Ranking the best (and worst) autograph signers on Basketball Hall of Fame weekend

As the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame induction weekend wrapped up on Aug. 12, I had to reflect if 2023 was the start of a new era.

Over the past couple of decades, collectors could rate the strength of an induction weekend based on the number of NBA at 50 members who returned to celebrate each new class. In a strong year, collectors could see up to 20 Top 50 greats return. The 2023 induction saw only one Top 50 member, David Robinson, in attendance. Regulars like Charles Barkley, Isiah Thomas, Julius Erving, Rick Barry and Bill Walton were all absent this year.

During the 2021-2022 season, the NBA extended that honor to 25 more players as the NBA celebrated its 75th anniversary. This year’s induction was host to 10 of those 25 new members.

Also, not a single Basketball Hall of Fame inductee from the 1970s or ’80s attended this year. By decade, this year’s returning Hall of Famers included 1990s (five), 2000s (seven), 2010s (19), and 2020s (16, heavily dominated by the Class of 2023). Those numbers by decade are surprising compared to attendance in the pre-COVID years.

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Last year I reported on the status of my attempt to get a set of 20 items signed. Two of those main items that went unsigned last year (Gregg Popovich and Manu Ginobili) are now signed after this year’s events.

With 11 new Hall of Famers in attendance, I decided to rank the 11 members of the 2023 class from best to worst based on their signing availability during induction weekend. It was difficult to rank an order for the top four and bottom three; however, the rest were pretty clear cut. One caveat: my ranking is based on what I witnessed over three days, and of course, I could not be everywhere all weekend. I did attend the three biggest events and was in close proximity to the inductees and collectors over those three days.

1. Gene Keady (seven-time Big Ten Coach of the Year with Purdue). Keady consistently stood for long periods of time signing for fans. He had the biggest demand among the top-four signers, signed on multiple occasions, and thanked fans. Keady looked great for 87 years old.

2. Gary Blair (852 NCAA Women’s coaching wins, two Women’s Final Fours and a 2011 National Championship). Like Keady, he signed everything for fans on numerous occasions.

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3. David Hixon (826 coaching wins in Division III). Hixon also signed everything for fans, but had a little less demand than Keady and Blair.

4. Gene Bess (1,300 National Junior College Athletic Association wins). Each of the top four were extremely class acts. Since Bess’ 1,300 wins is the most by any coach at any level of college basketball, collectors (myself included) did ask many times for that 1,300 inscription. Tara VanDerveer is still a ways behind with 1,186 wins.

5. Women’s 1976 USA Olympic Basketball Team (the first women’s team inducted and first women’s USA basketball team). I was a bit surprised by how many collectors printed a number of different team photos to be signed. There were even a couple of 1976 custom-made jersey’s around. Seven of the eight living members, including Hall of Famers Ann Meyers and Nancy Lieberman Cline, were in attendance. Sadly missing were deceased Hall of Famers Pat Summit, Luisa Harris Stewart and Billie Moore.

6. Pau Gasol (two-time NBA champion with the Lakers, 2002 NBA Rookie of the Year and six-time NBA All-Star). Gasol changed the dynamics on Thursday by signing for a long time for a pretty large crowd. That day was painfully slow and Gasol re-energized the crowd heading into the evening hours. 

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I had never met Gasol in person and was surprised to pick up a number of items signed by him. He signed on multiple occasions over the weekend and was by far the leader among signers of all the NBA player inductees. Some items I got signed were a Rookie of the Year jersey, a Western Conference NBA All-Star jersey and a ticket to Gasol’s first NBA start.

7. Tony Parker (four-time NBA champion with the Spurs and six-time NBA All-Star). There is a pretty large drop-off from this point. While I did go home with three items signed by Parker (one in the paid autograph session), he signed sparingly. I was lucky to be staying at the host hotel for the class members and one last ask on Sunday morning as Parker was checking out of the hotel was unsuccessful. Parker was far tougher to get than Gasol, but was still far more accessible than those farther down this list.

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8. Dirk Nowitzki (2011 NBA Finals MVP, 14-time All-Star and fifth all- time in NBA points ). Nowitzki is usually a great and accommodating signer, but he was rarely seen in public spaces throughout induction weekend. Both host hotels have back channels and security was tight, so even seeing Nowitzki was tough. I also gave up my Nowitzki signature in the paid autograph session in a trade for a Gregg Popovich signature. Thankfully, I was able to get a Nowitzki signature at each of the major events. On Friday night, while he was surrounded by three security guards, he bypassed security to come over to me and sign a 2006 Dallas Mavericks Finals cap. A good example of the true Dirk Nowitzki. On Saturday night, he signed nearly 30 autographs along the red carpet heading into the induction ceremony.

