This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Utah native Dick Motta, former Utah Stars center Zelmo Beaty and current Jazz broadcaster Ron Boone are among 31 candidates who have been nominated for induction in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Also nominated, according to NBA.com, are nine-time All-Star Gary Payton, Chicago Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf and former league executive Russ Granik. The nominated candidates now move forward in the process. A nine-member panel will review their credentials and decide who becomes a finalists. Seven votes are necessary to advance. Then, finalists must receive 18 votes from the 24-member committee for induction into the Hall of Fame.The Class of 2013 will be revealed at the Final Four in Atlanta in April. Born in Midvale, Motta coached at Weber State and in the NBA for 25 years. He helped build the expansion Chicago Bulls into a contender in the 1970s and later won an NBA championship with the Washington Bullets. This is Motta's third straight year as a Hall of Fame nominee.Boone spent five seasons with the ABA's Utah Stars. He also played in the NBA with the Kansas City Kings, the L.A. Lakers and the Jazz.At the time of his retirement, Boone owned the record for most consecutive games of any player in the history of professional basketball — 1,041 in the ABA and NBA. His record was later broken by A. C. Green. However, Boone played at least 20 minutes in each game while Green made several token appearances during his streak because of injuries.Like Boone, Beaty played on the Utah Stars' ABA championship team in 1971.He retired in 1975 with combined ABA-NBA totals of 15,207 points and 9,665 rebounds.According the NBA.com, the entire list of nominees from the North American committee: John Bach, Dick Bavetta, Gene Bess, Maurice Cheeks, Jack Curran, Bobby Dandridge, Lefty Driesell, Bill Fitch, Cotton Fitzsimmons, Travis Grant, Tim Hardaway, Spencer Haywood, Robert Hughes, Kevin Johnson, Marques Johnson, Gene Keady, Bernard King, Guy Lewis, Danny Miles, William (Speedy) Morris, Dick Motta, Curly Neal, Payton, Rick Pitino, Mitch Richmond, Paul Silas, Eddie Sutton, Jerry Tarkanian, Rudy Tomjanovich, Paul Westphal and Gary Williams.Reinsdorf and Granik are candidates through the Contributor category that also includes, among 21 candidates, Al Attles, Marty Blake, Harry Glickman, Del Harris, Red Klotz (former Baltimore Bullets point guard best known for running the Washington Generals), Jerry Krause, Johnny Most, Gene Shue and Donnie Walsh.
— Steve Luhm
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