner Jerry Reinsdorf, an architect in the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls championship teams of the 1990s.If I know my father, hes up there arguing with Wilt (Chamberlain) that his son is the best big man in the game, Shaq said.Posthumous honorees were: 27-year NBA referee Darell Garretson; John McLendon, the first African-American coach in a professional league; Zelmo Beaty, the former NBA and ABA star who led Prairie View to an NAIA title in 1962; and Cumberland Posey, who is also a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.Shaq was an instant box office draw during his career because of his mammoth frame and rim-shaking dunks. But he also exhibited a personality that was as playful was it was engaging. He showed off all of it on Friday.He had the final speech of the night, a humorous dissertation that spanned his long journey in the sport.His speech had serious moments like thanking his parents, Phil Harrison and Lucille ONeal, for giving him the discipline and drive that drove his NBA dream.But he also tossed in light moments. He thanked former Lakers teammate Kobe Bryant for helping him win three NBA titles, but also for getting me pushed off the team and traded to Miami.Before host Ahmad Rashad could even introduce Iverson, the first mention of his name started a roar of cheers throughout the assembled audience.Dressed in all black, former MVP known as A.I., blew kisses has tears began to form in his eyes.Thank God for loving me and blessing me, Iverson said, to be the man that I am and having no regrets for the man that I am. A man that my family loves, my teammates love and my fans love.Fighting tears throughout, Iverson thanked former Georgetown coach John Thompson for saving my life.(After) the incident happened in high school and all that was taken away...no other schools would recruit me anymore, Iverson recalled. My mom went to Georgetown and begged him to give me a chance. And he did.He said he later left Georgetown only as an OK basketball player.But once I started to listen to Larry Brown and take constructive criticism, I learned how much of a great, great coach that he really is. ... Thats when I became an MVP.Iverson saved his final thank you for wife Tawanna.Youre just the best to me, he said. I want you to walk around and be proud of yourself that you are a Hall of Famer.Two of the themes on the night were family and journeys. That was the essence of Swoopes speech, who was thankful of her path from tiny Brownsfield, Texas, and that her cancer-stricken mother, Louise, was able to see it.What a ride its been, she said.The 7-foot-6 Yaos arrival from China to the NBA in 2002 instantly helped bring the game to a broader international audience.He was Fridays first inductee, an honor which he joked that should have gone to Iverson.You know why? Because I need more practice than him, Yao said to applause from the crowd and a laugh from Iverson.Yao also thanked his early mentors in China, former NBA Commissioner David Stern for his vision in wanting Yao to play in the league, as well his first teammates on the Houston Rockets. He also singled is former NBA coaches, including Rudy Tomjonavich and Jeff Van Gundy.I will always consider you my family, Yao said. I am Texan and Houston Rocket for life.Izzo has become the face of the blue-collar Michigan State team while leading it to seven Final Fours and the NCAA championship in 2000.He thanked his parents, Carl and Dororthy, for being his first mentors. The 90-year-old Dorothy was in attendance, but Carl passed away last September.Izzo briefly got choked up as he spoke of his father, who he said instilled in him a work ethic that remains with him today.The seven Final Fours and championship are just frosting on the cake, Izzo said.Reinsdorf, the longtime Bulls owner, chronicled what led him to purchase the Bulls in 1984. It was a move he said legendary New York Yankees coach George Steinbrenner panned, telling him hed never make any money.He enjoyed proving him wrong.Its been a great life, he said. I know its the fourth quarter, but Im hoping for overtime.Like his father, Shaq too has a wish.One day when some father quizzes his sons on the greats of the game, I hope Shaquille ONeal will be the answer, he said.---Follow Kyle Hightower on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/khightower Custom Bears T-shirts . Robinson finished with 17 points, all but two in the second half, and Lawson had 14 after halftime and finished with a game-high 11 assists as the Nuggets handed Dallas its first home loss in eight games this season. J.J. Hickson led Denver with 22, and Kenneth Faried added 10 points and 10 rebounds. Cheap Custom Bears Jersey . -- Team after team passed on Andre Ellington in the draft. http://www.custombearsjersey.com/ . -- Bryant McKinnie came out of his stance and lowered his shoulder into a practice squad player, causing a crisp thud to reverberate in the Miami Dolphins practice bubble. Wholesale Custom Bears Shirts . The defending champion beat Gael Monfils of France 7-6 (6), 6-3, while second-seeded Andy Murray of Britain dispatched Edouard Roger-Vasselin, also of France, 6-3, 6-3. Making his first appearance since injuring his wrist a month ago, Del Potro had difficulty with his service games in the first set. Authentic Custom Bears Jersey . Kiriasis and brakeman Franziska Fritz finished two runs in one minute 55.41 seconds -- a mere 0.01 seconds ahead of Meyers and Lolo Jones, who likely bolstered her Olympic hopes by helping give USA-1 a huge push in the second heat. NEW YORK -- Outfielder Jay Bruces $13 million option has been exercised by the New York Mets, who also exercised an option on infielder Jose Reyes for next years major league minimum.New York also declined a $10.5 million option on Jon Niese and will play a $500,000 buyout to the left-hander, who becomes a free agent.Bruce was an All-Star for the third time this year, hitting .265 with 25 homers and 80 RBI for Cincinnati before the Mets acquired him on Aug. 1. The 29-year-old slumped badly with New York and was benched at times late in the season. He hit .219 with eight homers and 19 RBI for New York.Reyes was released by Colorado in late June after serving a domestic violence suspension, and the Rockies owed him the remainder of his $22 million salary this year plus $22 million next year and a $4 million buyout of his 2018 option.He signed with the Mets, his original big league team, a few days later for a prorated share of the minimum $507,000 and played primarily at third in the absence of injured captain David Wright.ddddddddddddA four-time All-Star while playing for the Mets from 2003-11, the 33-year Reyes hit .267 with eight homers, 24 RBI and nine stolen bases.Drafted by the Mets in 2005, Niese was traded to Pittsburgh last December and reacquired on Aug. 1. He had an 11.45 ERA in two starts and four relief appearances before a torn meniscus in his left knee ended his season.New York also said Thursday that infielder Eric Campbell was assigned outright to Triple-A Las Vegas of the Pacific Coast League and right-hander Jim Henderson refused an outright assignment and elected to become a free agent. ' ' '