Haywood grateful for call from Hall

Going along to get along has never been Spencer Haywood's way.

Haywood always did what he felt in his heart was right, whether walking home at night from a basketball court along the railroad tracks in his native Mississippi when he should've taken a different route to avoid a possible confrontation with racist whites, defying Dr. Harry Edwards' call for a boycott by black athletes at the 1968 Olympics or taking the NBA to the U.S. Supreme Court for the right to play.

Maybe that's why it took Haywood so long to be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Having had his heart broken so often, it would have been easy for the 66-year-old to think he never would be immortalized. But Haywood, who has called Las Vegas home for more than eight years and has a flooring business, always believed that someday, someone would do the right thing.

That someday is today and that someone is Hall of Fame chairman Jerry Colangelo, who championed Haywood's cause.

Haywood starred in college at the University of Detroit, played for the gold medal-winning USA squad at the Mexico City Olympics in 1968, dominated as a rookie in the American Basketball Association and won the legal right to play in the NBA even though his college class had not yet graduated.

"I prayed a lot," Haywood said. "I knew I belonged in the Hall of Fame. But I also knew the people who kept me out, the NCAA people on the (honors) committee, weren't going to be there forever. And Jerry told me when he took over that one day I would get in. And he kept his word, for which I am eternally grateful."

Haywood thought he had gotten in two years ago along with two others with Las Vegas ties — Jerry Tarkanian and Gary Payton. But Haywood never got the official call from the Hall and it was an embarrassing moment, having to publicly explain that he had not been inducted.

"That was God's way of testing me," he said. "It was God saying, 'You're not ready yet.' And it tested my faith. Because I was really angry at the time. It had caused me and my family great pain."

So in April this year when the call came from Hall president John D'Alleva that he was indeed going into Springfield, Mass., Haywood hung up the phone, looked skyward and buried his hands in his face and cried.

"It was very emotional after I talked to John D'Alleva," he said. "What that call meant was everything I had done in my life, it was all validated."

Haywood's court case ultimately opened the door for thousands who came after him to make millions of dollars. He was the NBA's original "hardship" draftee.

Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Kevin Durant didn't have to suffer the indignities Haywood did as a member of the Seattle SuperSonics, when public address announcers bellowed into their microphones, "We have an illegal player on the court, No. 24," leading police to escort Haywood off the floor. Or, as happened one night in Cincinnati, escorted from the arena and forced to stand in the cold across the street. Haywood wasn't allowed to wait on the team bus because it was parked on Cincinnati Gardens property and he risked being arrested for trespassing.

"By me winning my case, the NBA enhanced its value with all the young players who came into the league," Haywood said. "When I talk to young players today and I introduce myself to them and I tell them my story, they're shocked. They have no idea about the history.

"That's why this honor means so much to me. It's about history and it acknowledges what I did was good for basketball as a whole, not just for me."

Haywood's on-court resume should've been good enough to get him in. He played 12 NBA seasons and averaged 19.2 points and 9.3 rebounds. During his one ABA season with the Denver Rockets, he averaged 30 points and 19.5 rebounds, and was Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year. Including his ABA stats, Haywood averaged 20.3 points and 10.3 rebounds as a pro. He also a four-time NBA All-Star and has a championship ring with the Los Angeles Lakers from 1980.

Tonight at Springfield Civic Center, Haywood will be presented by Bill Walton and Charles Barkley, two guys who also followed the beat of their own heart, along with Sonics legend player and coach Lenny Wilkens. To this day, Haywood is beloved in Seattle and having Wilkens present him connects him to his time with the Sonics.

"It's been a long, hard road," Haywood said. "Sometimes, I didn't think I would get there. But I made it and I thank God that I'm getting this honor."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him: @stevecarprj