In her recent Instagram stories, Sue Bird seemed to be putting out some fire. She shared LeBron James’ post where he questioned the process of HOF for the players which states, “Why do players have to be retired before going into the HOF?? Coaches get in while still coaching rightfully so. Wondering what’s the difference though.”
Sue answers this question in her story saying, “I asked this same question once…And the answer was: ‘Because coaches coach longer than players play. Some into their 70’s AND THEY COULD DIE.”
Evidently, LeBron made this statement after the announcement that the 2008 Redeem Team has been nominated for the Hall of Fame Class of 2024. Also, the team claimed the gold medal in the 2008 Olympic Games. Interestingly, out of the Redeem Team roster, LeBron James is the only player who is still playing in the NBA while the others have retired. In addition, the legendary Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash in January 2020.
But how does the process work exactly?
Currently, according to the BHOF nomination process, the main difference lies here as for the coaches, they must be fully retired for four full seasons or must have coached as a full-time assistant or head coach on the high school, college, or professional level for a minimum of 25 years, to be eligible for the Hall of Fame. After that, in their 26th year of coaching or 6th year in retirement, coaches are taken into consideration for the Hall of Fame.
