Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (2021)

 

My favorite photo from my Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (2021) collection.

 

*use the left and right arrow buttons to navigate through the photos (may take a few seconds for the gallery to load rendering the arrow keys unusable until then)

 

Sunday, May 30th 2021. Got there at 9:45am. Found parking. Looked around the lobby. In awe of actual memorabilia. Read the quotes written around the ceiling. Compared shoe size to Shaq's and MJ's. Watched videos accompanying each player who had memorabilia on display. Attempted to enter with tickets a few minutes after 10am as they opened. Usher said I had to show tickets to the front desk to get a wristband. Got a wristband and a complimentary pen with a stylus. Took the elevator up to third floor. Walked around looking at players and their heights. Measured my wingspan with Giannis'. Took photo of Dad next to Shaq's life-sized cut out. Made our way to second floor. Watched the history of basketball with Uncle Dave and Dad. Read first basketball rules written on the side. Made our way to look at more memorabilia and jerseys. Mentioned to Uncle Dave and Dad how one looked like a onesie and how one of the Celtic's jerseys was made of wool. Took photos. Saw first shot-clock. Made our way around to the TNT desk set up. Had hardwood floor from Jordan's 6th championship in Utah where he shot over Russell. Pretty neat. Saw rivalry display with original Magic and Larry Converse Weapons and Dick Vitale's keys to the game at a UNC vs Duke game. Made our way to the Kobe exhibit. Had rings on display as well as a few jerseys including his rookie year. Saw the 81pt 1's on display. Watched montage of his career and Dear Basketball. Browsed around some more memorabilia, took more photos. Got into conversation with worker by Larry O'Brien trophy. Said there could be 500-600 people here today which is similar pre-COVID levels. Asked how we liked the Kobe exhibit. Told us Vanessa flew in the day of at around 8:30am. Said they had another Kobe exhibit up but it wasn't as good as this one. Says the exhibit should be up for the next few months. Walked into the Hall of Honor section. Watched video on championships. Saw the newly renovated section with the names of everybody in the Hall of Fame. Looked around at database kiosks set up with touch screen features. Looked up Kobe and Michael. Took more photos. Stood with Dad and Uncle Dave scouring the HOF list for familiar names. Made our way to the Court of Dreams. Played 'H' with Uncle Dave. Shot around. Bought keychain and water bottle from giftshop. Uncle Dave treated us to Subway. Kid asked about my shoes and jersey on the way to the car. Asked where, when, and how much I bought each for. Got in the car. Drove home.