9. Dwyane Wade (three-time NBA Champion and 13-time All-Star). Wade was the most sought-after autograph of the weekend, but on Thursday afternoon, he told a group of 10 collectors to be careful with the item they picked, because he would remember their face and not sign for them again. I did not take that to heart as I figured I would be successful again at some point over the next three days. I picked a Marquette NCCA Final Four cap, and Wade commented that he liked the hat. Outside the class autograph session, I never had a good opportunity for another Wade signature. For the autograph session, I had Wade sign a NBA Eastern Conference All-Star jersey. I cannot confirm he signed again after the autograph session. If he did, it was likely sparingly.

10. Becky Hammon (WNBA great and member of the WNBA at 25). Hammon is the current head coach of the first-place WNBA Las Vegas Aces, and the Aces had games in Las Vegas on Friday and Sunday. So that meant Hammon was the only living class member to not attend the class autograph session Friday morning (at prices at $400-$700, it sold out in 10 minutes). On Saturday, Hammon did sign for a few fans outside the hotel, but I missed that opportunity (a case of bad timing). I was lucky to get Hammon to sign a mini-basketball for me later that day. I only know of one collector who was able to complete an induction program with every class member.

11. Gregg Popovich (five-time NBA champion, three-time NBA Coach of the Year and current all-time coaching wins leader). It was clear from the moment that Popovich arrived in town he was going to be tough on collectors. He stated his intention of signing only for fans under age 12. There were quite a few young fans over the course of the weekend, and I can’t remember him signing for many of those either. 

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I was wise to make that trade in the class autograph line. I was hoping to go home with a signed mini-basketball and a 1,000th coaching win ticket. I would not have gone back home with both those items signed without that trade. On the other hand, the Nowitzki signature I gave up was one of the most beautiful I had seen and also included a HOF 2023 inscription.

Thirty-seven returning Hall of Famers made it back to Springfield for the 2023 Induction weekend. The key returning Hall of Famers I needed signatures of were Steve Nash and Jason Kidd. Nash did sign for some smaller groups here and there, but I kept missing him. I had terrible luck for two days with Nash, but he did sign twice for me at the Friday night event. I was able to get my Top 75 item and a pro debut ticket signed. Just by chance on Friday, I found Jason Kidd one on one, and he was very nice to sign a Top 75 item for me.

Some of the best returning signers were Chris Bosh, Charlie Scott, Van Chancellor, Roy Williams, Calvin Murphy, Dick Bavetta and Spencer Haywood. I picked this group of Hall of Famers since they were also accessible on multiple days. Of the Hall of Famers only in attendance on Saturday (Induction day), Tim Hardaway, Tom Izzo, Jim Calhoun and Toni Kukoc signed for multiple collectors that day.

Then there were the tough signers, players who just do not sign much at all. I was turned down by David Robinson at one event and I am not sure he signed many autographs at all. Ginobili signed very sparingly, but I was lucky to get one item signed.

Players I would have liked to have gotten a signature from were Ray Allen and Alonzo Mourning. I saw both multiple times, but did not even ask.

You just cannot get close enough to some of the greats. You might see them from a distance, but have no opportunity to get close enough to ask for an autograph. This year Pat Riley and Allen Iverson fell into that category for me. I was shocked to hear that Tim Duncan signed a handful of autographs at the conclusion of the induction ceremony.

There were also some surprises. Soccer great Thierry Henry attended induction weekend for Tony Parker and signed a number of items for fans. I did not come prepared for Henry, but in hind sight, I should have ran out to a local sporting goods store and picked up a soccer ball. Henry’s autograph did vary quite a bit over the weekend and I did get one item signed, but it was his quick signature.

Attending the induction ceremony were Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Jason Tatum, Bam Adebayo, Mark Cuban, Erik Spoelstra and Vanessa Bryant. I would have liked to have Chris Paul on my Top 75 piece, but I was turned down on two occasions. While I did not have anything for him, Jason Tatum did sign for a number of fans and was almost the last to leave Symphony Hall after the ceremony.

The basketball Hall of Fame gift shop offers a lot of nice collectibles for the Class of 2023. Pop-up shops of Hall of Fame collectibles were available at the Mohegan Sun Casino and the host hotel. 

Jersey frames were available for Nowitzki, Wade, Parker and Gasol for $75 each. A number of larger class of 2023 prints were also available on site.