Michael Jordan picks David Thompson as Hall of Fame presenter; Barkley, Chaney also presenters

Jordan picks Thompson as presenter at HOF

Michael Jordan has chosen David Thompson, another high flyer from North Carolina, to present him, while Charles Barkley and Isiah Thomas also will be presenters at the Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony.

Jordan highlights a class that includes David Robinson, John Stockton, and coaches Jerry Sloan of the Utah Jazz and C. Vivian Stringer of Rutgers. Each was asked to select a previous inductee to serve as a presenter at Friday’s ceremony at Springfield, Mass.

Jordan went with a surprise by asking Thompson, the athletic swingman who led North Carolina State to the national championship in 1974 — eight years before Jordan won one for the rival Tar Heels.

Stockton, the career leader in assists, requested Thomas, like himself one of the best point guards in NBA history. Sloan, Stockton’s coach in Utah, asked Barkley to be his presenter.

Barkley called Sloan’s invitation “one of the greatest compliments of my life.”

Robinson went with Larry Brown, his first NBA coach, and fellow San Antonio Spurs Hall of Famer George Gervin.

Stringer’s choice of John Chaney was perhaps the least surprising. The longtime friends were coaches of the men’s and women’s teams at Division II Cheyney State at the same time.